Fra Angelico, Nativity

Description

The Nativity is composed in a semicircle with the Child in the center and the figures arranged around him in an act of adoration. It is represented, from the left, St. Catherine of Alexandria, the Virgin, St. Joseph and St. Peter Martyr. The background of the hut creates a flat backdrop that avoids any distraction that takes the mind away from the confines of the scene. The purpose of the work was, after all, to inspire the meditation of the friars, rather than being a mere decoration of the cella. The work is part of a cycle of frescoes created between about 1438 and 1445, in collaboration with other artists. The ox and the donkey are intent on eating from the manger inside the hut and above it are depicted four angels. What characterized Angelico was the use of a delicate chromaticism and a wise use of light, in fact he was considered one of the "painters of light".