Text by Senior Curator Learning Ellen Lerberg

The very first paintings on the Christmas story theme date back to around 200 AD.

The National Museum’s collection contains many depictions of the young mother Mary and her baby son Jesus, by different artists from different periods. Traditionally, Mary is dressed in blue and red. The colours symbolise love and Mary’s status as the eternal Queen of Heaven. The baby Jesus is generally naked apart from a loincloth or a white smock. His attire can be seen as a portent of his coming death.

The Holy Family

Sometimes, the group is extended to include Joseph. He is often placed in the background. In The Holy Family by Quentin Matsys, Joseph, Mary and the child form a unified whole. Even so, Joseph is marked out by his darker complexion. The mother and child have the same pale skin and are in close physical contact. Lying in the foreground are a bunch of grapes and two apples, symbols of life, but also of death.