The wall painting, which represents half of the former scene of the Nativity of Jesus, is presented in situ on the east wall of the north side nave of the Crngrob pilgrimage church.
On the left, St Joseph is seated on a stool; he is cooking a pottage, which has boiled over, as he is focusing his attention on Mary, who is kneeling and praying to the Child. The background depicts an ox and a donkey in a barn built of hewn timber. Part of an angel with an open songbook in his hands can also be seen in the upper right edge of the damaged painting.
The same hand also painted the Adoration of the Magi and several paintings of saints in the Crngrob church, including the half-length painting of St Wolfgang, below which is an inscription indicating the year of the painting (1453) and the painter’s name (Bolfgangus). The frescoist inscribed these valuable details below the image of his patron saint.
The work of Master Bolfgang represents one of the high points of late Gothic wall painting in Slovenia. Following his first study trip to the Upper Rhine around 1450, the master introduced several stylistic, symbolic and formal innovations to his home region; these are also reflected in the Crngrob Nativity: the first is the sense of realism, especially in depicting the effect of gravity on the draperies; the second is exemplified by the inclusion of Joseph – the step-father of Jesus – as nutritor domini; and the third can be seen in the posture of Mary and the fashionably and elegantly modelled drapery – both drawing on the engravings of Master E. S., created between 1440 and 1450.
Crngrob, pilgrimage Church of the
Annunciation