The Adoration of the Christ Child

According to tradition, the birth of Christ took place in a stable constructed in the ruins of King David’s palace in Bethlehem. In Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen’s painting, the garlands and scrollwork of the architecture and the tumbling musical angels demonstrate an exuberant adaptation of Renaissance motifs to an essentially late medieval scene. Jacob Cornelisz. was the first major painter established in Amsterdam. The importance of this city in the northern portion of the Netherlands increased dramatically over the course of the 16th century.