Adoration of the Shepherds (detail) 1599

The Adoration of the Shepherds was painted by Joachim Wtewael, likely in the early 17th century, using oil paints on a wooden panel. The medium of oil paint is critical here. Before oil paint, artworks were painted with tempera. Oil paint changed everything. You can see how Wtewael has used it to blend the colors, and create subtle gradations of tone, especially in the faces of the figures. Oil also gives the painting a reflective quality, which enhances the richness of the colors and depth of the shadows. This allows for great naturalism. However, oil paints were not cheap, requiring the mixing of dry pigments with linseed oil, often by workshop assistants. Also, the support of the painting is a wooden panel, which requires extensive preparation by a joiner. All of this is to say that the making of the artwork required many skilled hands, and a significant investment. By considering the materials and processes involved, we can appreciate how the creation of this painting was not just an act of individual expression, but a collaborative endeavor, deeply rooted in the economic and social conditions of the time.