The Birth of Christ by Albrecht Altdorfer was created between 1500 – 1530. The painting is in Gemäldegalerie Berlin. The size of the work is 36,2 x 25,8 cm and is made of oil on wood.
About the Work
The Holy Family has found a makeshift home, almost hidden, on the lower floor of the ruins of the stable. Mary and Joseph worship the child, who is carried in a shawl by three angels. Joseph holds his hand protectively over the candle flame, which threatens to go out in the draught. In fact, this is intended to suggest that the supernatural light of the divine child outshines the glow of the earthly light. Surrounded by a brightly shining aureole, the star stands above the stable in Bethlehem and illuminates the darkness of the night. Next to it, three angels hover in the sky, singing the ‘Gloria’.
Another has appeared in the background on the left in a cloud of light to announce the joyous event of Christ’s birth to a shepherd in the field. The small picture is filled with unearthly light, which is reflected by the foliage of the tree, the ruined walls of the stable and even the grasses on the ground. It creates a dreamlike, mysterious atmosphere that transports the events of Christmas Eve away from reality. Read more in Gemäldegalerie Berlin
About the Artist
The German Renaissance painter Albrecht Altdorfer was born in Regensburg in 1480. He started giving his first works since 1506. Altdorfer is the principal representative of the Danube school. He is the first European painter to treat Landscape painting as a separate species. Beginning with his first works, he found intuitive harmony between landscape and figures in terms of color. the Passion of Christ (1511, Sankt Florian) is the first work in which he uses lighting games to create a dramatic atmosphere.
In “The Birth of Virgin” (1520, Munich, Alte Pinakothek) the landscape and architecture play an even more important role without disturbing the privacy of the subject. Altdorfer’s most admirable work, The Battle of Alexander at Issus painting (1529, Munich), seems to have flashed the colorful genius of the artist, from a viewpoint that shows the end of the world. The “Lut and the Girls” chart (1537, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum) can be considered a masterpiece of renaissance with the importance given to the human body. Read more
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