The Holy Family with an Angel

The subject of this painting is the celebration of Christ’s birth, although the infant Christ, who stands in his mother’s lap, seems much older than a newborn. The ass and ox on the left are traditional witnesses of Christ’s birth in the Bethlehem stable. The procession in the background signals a later event: the arrival of the wise men from the East to pay homage to the Messiah. The painting is spectacular for its many plant and animal details, each with a specific symbolic significance.