Vol. I · The open image paperWinnipeg · Musée sans mursRecovered · Remembered · Returned
Cleveland Museum of Art118411portraitMartin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491)1470–75CC0cma sacred-art symbols-patterns portraits design-assets ink-paper-impressions objects-with-gravity sacred art symbols patterns design assets ink paper impressions objects with gravity religious art advent christmas engraving woodcut monochrome medieval christianity virgin mary jesus shepherds joseph architecture symbolism 16th century german art renaissance printmaking detail serene classical the nativityMartin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491) 1470–75 Germany engraving Print European ReligiousSacred & Devotional Symbols & Ornament Faces in Time The Maker’s Cabinet Ink, Paper & Impressions Objects with Gravity
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The Nativity by Martin Schongauer (German, c. 1450–1491) (1470–75). Dudley P. Allen Fund Rights: CC0. https://clevelandart.org/art/1939.448
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From the museum record
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.
Lupin’s visual index
A monochromatic engraving depicts the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and shepherds presenting the infant Jesus, surrounded by biblical figures and architectural details.
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