Nativity

This Nativity scene is a testament to the artistic production of illumination in the Loire Valley during the second half of the 15th century.

This illuminated leaf is attributed to Jean Colombe, an artist active from 1461 to 1493. A master of subtle modeling and soft textures, achieved through delicate pointillist techniques, he excels in staging and unfolding expansive, airy landscapes, as seen in this depiction of the Nativity.

Around Jean Colombe and illustrious predecessors like Jean Fouquet, the Loire Valley became a major center of artistic production at the end of the Middle Ages.

Medieval illumination was primarily religious: it provided large decorated pages for chanted offices, illustrated the Books of Hours that laypeople followed in the manner of monks and carried with them, and brightened their pages with meditative exercises.