The Nativity in Art
Byzantine Art
A new form of the image, which from the rare early versions seems to have been formulated in sixth-century Palestine, was to set the essential form of Eastern Orthodox images down to the present day. The setting is now a cave - or rather the specific Cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem, already underneath the Church of the Nativity, and well-established as a place of pilgrimage, with the approval of the Church. Above the opening a mountain, represented in miniature, rises up. Mary now lies recovering on a large stuffed cushion or couch ("kline" in Greek) beside the infant, who is on a raised structure, whilst Joseph rests his head on his hand. The Magi may be shown approaching at the top left on horseback, wearing strange pillbox-like headgear, and the shepherds at the right of the cave. Angels usually surround the scene if there is room, including the top of the cave; often one is telling the shepherds the good news of Christ's birth.
This mural is painted on the interior of the John the Baptist Church at the Jordan River, Israel
(Source: Wikipedia, Nativity of Jesus in Art, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus_in_art)
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