Nativity and Adoration of the Magi

Giovanni di Francesco's Nativity and Adoration of the Magi, painted around 1455 and now in the Louvre, compresses two major episodes of the infancy narrative — Christ's birth and the visit of the Magi — into a single panel, a compositional choice common when space or expense required economy. The Nativity and Adoration were among the most theologically rich subjects in Christian iconography, combining the humble poverty of Christ's birth with the recognition of his messianic identity by Gentile rulers from the East. Giovanni di Francesco was a minor Florentine painter active in the mid-fifteenth century, and this work shows his absorption of Florentine compositional conventions.

Tempera on panel. The two scenes are differentiated by setting but unified by continuous landscape. Figures are compact and somewhat simplified, with large hands and expressive faces characteristic of minor Florentine workshop practice.