GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

No. 7 Scenes from the Life of the Virgin: 1. The Birth of the Virgin

1304-06
Fresco, 200 x 185 cm
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

The six scenes on the wall opposite to the scenes from the life of Joachim show the Birth of the Virgin, the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, and the four episodes pertaining to her marriage: the Rods brought to the Temple, the Prayer of the Suitors, the Marriage of the Virgin and the Wedding Procession.

The birth of the Virgin takes place in the same house as the annunciation to Anne. In the small room, somewhat too narrow for the figures, Anne sits up in bed and is handed the baby in its swaddling clothes by a nursemaid. The child appears for a second time in the idyllic scene in front of the mother's bed. As in the Annunciation scene, Giotto also shows the view of the building from outside. He does not divide interior and exterior, but connects them using the two women.