The Adoration of the Shepherd, with the Annunciation to the Shepherds beyond

Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo painted this Adoration of the Shepherds with the Annunciation to the Shepherds beyond around 1516. Garofalo was the leading painter of Ferrara after 1510, bringing the classicizing influence of Raphael's Roman frescoes to the Este court, where he worked alongside Dosso Dossi. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The dual-scene composition shows Garofalo's spatial sophistication with foreground narrative and distant background episode, using the warm Ferrarese palette enriched by his study of Raphael's harmonious color.