The Nativity (c. 1457): Art, History and Details

The Nativity (c. 1457) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jaume Ferrer the Younger (Spanish, Catalonia died c. 1460/70).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This painting is believed to be a remaining component of a six-panel altarpiece. The large central panel is now preserved in the Museu National d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. Ferrer collaborated with the painter Pere Garcia de Benavarri on this commission. Spanish works like these often feature elaborate treatment of the gold background, evident here in the exuberant raised decoration (called pastiglia) in the haloes. As a symbol of his dominion over the world, Christ holds an orb in his left hand; he bestows a blessing with his right hand. The Virgin kneels above him in rapt adoration. Using the wattle fence almost as a church pew, two shepherds express humble piety; one removes his hat and the other clasps his hands in prayer.

Object facts

• Title: The Nativity
• Date: c. 1457
• Creator attribution: Jaume Ferrer the Younger (Spanish, Catalonia died c. 1460/70)
• Culture: Spain, Catalonia, 15th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil, tempera, and gold on wood panel (fir)
• Dimensions: Framed: 187.3 x 139.1 x 14 cm (73 3/4 x 54 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 172.7 x 124.4 cm (68 x 49 in.)
• Collection: MED - Medieval Art
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1953.660.2

Collection credit

Gift of Francis Ginn, Marian Ginn Jones, Barbara Ginn Griesinger, and Alexander Ginn in memory of Frank Hadley Ginn and Cornelia Root Ginn

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 1. European Paintings before 1500. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.