Artwork
Nativity
Nativity is an oil painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Hans Baldung Grien. It dates from 1520 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting portrays the Nativity of Jesus, showing the infant Christ Child within a humble setting that emphasizes the divine incarnation. Symbolic elements such as the manger and surrounding figures convey themes of humility and salvation, aligning with traditional religious iconography of the period.
Technique & Style
The work is classified as a religious painting and depicts the Nativity of Jesus and the Christ Child.
Hans Baldung Grien executed the Nativity in 1520 using oil paint applied to a wood support. The work is classified as a religious painting and depicts the Nativity of Jesus and the Christ Child. The physical dimensions of the panel measure 106.4 cm in height and 71.1 cm in width.
Currently held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek, the piece represents the artist's approach to religious art during this period.
History & Provenance
Hans Baldung Grien's Nativity was created in 1520, executed in oil on wood as a religious painting depicting the Nativity of Jesus and the Christ Child. The work is held by the Bavarian State Painting Collections and is located at the Alte Pinakothek.
The sources do not document a specific commissioner, patron, or prior ownership chain for the painting, nor do they provide details on its early provenance before entering the Bavarian State Painting Collections. No records of intermediate owners, sales, or transfers are indicated.
Overview
Created in 1520, Nativity is a painted wood panel by German artist Hans Baldung Grien. Executed during the Northern Renaissance, the work portrays the birth of Jesus within a modest stable, rendered with a muted palette and dramatic lighting. The panel is part of the Alte Pinakothek’s collection in Munich.
Context
Nativity belongs to a broader tradition of Northern European devotional images that emphasized human intimacy and naturalistic detail. Baldung Grien’s work reflects the period’s interest in merging religious narrative with a heightened emotional tone, a hallmark of the late German Renaissance that foreshadowed the more stylized Mannerist approach of the following decades.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hans Baldung (1484 or 1485 – September 1545), called Hans Baldung Grien, (being an early nickname, because of his predilection for the colour green), was a painter, printer, engraver, draftsman, and stained glass…
