Saint Bridget’s Vision of the Nativity

Niccolò di Tommaso, a Florentine painter active in the third quarter of the fourteenth century, depicted Saint Bridget's vision of the Nativity in this innovative panel from around 1375. This subject derives from the Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden, who described witnessing Christ's birth in a vision while visiting Bethlehem in 1372. The painting is among the earliest known depictions of this vision, which would become the dominant Nativity iconography across Europe in the fifteenth century, replacing the older midwife-attended birth scene.

Painted in egg tempera on gold-ground panel, the composition shows the kneeling Bridget witnessing the Virgin adoring the luminous newborn Christ on the ground, a radical departure from traditional Nativity formats. The innovative iconography is rendered in Niccolò di Tommaso's clear, accessible Florentine Gothic style with gentle modeling and warm coloring.