# Nativity

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/nativity-r3146c29ca13561>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [VOS, Marten de](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40>)
- Date: 1551-1600
- Technique: Oil on panel, 106 x 75 cm

## Commentary

Three little angels kneel with Mary and Joseph in worship of the newborn Child. The ox and the ass stand behind them. Other angels in the distance announce the birth of Christ to a group of shepherds. The ruin behind Joseph symbolises the defeat of paganism by the coming of the Saviour. The artist has made the symbolism even plainer by including a relief in the classical ruin - a recumbent female nude, possibly Venus, and several playful little naked figures. These represent the pagan world and &#39;impure&#39;, earthly love, as opposed to the divine love in which Christ was conceived. Marten de Vos spent some time in Italy, where he familiarised himself with the new art of the Renaissance. This is apparent in details like the lively poses, the realistic approach to the anatomy and the references to classical antiquity. The divided upper zone, one half containing an architectural setting and the other a deep landscape, was also typical of 16th-century Venetian art. &lt;P&gt; &lt;TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR=&#34;\#99CCCC&#34;&gt; &lt;TR VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;IMG SRC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 22 minutes\):&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A HREF=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/16\_cent/tallis\_mass.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;B&gt;Thomas Tallis: Mass \(Puer natus est\)&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;

## Related artworks

- [Allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/allegory-of-the-seven-liberal-arts-r3e4dd70c7e8dca>)
- [Christ Triumphant over Death and Sin](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/christ-triumphant-over-death-and-sin-rea45d6490fd1f7>)
- [Portrait of Antonius Anselmus, His Wife and Their Children](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/portrait-of-antonius-anselmus-his-wife-and-their-children-r9386ab66c2a9bf>)
- [Return from the Flight to Egypt](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/return-from-the-flight-to-egypt-rabbc65d02a781c>)
- [Scene from the Life of the Virgin](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/scene-from-the-life-of-the-virgin-rfc148ac398e4ff>)
- [St Luke Painting the Virgin Mary](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/st-luke-painting-the-virgin-mary-rad542b43b89bb1>)
- [St Paul Bitten by a Viper on the Island of Malta](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/st-paul-bitten-by-a-viper-on-the-island-of-malta-r94b7021c26e24c>)
- [The Emperor&#39;s Toll](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/the-emperors-toll-rbc239dcb853bc6>)
- [The Family of St Anne \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/the-family-of-st-anne-detail-r94f71dc4536cd9>)
- [The Family of St Anne](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/the-family-of-st-anne-r662d7ba4bd18ac>)
- [The Marriage at Cana](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/the-marriage-at-cana-r2603d5cddfddac>)
- [The Rape of Europa](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/vos-marten-de-r0f6dcc1feb9b40/the-rape-of-europa-r797315f087a1b7>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)