My first impression from the Ethiopic Bible of the depiction of the Nativity scene is similar to our representation of the Nativity scene in my modern day home. The Christ child is being held by his mother Mary, Joseph standing in adoration, the presence of the angels and the animals of the manger scene.
The design elements found in this manuscript include: Contrast – how the beautiful reds and golds contrast against the blue background. Repetition – is represented by the same repeated colors for all of the figures in the portrait. Alignment – this depiction of the Nativity actually contains two separate alignments in scene. The one scene at the top has all figures leaning to the left as if flying across the sky. The second scene takes place along the bottom of the page with most figures aligned across the bottom except for the shepherd preparing to sacrifice the sheep for the Christ child. Proximity – in the scene at the top the figures are placed either inside of or around the long red cloak and the figures are placed in a line across the bottom to depict the second scene.
The author provided an explanation of the two scenes taking place depicting the Nativity.
