Aanbidding door de herders 1608 - 1650

Editor: This engraving, "Adoration of the Shepherds," made sometime between 1608 and 1650, depicts the Nativity scene. Pierre Brebiette's take on it feels quite crowded. There's so much going on in the upper register, but also this almost mundane element in the lower register. What do you make of it? Curator: You know, it reminds me of a theatrical production, wouldn't you say? A tightly packed stage, complete with heavenly hosts fluttering about! The contrast is part of the allure. See how the mundane and the divine share space in Brebiette's vision? It’s as if the artist asks, 'Where does our everyday end, and the sacred begin?' Are they not perhaps interwoven? Editor: So, you're suggesting the barn setting and humble animals below are just as crucial as the angels swirling above? Curator: Precisely. The ox and the ass aren’t mere props! Think of them as grounding us, anchoring the scene in reality, even as the heavens erupt in praise. Brebiette presents a down-to-earth miracle. Makes you wonder if perhaps true divinity lies not just in the spectacle, but in the ordinary, too. Editor: That's really thought-provoking. I initially saw it as cluttered, but you've highlighted a beautiful relationship between the mundane and the miraculous. I will definitely need to spend some time thinking about it. Curator: And who knows, perhaps that humble donkey in the cellar holds a secret all its own. Art, like life, offers new facets each time we return, doesn't it?