Adoration of the Shepherds

Jorge Afonso painted this Adoration of the Shepherds around 1515, depicting the humble first visitors to the newborn Christ. As the leading figure in Portuguese painting, Afonso's workshop compositions established standard models for the treatment of New Testament subjects that would be followed by Portuguese painters for decades. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The nativity scene shows Afonso's skilled use of warm lighting effects and tender figural interaction, with the careful detail and devotional warmth characteristic of his Luso-Flemish style.