11 and the liturgy for Epiphany around the passage from Matthew (the adoration of the magi). Very soon Western depictions reflected this by treating the two subjects separately. The theme of Christmas and its expression in the art of painting will be favored here. Yet even when limited in this way, the field of investigation is immense: There are countless Nativities and, among them, innumerable masterpieces that would deserve to be taken into consideration. It is impossible, in the restricted framework of this book, to view them all. Therefore another course of actionwill be adopted: we will consider only a small selectionof paintings, while taking the time to look at them, to situate them in their particular era, to soak in their beauty, to seek to understand what their creators wanted to express in them. Starting with the most ancient, we will come down through the centuries so as to see, little by little, the outlines of a development. The paintings were chosen because each of them, in its own way, manifested an advance or a turning point. They were selected for their expressive value, their ability to bear witness to the changes that had occurred. Indeed, althoughEasternChristians approached the divinemystery in an almost timeless manner, those in the West, especially from the medieval period on, proposed increasingly varied interpretations of it which were influenced by their country, their era, their way of life, and the personal inspiration of each artist. Thus, from the 3rd to the 20th century, the theme was profoundly transformed: Its evolution reflects that of the mentalities, and this is what we will try to bring out, by letting each of the Nativities “speak” as we contemplate them one after the other. ❖ INTRODUCTION
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzMzNzY=