JACOPO DI CIONE
(b. ca. 1325, Firenze, d. ca. 1399, Firenze)

San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece: The Nativity

1370-71
Egg tempera on wood, 96 x 49 cm
National Gallery, London

The panel representing the Nativity with the Annunciation to the Shepherds is one of the six upper tier panels of the altarpiece. The Annunciation to the Shepherds in the background, painted in a brownish monochrome, represents one of the earliest attempts to show illumination in a night scene against the gold-leaf background of a panel painting.