Nativity

The Child lies on the hem of Mary's dark mantle, with little winged cherubs around him, while Joseph, an old man in a red cloak, raises his arm and points upward. What he points at is the busiest part of the picture. The stable has been built into a ruined stone arch, and angels are climbing down a wooden ladder with bundles of straw. More angels perch on top of the arch, holding a banderole between them. A cooking pot hangs from a chain beneath a plank shelf, and two white doves rest on a beam. Through the opening behind, shepherds peer over a wooden partition. Further off, past a hillside dotted with sheep, rise blue mountains with white peaks. The ox lies at Mary's side, and the donkey's head appears just behind her mantle.