PAINTINGS OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS

Some biblical scholars argue that Jesus' birth happened in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem.

They point out that there is no historical record of a census at that time, and that even if there had been, Joseph and Mary would have registered at their home town, Nazareth, not at their ancestral town. Registering at the ancestral town, if required, would have caused nation-wide chaos.

They suggest that the story of Jesus' birth at Bethlehem was an imaginative invention used to connect Jesus of Nazareth with the promised Messiah, who would come from the House of David in Bethlehem.

Whatever the truth of this, artists have celebrated the birth of Jesus in many different ways. Here are some interesting, and in some ways unusual, paintings of the Birth of Christ:

Adoration of the Shepherds, George de la Tour, 1644

George de la Tour  was famous for the way he used light - both in a real and symbolic sense. Here he paints a group of Jewish peasants drawn as if by a magnetic force to the Infant Jesus - the Light of the World. Their faces reflect  wonder at the miracle of new life. 

The viewer stands a little way from the quiet, reverent group, aware of the significance of the newborn child. The focus on this tiny swaddled figure is complete.

 Virgin and Child, Geertgen tot Sint Jans, 1488
The egg as a universal symbol of new life

The Nativity, Giotto, Scrovegni Chapel
A delighted Mary plays with her new baby

Detail from the Marienaltar, Tafel
A flurry of angels tends to Mary after the birth of Jesus

The Nativity, Paul Gauguin, 1896
Mary as a Pacific Islander who has just given birth

Nativity with Sts Francis and Lawrence, Caravaggio, 1609
An exhausted Mary slumps on the floor after giving birth

 Birth of Christ, Federico Barocci, 1597
A cleary delighted Joseph calls the shepherds in to see the new baby

 Birth of Christ, Gerard van Honthorst, 1622
Everyone around Jesus is bathed in the light that emanates from him

 Birth of Christ, Conrad von Soest, 1403
Joseph prepares some warm food for Mary after she has given birth

For more paintings of the Nativity, see Bible Art: the Birth of Christ