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| Title | Nativity | |
| Collection | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Artist | Attributed to Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi (Netherlandish painter, active ca. 1470-1480) Previously attributed to Memling, Hans (early Netherlandish painter, ca.1433-1494) |
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| Date Earliest | about 1460 | |
| Date Latest | about 1480 | |
| Description | The thin, naked form of the Christ Child lies on the dark blue cloak of the Virgin who kneels in adoration. The composition is based on a vision of St. Bridget of Sweden,When all was ready she bent her knees and began to pray. While she was thus praying with hands raised the child was suddenly born, surrounded by a light so bright that it completely eclipsed Joseph's feeble candle.The fifteenth century Flemish town glimpsed through the window of the stable is a device calculated to give meaning and immediacy to the story of Christ's birth. |
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| Current Accession Number | 1973P7 | |
| Former Accession Number | P.7´73 | |
| Subject | religion (Nativity; Luke 2) | |
| Measurements | 58.4 x 50.1 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on panel | |
| Acquisition Details | Bequeathed by John Heathcote-Amory 1973. | |
| Provenance | Heathcote-Armory Collection, acquired before 1965. | |
| Principal Exhibitions | Summer Exhibition, Agnew's, 1948, cat. no. 7. | |
| Publications | Friedländer, M. J., Memling, vol. 1, 1949, pp. 4, 10, 11; F. M. Godfrey, 'The Heathcoate-Amory Collection',Apollo, vol. 71, 1965, pp.140-143; Friedländer, M. J., Early Netherlandish Painting, 1971, 6, pp.15-16, 113, ill.; Eisler, C., Paintings from the S. H. Kress Collection, European School excluding Italian, 1977, pp. 57 - 60; Foreign Paintings in Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, A Summary Catalogue, 1983, no. 99; Wolf, M. and Hand, J., The Collections of the National Gallery of Art, Systematic Catalogue: Early Netherlandish Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1986, pp. 155-161. | |
| Notes | Current attribution made by Wolf and Hand. The artist identified as the Master of the Prado Adoration of the Magi was 'strongly influenced by Rogier van der Weyden. He probably knew the work of Memling and was in contact with the Master of the Saint Catherine Legend' (Wolf and Hand, 1986). | |
| Rights Owner | Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery | |
| Author | Dr Patricia Smyth | |