Adoration of the shepherds with a flute

Shepherds worship the newborn Christ while one plays a flute in this Adoration scene from 1650 by Jacob Jordaens, the Flemish master who succeeded Rubens as Antwerp's leading painter. Jordaens brought a robust, earthy vitality to religious subjects that reflected his Flemish sensibility and Protestant sympathies—he converted from Catholicism later in life. The inclusion of the flute-playing shepherd adds a genre element characteristic of Jordaens's approach to sacred narratives.

Jordaens fills the canvas with warm, full-bodied figures whose physical presence dominates the composition. His palette is rich and warm, with the warm flesh tones and ruddy complexions that distinguish his figure painting from Rubens's more idealized treatment. The flute-playing shepherd introduces a diagonal that animates the otherwise devotional arrangement.