The Nativity

Master Francke's The Nativity, dated 1426 and held in the Hamburger Kunsthalle, is a panel from the Thomas Altarpiece painted for the Hamburg merchants' guild of the English traders (Englandfahrer), depicting the birth of Christ with the characteristic blend of emotional warmth and physical presence that defines Francke's mature style. The Hamburg Thomas Altarpiece, of which this is a surviving panel, was one of the most important early fifteenth-century altarpieces in northern Germany. Francke's Nativity balances the devotional tenderness of the subject — Mary adoring the newborn Christ child — with his distinctive directness of characterization that sets him apart from the more courtly International Gothic contemporaries.

Francke renders the Nativity with warm, intimate coloring, Mary adoring the child in a simple stable setting. His characteristic solidity of figure and directness of facial expression give the scene an emotional immediacy distinct from the International Gothic refinement. The warm palette of reds, browns, and golds creates devotional warmth.