The Birth of Christ

Albrecht Altdorfer painted this Birth of Christ around 1513 for the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. Altdorfer's treatment of the Nativity transforms the traditional scene into an atmospheric nocturnal vision, with the ruined stable becoming a vehicle for his revolutionary approach to light and architecture Egg tempera on panel was the dominant technique of the period, demanding careful layer-by-layer construction and patient craftsmanship It is now held at The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, housing one of th

The panel demonstrates Altdorfer's extraordinary sensitivity to nocturnal lighting, with the luminous Christ Child illuminating the surrounding ruins in a dramatic chiaroscuro that anticipates later developments in Baroque night painting.