Why are there no great British nativity scenes?

You’ll find plenty of bleak midwinter paintings, but don’t go looking for British artworks of the stable, the manger and the wise men bringing gifts. They don’t exist. Here’s why not

Whatever happened to the great British nativity scene? It’s the time of year when paintings depicting a birth in a stable 2,000 years ago proliferate on greetings cards and attract attention in art galleries. We love these Christmas pictures. Think of Botticelli’s The Adoration of the Magi, Guido Reni’s The Adoration of the Shepherds and Geertgen tot Sint Jans’ Nativity by Night – to take just three favourites in the National Gallery.

One thing you won’t find there, however, is a British painting of the stable, the manger and the wise men bringing gifts. The closest thing to a British Christmassy scene in its collection is probably JMW Turner’s painting The Evening Star – an eerie beach scene that could just about make a melancholy Christmas card.

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