The Nativity, Giovanni di Paolo, c. 1455-1460
Giovanni di PaoloItalia, 1403–1482

The Nativity

c. 1455-1460 · Painting

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Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, Stati Uniti

Sala2500, floor 2, European Art, 13th–16th century

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Sul dipinto

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

Scheda

Numero di inventario
1943.112

In catalogo

Fonti

  • Harvard Art Museums
  • Immagine: Harvard Art Museums — © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Nella stessa sala · Gallery 2500, floor 2, European Art, 13th–16th century, Harvard Art Museums

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