Flemish school, Follower of PETER PAUL RUBENS (Siegen, Germany, 1577 - Antwerp, Belgium, 1640); 17th century.
"Adoration of the Shepherds".
Oil on copper.
It has faults and repainting.
It has a Spanish or Italian frame with xylophagous remains.
Measurements: 35 x 26 cm; 44 x 35 cm (frame).
The present work is a follower of the painting that Rubens made for the church of San Filippo in Fermo, in 1608, which is currently in the Fermo Civic Art Gallery. There are certain differences in both the figures and the poses. However, the gesture so characteristic of Rubens' works, in which the Child is shown to his adorers, has been preserved. In this case, the monumentality typical of Rubens' figures is preserved, especially in the female figure kneeling before the Child. In addition, the finesse of the faces and the delicacy of the forms are outstanding.
Both the dynamic composition of the scene and the anatomical conception of the figures are very reminiscent of works by the artist Peter Paul Rubens. Peter Paul Rubens was a painter of the Flemish school who, nevertheless, competed on equal terms with contemporary Italian artists, and enjoyed a very important international importance, given that his influence was also key in other schools, as in the case of the transition to the full Baroque in Spain. Although born in Westphalia, Rubens grew up in Antwerp, where his family originated. His mother, Maria Pypelincks, was a very important figure in his life. She gave him a courtly and cultural education, which included the study of Latin and Greek, as well as the Bible. It was in fact his mother who brought him into contact, while still very young, with the best painters of the day. Rubens had three teachers, the first of whom was Tobias Verhaecht, a painter with a precise and meticulous technique who had travelled to Italy and who taught the young artist the first artistic rudiments. It is also possible that Rubens travelled to Italy influenced by this first master. The second was Adam van Noort, a Romanist painter who was also influenced by the Italianate style but whose language was still Mannerist and who must also have influenced the young artist to visit Italy. Finally, his third teacher was Otto van Veen, the most notable and last of them. After completing his training Rubens joined the Antwerp painters' guild in 1598. Only two years later he travelled to Italy, where he remained between 1600 and 1608.