Of the Italian painter and architect Giotto di Bondone, art critic John Ruskin wrote, "He painted the Madonna and St. Joseph and the Christ, yes, by all means. … but essentially Mamma, Pappa, and Baby." Giotto was remarkably able to render people we too often think of as symbols as real human beings. Giotto's emphasis on the human emotion of familiar biblical narratives marks his departure from Byzantine religious art, which tended to focus on typology and symbolism rather than emotional realism. Thus, Giotto is often considered the father of the early Italian Renaissance.

The Nativity is one scene in a cycle of frescos depicting Christ's life, which appears on the south wall of the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy. On the left, we see the Virgin sitting in a rocky landscape, a more accurate depiction of what a manger probably looked like than what we see today. She is receiving Jesus from a midwife, and the spontaneous intimacy of the mother and child is striking. Giotto has combined this scene with the annunciation of the angels, who appear singing and worshiping above the manger. To the right, the shepherds look up, astounded. They and the midwife are the only figures in the scene who do not have halos, emphasizing their lowly status among the rest.