# The Nativity

**Perugino** (Italian, c. 1450/55–1523)  
1500–05  
Tempera on panel, transferred to canvas  
26.2 × 46.3 cm (10 5/16 × 18 1/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1025. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16205).

## About this work

Mary and Joseph adore the newborn Christ Child in a simple shelter, with the ox nearby and a quiet landscape beyond. Perugino’s balanced compositions, gentle figures and soft, even light made him one of the most sought-after painters in Italy around 1500, and his young pupil Raphael absorbed his manner before developing his own. The panel belongs with the Art Institute’s other scenes from the life of Christ by Perugino, all painted in the early 1500s and later transferred from wood to canvas.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Perugino painted this in 1500–05, aged about 50. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of tempera on panel, transferred to canvas.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Tempera.** Pigment bound with egg yolk. It dries in minutes and can’t be blended wet, so painters built up form with fine, hatched strokes. It was Europe’s main panel technique before oil.

### [Perugino](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/perugino)

Italian, c. 1450/55–1523

Pietro Vannucci took the name Perugino from Perugia, the chief city of his native Umbria, and trained in Florence, probably alongside Leonardo in Verrocchio’s studio. In the early 1480s he was among the painters of the Sistine Chapel walls, where his Delivery of the Keys sets calm figures before a vast, ordered piazza. His serene, symmetrical style and soft landscapes made him one of the most sought-after painters in Italy, and the young Raphael learned much from him.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was about 50
- Real size: about 10 × 18 in (26 × 46 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 15th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- Subjects: religious scenes, holy family, nativity scenes, Virgin Mary, animals, cows, dog, angels
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/46.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/46/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-nativity-aic-16205).