The Nativity
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “The Nativity” now? Harvard Art Museums, Gallery 2500, floor 2, European Art, 13th–16th century, Cambridge. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Although it is difficult to reconstruct the altarpiece to which this panel belonged, it was certainly part of a narrative predella that included the depictions of the Adoration of the Magi, Christ Teaching in the Temple, and perhaps a Crucifixion. The artist sets the scene of the holy family in the manger against an animated landscape, presented in dizzying perspective. In the sky above, an angel appears to the shepherds. The delicacy in the handling of paint and attention to detail show Giovanni di Paolo’s talents as a painter of illuminated manuscripts, in addition to large-scale works. The artist reveals the poetry of the scene through such gestures as the Virgin’s flowing mantel, which spills onto the ground to form a blanket for the Christ child, Joseph’s resigned expression, and the peaceful harmony of the ox and the ass, symbolic presences that allude to the old and new orders.
Harvard Art Museums
Details
- Accession number
- 1943.112
In the catalog
Sources
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
