The Annunciation to the Shepherdess

• Autores: Leslie C. Jones, Jonathan James Graham Alexander
• Localización: Studies in iconography, ISSN 0148-1029, Nº. 24, 2003, págs. 165-198
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The writers examine a striking alteration to the gospel scene regarding the Annunciation to the Shepherds. In the 15th century, but apparently never before, the male shepherds in this scene are depicted accompanied by one or more women. This occurs almost exclusively in books of hours made in Paris, northern France, and the southern Netherlands. After charting the variable iconography of the shepherdess from her earliest appearances and investigating representations of her, the writers ask what her role was in visual representation. The two main visual constructions of the shepherdess are as disorderly embodiment of her class and as passive object of desire. The noble female viewer, like her noble male counterpart, would recognize the disorderly shepherdess as the peasant Other, a model to be avoided. In contrast, the passive shepherdess could be read as a model of female behavior—modest, submissive, and near-saintly.