The Nativity (detail) Tempera on panel, c.1492 by Ghirlandaio, Domenico (1449-94)
The subject of the Adoration of Christ is based on an episode following the Nativity, when Mary kneels in silent prayer over her newborn son. Joseph, shown balding and with a curly white beard, sits upon the ground behind the Christ Child. The ox and ass observe the baby from their derelict shelter in reference to the prophecy of Isaiah 1:3 ‘The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.’ Also recalled are the humble beginnings of the Redeemer’s birth in an animal’s stable near Bethlehem: Mary ‘… placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available …’ (Luke 2.8). By contrast, the Florentine artist Domenico Ghirlandaio has represented the background as a verdant landscape with lakes, hills and villages reminiscent of his native land of Tuscany. Emerging from the distant path and painted in miniscule detail, is the entourage of the Three Magi journeying from the East. Ghirlandaio’s painting emphasises the sheer humanity of the holy family, with their adoring gazes and expressions of wonder at the birth of Christ. The artist also seeks to convey an idea of perfect beauty in the mother’s child-like face. Divine light emanates from the sleeping child, illuminating Mary and Joseph as they gaze upon the God in their midst. Dressed in fashionable velvet cloth trimmed with gold-thread embroidery, the young mother also represents the ideal of womanhood and motherhood for the contemporary female viewers of the day.
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