The Nativity 1896

Joan Brull painted this oil on canvas titled, "The Nativity." The composition divides our attention between the brightly lit puppet show and the diverse spectators in shadow. At left, an elder engages with the performance, whilst to the right, the other people's attention seems to be waning. The artist uses darkness and light to represent reality and imagination; a semiotic system of signs. The use of puppets suggests the artificiality of religious and cultural narratives; Brull destabilizes established meanings by contrasting the traditional Nativity scene with the children's disinterest. Note how Brull uses light to emphasize certain figures, inviting us to question what we value and what we choose to ignore. The work’s lack of resolution reminds us that we actively make and remake culture with each viewing.