The Adoration of the Shepherds

Frauenkirche, Munich, Germany

The trussed lamb at the foot of the manger symbolizes the sacrifice of Christ, the "Lamb of God," in the years to come. This symbolism is deepened by the ram that the oldest shepherd is holding by the horns, a reference to the ram that Abraham sacrificed in place of his son Isaac.

The painting has the shepherds in crude clothing, but unlike most medieval images of this subject does not make them crude of countenance.

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Photographed at the Frauenkirche by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.