Nativity 1507

Albrecht Altdorfer's "Nativity" (1507) is a small, but significant work. It depicts the traditional scene of the birth of Jesus, but with a unique twist. Set within a crumbling, almost apocalyptic landscape, the figures are rendered in a highly detailed, almost miniature style. The composition is masterful, with a strong sense of depth and movement created by the diagonal lines of the ruins. The scene is bathed in a warm, golden light that suggests both the divine and the earthly, a hallmark of Altdorfer's late-Gothic style. This work is currently housed at the Kunsthalle Bremen in Germany.