Giotto, Nativity

Description

The work follows ancient iconographic models, such as splitting the scene into two successive moments:  the Nativity  and the First Bath of the Child  performed by two women, one of whom is evidently Salome, the skeptical midwife mentioned in the apocryphal Gospels, with a meaning that seems to anticipate the Baptism of Christ, just as the manger refers to the death and resurrection of the Lord.  Joseph is secluded and thoughtful; Mary is sitting on a mattress and holds the Child who is clutched in swaddling clothes with her arms, and rays of gold fall on him. Under the slender hut, there is an elongated crib with animals and a circle of angels in adoration. Behind stands a high barren mountain, also with well-known Christmas symbolism, angels and shepherds.