Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence

The Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence was Caravaggio's altarpiece for the Oratorio di San Lorenzo in Palermo, Sicily, painted around 1600. The painting became one of the most famous stolen artworks in history when it was taken from the oratory in October 1969, reportedly by the Sicilian Mafia. Despite decades of investigation, the painting has never been recovered and may have been destroyed. The loss represents one of the greatest tragedies in the history of art. Before its theft, it was known through photographs and copies as a masterwork of Caravaggio's mature period.

Based on photographs taken before the theft, the composition showed the Nativity scene with the Virgin, the Christ Child on the ground, and attending saints in Caravaggio's characteristic dramatic lighting. The raking illumination picked out the figures from deep shadow, with the newborn Christ serving as a secondary light source. The natural, unidealized treatment of the sacred figures and the powerful chiaroscuro were characteristic of Caravaggio's revolutionary approach to religious painting.