Nativity with a praying angel above the Holy Family

About this drawing

A nativity with praying angel above the Holy Family recalls the grand nativity scenes of Naples, Italy, where an angel often watches over the stable from high above. Few cities in the world are as famous for their manger scenes.

The Neapolitan presepe reached its golden age in the 1700s, when royals, nobles and wealthy families competed to build the most dazzling displays. Figures had heads and hands of terracotta, bodies of wire and tow, and clothing stitched by hand from real fabric.

What makes these scenes special is that they show far more than the birth. Around the stable you find bustling markets, taverns, bakers, fishmongers and musicians, as if all of Naples had moved to Bethlehem. Every tiny loaf of bread and basket of fruit is crafted with remarkable care.

Today Via San Gregorio Armeno, a narrow street in the historic center of Naples, is lined with workshops that make nativity figures all year round, and it fills with visitors in December. Neapolitan nativities also appear in museums around the world, including a well-known display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York each holiday season.

• nativity
• angel
• holy family
• neapolitan nativity
• christmas