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The Virgin of the Nativity

Workshop of Filippino Lippi Italian
probably ca. 1500
Not on view
The picture is a fragment of a Nativity, the original composition of which is known from an early-sixteenth-century copy in the Musée du Petit Palais in Avignon. The Virgin was shown kneeling on the pavement adoring the Christ Child, who was embraced by the infant Saint John the Baptist. Saint Joseph was behind the infants, and two shepherds appeared to the right behind a broken stone wall. There are minor differences between the present picture and that at Avignon, but they conform in essential features, and there can be no doubt that the present picture was conceived as a small tondo.

The picture probably dates from about 1500. The frame is a twentieth century reproduction.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Virgin of the Nativity
  • Artist: Workshop of Filippino Lippi (Italian, Prato ca. 1457–1504 Florence)
  • Date: probably ca. 1500
  • Medium: Tempera and gold on wood
  • Dimensions: 12 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (32.4 x 24.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Donald S. Klopfer, 1982
  • Object Number: 1982.73
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Virgin and Child Attended by Angels, Filippino Lippi Italian, Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, highlighted with white gouache
Virgin and Child Attended by Angels
Filippino Lippi
1457/58–1504
Standing Male Figure, Filippino Lippi Italian, Soft metalpoint, highlighted with white gouache (some touches of black chalk probably added by later hand)
Standing Male Figure
Filippino Lippi
ca. 1480
The Descent from the Cross, Filippino Lippi Italian, Tempera on wood
The Descent from the Cross
Filippino Lippi
Standing Youth with Hands Behind His Back, and a Seated Youth Reading (recto); Two Studies of Hands (verso), Filippino Lippi Italian, Metalpoint, highlighted with white gouache, on pink prepared paper (recto); metalpoint, on pink prepared paper (verso)
Standing Youth with Hands Behind His Back, and a Seated Youth Reading (recto); Two Studies of Hands (verso)
Filippino Lippi
1457/58–1504
St. Joseph with the Christ Child and St. John the Baptist, Filippino Lippi Italian, Pen and brown ink, heightened with white on prepared paper
St. Joseph with the Christ Child and St. John the Baptist
Filippino Lippi
ca. 1500

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