The newborn

The newborn (in French, Le Nouveau-né) is one of the best-known paintings by the French painter Georges de La Tour. It was painted in oil on canvas. It is a work dating from the period 1645-1648. It measures 76 cm high and 91 cm wide. It is currently exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes (France).

This work is sometimes known as The Nativity, because it is an enigmatic picture that does not know if it will represent the birth of Jesus Christ, with the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus and Santa Ana. Georges de La Tour treat the religious subjects as if it were a genre scene.

The composition is simple: two women, one front and one in profile, and in the arms of the first a newborn. A red light illuminates the faces, leaving in shadow the rest of the painting. Only the child's head and the woman's chest in profile are illuminated white.

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