A note-perfect Nativity by Piero della Francesca

This is one of the most beautiful nativity scenes ever painted. Even though it was left unfinished, it has an invincible calm authority. Piero has set the Christmas story in the Tuscany of his own time – this was painted in the 1470s – with a town that resembles his own, Borgo San Sepolcro, and rocks and water that evoke the landscapes of the river Arno. Most moving is the stable, a rough creation of grey stone, a decayed ruin on the outskirts of town. But when you look at the choir of angels, realism ends. Their limbs are rounded like the geometrical shapes Piero studied as a noted mathematician. The harmonies of their forms make you hear the perfect note they sound. Everything from the crystal sky to the prayer of the virgin adds to the sense of revelation
Illustration: Photograph: National Gallery