Birth of Jesus and the Adoration of the Shepherds

Print
Location: 
Not on view
Artists / Makers / Authorities: 
Francesc Pla Duran known as "El Vigatà"
Vic, 1743 – Barcelona, 1805
Social tags: 
Description:

In 1778 Carlos III of Spain issued the decree by which the ban was lifted on Catalonia's trading with the Americas. This marked a turning point in the life of the Catalan bourgeoisie, whose power rose considerably in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Part of the profits they made from industry and commerce was invested in the construction and decoration of their own houses. The main salon of one of these homes, most probably built on the outskirts of Barcelona, was decorated with Pla's series of paintings devoted to the life of the Virgin. Of the complete series of seventeen canvases, twelve are preserved at the Museum. In 1987 Santiago Alcolea Gil made the paintings known, the indisputable work of Francesc Pla, otherwise known as ‘el Vigatà’, one of the artists most in demand when it came to painting the interiors of Catalan bourgeois mansions. His style broke away from the academic canons of the period, his flowing, quick, vigorous brushstrokes having affinities with the Rococo.

Painting

Circa 1780

167.5 x 105 cm

Donated by Girbau SA to the Generalitat de Catalunya; permanent loan to the MNAC, 1997

Inventory number: 

202172-000

Series devoted to the life of the Virgin, made up of 16 paintings, 12 of which are kept at the MNAC and the other 4 belong to private collectors. From Lloret de Mar (La Selva).
Tempera on canvas
Century: 18th
Subject: Religion
Francesc Pla Duran dit El Vigatà - Naixement de Jesús i Adoració dels pastors - Cap a 1780
Naixement de Jesús i Adoració dels pastors