On a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I observed the painting of The Adoration of The Shepherds, two artists, Andrea Mantegna and El Greco, showed it different ways with the same subjects and theme. First, the title of the paintings is about Jesus's birth. Andrea Mantegna an artist that had lived from 1430 to 1506. He established his reputation when he was 20 years old. This painting is the manifest of his highly individual style. He worked at it during the years of 1451 to 1453. Mantegna painted The Adoration of The Shepherds in horizontal format (153/4x217/8(40x55.6). Mantegna used tempera on a canvas that transferred from a wood. In difference, El Greco (Spain 1541-1641) worked it with oil color on canvas by vertical format. The size is 125 5/8x707/8(319x180cm). In Greco's painting, the objects are full on the canvas which there is two big angels and others that are placed on top of the middle, and the people are placed in triangular position based on the landscape. The landscape is very detailed. The people I find such as the Holy Maria is standing in the middle and the mountain is placed behind of Maria among the landscape. The two paintings have same subjects such as the Holy Maria, Joseph, and baby Jesus. In Mantegna's painting, everybody doesn't pay attention to the Maria and Jesus. The mood of the picture is very deep even it is around what appears to be in the afternoon. Joseph on the left ignores the event, and he just sleeps. The two poor people on the right side are begging toward the Maria and the baby. .
In El Greco's painting, every five people are focused on Jesus and bless him. Especially, Joseph is showing excitement to the baby. There are not only human beings in the paintings. In Mantegna's painting, little angels are in water, but in another, the angels are in the air. The angel figures in El Greco's are as humans that they are looking something like a name list.