The Nativity
workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (Kronach 1472 - Weimar 1553)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1530 - 1599
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
289 x 483 mm (11⅜ x 19 in)
Order this imageCollection
Knightshayes Court, Devon
NT 541114
Caption
This beautiful painting illustrates the Nativity story celebrated by Christians all over the world at Christmas time.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, The Nativity, workshop of Lucas Cranach the elder (Kronach 1472 – Weimar 1553). The byre scene with the Holy Family surrounded by animals and adoring angels. The Madonna kneels on the left and prays by the manger in which the Christ Child lies. Around her are putti-angels in adoration and at the far end, the ox and the ass are feeding. One of the angels, on the right, is dressed as a priest, which, with the sarcophagus-like shape of the manger, is a prefiguration of Christ’s sacrifice upon the Cross, and of the memorial of this in the Mass. St Joseph appears, from the right, carrying bales of straw.
Provenance
[Charles A. de Burlet gallery, Basle; Dr H. Weber, Halle an der Saale, in 1932]; [acquired reputedly from Dr Weber] by Agnew’s on 1st April 1954; sold to Sir John Heathcoat Amory on 24th May 1956; bequeathed to the Knightshayes Garden Trust on his death in 1972.
Makers and roles
workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (Kronach 1472 - Weimar 1553), artist