The Nativity, by Lorenzo Lotto (Venice, ca. 1480 – Loreto, ca. 1556), depicts the subject of the Birth of Jesus with an unusual iconography that features, as well as the Holy Family, the character of an old midwife in the foreground.
The intimate and quiet scene is set inside a humble stable, with a nocturnal setting inspired by the models from Northern Europe that were circulating in Venice around that period. A master experimenter with light, Lotto uses two different light sources – one is the halo radiating from the Child, which is reflected on the Virgin Mary and part of the midwife’s face, evocatively highlighting a number of objects too. The sudden gleams of light reveal a deep and bright colour palette, ranging from the blues and reds of the Virgin Mary to the green and dusty pink of the midwife, to the light blue, yellow and gold of Saint Joseph.
The second source of light is the fire from the hearth in the background, which also features a backlit female character.
The tone of the scene is cosy and homey, with affectionate and spontaneous gestures that create an intensely spiritual atmosphere, also thanks to the interplay of gazes between the characters.
