Dublin Core
Title
Nativity
Subject
Mary
Jesus Christ
Saint Joseph
Baroque
Male Artists
Jesus Christ
Saint Joseph
Baroque
Male Artists
Description
About two decades after Fontana’s “Holy Family with Saints Margaret and Francis”, Federico Barocci produced a “Nativity”. Both works dealt with the Holy Family as subjects which is the primary impetus for their comparison. On a deeper level, both Fontana and Barocci received commissions for altarpieces in prominent churches around the turn of the 16th century so considering their treatment of religious subjects and themes will hopefully give broader insight to Fontana’s career and the tastes of the time.
While Fontana’s “Holy Family” evokes allusions to Renaissance Nativity scenes, Barocci’s spatial arrangement differs, with the foreground and lighting appearing in the right half of the painting. Mary takes center stage, although her garments are a brighter, less realistic looking pink when compared to Fontana’s portrayal. Her face is also inclined towards her Child, reducing the visibility of her features. Jesus is a less-active subject, receiving his Mother’s gaze in the crib and immobilized by swaddling. He is not asleep, but can be seen softly smiling, looking at an unknown point somewhere out of the painting.
Barocci’s painting has a much more active background, and the lighting change between front and back is less pronounced with the painting overall darker than “The Holy Family”. Joseph seems to be inviting shepherds into the stable, and he is oriented away from Mary and Jesus. Barocci uses more negative space effectively to draw the viewer’s gaze away from the Mother and Child and into an unknown (to the viewer and Jesus) outside world to which Joseph is opening the door. Fontana more subtly shifts the viewer’s gaze to the other with Jesus’ hand oriented upwards, along the vertical lines created by the background curtains.
While Fontana’s “Holy Family” evokes allusions to Renaissance Nativity scenes, Barocci’s spatial arrangement differs, with the foreground and lighting appearing in the right half of the painting. Mary takes center stage, although her garments are a brighter, less realistic looking pink when compared to Fontana’s portrayal. Her face is also inclined towards her Child, reducing the visibility of her features. Jesus is a less-active subject, receiving his Mother’s gaze in the crib and immobilized by swaddling. He is not asleep, but can be seen softly smiling, looking at an unknown point somewhere out of the painting.
Barocci’s painting has a much more active background, and the lighting change between front and back is less pronounced with the painting overall darker than “The Holy Family”. Joseph seems to be inviting shepherds into the stable, and he is oriented away from Mary and Jesus. Barocci uses more negative space effectively to draw the viewer’s gaze away from the Mother and Child and into an unknown (to the viewer and Jesus) outside world to which Joseph is opening the door. Fontana more subtly shifts the viewer’s gaze to the other with Jesus’ hand oriented upwards, along the vertical lines created by the background curtains.
Creator
Barocci, Federico
Source
Turner, Nicholas. “A Nativity by Barocci at Chatsworth for Paintings in the Prado and Formerly in the Rasini Collection.” Master Drawings 51, no. 2 (2013): 189–94. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43705947.
This source contextualizes the "Nativity" by Barocci with respect to Barocci's process of ideating on Nativity scenes and how this work can serve as an addition to the patron's collection. Notably, this argument references sketches which Barocci made of Nativity scenes prior to creating this painting. The differences between these and the paintings revealed messages which Barocci found important to present or omit in a final version. Furthermore, another work from the patron's collection was presented as a secular analog based on their similarities in lighting, color, and spatial interplay.
This source contextualizes the "Nativity" by Barocci with respect to Barocci's process of ideating on Nativity scenes and how this work can serve as an addition to the patron's collection. Notably, this argument references sketches which Barocci made of Nativity scenes prior to creating this painting. The differences between these and the paintings revealed messages which Barocci found important to present or omit in a final version. Furthermore, another work from the patron's collection was presented as a secular analog based on their similarities in lighting, color, and spatial interplay.
Publisher
Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino
Federico Barocci (1526-1612). Nativity. Images, n.d. https://jstor.org/stable/community.18144831.
Federico Barocci (1526-1612). Nativity. Images, n.d. https://jstor.org/stable/community.18144831.
Date
1597
Contributor
Kyle Campbell
Rights
Photo Credit: Erich Lessing/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.
Format
134 cm x 105 cm
oil on canvas
oil on canvas
Type
Painting
Coverage
Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain