Nativity Relief

Possibly 8th century
Church of San Giovanni Eleemosynario, Venice

The Virgin Mary is barely noticeable behind the child in the manger, but otherwise the relief covers all the main elements in a traditional Nativity: The pensive Joseph (bottom left), the shepherds on the right and magi on the left, the midwives washing the child (bottom center), and the manger. At the manger, the ox and ass appear to be feeding on the baby himself. This is a trope that goes back to paleo-Christian Nativity images.

My source for the date is the diary of a traveler who visited the church and asked an employee there about the relief.

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Photographed at the church by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.