Life of the Virgin: The Nativity

Martin Schongauer

Cleveland Museum of Art

The image depicts a black and white scene of a man, woman, and baby surrounded by a donkey, cow, and other animals. The man stands behind the donkey, wearing a robe and holding a staff in one hand and a lantern in the other. The woman sits to the left of the baby, on a stone floor, wearing a long robe. The baby lies on a cloth in front of her. A cow stands to the right of the baby. In the background, there are stone arches and stairs. Above the scene, three angels are flying. On the left side of the image, there are people standing behind the woman. The image is framed by a white border. The artist's initials "M+S" are written at the bottom center. The scene is a nativity scene. The title of the artwork is "The Nativity".