Nativity

Panel from the altarpiece of the chancel of Viseu Cathedral (1501-1506), alluding to the theme of the Nativity.
In the foreground, the new-born Child Jesus is ringed by the Virgin, St. Joseph and two angels. The triangular composition, centred on the Child, is also structured by the convergent looks of the figures and only contradicted by the angel who, in a narrative intention that is clearly suggestive of the medieval liturgical theatre, tugs at the cloak of St. Joseph.
The Nativity takes place in a ruined interior where the heads of the traditional animals, the cow and the donkey, appear on the left. In a complex relationship between space and time, a landscaped background can be seen through an opening in the wall, serving to represent the scene of a secondary theme: the Annunciation to the Shepherds. A hovering angel announces the coming of the Saviour.
An interesting iconographic detail is the bunch of wheat spikes placed next to the Child, which, according to Erwin Panofsky, is probably an allusion to Christ’s birthplace – the "House of Bread". In the landscaped background, we can see a tree stripped of all its leaves, followed by another rejuvenated one, respectively suggesting the Old and the New Testament.
The meticulous realism of the objects shown in the foreground, particularly the adoring angel's cloak or the ceramic vase placed in the niche, contrasts with the diluted forms of the distant landscape, needed in order to suggest a deepening of the aerial space. The exercise of perspective and the correct articulation of the grounds point to the work of a painter endowed with remarkable technical skills.