The Portinari Altarpiece — The Adoration of the Shepherds

Hugo van der Goes (c. 1440–1482) — c. 1475 · Oil on panel · Uffizi Gallery, Florence

“And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” — Luke 2:16 (KJV)

About

Hugo van der Goes painted the Portinari Altarpiece (about 1475) for a Florentine banker's family chapel: the Adoration of the Shepherds at its centre — a frail, radiant child lying on the ground itself, Mary kneeling in blue, angels in brocade, and rough shepherds pressing in with weathered, wondering faces.

The Meaning

The child lies on bare earth, not in a crib, glowing — northern painting's vision of the Eucharist hidden in the Nativity, and of the humility of God: the King on the floor, adored by the working poor who heard the angels first.

For Us Today

Come as the shepherds came — straight from the field, unwashed and unready, and worship. God has always preferred rough hands that believe to polished hands that hesitate (Luke 2:16–17).

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.