The Nativity
The Child in a manger beneath rocky mountains, Mary bending over him, Joseph asleep and a flock of sheep: a small Nativity from early 14th-century Florence. Full commentary ↓
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The Nativity is a tempera and gold painting by Maestro Daddesco (ca. 1320–40) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 29.5 × 21.3 cm.
In the pictureGray rocky mountains rise in layers against a gold ground, and below them the Child lies in a red manger. Mary in a blue mantle bends to look down at him, and below are Joseph sitting with his chin in his hand, an angel in red, a flock of sheep and shepherds. Under the roof at the top, small angels are gathered.
Background"Maestro Daddesco" is a name art historians gave to a painter whose own name has not come down to us, meaning that his style is close to that of Bernardo Daddi. Florentine painters after Giotto built up space by stacking rocky mountains in tiers like this, a method from before perspective. The small panel, 30 cm high, was probably for private devotion or one wing of a folding altarpiece.
Puzzle tipThe many gray rock pieces are confusing, but the direction of the ridges differs from piece to piece, so comparing them with the preview sorts them out. Fix the red manger, the angel's robe, the blue mantle and the gold background pieces first, and put in the flock and figures at the bottom last, since they are small.
- Artist
- Italian, Florence, active ca. 1320–40
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Tempera on wood, gold ground
- Dimensions
- 29.5 × 21.3 cm
- Credit line
- Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
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- Why Are There So Many Madonna and Child Paintings? Painting the Same Scene for Centuries
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