Adoration of the Shepherds

The Hermitage canvas is a modello or final sketch for a painting which sets out the overall composition of the future work. In this case the intended application was for a large altarpiece that Rubens painted for the Church of Santo Spirito in the town of Fermo, the second major commission which the artist received in Italy. As was typical with such sketches, we see here a deep reddish color scheme in the painting and a free and thick impasto application of the brushstrokes which the artist borrowed from Venetian painting. These are qualities that were not typical of his later works.