Adoration of the Child
by HONTHORST, Gerrit van, Oil on canvas, 96 x 131 cm
Honthorst was celebrated for his night scenes. A joyous sweetness suffuses this Nativity, presented in intimate close-up. As tradition decreed, Joseph is a shadowy figure in the background, the white linen foretells the shroud of the crucified Christ, and the straw beneath the babe presages the Eucharist.