The Mystic Nativity

Libby Rohr
Mystic Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, 1500
By LIBBY ROHR

Sandro Botticelli has been a favorite of mine since I first laid eyes on his work as a young child, gazing up at the beautiful copy of Primavera on my best friend's wall. His figures are as distinctive as Fragonard's trees in their soft glowing skin and gracefully clothed bodies. In The Mystic Nativity, we see new emphasis on nature similar to that of Primavera, but with a stronger message. The robes of several of the angels seem to flow into the elements of the earth around them through the use of the deep green color. The inclusion of the forest background, greenery in the hands of angels, and the natural landscape of the foreground shows the placement of heavenly value on the natural world. To include so much nature in in such an auspicious scene with such godly figures extends an auspicious and godly status to these earthly aspects in a way that has not existed in art before this time. Recently, we read a passage in class from Pico Della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man which says that human beings were put on Earth "to ponder the plan of so great a work, to love its beauty, and to wonder at its vastness." As art progresses, Botticelli lives out this purpose in the exploration of a holy natural earth in his work as well as the emphasis of the interaction between man and the angels. 

Botticelli's use of color in the verdant greens and rosy pinks gives this painting its graceful nature. Mary and Jesus are framed by their shelter first and then again on all sides in the figures of the angels and onlookers. In a ring at the top of the painting, angels rejoice in the heavenly realms, serving as a portal to the unthinkable, to God. In composition, this painting can be split in thirds horizontally, the bottom representing life on Earth, the top representing the existence of heaven, and Jesus in the middle as the bridge between God and man. In the lower third of the painting, we see images of angels embracing humans as further demonstration of this bond. In the realm of Jesus under God, all are equal and at peace. Olive branches appear in the hands of every angel in the painting. The sharp, twisting road to Jesus shows the difficulty and the specificity of following Jesus's "way." However, as the Bible promises to good Christians, Christ himself is waiting at the end.

In the bottom third of the composition. If you look closely, you'll notice four grotesque figures of the devil. My personal favorite happens to be the blue one in the bottom right, with curly horns like a ram and a disgusting warthog face. Each one of these satanic figures is crawling back beneath the earth to hell. In the presence of Jesus, they can no longer exist on the earthly plane. Botticelli tells us that through Jesus's education for the world, he rids us of sin. There is no idea more en vogue for the Renaissance than this idea of humans as chosen beings and transcendence through education and study. Mirandola claimed human beings to be, as pictured in this painting "the intermediar[ies] between creatures, the intimate of the gods, [and] the king of the lower beings." Our free will is what makes us human. We have choice to either "degenerate into lower forms of life" or "to be reborn into higher forms." Whether or not you happen to believe in God, the idea of free will, choice, and following a path of love or hate is the thread that binds every human being together. At first glance, this may resemble a simple nativity scene, however this message to humanity is what makes it "Mystic." Although this is a deeply religious work, any person could walk up to this painting and feel the message of optimistic life through peace and the utopian world so many of us strive for.
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The Mystic Nativity

Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli, The Mystic Nativity, 1500

Oh Botticelli, what exactly have you crafted for us here...?

In The Mystic Nativity, the angels and men celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Locals joyfully embrace one another, while twelve angels dance from the heavens and the others join in the Shepherds' festivities of praise.  In the center resides the Holy Family, which Botticelli illustrates as slightly larger than the surrounding figures to emphasize the significance of this holy day. Like many of Botticelli's other works, the painting encompasses emotion in the characters actions, perspective, and liveliness in the array of colors as demonstrated in the landscape and in their clothing. Moreover, the artist utilizes the proportions of the scene to create depth and harmony through its symmetry. 

However, unlike Primavera or Birth of Venus, which are acknowledged for their elegance and sharpness, this work has been renown for its mysterious symbolism. As Botticelli becomes far more independent from the Medici family, the talented painter takes a liking to friar Girolamo Savonarola. Under the sway of Savonarola, who calls for Christian renewal and reformation of the Italian government in preparation for a "biblical flood" when he declares Florence the New Jerusalem, Botticelli's character darkens. More than anything, Botticelli essentially has a religious freak-out, and emulates that obsession in the text at the top of the painting. 

The inscription translates as: "This picture, at the end of the year 1500, in the troubles of Italy, I Alessandro, in the half-time after the time, painted, according to the eleventh chapter of Saint John, in the second woe of the Apocalypse, during the release of the devil for three-and-a-half years; then he shall be bound in the twelfth chatter and we shall see him buried as in this picture".

Pretty intense, huh? 

As religious and political upheavals overflow in Florence,  Botticelli assembles this piece of work to combine Christ's birth with the ideas of Christ's Millennium, as promised in the Book of Revelation. Botticelli juxtaposes the spirit of this painting to his disclaimer in an attempt to portray the preachings of his mentor and fight the oppression of his religious beliefs after the friar's execution. Despite Botticelli's outreaches to revitalize Savonarola's prophecies, The Mystic Nativity initially prevails the end of Botticelli's career as an outstanding artist. After 1500, Botticelli becomes less invested in painting and eventually dies, a decrepit, worn-down man in 1515.

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Just Your Average Mental Breakdown: Mystic Nativity

Botticelli
Just Your Average Mental Breakdown
Artists Losing It
Curated by Drew Bierwirth


Botticelli, Mystic Nativity, 1500

Spurred by Girolamo Savonarola, Botticelli's art style evolved completely, twisting into something far different from anything he had done before. The colors were darker and the subject matter even more so.

Here, Botticelli depicts his own Nativity scene, but it looks more apocalyptic. Botticelli's transformation from Birth of Venus to this piece required not just his own mental transformation, but also inspiration from one already farther gone than him. Savonarola was a fanatic religious reformer, and one who targeted Botticelli's prime benefactor: Lorenzo Medici. Lorenzo fell victim to harsh criticism from Savonarola, who preached of fire and brimstone for the immoral and for aristocrats. He also railed against the general corruption of the Catholic Church.These sermons, witnessed by Botticelli, had profound effects on both his work and his social standings. Savonarola took Botticelli from the brightest fame to the darkest anonymity, this piece being one of his final works after Savonarola's death. Caught up in the fervor and fear that zealotry wrought upon the public, Botticelli's art metamorphosed from his light, detailed religious pieces to brooding, apocalyptic scenes that brilliantly reflected the fear in his heart of divine judgement all too well.

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Mystic Nativity

Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli, Mystic Nativity, 1500 
I just turned eighteen. It’s hit me now more then it initially did. I woke up one day and there I was, an adult. For the past two years I have always felt sixteen. Seventeen passed with little acknowledgment and now I’m just absorbing the reality of my age. I just now realize how old I am. Two years away from being twenty. I think this is what it feels like when my parents complain about how old they’re turning. There’s so much I feel I need to accomplish before I graduate, yet the time is quickly seeping away.

Over Thanksgiving break my grandfather and my father both flew into town. All this life in one house, it leads me to wonder what adventures I’ll eventually embark on. What incredible stories will I collect? I’m at the point where college rests on the edge of the horizon, steadily approaching.

When confronted with Mystic Nativity, I’m immediately drawn to Botticelli’s use of space. The painting is overall well-balanced. I love this piece because of the subject matter, with its depiction of Nativity spliced with an apocalyptic scene. When Botticelli was painting this, it was widely believed that the year 1500 would be judgment day, Christ’s return. The scene is inspired by the teachings of a religious leader, Savonarola, who came into popularity a decade before the end of the 16th century. He preached to the people of Florence to give up their materialistic possessions, their excessive luxury. The painting itself screams “awesome.” The sky being ripped open to reveal a rich gold.

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The Mystic Nativity

Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli, The Mystic Nativity, 1500
Sandro Botticelli, AKA Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, walked both the life of luxury and the life of poverty. During the rainbows and unicorn portion of his life, he was best friends with the gangster family: the Medicis. During that friendship, he was renown for his paintings like Primavera. However once the Medici family fell from grace, he did too. So poor Botticelli finds himself another leader, Girolamo Savonarola. Savonarola was a rather insane monk who preached of leaving all worldly goods and reforming the government. Of course, any mention of reforming the government at that time should have been an enormous red sign screaming for Botticelli to leave the group. And instead of listening to common sense, Botticelli became deeply immersed in all that the monk preached. And that's where his works turned religious instead of mythical. The most prominent example would be The Mystic Nativity. Just by the title, Botticelli labeled himself as a fanatic and/or devout religious man.

Not only does the subject change in this painting, but the method in which Botticelli paints also slightly differs from before. In The Mystic Nativity, Botticelli paints a story instead of one scene, and to say that he enjoys inserting symbolism is the biggest understatement of his career. Starting from the bottom left, with the road, Botticelli paints a clear separation of the human, mortal and heavenly worlds. And rather cutely, Botticelli paints blue little devil monster creatures and snakes that decorate the view until about 1/3 up from the bottom. That's where the mortal world makes connection with the heavenly one and the symbolism is apparent. There are no devils in heaven. The viewer's eyes move from left to right from the angels seemingly helping the mortals to the final center with Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. The gaping cave behind the family possibly represents the cave in which Jesus would emerge from (after his death) years later. The olive trees along the pathway represent connection between the human world and the divine world.

Botticelli enjoys using symmetry, evident in this painting where the angels circle at the top are evenly matched in colors and the forms of the group of men, most likely the shepherd and the kings, also show balance. If things aren't religious enough, Botticelli hammers the final nail in his religious coffin with Greek inscription at the top. It roughly translates to "This picture, at the end of the year 1500, in troubles of Italy, I Alessandro, in the half time after the time, painted, following the eleventh of Saint John, in the second woe of the Apocalypse, during the release of the devil for three anda  half years; then he shall be bound in the twelfth we shall see as shown in this picture." Botticelli evidently did not understand the concept of a run-on sentence. But in short, he possibly meant something along the lines of waiting for the time of Christ to save them all.

And, unfortunately for him, his revered insane monk leader, Savonarola was finally accused of being insane and killed along with a majority of followers. Though Botticelli escaped execution, he could never get his career on path again and thus he died penniless. Ouch.

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