The Adoration of the Shepherds – Francesco Bassano – Vaux-le-Vicomte Castle

A dark nocturnal Nativity hangs on the red damask wall of Fouquet's bedchamber, next to a crucifix of tortoiseshell, ebony and silver. Francesco Bassano (1549-1592), of the Venetian family of painters, specialised in such rustic night scenes lit by a single source.