On our recent visit to Rome we saw the story of the Nativity depicted in many forms. Over the next 12 days of Christmas I will share my favourites.
Pinturicchio's 'Adoration of the Shepherds' can be found in the Della Rovere chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo. In the lunettes under the vault Pinturicchio painted small scenes from the life of St Jerome and the gold wall decorations were said to be inspired by those in the Domus Aurea - Nero's Golden House. We visited the Domus Aurea on our summer trip this year and learnt from the guide how Renaissance artists such as Raphael were lowered down on ladders to see the frescoes which would so influence their work and create a new style - 'Grotesque, after the grottos in which they found themselves.
