The Birth of Jesus, The Adoration of The Shepherds and The Adoration of the Three Wise Men, S.XX
Mateo 2, 1a; 2,10
Further images
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 1
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 2
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 3
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 4
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 5
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 6
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 7
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 8
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 9
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 10
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 11
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 12
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 13
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 14
)
-
(View a larger image of thumbnail 15
)
While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the main room of the house. [...]After the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another: “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. (Luke 2, 6–7; 2,15–16) Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod. [...] What great joy they felt: they had seen the star again! When they entered the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; they knelt down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2, 1a; 2,10)
This scene is the heart of the entire collection; it brings together three biblical passages narrated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke: the birth of Jesus, the adoration of the shepherds, and the adoration of the Wise Men.
Nieva represented in great detail the shepherds, the Wise Men and the angels around the new-born child. We see a tender, smiling Mary seated, presenting the swaddled baby laid in a manger, while Joseph stands nearby, gazing at the child.
The ox and the donkey are present; they are mentioned in the apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which links them to a prophecy from Isaiah that reproaches the people of Israel for not recognizing their God, while the animals do. These animals appear in medieval iconography and gained popularity thanks to the visions of Bridget of Sweden.
While the multitude of angels present in the cave at Bethlehem has been a common motif since the medieval period, bearing witness to the divinity of the baby, the presence of archangels at the birth, identified by their crowns, is perhaps a legacy of a pious tradition preserved during the Baroque era by the nun of Agreda and frequently found in New Spanish representations.
Finally, our gaze reaches the Eternal Father on His throne, crowned with the papal tiara, watching the entire scene with delight from above.