The Bible in Pictures

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.

Alberto Pratoneri ordered the altarpiece in 1522 for his family chapel in San Prospero in Reggio Emilia. In 1640 the Duke of Modena had it taken from the church, and in 1746 it was sold to Dresden together with a hundred of the best pictures of the Este collection.

A woman screws up her face and lifts her hand against the glare.

A woman screws up her face and lifts her hand against the glare.

Mary bends over the child. She is lit most brightly of all, and she alone does not blink.

Mary bends over the child. She is lit most brightly of all, and she alone does not blink.