The most beautiful Nativity I have ever seen is set up annually, at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This tranquil shot would be quite different - and difficult to compose - after opening hours at The Met. Empty, the entrance to the Medieval Sculpture Hall lends itself perfectly to a soaring, contemplative atmosphere. To get some idea of how impressive the 18th-century Spanish choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid is in the background of this shot, the tree itself is twenty feet tall - not including its base.
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Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche has been displayed each year since 1957 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from late November to early January. The annual candlelit spruce tree, adorned with angels and surrounded by a lively 18th-century Neapolitan Nativity scene, is a tradition inaugurated by collector and museum patron Loretta Hines Howard. The late Mrs. Howard began collecting crèche figures in 1925 and soon after conceived the idea of combining the Roman Catholic custom of elaborate Nativity scenes with the tradition of decorated Christmas trees that had developed among the largely Protestant people of northern Europe. Mrs. Howard donated more than two hundred crèche figures to the museum in 1964 to form the nucleus of this ever-expanding display.
Linn Howard, Mrs. Howard's daughter, worked with her mother for many years on the annual installation. Since her mother's death in 1982, she has continued to create new settings for the figures that she adds to the collection. In keeping with family tradition, Linn Howard's daughter, artist Andrea Selby Rossi, now joins her mother each year in creating the display. The exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.
"Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche" is on view from November 21, 2006 to January 7, 2007 in the Grand Hall in front of the Medieval Sculpture Hall at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028-0198 (Telephone: 212-535-7710; Website).
Additional images at this link.