# Nativity [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BUGLIONI, Santi]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Glazed and polychromed terracotta, diameter 68 cm ## Commentary Depicting not only the Holy Family in adoration but also, in the background, the Annunciation to the Shepherds and their journey to the stable, the relief combines familial intimacy with narrative ambition. Its use of perspective set within a simple, almost monochrome, colour scheme serves to clarify the narrative, creating an effective communication with the viewer. Benedetto and Santi Buglioni were artistic competitors to the Della Robbia family. The Buglioni workshop created largely original compositions, drawing from contemporary Florentine masters in sculpture and painting such as Bernardo Rossellino, Benedetto da Maiano, and Domenico Ghirlandaio. The detail and vivacity of the modelling of the present relief, as seen in the elaborate cityscape and precise anatomy of the figures, indicate the hand of Santi Buglioni, Benedetto's nephew and successor. Santi was the last practitioner of the art of glazed terracotta and enjoyed a distinguished career of his own. ## Related artworks - [Façade with Loggia \(detail\)]() - [Façade with Loggia]() - [Seated Virgin]() - [Seven Acts of Mercy \(detail\)]() - [Seven Acts of Mercy \(detail\)]() - [Seven Acts of Mercy \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()