This evocative nocturnal Nativity, the central panel of a now-lost triptych, is set within a church-like interior and illuminated by a singular, supernatural light source emanating from the body of the Christ Child. This divine radiance, described as splendor divinus in the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden, bathes the Virgin and attendant angels in a warm glow, while also touching the ox, donkey, and three shepherds observing from a window niche. The composition is thus firmly rooted in late medieval devotional tradition, with a particular emphasis on mystical illumination.

The RKD in The Hague (no. 58519, ill. 1) records the triptych with both wings: St. Joseph holding a candle, behind him the Annunciation to the shepherds (left wing), and angels playing music (right wing). The attribution of this triptych to the school of Gerard David, or possibly to Michel Sittow, is subject to scholarly debate. While the present catalogue adopts this dual attribution, further research is warranted. Michael Weniger’s recent study questions the direct authorship by Sittow, instead suggesting a range of hands for this group of Nativity scenes. Gerard David’s influence is nevertheless pivotal in the development and dissemination of this compositional type, itself likely derived from a lost prototype by Hugo van der Goes.

Comparable works include the Nativity by Night in Upton House, Warwickshire (The Bearsted Collection, The National Trust), attributed to Michel Sittow and regarded as a prime example of the subject (see John Oliver Hand, Michel Sittow: Estonian Painter at the Courts of Renaissance Europe, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2018, pp. 102–105, no. 19). Notably, both the Upton House panel and the present work omit the figure of Joseph standing behind Mary and shielding a candle, a motif present on the now-lost left wing of this triptych. The composition otherwise closely relates to the Adoration of the Child by Night attributed to Gerard David in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (GNr. 627a, inv. 587B).