The Nativity and Other Episodes from the Childhood of Christ

This scene, which probably formed part of a group of panels devoted to the life of Christ, brings together in one spatial setting various episodes from Christ's childhood, giving the painting great narrative interest. Along with the Nativity (treated in the traditional manner of the period, with the Virgin lying down and Joseph on a lower level), the artist has also included the shepherds in the background, two women washing the new-born Christ, and the Adoration of the Magi.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes): Gregorian sequence