The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century.
Georges de La Tour c. 1644
Master of Vyšší Brod, a Bohemian master, c. 1350. Vyšší Brod (Hohenfurth) cycle. The influence of Italian Byzantine painting was strong in the court of Charles IV.
The stable is just outside the city walls, with the shepherds on the hill behind; Slovakia, c. 1490.
Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, the Magi presenting their gifts (mosaic detail), late 6th century, wearing Persian dress, and Phrygian cap
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is documented in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judaea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and that his birth was caused by divine intervention. Some scholars do not see the two canonical gospel nativity stories as historically factual since they present clashing accounts and irreconcilable genealogies. The secular history of the time does not synchronize with the narratives of the birth and early childhood of Jesus in the two gospels. Some view the question of historicity as secondary, given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than chronological timelines.
Adoration of the Shepherds by Dutch painter Matthias Stomer, 1632
A page from the 11th-century Bamberg Apocalypse showing Matthew 1:21
Angel Gabriel's Annunciation to Mary, by Murillo, c. 1660
Altar in the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem