Joseph Kneels with the Child before Mary on the Donkey

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo

National Gallery of Art

This print shows a group of people gathered under a tall tree with a wide canopy. Slightly to the left of center, a woman is seated on a donkey. She wears a billowing white dress with a white cloth covering her hair, and there is a large halo around her head. She is looking down and to the right, where a man kneels on the ground next to her, looking up at her. The man also wears billowing robes and has a beard and a mustache. In his arms he cradles a young child. Several people with large wings surround the group, with one on the left behind the donkey's head, and one on the right holding a cloth up behind the kneeling man. On the far right, near the bottom right corner, a person sits at the base of the large tree, looking to the left towards the group. This person wears a puffy hat or bonnet, a long dress, and a thick dark cloak on their shoulders. They sit next to a large basket containing round objects. Next to this person is a dog that also looks left. Behind this person is a tall stone wall, and on the left the background opens up to a clear sky. The ground is covered with dark, crosshatching lines.