The Nativity
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/8 × 6 1/4 in. (21.2 × 15.9 cm) Plate: 6 3/4 × 4 15/16 in. (17.2 × 12.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.634.11
Tags
Art Historical Context
This engraving of *The Nativity*, created between 1585 and 1600, captures the sacred moment of Christ’s birth through the collaborative efforts of painter Bartholomeus Spranger and engraver Pieter de Jode I. Spranger, a leading Flemish artist of the late Renaissance, often worked in the elegant, elongated Mannerist style, while de Jode specialized in translating such compositions into detailed prints. The result is a finely crafted image that brings together the Virgin Mary, the infant Jesus, and attendant saints in a scene of quiet reverence. As an engraving, this work belongs to a medium pr...