Nativity of Christ

In the upper part of the icon, in the center, angels and the shephersds are venerating the Child in a cave, with some ruins in the background; below, to the left, St. Joseph is sitting, listening to an elderly shepherd. Next to the upper border there is an angel with the star of Bethlehem, on both sides of him – the riding magi, heading for Bethlehem and returning to Babylon; to the right there is a scene of an angel appearing before the sleeping magi. Next to the left border, the scene of the magi venerating the Virgin and the Child, below – St. Joseph’s dream, symmetrically, next to the right border – the Flight into Egypt. In the lower part of icon, to the left, King Herod is asking scribes and high-priest about the place of Jesus’ birth; to the right – the massacre of the innocents; above – the mourning mothers and the escape of Elizabeth with the infant John into the mountains; in the right bottom corner - the murder of Zachariah, father of St. John the Baptist, in the Jerusalem Temple.

Inv. № 109. © Yaroslavl Art Museum

Bibliography:

Иконы Ярославля XIII — середины XVII века. М., 2009. Т. 2. Кат. № 182 .