Adoration of the Shepherds (La Tour)
The Adoration of the Shepherds, painted in 1644 by Georges de La Tour, is an oil on canvas work measuring 107 cm by 137 cm. It is now in the Louvre in Paris, which bought it in 1926.
In this scene, five people sit around a child, lit by a single candle. The light is the only source that touches their faces, but an old man’s hand (Saint Joseph) partly hides the glow, making it feel as if the light comes from the Child Jesus. Everyone seems lost in thought, their eyes fixed on the baby. A second woman, a maid, holds a vessel of water. There is no donkey or ox here—only a sheep chewing hay. The child lies in a wicker basket, not in a manger. The shepherds wear clothes like those of La Tour’s time. The Virgin Mary stands to the left in a red robe, and Joseph holds the light, a symbol of truth.
The painting follows the familiar Adoration of the Shepherds theme from the Gospel of Luke, but La Tour, influenced by Caravaggio, presents it as a quiet, candlelit nocturnal scene rather than a traditional nativity. It was likely commissioned by the people of Lunéville in 1644 as a tribute to the governor Maruiq de la Fert. After being forgotten for years, it was rediscovered in Amsterdam before the Louvre acquired it.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:33 (CET).