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On the ground in the exact center of this painting lies the baby Jesus, surrounded by his mother the Virgin Mary, her husband Joseph, an angel playing a lute and on either side of the painting, shepherds who have come to visit. This baby Jesus is positioned at the center of the painting and he's the center of everyone's attention. Our attention is also focused on the baby because Mary's body is bending toward the baby on the left and the diagonal line of the shepherd's staff on the right. Baby Jesus is not wearing a diaper so that because the artist, Giovanni Agostino da Lodi, could show us that baby Jesus was a real human boy!

On top of the hill, under the blue sky in the upper right of the painting, Giovanni Agostino da Lodi has included the moment that brought the shepherds to the baby Jesus. Two tiny startled figures look up to the sky at a little golden angel, who brings them the news of the birth of Jesus.

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