Artwork
De aanbidding van het Christuskind
De aanbidding van het Christuskind is an unspecified painting by Cosimo Rosselli. It dates from 1485 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Overview
Cosimo Rosselli’s Nativity, titled *De aanbidding van het Christuskind*, is a mid‑15th‑century oil on panel that remains in excellent condition. Executed by a respected Florentine painter who also taught apprentices, the work exemplifies the city’s prevailing aesthetic while subtly integrating influences arriving from the north.
Subject & Meaning
The composition gathers the Virgin Mary, Joseph and kneeling shepherds around the infant Christ within a modest, rocky shelter. Above them, angels hover and a luminous star pierces the roof, underscoring the theological theme of divine revelation and the humble circumstances of the birth.
Technique & Style
Rosselli balances the clear, orderly figuration typical of Florentine art with a delicate handling of light and surface detail reminiscent of contemporary Flemish paintings. The crisp arrangement of the figures coexists with nuanced shading, fine folds in Mary’s robe, and a gentle atmospheric glow that softens the scene.
History & Provenance
Created during the second half of the 1400s, the panel reflects the period’s artistic exchanges between Italy and Northern Europe. Its preservation suggests careful ownership, though specific records of its early patrons are lacking; the work now resides in a public collection where it continues to illustrate cross‑regional stylistic dialogue.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cosimo Rosselli (Italian: ; 1439–1507) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, active mainly in his birthplace of Florence, but also in Pisa earlier in his career and in 1481–82 in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, where…
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