The paintings of the Nativity feature particularly characterful – and humorous – animals. Animals in Paintings of the Nativity

1. The paintings of the Nativity feature particularly characterful – and humourous – animals.
The most “famous” are the ox and the donkey, which warmed baby Jesus with their warm breath.
In the Adorations of the Child and in Adorations of the Shepherds witness the scene birds, sheeps and goats, dogs.
Peacock, goshawk, pheasant and magnificent horses appear in paintings of the Adoration of the Kings,
and in the splendid processions a veritable collection of exotic animals: leopards, camels, monkeys and even a giraffe.

2. Animals in Paintings of the Nativity

3. a ray of light and a star,
the manger where Jesus lies,
the donkey and the ox watch over Him
two shepherds dressed miserably,
two sheep, one goat,
guarded by a small, starving white dog
(It is really the very poor who will be the first to adore the Infant God)
Guido da Siena
La Nativité
Nativity
1270
Musée du Louvre, Paris

7. Mary and the child,
the joy of the angels,
the donkey and the ox,
the white sheep lying down, three rams, two ewes and a lamb
Animals participate in this adoration in all simplicity
but ...
If we look closely, Giotto shows us a black goat with an aggressive profile protruding behind the sheep.
Standing on his feet, ostensibly turning his back on the Child Jesus,
he seems a good candidate to portray, perhaps not the Devil, but at least the unbeliever who pollutes
the flock of the faithful.
(... However, the situation may not be so clear-cut: a sheep and a lamb are also looking to the right;
nevertheless, any smell of sulfur requires serious investigation ...)
Giotto di Bondone
No. 17 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 1. Nativity: Birth of Christ
N° 17 Scènes de la vie du Christ : 1. Nativité : Naissance du Christ
1304-1306
Cappella Scrovegni Arena Chapel, Padua

10. The Nativity is represented according to an apocryphal story of the Gospel:
the Virgin is reclining on her bed while two midwives are preparing to bathe the Infant …
witnessing the event are
Joseph deep in thought,
the ox and the ass at the manger
and
birds on the roof of the stable
Master of Salzburg Maître de Salzbourg
Nativity of Jesus
Nativité de Jésus
1400
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien

13. an unusual aspect ...
instead of warming the Child Jesus with his breath,
the ox and the ass turn their backs to the scene
Master of Flémalle, Maître de Flémalle, Robert Campin
La Nativité
The Nativity
1415-1430
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon

16. Botticelli here picks up the theme of Matthew and Luke that the birth of the Christ heralds his mission
and his death for the sins of the world.
The baby lies on a sheet that suggests the burial shroud his body
will be wrapped in a few years later
and an ox and ass behind him
…
the ass has a cross on his shoulder
and may refer to Christ’s entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of the week leading up to his death.
Sandro Botticelli
Mystic Nativity
La Nativité mystique
Natividad mística
1500
The National Gallery, London

19. This Adoration presents a number of compositional peculiarities:
angels take the place of the shepherds and Magi,
Joseph grazing a donkey and an ox appears in the distance in the landscape,
an white bird on the beam of the roof (a dove?), perhaps an allusion to the Holy Spirit
and
a mouse on a shelf behind the Virgin.
Piero Di Cosimo
The Adoration of the Christ Child
Adoration de l'Enfant avec saint Jean-Baptiste et anges musiciens
1510-1512
Galleria Borghese, Rome

23. The Virgin and Child,
Joseph,
two shepherds who have come to adore the Infant ...
and
tiny birds
and
a group of oxen, sheep, a goat
and
a pig,
the latter with a magpie on its back
Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece Maître du retable de Třeboň
Adorace Páně z Hluboké
The Adoration of Jesus
Adoration de Jesus
Before avant 1380
Alšova Jihočeská galerie, Hluboká nad Vltavou

27. a look of deep adoration of the ass and the ox
(the ox horn placed gently, kindly and politely behind the ass's ear …)
and
the unusual presence of an owl perched on the roof,
an unusual detail, since the owl was traditionally considered a bird of ill omen
(and thus would be a foreshadowing of Jesus' destiny)
and
a very strange dog,
which has the pose and features of a heraldic shield
(in fact, you might think that the painter drew his dog from an effigy
and not from a natural studio.)
Pietro di Giovanni d'Ambrogio
Adoration of the Shepherds between Saints Augustin and Galgano
Adoration des bergers entre saints Augustin et Galgano
Adoración de los pastores con san Agustín y san Galgano
1445
Palazzo Corboli Museum. Museo civico archeologico e d'arte sacra palazzo Corboli, Siena

31. The painting tells the story of the journey of the three wise men from the East
who followed the star to reach the baby Jesus ...
In front of the shelter of a ruined hut are St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary
and
the three kings kneeling before the child ...
In addition to the traditional oxen, donkeys, sheep,
this sumptuous religious setting includes
magnificent horses, a dog, a falcon in flight
and
a veritable collection of exotic animals: leopards, camels, monkeys
Gentile da Fabriano
Adoration of the Magi Altarpiece
L'Adoration des mages
1423
Gallerie degli Uffizzi, Florence

35. Following the three kings a splendid procession,
the people are on foot, a few ride horses or camels ...
looking at the scene
the ox and ass,
a dog resting on the grass
and
a large peacock and two other birds, which have been identified
as a goshawk seizing a pheasant.
Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi
The Adoration of the Magi
Adoration des mages dite Tondo Cook
1430
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

41. The adoration of the Magi in accordance with medieval iconography,
the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus, Joseph, and the three Magi …
they are witnesses to the scene:
shepherds with their flock of sheep,
the donkey and the ox, essential in medieval representations,
a dog with a collar
a bird,
an owl hiding in the shadow of a small opening
and
...
crows pecking at the skeleton of a dead animal
Hieronymus Bosch
The Adoration of the Magi
L'Adoration des mages
1475
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York City

48. The most unusual Adoration of the Magi in the history of European art
a monumental Mary,
the child Christ sitting on his lap,
the three Wise Men
an anti-Christ,
and
two concealed owls, one of them in the upper part of the hayloft,
gazing at the dead mouse and symbolizing of the evil nature of the fourth king
Jheronimus Bosch
The Adoration of the Magi
L'Adoration des Mages
1495
Museo del Prado, Madrid

52. Along with the traditional ox, donkey and flock of sheep, the dogs appear fairly frequently ...
in Jan Gossaert’s The Adoration of the Kings, two fashionable lapdogs
are depicted in the foreground; one plays with a bone,
the other looks on towards the Holy scene.
These dogs may have been included to give a sense of contemporaneity
to this religious moment, or perhaps as symbols of faithfulness.
Jan Gossaert
The Adoration of the Kings
L'Adoration des mages
1500-1515
National Gallery, London

56. A scene populated by slender and delicate figures, elegantly dressed
and determined to pay homage to the majesty of the Child.
there's no shortage of animals
ox and donkey,
the camel, the peacock, the dog
and also …
there is no lack of curious details, taken from the everyday world,
like that of the hunters who caught the hare and are now resting and drinking.
Even the dogs look happy.
Stefano da Verona
Adoration of the Magi
L’Adoration des Mages
1435
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

58. The wise men who, according to the Gospels, came from the East to adore the Christ Child …
The oldest king, a regal European, kneels before the Child and his mother.
The middle-aged Turkish potentate, wearing a turban, looks
toward the youngest ruler,
a vigorous African, attired in elegant 16th-century German fashion.
... In the distance, some of the kings' followers ride horses with very long necks,
surely the artist's attempt at camels!
Wilhelm Stetter
Adoration of the Three King
L'adoration des Rois
1526
Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

60. The Wise Men, present their gifts to the Holy Family ...
To accentuate the fact that the Wise Men come from the East,
the artist has added some exotic animals, including
a dromedary
and
a giraffe,
painted with almost miniaturist flair.
Amico Aspertini, attributed
Adoration of the Magi
L'Adoration des mages
Late 15th Century
Palatine Gallery, Pitti Palace

63. o.esqsegues@gmail.com
Animals in Paintings of the Nativity
Animaux dans les peintures de la Nativité
images and text credit www.
Music The Piano Guys What Child Is This (Piano & Electric Cello)
created olga_oes
thanks for watching
Merci M.C., merci Michel