Artwork Page for The Nativity

Details / Information for The Nativity

Series Title: Life of the Virgin

The Nativity

1470–75

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Measurements
Sheet: 25.8 x 16.9 cm (10 3/16 x 6 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1939.448
Catalogue raisonné
Lehrs V.50.5
State
I/I
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

In this example, Martin Schongauer's skill with the engraver's burin is on display in the extensive vocabulary of marks that delineate stones, foliage, vines, garment folds, human hair, and animal fur.

Description

This print of the Nativity is the first of a set of four engravings considered to be an incomplete series of episodes of the Life of the Virgin, which also includes the Adoration of the Magi (1942.1070), The flight into Egypt (1954.260), and The Death of the Virgin (1956.744). Here, Martin Schongauer portrayed the humble and private joy of the Virgin Mary in prayer as she adores the holy infant, who lies on the ground on a corner of her cloak. Joseph gazes tenderly at his wife and holds a lantern. The holy family is joined by the ox and the donkey. The scene takes place in the ruins of a vaulted Gothic edifice, from the top of which jubilant angels sing. From the arched entrance, three shepherds witness the nativity. In the distance, an angel heralds the miraculous birth to one of the shepherds.
A vertically oriented print in dense black-inked fine lines depicts people with light skin tones gathering within ruined stone arches. A woman kneels and gazes at the infant Christ lying on a cloth. To the right, a bearded man holds a lantern near a donkey and ox. Three winged figures hold a scroll in the upper right, while three people peer from the left. Vines cover the masonry, and initials appear at the bottom.

The Nativity

1470–75

Martin Schongauer

(German, c. 1450–1491)
Germany

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