A tender nativity scene glows out of a deep blue-black stable. The newborn lies in a straw-filled wooden manger and is the brightest thing in the picture. His soft light falls across the faces of Mary and Joseph as they lean in over him.

Shepherds in layered, earth-toned robes wait at the edges. An ox, a calf and a lamb crowd in beside them. Loaded, ridged strokes of oil paint build the rough stone walls, the heavy folds of cloth and the scattered straw. The mood is quiet and reverent.