The Holy Family with Shepherds (1616)

Jordaens, Jacob (1593-1678)

The Holy Family with Shepherds
1616
Oil on canvas, transferred from wood, 106.7 x 76.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York

Working in Antwerp, the commercial center of the Spanish Netherlands, Jordaens catered to an international audience with Catholic devotional images such as this one, centered on the figure of the Virgin Mary. His earthy evocation of flesh influenced many artists, and his work was collected by both Vermeer and the court at The Hague. Despite his production of Catholic devotional images, Jordaens was taken after his death over the border into the Dutch Republic for a Protestant burial. (MET)