Mystic Nativity by Sandro Botticelli was created in 1500. The painting is in National Gallery, London. The size of the work is 108,6 x 74,9 cm and is made as an oil on canvas.
The infant Christ reaches up towards the Virgin Mary, oblivious of his visitors – the Three Kings on the left and the shepherds on the right. The golden dome of heaven has opened up and is circled by 12 angels holding olive branches entwined with scrolls and hung with crowns. In the foreground, three pairs of angels and men embrace; among their feet demons scuttle for shelter in the underworld through cracks in the rocks. The Greek inscription mentions ‘the troubles of Italy’, a reference to the invasion of the French, who took Naples in 1494 and Milan in 1499, and to the civil strife in Florence itself. (Read more in National Gallery, London)
About the Artist: Italian painter of the Early Renaissance Sandro Botticelli was born the city of Florence. From around 1461 or 1462 Botticelli was apprenticed to Fra Filippo Lippi. In 1472 Botticelli took on his first apprentice, the young Filippino Lippi, son of his master. Botticelli and Filippino’s works from these years, including many Madonna and Child paintings, are often difficult to distinguish from one another… Read more
