The Nativity of Christ

The Anonymous Antwerp Mannerist's Nativity of Christ, painted around 1519 and now at the Kunstmuseum Basel, is a work in the highly ornate style that dominated Antwerp painting in the second decade of the sixteenth century — a style characterized by elaborate architectural settings in an eclectic classical idiom, energetically posed figures, and an overall quality of theatrical display that art historians have called Antwerp Mannerism. The Nativity — one of the most frequently painted subjects in Christian art — becomes in this tradition an occasion for architectural fantasy and figural virtuosity. The anonymous nature of many works in this style reflects the workshop-based production of Antwerp's thriving art market.

Antwerp Mannerist style is immediately recognizable in the elaborate architectural setting that frames the Nativity with fantastical classical arches and ornamental detail. Figure poses are exaggerated and energetic, reflecting the style's preference for display over devotional simplicity. Color is rich and decorative.