Cool, remote and impersonal, the beauty of Piero della Francesca's Nativity in the National Gallery is such as we usually associate with classical antiquity. The way in which each figure takes its inevitable place in the stillness and luminosity of the surrounding space recalls the slow and measured deliberation of Hellenic architecture. The simplified forms are like marble columns. The effect of suspended motion and timelessness is gained by Piero's skillful rendering of the silvery atmosphere and the precision with which he ha related shapes and color masses.
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