12 CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE EYES OF PAINTERS In the semi-darkness of an underground gallery, we barely can make out the drawing of a mother nursing her child: The bottom of the fresco has crumbled away, but the upper part is still legible. No doubt this mural in the Catacomb of Priscilla, in Rome, is the first image of the Nativity that has come down to us. Still, it suggests more than it actually depicts. Although the fresco is difficult to date precisely, we can say that it goes back to the first half of the 3rd century: to a time, therefore, whenChristians were not yet tolerated in theRomanEmpire and practiced their faith as an underground Church. The young woman, seated, holds the infant on her knees facing her. The child, with his hand on his mother’s breast, turns away from her and looks at us, as though to establish communication with the passing visitor. Standing near them, a figure clothed in a toga points with his hand toward a star in the shape of a flower above the mother The sign of the star
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