Lot 2007 Dα

This nocturnal scene in a church-like interior is illuminated by a single source of light emanating from the body of the Christ Child. This supernatural light shines brightly upon the Virgin and the angels who, together with the ox and the donkey, gather around the Child lying in the manger. It also touches the three shepherds who are watching the heavenly events in a window niche. The source for this depiction is found in the writings of St. Bridget of Sweden, a 14th century mystic. In her vision of the birth of Christ, which takes place at midnight in Bethlehem, a divine radiance (splendor divinus) emanates from the newborn Christ, casting a warm glow on the faces of Mary and the angels.



This panel with the Nativity is the central panel of a lost triptych. The RKD in The Hague has registered the work with both side panels under number 58519 (ill. 1): St. Joseph holding a candle, behind him the Annunciation to the shepherds (left wing) and angels playing music (right wing).

The attribution of the triptych to the school of Gerard David or possibly to Michel Sittow (1468-1525), which we adopt here, requires further investigation. However, it can be assumed that the panel was created in Bruges in the early 16th century. Michael Weniger has been critical in a study of a group of four paintings depicting the Nativity ascribed to Sittow, attributing the paintings not to Sittow himself but to various other artists. Gerard David, among others, played a key role in the development and dissemination of this compositional scheme, which is generally believed to be based on a lost depiction by Hugo van der Goes. There are several Nativities from the last quarter of the 15th century and the first quarter of the 16th century that are attributed to David's workshop, circle or followers.

The Nativity by Night in Upton House, Warwickshire, The Bearsted Collecion (The National Trust) is attributed to Michel Sittow and may be considered the finest of the paintings of this subject associated with the artist (see John Oliver Hand in exhibition catalogue Michel Sittow: Estonian painter at the courts of renaissance Europe, National Gallery of Art, Washington (D.C.), 28th January 2018 - 13th May 2018, pp. 102-105, no. 19). Unlike most other versions of the subject but consistent with our panel, the figure of Joseph standing behind Mary and covering a candle with his hand is lacking here. However, it was included on the left side wing of the triptych, which is missing today. Compositionally, our picture is otherwise closely related to an Adoration of the Child by Night attributed to Gerard David in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (GNr. 627a, inv. 587B).