Más allá de las publicaciones que sostienen el techo estable de la Natividad, existe la representación de un episodio que tuvo lugar después (en la narración de los Evangelios) de la Adoración de los Magos, es decir, la Huida a Egipto. De hecho, es posible ver a María y al Niño sentados en un burro, acompañados por San José, que está a pie, después de que el ángel les advirtió que aparecían en el cielo, dentro de un anillo de luz púrpura, y emprendimos un viaje para escapar de la masacre de los inocentes, según lo ordenado por el rey Herodes.

Adoración de los Magos

1504

Óleo sobre madera, 99 x 113,5 cm.

Galerías Uffizi, Galería de Estatuas y Pinturas

Inv. 1890 no. 1434

This painting executed by Dürer in 1504 is a masterpiece of elegantly combined Nordic models and Italian influences. At this time, Dürer had already travelled to Italy once and was therefore familiar with ancient artworks and Italian art (in particular, the works by Mantegna, Bellini, and Leonardo). In Nuremberg (his birthplace), the young Durer had had occasion to see prints, coins, medals and engraved gems brought to the city, thanks to a busy trade with Northern Italy. In this Adoration, although taking the Nordic models into account (Dieric Bouts and David Gerardi, for its references to mixed architecture, to broken arches and precarious wooden structures), the master expresses his art in an “Italian-style” language, choosing to represent just a few, solidly constructed figures that move through a well-constructed space. The bearded king kneeling and bending towards the Child evokes, for example, Leonardo and specifically the Wise Man and the figure of the old man leaning out, both in the Adoration of the Magi at the Uffizi, recently restored and displayed in the Gallery after a lengthy absence. The king shown in profile is also rather Leonardesque in style, and is thought to be based on Dürer himself, a man with long, blond curls recalling the self-portrait at the Prado. The whole scene is described in elegant detail and search for particulars: fabrics, brocades, crowns and goblets (made by goldsmiths in Nuremberg), rubies, pearls, the Virgin’s veil, feathers, animals, and plants, all according to Flemish tastes from the other side of the Alps. The colour selection is also worth mentioning: in the foreground, the red, green and blue; in the background, the blue of sky and sea with a palette that becomes lighter and brighter as it opens out onto a fairy tale landscape, with knights and a village in the distance. The iconographic choice is focused on the main characters: the Virgin showing the Christ Child to the three Wise Men, who have brought gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. The painting is dated “1504” and signed with the artist’s monogram “AD”, on the grey stone placed in the foreground, near to the Virgin.

Adoration of the Child

1619-1620 c.

Oil on canvas, 95.5 × 131 cm

Uffizi Galleries, Gallery of Statues and Paintings

Inv. 1890 no. 739

This nativity scene is a work of Dutch painter Gerrit van Honthorst, also called Gherardo delle Notti because of his peculiar compositions in nocturnal lighting influenced by Caravaggio that he met in Rome in the first decades of the 17th century.

During his stay in Italy, Honthorst met Grand Duke Cosimo II de’ Medici, who bought some of his works in 1620, among which probably this canvas that now is on display at the Uffizi.

It depicts four figures next to the infant Jesus: the Madonna, St. Joseph and two angels totally immersed in adoration for the Child and deeply moved by the miracle they are witnessing.

A blinding light is spreading from the newborn’s body and illuminating the faces of the surrounding figures, thus making them come out from the dark background. It represents the divine light that soften each feature, in particular the facial ones of the Virgin.

On the right side of the canvas, St. Joseph is leaning against his cane and looking at the child with a mixed expression of love and joy. The two angels stand out on the left side: dressed in blue, one is crossing his hands on his chest in a gesture of humbleness, while the other, wearing a yellow tunic embellished with pearls in hems and a belt of red silk, is joining his hands in prayer.

The painting strikes the observer for the tenderness of the two angels bent over the manger. Their enchanted gaze is full of affection: their blushed cheeks and soft curls give more naturalness to their childlike faces. Their smiles are spontaneous like those portrayed from real life: indeed, painters often used their apprentices as models for their works.

Like the angels, also St. Joseph seems to be portrayed from real life: with a thick grizzled beard, his face is marked by wrinkles that show his advanced age, compared to that of the Virgin, and his fatigue due to his craft job.

Adoration of the Shepherds

1670-1680 c.

Oil on canvas, 73 × 88 cm

Uffizi Galleries, Palatine Gallery of Pitti Palace

Inv. 1890 no. 3430

The artwork in displayed in the Gallery of Statues (Palatine Gallery of Pitti Palace), on the occasion of Christmas Time.

At the centre of the painting, a group of shepherds and farmers is surrounding the Holy Family to pay homage to the child Jesus. In this way, it offers an intimate interpretation of the evangelical episode. The kind and devoted expressions, as well as the tender and significant gestures of the protagonists evoke the so-called “poetry of the affections”, according to the models of great masterpieces such as the Night by Correggio preserved in Dresden and the Nativity by Federico Barocci displayed at the Prado in Madrid.

Its small dimensions lead to suppose that it was a private devotional painting, differently from grandiose and solemn altarpieces like the Adoration of the Magi by Luca Giordano.

The light radiating from the Child dominates the scene and illuminates the surrounding figures. This kind of nocturnal lighting recalls Correggio, one of the first and important artists who used this style.

The focus of this work is on the general composition and landscape, whereas in the Nativity by Gerrit van Honthorst the attention is concentrated on the figures portrayed in the very foreground.

In the background, the sky is broken by flashes and streaked clouds seeming to predict a storm. This detail shows the clear interest of Mehus for the depiction of nature and atmospheric effects, two privileged aspects in the tradition of Northern painting.

At the centre of the scene, the Virgin is lifting a piece of sheet to cover her son. This extremely human gesture and the exchange of gazes between mother and son are patently inspired by the Night by Correggio.

Adoration of the Magi

1683-1685 c.

Oil on canvas, 190 × 122.5 cm

Uffizi Galleries, Palatine Gallery of Pitti Palace

Inv. Poggio Imperiale no. 155

The painting dates back to the period when the artist returned to Naples between his two visits in Florence (1682-1683 and 1685-1686).

The original location of the canvas explains its large dimensions and the vertical format: it was indeed conceived to decorate the altar built for the viceroy of Naples, 7th Marchese of Carpio, inside his family chapel. Later, Grand Duke Cosimo III bought it for his own collections.

In the middle of the scene, we can admire the Madonna with the Child and St. Joseph behind her. According to the tradition, he has the appearance of an old, bearded man, while Mary looks very young, nearly an adolescent. Dressed in sumptuous robes, the three wise men gather around them and offer their gifts to Christ.

In the background of a sky illuminated by a golden glow, numerous angels emerge from a whirl of clouds.

The vertical composition involves the observer and gives the painting a strong dynamism and a theatrical effect.

El artista expresa su fascinación por la pintura veneciana del siglo XVI creando una atmósfera cálida y brillante y utilizando colores intensos para la ropa realzada por brillantes luces reflejadas.

En primer plano, vestidos de acuerdo con su moda contemporánea, dos sirvientes asisten a la escena sagrada mientras hablan entre ellos: uno a la derecha es un joven páramo, el otro a la izquierda es un enano, es decir, personajes típicos en las cortes europeas en ese momento. hora. Gracias a estas dos figuras, Giordano puede introducir la vida cotidiana del período en la pintura.

Uno de los tres Reyes Magos, Gaspar, retratado de perfil frente a la Virgen, tiene rasgos fisionómicos muy característicos. Probablemente sea un retrato del patrón, cuyo nombre era efectivamente Gaspar.

Christmas is the time of year when Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, recognising in him the Messiah, the son of God, sent to save humankind. The Gospels tell that the Child was born in a stable, with a manger as his cradle, after his parents, Mary and Joseph, had been turned away from every inn where they had sought shelter. This story has captured and inspired the creative imagination of artists throughout time. Thus, the Nativity, together with the subsequent episode in the story, which is the arrival of the Three Wise Men celebrated on the 6th of January, has been depicted, carved and painted in miniature in thousands of different versions, according to the tastes of their period.

The small selection that follows is a journey into the theme of Christmas, through some masterpieces and lesser-known works chosen from the Uffizi Galleries’ collections, which amount to over 300 pieces on the subject of the Nativity or the Adoration of the Magi.

A small map with specific focuses to try out in order to enjoy a visit that is even more special than usual, but also to stop and think about an image that is famous all over the world, an icon that leads to meditate on man deeply, beyond his social status, origin or skin colour.

Please note: each image in this virtual tour may be enlarged for more detailed viewing. 

Adoration of the Magi

Late 15th Century

Oil on wood, 57 x 44.8 cm

Uffizi Galleries, Palatine Gallery of Pitti Palace

Inv. 1912 no. 341

This small panel, commissioned by the Cetona branch of the Vitelli family from Città di Castello (as shown by the emblem painted in the two bottom corners) joined the Medici collections in 1675, when it was bought by Cardinal Leopoldo. For centuries, it was attributed to Pinturicchio or to the Umbrian School generically. However, after restoration in 1997, the theory was put forward that this is actually a work by Amico Aspertini, painted in Rome at the close of the 15th century. Like other paintings by the Bolognese artist, this Adoration shows great creative verve, characterized by a desire to try out new forms that could “change” the stylistic trends of the period, all focused on the slightly mechanical repeat of Raphaelesque manners.

This is evident in the delicate, slim figures of the Wise Men, who present their gifts to the Holy Family, on the right-hand side of the painting. With their contemporary clothing, made in the richest of fabrics (velvets and silks in bright, almost iridescent colors), and with precious gold trims, they conclude a procession in which numerous elegant and noble personages take part. Given their characteristic features and their important position in the composition, it should not be excluded that some of them (for example, the man with white hair, dressed in a brown tunic and the man in the red hat, immediately behind the Wise Men) are portraits of people who really existed, perhaps those who commissioned the work.

Considerado como un precursor del manierismo, Aspertini muestra un estilo original que también es bastante evidente en la forma en que representa la naturaleza en el fondo. De hecho, parte de los elementos típicos de los paisajes de Umbría (árboles delgados y alargados con un denso follaje de hojas diminutas y una luz pálida que difumina suavemente los contornos del fondo) para reinterpretarlos de manera innovadora, dando, por ejemplo , más robustez y más claroscuros contrastan con las rocas que son casi un telón de fondo arquitectónico para la procesión en movimiento.

Para acentuar el hecho de que los Reyes Magos han venido del Este, el artista ha agregado algunos animales exóticos, incluida una jirafa y un dromedario, pintados con un toque casi miniaturista.