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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileBambergApocalypse07NativityAnnucToShepherds
The upper register features a golden manger containing the swaddled Christ child, flanked by a recumbent Virgin Mary in a dark cloak and an upright Joseph in a light tunic. A pale ox and a dark donkey peer over the manger, while three angels with wings in shades of pink and gold gesture downward toward the lower register. Below, in a pastoral landscape, two shepherds sit on a rocky hill looking upward, while a third shepherd stands beside a small, tower-like structure sheltering a lamb, surrounded by grazing sheep. The composition uses flat, vibrant colors characteristic of Ottonian manuscript illumination.
This image belongs to the Bamberg Apocalypse (Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Msc.Bibl.140), a masterpiece of the Reichenau school produced around 1000 AD. It reflects the Ottonian synthesis of late antique style with burgeoning medieval theology, central to the liturgical and artistic culture of the Holy Roman Empire.
Luke 2:1-20
The image is a direct visual narrative of the Nativity account found in the Gospel of Luke.
Object
tempera
parchment
Ottonian
German
manuscript-illumination
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
768 × 1024 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.