Back to: The Twelve Days of Christmas Carols
Adoration of the Shepherds (1622)- Gerard van Honthorst
This work is the pairing of an ancient English melody at least as old as the 16th century with the words of a businessman in England living three centuries later.
With the haunting melody of Greensleeves , the hymn takes the viewpoint of the unknowing visitor, not quite sure of what was happening, the identify of the child before him. At the end, the carol invites all the world to rejoice in the mysterious nature of the incarnation and the beauty of the Messiah’s birth.
The art work is exemplary. The artist plays with light. Irrelevant parts of the canvas are left in the dark.
The child seems to be the source of the light. That is in accordance with John’s statement about Christ being “the true Light” (John 1:9) and Jesus’ claim “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12 and John 9:5). The light shines on the faces of the other figures.
The three shepherds to the left are grouped in a nice triangle. Triangles are a well-known way to achieve coherence in a composition. The heads of Mary, Joseph and the ox form another triangle.