The Nativity

This painting was made very late in the artist’s career, after he had withdrawn to a monastery near Brussels to live as a lay brother.

The Nativity combined with the Adoration by the shepherds was a popular theme in medieval art, but this artist’s version has something new: in his picture, theological doctrine becomes a human drama.

Angels gather around Mary and the Child in his cradle.

With curiosity and joy, the shepherds hurry in from the left and fall to their knees before the miracle occurring right in front of their eyes...

…or perhaps it would be more accurate to say they freeze mid-stride, wearing stunned expressions. One shepherd’s mouth is still half open after his tiring sprint.

The scene is framed by two half-figures on either side, whose large size serves to separate them from the rest of the figures.

They have been identified as prophets who are opening the curtain that concealed the arrival of the Messiah.

In front of the cradle lies a bundle of grain, which symbolises the words of Christ: “I am the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:41).

Hugo van der Goes (c.1435/40-1482) thus not only portrays the birth of Christ, but also alludes to his eventual sacrifice and continual renewal in the rites of Mass and communion.

The unity of form and content in this painting testifies to Van der Goes’s exceptional artistic achievement.