LA TOUR, Georges de
(b. 1593, Vic-sur-Seille, d. 1652, Luneville)

Adoration of the Shepherds

c. 1644
Oil on canvas, 107 x 131 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

This picture marks the beginning of La Tour's last phase. The change in La Tour's art in these last years is so great that it has to be seen in terms of a decline and a rapid increase in studio participation.

The Adoration of the Shepherds is one of the most frequently painted subjects in western art, but La Tour is unique in the realism of his treatment: the shepherds are entirely convincing.