The Adoration of the Shepherds with Saint Catherine of Alexandria

Curatorial Overview

“Cigoli, a painter of considerable intellectual accomplishment and a friend of the great scientist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), was the key artist in Florence in the late sixteenth century. This altarpiece was painted at the height of Cigoli’s career and introduced to Florentine painting a new emotional warmth and emphasis on color, based on the work of Barocci and Titian. Some of the details are taken directly from nature, such as the still life around the Christ Child and the rustic figures at the right. Cigoli’s work blends the study of nature with the work of the High Renaissance artists.”