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Title

Nativity

Flandes, Juan de (Posible procedencia de los Países Bajos, ca. 1465 - Palencia, ca. 1519)

Generic classification
Painting
Object
Painting
Date
1508-1519
Century
Cultural context / style
Flemish Painting
Dimensions
43 1/2 x 31 1/4 in.
Material
Panel
Technique
Oil Painting
Iconography / Theme
Nacimiento de Cristo
Provenance
Church of San Lázaro in Palencia (Palencia, Spain)
Current location
The National Gallery of Art, Washington (Washington, United States)
Inventory Number in Current Collection
1961.9.23
Object history

It is one of the four panels by Juan de Flandes that entered the National Gallery of Washington from the old altarpiece of St. Lazarus in Palencia. It was commissioned to Juan de Flandes by Sancho of Castile, who was Prince Don Juan's ayo, to decorate the chapel where he was to be buried. In the 18th century, the altarpiece was very deteriorated and was replaced by another one where six of Juan de Flandes' panels are included, among them, this one of the Nativity (Justi 1887). It was placed in the Epistle side, next to the Annunciation (National Gallery, Washington) and the Resurrection of Lazarus (Museo del Prado, Madrid). In 1952, it appeared in the Frederick Mont Gallery in New York. On February 11, 1953, it was acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation in New York and given to the National Gallery in Washington in 1961.

Description

Following the simplification seen in the scenes of Juan de Flandes for this altarpiece of St. Lazarus of Palencia, The Virgin kneeling and in prayer is placed as the main protagonist of the Nativity. In the center foreground, her mantle is spread to gather the naked body of the Child. Behind her, the mule and the ox in the manger, and St. Joseph, on his back looking towards the top of the ruins where they have taken refuge, seems to notice the presence of an owl. It is this animal of the night that sets the context of this episode where the announcement of the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds in the last plane has filled the scene with radiance as if it were daytime. The play of colors for the clothing of the main characters also serves the painter to create a unity with the rest of the scenes that are part of the same altarpiece, especially with the Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi (Washington).

* The relative location of dealers, antique shops, art galleries, and collectors leads us to the places where they were based or had one of their main headquarters. However, this does not always indicate that every artwork that passed through their hands was physically located there. In the case of antique dealers and art merchants, their business often extended across multiple territories; sometimes they would purchase items at their origin and send them directly to clients. Similarly, some collectors owned multiple residences, sometimes in different countries, where they housed their collections. It is often difficult to determine exactly where a specific piece was kept during its time in their possession. Consequently, the main location of the dealer or collector is indicated. These factors should be considered when interpreting the map. Refer to the object's history in each case.
Bibliography
  • (1959): Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, p. 266.
  • BERMEJO, Elisa (1962): Juan de Flandes, Instituto Diego Velázquez, del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, pp. 28-31.
  • BRANS, Jan V. L. (1953): "Juan de Flandes, pintor de la Reina y de Castilla", vol. 4, nº 21, Clavileño, pp. 29,32.
  • DE COO, Josef y REYNAUD, Nicole (1979): "Origen del retablo de San Juan Bautista atribuido a Juan de Flandes", nº 52, Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueologia, pp. 140-141.
  • EISLER, Colin (1977): Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian, Phaidon Press Ltd, Oxford, pp. 187-188.
  • GAYA NUÑO, Juan Antonio (1958): La pintura española fuera de España (historia y catálogo), Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, p. 148.
  • HAND, John Oliver (2004): National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington and New York, p. 59.
  • Hand, John Oliver y Wolff, Martha (1986): Early Netherlandish Painting. The Colletions of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue, Washington, pp. 125-133.
  • JUSTI, Carl (1908): Miscellaneen aus drei Jahrhunderten spanischen Kunstlebens, vol. 1, Grote, Berlín, p. 324.
  • JUSTI, Carl (1887): "Juan de Flandes, ein niederländischer Hofmaler Isabella der Katholischen", Jahrbuch der königlich Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, il. 167.
  • LURIE, Ann Tzeutschler (1976): "Birth and Naming of St. John the Baptist Attributed to Juan de Flandes: A Newly Discovered Panel from a Hypothetical Altarpiece", nº 63, Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, p. 127.
  • MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2021): "Arcadio Torres Martín y sus negocios al servicio del tráfico de obras de arte desde España a Estados Unidos", nº 374, Archivo Español de Arte, pp. 148-149.
  • MAYER, August L. (1909): "Studien zur Quattrocento-malerei in Nordwestkastilien", nº 32, Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft, p. 519.
  • POST, Chandler Rathfon (1933): A History of Spanish Painting, vol. 4, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts), pp. 45, 50.
  • POST, Chandler Rathfon (1958): A History of Spanish Painting, vol. 12 (The Catalan School in the Early Renaissance), nº 1, Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Massachusetts), pp. 615,618,620.
  • SILVA MAROTO, Pilar (2006): Juan de Flandes, Caja Duero, Salamanca, pp. 420-424.
  • VAN PUYVELDE, Leo (1962): La peinture flamande au siècle de Bosch et Breughel, Elsevier, París, p. 353.
  • VANDEVIVERE, Ignace (1967): La cathèdrale de Palencia et l'église paroissiale de Cervera de Pisuerga, Centre National de Recherches Primitifs Flamands, Bruselas, pp. 44-47.
  • WENIGER, Matthias (2011): Sittow, Morros, Juan de Flandes. Drei Maler Aus Dem Norden Am Hof Isabellas von Kastilien, Ludwig, Kiel, pp. 250-254.
Citation:

Ana Diéguez Rodríguez, "Nativity" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/220

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