Paolo De Matteis Analysis

In between the years 1680 and 1728 Paolo De Matteis painted The Adoration of the Shepherds with oil on canvas, which is now exhibited in the Dallas Museum of Art (Figure 1). The work grabs the audience’s full attention with a crowded scene with many figures gathered around two central subjects in the center. Matteis would not have fit everything he produced without using a large canvas. But apart from its size you can see that countless elements are used to tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. In this essay, I will talk about three of the elements Matteis used to grab his audience’s eyes which are light and shadow, color, and perspective. I will also examine the painting with a historical analysis of the event portrayed. The Adoration

In the bottom left of the image there is a small boy looking up towards the center with three women behind him. Two of the women are looking where the boy is looking and one of the women is looking back at a man in fur robe holding a stick. Finally, on the left side of the canvas five people are found to also be observing Jesus and Mary. They appear to be darker four of which are in the shadows while one is in the

He does this by using chiaroscuro to give the figures a three dimensional look. Highlighting the faces and arms of the subjects, then casting shadows accordingly to how the light source hits them. In this case, the shadows on the shepherds and women’s clothing and skin make the robes and body more detailed. It also implies that everywhere except the area that they are looking at is dark and that it is night time. Matteis makes this simple to identify by placing the animals and two men in the dark, top left corner of the scene. Matteis’ use of analogous colors makes this work very harmonized. The low saturated colors on the clothing of the shepherds and women gives a sense of calmness and naturalness. While the high saturation on Mary’s blue robe compliments the man’s yellow robe and direct the audience to look towards the center of the scene to imply that Mary and Jesus are the focal point and are more spiritual than natural unlike the figures surrounding