The Annunciation to the Shepherds
Jacopo Bassano·probably 1555/1560
Historical Context
Jacopo Bassano's Annunciation to the Shepherds from probably 1555-60 transforms the Gospel narrative into a dramatic nocturnal pastoral scene with the theatrical lighting effects and naturalistic animal painting that were his trademark. Bassano's unique contribution to Venetian art was placing sacred figures within convincing rural settings populated by real animals and peasants drawn from the Veneto countryside.
Technical Analysis
Bassano's oil on canvas features dramatic nocturnal lighting with the angel's radiance illuminating the startled shepherds and their flocks, using warm, earth-toned color and vigorous brushwork characteristic of his mature Mannerist style.
Provenance
Probably Thomas Duncombe [d. 1799], Duncombe Park, Yorkshire, England; probably by inheritance to his brother, Charles Slingsby Duncombe [d. 1803], Duncombe Park; probably by inheritance to Charles Duncombe, 1st baron Feversham [d. 1841]; probably by inheritance to William Duncombe, 2nd baron Feversham [d. 1867], Duncombe Park; probably by inheritance to William Ernest Duncombe [d. 1915], 1st earl of Feversham, Duncombe Park, until at least 1880. Sir Charles A. Turner, London, 1892; (his sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 16 March 1908, no. 7); purchased by (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); sold two days later to (Charles Fairfax Murray [1849-1919], London and Florence). (sale, Sotheby's, London, 19 July 1922, no. 101); possibly purchased by Christie. (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence and Rome); sold 1933 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundaton, New York[1]; gift 1939 to NGA. [1] See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2065.
