Old Masters · Luke 2:7 · 4 October 2026 · 4 works

The Birth of Christ

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The child lies on the ground or in the manger, and everyone else gathers round. Three of these four paintings are night scenes.

The child lies naked on the bare ground. Angels kneel in heavy robes, and from the right three shepherds push in, painted with rough hands and open mouths. Tommaso Portinari had the altarpiece made in Bruges and shipped to Florence.

Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece (central panel), c. 1475–78 — **Hugo van der Goes**, Portinari Altarpiece (central panel), c. 1475–78

A small panel, made for private prayer. The child is the lamp of the picture: it lights the face of Mary and the small angels at the manger. Far behind there is a second light, the angel over the shepherds' field.

Geertgen tot Sint Jans, The Nativity at Night, c. 1490 — **Geertgen tot Sint Jans**, The Nativity at Night, c. 1490

The light of the child is so strong that a woman at the manger raises her hand against it. Mary, closest of all, is not dazzled. Above them angels tumble in on a cloud.

Correggio, The Holy Night, c. 1528–30 — **Correggio**, The Holy Night, c. 1528–30

Five people stand close around the sleeping child, and nobody speaks. Joseph shields a candle with his hand. A lamb stretches its head in between and nibbles at the straw.

Georges de La Tour, The Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1644 — **Georges de La Tour**, The Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1644