Portinari Altarpiece

Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes painted this monumental triptych around 1475 for Italian banker Tommaso Portinari, who represented the Medici bank in Bruges. The central panel shows the Adoration of the Shepherds, with the infant Christ lying on the ground surrounded by angels while rustic shepherds rush to worship him.

The side panels depict the Portinari family at prayer. Tommaso appears on the left with his sons Antonio and Pigello. His wife Maria di Francesco Baroncelli kneels on the right panel with their daughter Margarita. Saints Thomas and Anthony stand behind the men, while Saints Margaret and Mary Magdalene accompany the women.

When the altarpiece arrived in Florence in 1483, Italian painters were stunned by the Flemish technique. Van der Goes achieved emotional intensity unprecedented in Northern art, and his realistic shepherds influenced generations of Florentine artists. The work now dominates a room at the Uffizi Gallery.