The Nativity
1502
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
See the richer artist page1502
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Nativity is a 1502 by Albrecht Dürer, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
The painting shows a scene from the Bible, with Mary and Jesus in the center. It's interesting because the artist used a lot of details to tell the story. The woodcuts show a series of events, from the announcement to Mary to the flight to Egypt. Check out the work of Albrecht Dürer to see more of his detailed woodcuts.
These eight woodcuts (1959.99.8–15) progress from Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, to the events of her early motherhood and beyond. This included the joy of sharing her pregnancy with her cousin Elizabeth, Jesus’s birth, and the subsequent arrival of the magi. After Jesus’s circumcision and presentation at the temple the Holy Family fled to Egypt to avoid Herod and stayed there for several years. The seemingly out of place last scene shows a glimpse of their daily life in Egypt as Joseph continues his carpentry and Mary spins wool. The Holy Family is…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Albrecht Dürer spent his life in Nuremberg, a busy German city where artists traded prints like currency.
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