The painting depicts the scene of the Nativity of Jesus, set in a stable illuminated by a warm, divine light emanating from the Child, the true compositional focus of the canvas. Around Him gather the Virgin Mary, gently absorbed and wrapped in a red and blue mantle, Saint Joseph, and the shepherds, portrayed with emotional and realistic intensity. The composition is built with balance and harmony, dominated by a masterful use of chiaroscuro, while the style reflects the late eighteenth-century taste, poised between Baroque heritage and Neoclassical clarity, with particular attention to religious sentiment and the purity of form. A pupil of Giuseppe Bottani in Rome, Ferri worked during a period of transition between Florentine Baroque and Neoclassicism. He was active mainly in Tuscany, producing altarpieces and devotional paintings, as well as mythological and allegorical works for private patrons. He was also esteemed as a portrait painter.
