Updated 14 May 2025
Currently not on display
Currently not on display
The Nativity
| Date | 1471-73 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | engraving |
| Watermarks | the head of bull (Briquet 15068) |
| Size（cm） | 25.8 x 17.0 |
| Inscriptions | Monogram: M+S |
| Standard ref. | Bartsch 4; Lehrs 5. |
| Category | Prints |
| Collection Number | G.1980-0002 |
This copper engraving is one of the early works by the 15th century German painter and printmaker Schongauer. The characteristics of his early works are the way both sides of the monogram "M" are upright, the compositional elements are rather overcrowded, the hatching is unhomogeneous, and the right-hand side of the image is shadowed (assuming the light source is at the left). Schongauer's works strongly reflect the influence of early Flemish painting and are depicted in marked detail. Together with "The Adoration of the Magi"," The Flight to Egypt", and "The Death of the Virgin", this print is regarded part of an unfinished series of "The Life of the Virgin Mary". Whether Schongauer intended to create other works in addition to these four scenes remains unknown. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Purchased by the NMWA, 1981.
Exhibition History
- 1997
- Resonating Love and Life: European Art from National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, The Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Nagaoka, 12 April 1997 - 18 May 1997, cat. no. 46
Bibliography
- 1982
- Annual Bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. No. 15 (1980), 1982, Mayekawa, Seiro. On the New Acquisitions 1980. pp. 17-20, Catalogue of the New Acquisitions 1980. p. 26, repr.
- 1989
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1989 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), cat. no. 113