Spinello Aretino
Around 1380
Egg tempera and gold leaf on wood
62.8 x 98.5 cm
The Virgin Mary looks down serenely towards her new-born son as midwives bathe him. Angels above announce Christ’s birth to the shepherds, seen next to the rocks on the right.
This panel is one of only two surviving parts of a rare double-sided altarpiece. It was commissioned for the church in Città di Castello, near Spinello’s hometown of Arezzo in Italy.