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Tag Archives: oil on panel

Jaun de Flandes: St. Augustine and St.Roch

The historical and iconographic details in this early Spanish painting by Jaun de Flandes make it one of M&G’s most intriguing works.

Jan Swart van Groningen: Nativity Triptych

In this triptych the artist beautifully pictures several of the most familiar Christmas story events.

Jan Gossaert: The Madonna of the Fireplace

Jan Gossaert, called Mabuse, was one of the first Netherlandish painters to integrate an Italian and Northern style. His beautiful Madonna of the Fireplace in one stunning example of his skill.

Northern Mannerism: The Martyrdom of Peter

This intriguing painting of Peter’s martyrdom highlights the Northern painters’ penchant for fantastic backgrounds.

Master of the Borghese Tondo

The Nativity

Master of the Borghese Tondo

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Gaspar de Crayer

St. Augustine 

Gaspar de Crayer

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Lucas Cranach, the Younger

Allegory of the Fall and Redemption of Man
Lucas Cranach, the Younger

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Frans Francken, the Younger

The Adoration of the Magi
Frans Francken, the Younger

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Niccolò di Pietro Gerini

Madonna and Child with Saints
Niccolò di Pietro Gerini

Object of the Month: December 2013

The Adoration of the Shepherds

Oil on panel

Hans von Aachen

German, 1552-1615

At Christmas, our thoughts naturally turn to gifts. Given a choice, would you choose a large package or a small one? Perhaps it would be wise to remember the adage, “Good things come in small packages.” That sentiment is certainly true of M&G’s Object of the Month, a small painting (9.25” x 7”) that is like a precious jewel in a small gift box.

In addition to the Holy Family and the shepherds, the crowded scene includes women, another child, barn animals, the requisite angels tumbling from heaven, and a huge mastiff. Other innovative additions include bagpipes and a shovel. Far in the background the light of the angelic host can be seen illuminating the hillside. The painting is housed in a tabernacle-type frame with decorative gold tooling and stone insets. Tabernacle frames often held large pieces of art; this version captures the architectural features in miniature.

Aachen lived in Italy from 1574–1588, studying the great Italian masters, and in 1592 he became Court Painter to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, a prestigious position that entailed diplomatic as well as artistic responsibilities. Rudolf was the greatest patron of the arts of his time, acquiring works by Dürer, Brueghel, and Veronese as well as works of contemporary northern Mannerist artists such as Aachen, Archimboldo, Spranger, and Savery.

The provenance, or history, of the painting can be traced to English ownership in 1834. English collectors of the nineteenth century amassed great quantities of art, much of it available because of wars and unrest in Europe. This work was part of an 1834 bequest to the Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge University; they retained ownership until 1959 when it was sold at Sotheby’s and acquired by the museum.

Anne Short, Former Research Supervisor

 

Published in 2013