Description
The Mystical Nativity is the modern name of the painting Sandro Botticelli made at the end of 1500, the only work he ever signed: in the Greek inscription along the top he calls himself Alessandro. Twelve angels dance beneath a golden sky, the Virgin kneels before the Child under a thatched roof, and below angels embrace men while small devils flee into the ground. The original, oil on canvas measuring 108.5 x 75 cm, hangs in the National Gallery in London. Our painter hand-paints it for you in oil on canvas in 5 portrait sizes from 58 x 85 to 136 x 193 cm or made to measure, and we send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
| Title: | The Mystical Nativity |
| Other titles: | Natività mistica (Italian title) · Mistično rojstvo (Slovene title) |
| Painter: | Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510) |
| Year painted: | c. 1500 |
| Original size: | 108.5 cm x 75 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Early Renaissance |
| Located at: | National Gallery, London, United Kingdom, inv. NG1034 |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted in oil on canvas, 5 sizes or made to measure |
The Mystical Nativity – Sandro Botticelli
What does The Mystical Nativity show?
The painting is tall and divided into three bands. At the top the sky opens into a golden dome, beneath which twelve angels in white, red and green dance in a circle. Above them runs a line of Greek letters, written by the painter himself.
In the middle band a plain wooden shelter with a thatched roof stands in front of a rocky cave. Under it the Virgin, in blue over red, kneels with joined hands before the Child on a white cloth. Joseph sits beside him in yellow, his head bowed onto his knees, his face hidden. The ox and the ass look on from behind.
On the left and right an angel with an olive branch shows the Child to kneeling groups: on the left three men in long gowns, perhaps the Magi, on the right two shepherds.
In the foreground three angels embrace three men. Among the rocks seven small devils flee into the underworld, some pierced by their own weapons.
What do the inscription and the scene say?
The Greek inscription is Botticelli’s own commentary. Translated, it says that he, Alessandro, painted it at the end of 1500 in the troubles of Italy, in the time of the Apocalypse when the devil is loosed for three and a half years, and that the devil will then be chained and buried, as in this painting.
Botticelli believed he was living through the Great Tribulation of Revelation and may have been expecting the thousand-year reign of Christ. For the art historian Jonathan Nelson it echoes the Last Judgement and points to Christ’s return as well as his birth.
Dark forebodings run beneath the joy: the cloth under the Child recalls a shroud, and the cave behind the shelter a tomb. The kings on the left bring no gifts, only their devotion. Botticelli had painted them in splendid robes a quarter of a century earlier, in his Adoration of the Magi.
Why is The Mystical Nativity so unusual?
It is the only work Botticelli signed. The name is modern; John Ruskin helped to give it when he wrote of Botticelli’s mystic symbolism.
It was painted in a Florence that the preacher Girolamo Savonarola had held in his grip since 1490. Like much of the city, Botticelli came under his influence. Savonarola was hanged on 23 May 1498, and some see in the three embraced men the friar and the two companions executed with him.
A full translation of the inscription and the history of the work are in the Wikipedia article on the painting, which is in English.
Where can the original be seen today?
The original hangs in the National Gallery in London, inventory number NG1034. The gallery bought it in 1878.
After Botticelli’s death in 1510 the painting stayed little known for almost three centuries. At the end of the 18th century a young Englishman, William Young Ottley, came across it in Rome at the Villa Aldobrandini and took it to London. William Fuller Maitland later bought it at auction and in 1857 lent it to an exhibition in Manchester, where a wide public probably saw it for the first time.
The Mystical Nativity or another Botticelli?
The Mystical Nativity is a canvas painting for anyone who wants a Christmas scene with depth: one tall format holds heaven, earth and the underworld. Its slim shape suits a narrow wall or a hallway.
Of his mythologies, The Birth of Venus, with the goddess carried ashore on a shell, is the best known. Quieter but just as spiritual is the Cestello Annunciation, with the angel kneeling before the Virgin. Later and sadder is the Lamentation over the Dead Christ.
Our Sandro Botticelli page gathers the famous Botticelli paintings our painters make to order.
How do we hand-paint The Mystical Nativity?
For Botticelli the original was an experiment: he usually painted on wooden panels, but this work is on canvas, 108.5 x 75 cm. Art historians suggest that for a painting with a dangerous message, canvas had the advantage that it could be rolled up and hidden. Ours is an oil painting reproduction on canvas too, so we can send it rolled, stretched or framed.
Our painter first transfers the drawing of the three bands. Then come sky, grass, rock and woods, and after them the angels’ robes; their ring dance echoes the three Graces of his Primavera.
Botticelli made the golden dome with the goldsmith’s skill of his youth: he did not burnish the gold but patted it onto the canvas. Our painter builds up the gold glow in oils, layer by layer, and adds the ribbons, crowns and Greek line last.
Which size suits which wall?
In short: small sizes for a narrow wall or bedroom, middle ones above a chest of drawers, the largest for a tall wall.
We paint The Mystical Nativity in 5 portrait sizes (width x height): 58 x 85, 77 x 107, 85 x 125, 110 x 152 and 136 x 193 cm. The original measures 75 x 108.5 cm (width x height). Our 58 x 85 cm is smaller than it, 77 x 107 cm is about the size of the London canvas, and 85 x 125 cm and everything above are larger.
58 x 85 cm sits well above a chest of drawers, by the front door or in a bedroom. From 77 x 107 cm the devils among the rocks become clear, which makes it a painting for the living room with a higher ceiling; 136 x 193 cm fills a whole stairwell wall.
Can I order another size, and which frame suits it?
Yes. In a different size we keep all three bands and adjust mainly the sky, the grass or the woods at the edges. Send us your custom size for this tall format and we will reply with a price and a date.
We send the painting rolled in a tube, stretched on a wooden stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia, which stretches and frames every painting we make, also packs it securely. Frames are chosen in our 3D app; a view on your own wall is a separate service. A slim gilded or dark wooden frame suits the golden sky.
When will your Mystical Nativity arrive?
We paint your Sandro Botticelli reproduction and have it ready for dispatch within 15 to 45 working days of order confirmation. When it is finished we send you a photograph; if you would like a change, we make it before it ships.
Well protected, it travels within Slovenia and to other EU countries without customs. Our returns policy covers this painting like every other order.
It also makes a thoughtful Christmas gift. If you are unsure of the size, give a gift voucher and let the recipient choose.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original of The Mystical Nativity?
In the National Gallery in London, inventory number NG1034.
What does the Greek inscription at the top say?
The date, the end of 1500, the troubles of Italy and chapters 11 and 12 of Revelation.
Is it a print?
No: it is a hand-painted copy, and our painter sets down every angel and every Greek letter with a brush.
How large is the original?
108.5 x 75 cm (height x width); our 77 x 107 cm size comes very close to it.
Can you paint the Nativity in a size that is not listed?
Yes. Send us the width and height for this painting and we reply with a price and a date.
How long does it take, and how will it reach me?
15 to 45 working days until dispatch; it ships rolled, stretched or framed.
Does the Nativity suit a bedroom, or work as a gift?
Yes. The quiet scene suits a bedroom and makes a fine Christmas present.
Is this the same work as Filippo Lippi’s Mystical Nativity?
No. Lippi’s painting of that name, also called the Adoration in the Forest, is in Berlin.
- Subject: a ring of twelve angels under a golden sky, the Virgin before the Child under a thatched roof, shepherds, kings and angels embracing men.
- Original: oil on canvas, c. 1500, 108.5 x 75 cm, National Gallery, London.
- Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 5 portrait sizes from 58 x 85 to 136 x 193 cm, or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: it is the only work Botticelli signed, with an inscription in Greek.
