The Adoration of the Shepherds , sometimes still known as the Allendale Nativity or "Adoration", after a former owner, is a painting by the Italian painter of the Renaissance, Giorgione, in about 1500. The attribution is now usual, although not universal; the usual other view is that it is an early Titian. It is certainly a Venetian painting of that period. It is displayed in the National Gallery of Art of Washington, D.C., United States. This work was probably completed by Giorgione while he was part of the workshop of Vincenzo Catena, a strict follower of Giovanni Bellini's style. Giorgione... portrayed the main scene on the right, in front of a dark grotto, while on the left is bright landscape crowned by trees. A sincere dramatic tension is obtained by the choice to place the kneeling shepherd pilgrims in the centre of the painting. The entire group of parents, child, and pilgrim form an anchored rectangle that forms a counterpoised focal point to the receding landscape on the left. A group of paintings is sometimes described as the "Allendale group", after the Allendale Nativity.
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