The Nativity

The Virgin Mary kneels in adoration of the Christ Child who lies in a horse’s saddle that has been turned upside down and covered with a cloth and some hay. Joining in the adoration are Saint Joseph (behind the Christ Child) and a young shepherd (behind the Virgin). Farther in the distance a group of shepherds tend to their flock as an angel appears from the sky and announces the birth of Christ. A tiny figure of God appears at the top of the composition and releases the dove of the Holy Spirit, which in turn emits three rays of light—representative of the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit)—toward the Infant Christ.

Probably intended for private devotion in a domestic interior, the painting was formerly attributed to Matteo Balducci, a painter recorded in the early 1500s in the Central Italian cities of Siena and Città della Pieve. There are, however, no signed or documented works by Balducci extant today, and recent research has shown that many of the paintings traditionally attributed to him are actually by his Sienese contemporary named Giacomo Pacchiarotto. As usual with Pacchiarotto’s works, the Walters panel reflects the strong influence of the famous Pinturicchio (ca. 1452-1513; see Walters 37.1089), active in Siena during the early 1500s. For a comparable (though much larger) painting of the subject by Pacchiarotto, see his altarpiece now at the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Marquess Filippo Marignoli, Rome and Spoleto, until 1898 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Marquess Francesco Marignoli, 1898-1899 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Don Marcello Massarenti, Rome, 1899 [mode of acquisition unknown] [1900 catalogue supplement: no. 8, as Giovanni Spagna]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.