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The Nativity

Creator

Italian Artist · 1563–1610

By traveling regularly, Francesco Vanni brought an art combining many influences to his native Siena. In its evolution away from Mannerism and its allegiance to the styles of Raphael, Federico Barocci, and the Carracci, Vanni's art had a lasting impact on Sienese painting. After training with his stepfather, Vanni went to Bologna, where he may have worked under Bartolommeo Passarotti. He absorbed

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Date: about 1600
Medium: Red wash over black chalk, heightened with white gouache; on an ocher prepared ground, squared in black chalk
Culture: Italian
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

A heavenly light emanating from the Christ child in the manger casts a glow over the faces of both his parents, who crouch before him in the gloom. As the Virgin Mary kneels beside her son's bed, lines of white gouache highlight the folds in her dress, her forehead, nose, and chin. An ox and an ass lean over her shoulder to nibble at the hay in the manger, ignoring the baby in the basket. The figure of Saint Joseph also glows from the light cast from the left, while his back remains in the inky darkness. Above the stable numerous angels and cherubs hover, watching the events below. The angel Gabriel floats in the center of the drawing, while the others cluster around in the clouds and even peak through the crib. The elaborate technique, high degree of detail, and squaring all lead scholars to believe that Francesco Vanni made this work in preparation for a painting, although no known work corresponds to it.

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