The Virgin suckling the child outside the stable

Contrary to what many people may tell you, artists through the centuries do not like the real. They prefer to exercise their curiosity and imagination, not least in the 16th century movement identified by art historians as ‘Mannerism’. Its meaning is self-evident, and Giulio Bonasone’s engraving of the Virgin nursing the Christ Child in a landscape is a textbook example.

Although it is allegedly based on a painting by Titian, you need to suspend disbelief. The original is certainly long lost. And did Titian really paint monkeys startled by large snails, ducks and ducklings, parrots perched on trees and a surly looking bull, all within the same composition?

The moment depicted, conveyed in Joseph loading the donkey, is a stopover on the flight to Egypt, the Holy Family having been tipped off that Herod was on the warpath. Our response to Bartolommeo Biscaino’s <em>Nativity with Adoration of Angels</em> (Te Papa 1968-0001-4) is necessarily more serious. We admire his brilliant drawing style and art historians note the inspiration of earlier practitioners like Correggio and Federico Barocci. Yet when we examine it more closely, the baffling setting with the manger juxtaposed with broken classical columns, doves perching on an improbable beam, and a soaring heavenly choir, arguably make it just as contrived as Bonasone’s counterpart.

Sourced from: http://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2014/12/12/christmas-treasures-from-te-papa/

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    February 2018