Adoration of the Christ Child

Adoration of the Christ ChildWorkshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio

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This tondo (1485–90) shows Mary and Joseph adoring the infant Christ, lying humbly on the earth. The sarcophagus-like manger prefigures his Passion, while the ox and donkey fulfill Isaiah and Habakkuk’s prophecy of animals recognizing the Lord. The scene binds intimacy, humility, and cosmic redemption.