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Giorgione Venetian, 1477/1478 - 1510 The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1505/1510 oil on panel, 90.8 x 110.5 cm (35 3/4 x 43 1/2 in.) Samuel H. Kress Collection 1939.1.289 |
Object 3 of 7
Most scholars accept this panel as a work by Giorgione, but dissenters prefer to see it as an early painting by Titian. Only slightly younger than Giorgione, Titian also trained with Giovanni Bellini and responded to Giorgione’s own innovations.
As with The Holy Family, the style of the figures offers no clear distinguishing characteristic. They resemble those painted by Bellini and by his students. In recent years, however, X-ray examination has bolstered arguments in favor of Giorgione’s authorship. Extensive changes made to the sides and background opened up the space and drew attention into the distance. Giorgione, who was unusual in his time for not creating preparatory drawings, often worked out designs directly on the panel or canvas, making just this kind of revision as work progressed. In addition, these particular changes point to an increased interest in the landscape. For Giorgione, landscape became an overriding concern. He increasingly strove to integrate figures into the setting, suffusing both with a poetic mood that encompasses and unifies the whole scene.
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