The Nativity

The Nativity from 1457 is one of Giovanni di Paolo's later treatments of the birth of Christ, a subject he depicted multiple times throughout his career. The Sienese tradition of Nativity imagery was rich and distinctive, and Giovanni di Paolo's versions maintained the devotional intensity characteristic of local art. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays brilliant, jewel-like color, gold grounds, lyrical figure types of Gothic grace, perspectival experiments that create strange compressed spaces, intense narrative invention.

The Nativity scene is organized within a traditional manger setting, with Giovanni di Paolo's characteristic angular spatial construction and vivid tempera colors.