18th century, Flemish school

18th century, Flemish school

The apparition of the angel to the shepherds

Oil on panel, cm 54x69

With frame, cm 78x90

In a dark and deep night, the tetra atmosphere appears suddenly illuminated by a supernatural light that rips through the darkness. At the center of this ethereal glow, a majestic angel makes his appearance, suspended on soft clouds that radiate their own light. His figure is imposing but serene, with wide and vaporous wings that unfold in a riot of chiaroscuro. His gaze is on the shepherds below, his hand stretched in an eloquent gesture, almost to want to communicate a message of divine scope. The shepherds, caught by surprise, react with a mixture of astonishment and awe. Some are kneeling, almost prostrate by the magnificence of the vision, with their hands joined in prayer or raised up as a sign of wonder. Their faces, illuminated by the heavenly glow, express an intense emotion, a sense of sacredness that permeates the whole scene. We notice their simple clothes and their humble tools abandoned beside them, to underline their condition as ordinary people chosen to attend an extraordinary event. The Flemish artist responsible for the painting shows himself fully able to play with the contrasts of light and shadow, approaching the main masters operating north of the Alps in that period. The enveloping darkness of the nocturnal landscape highlights even more the intense luminosity emanating from the angelic figure and the surrounding clouds, creating a mystical and transcendental atmosphere. Little angels, almost luminous putti, float around the main figure, adding a touch of grace and dynamism to the composition. The surrounding landscape is just hinted at, with some dark trees standing out against the night sky, focusing the viewer’s attention on the miraculous event in the foreground. One perceives the sacred silence of the night interrupted only by the visual power of the angelic appearance. This painting captures a moment of Epiphany, an incursion of the divine into the earthly world, with a typically baroque sensibility, rich in drama and pathos. The artist’s ability to make the human reaction in front of the supernatural and the majesty of the angelic figure makes this work an effective visual narration of one of the most significant episodes of the Catholic tradition, that of the announcement of the angel to the shepherds of the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem. 

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