Page of The Nativity by SCHONGAUER, Martin in the Web Gallery of Art, a searchable image collection and database of European paintings and sculptures (1100-1850)

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The Nativity

c. 1470
Engraving, 257 x 171 mm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

In Schongauer's art may be found a transition between the final - and possibly finest - expression of the Gothic and medieval dream, and the first tentative reaching toward Humanist ideals, soon to come to fruition in the works of Schongauer's admirer, Albrecht Drer.

Schongauer, like Drer and others, received his first training as a goldsmith. A man of many talents, he explored other fields and also became a painter of note. Fortunately, a number of his paintings have survived, and documents indicate that there were many more. His training as a painter is evident in his engravings, where subtle relationships of tone and "colour" are suggested by the skillful gradations from black to white.

In this engraving, The Nativity, the Gothic storytelling element remains strong. As used in Classical times and throughout the Middle Ages, the tale is told by means of a convention called "continuous narrative." Thus, if we look through the pointed arch at the back we see the angel announcing his message to a shepherd. The Nativity takes place, not in a manger, but in the ruins of a vaulted Gothic edifice; this allows the shepherds to move forward to the next stage, and view the scene through an arched aperture.

Schongauer anticipates Drer's love for such details as the vines overgrowing the ruin, the accurately observed plants growing between the stones in the foreground, and grasses sprouting from crevices. The Virgin, melancholy and ideally beautiful, gazes adoringly at the Child. Joseph holds a lamp to indicate that this scene takes place at night; he has eyes only for Mary. In the upper right-hand corner three angels flutter over the arch, to herald the miracle with their singing.

Schongauer's mastery of the art of perspective and of sophisticated composition is evident in this beautiful engraving. There is superb control, too, in his handling of the burin, using crosshatching in the dark areas, and parallel lines, flicks, and broken lines to suggest the textures of soft robes, weathered stones, and human and animal flesh.