Vittore Carpaccio
Birth of the Virgin

Cat:

Meow! What are those two bunnies doing there in the middle of the room?

Mouse:

Oh, they've found something to snack on! Quick, before they eat it all up. With any luck, I'll manage to grab a bite!

Cat:

That greedy little mouse, I just hope it doesn't get caught. Because all the people in this picture... they definitely wouldn't be happy to have a mouse just pop up like that.

Mouse:

Hello? Are there a few crumbs left over for a little mousey??!

Cat:

After all, a baby has just been born in this grand house. I spotted it straight away, with my sharp eyes. It's lying in the arms of its nurse, and is probably about to be given a bath. And it's a very special baby – something else I realised straight away. Do you see that golden circle around its head? It's called a halo, and it always tells you that this is someone who's especially important to the church. Here, it's Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

But she herself has only just been born. And her mother is there, on the right, lying in a box bed – a bed inside a kind of cupboard. She's probably still quite exhausted from giving birth. A woman is just bringing her a bite to eat, to help her regain her strength. These people seem to be pretty well off, if they can afford such a big, beautiful house and so many maidservants. Have you seen how nicely the walls are painted? And the sumptuous fabrics used to decorate the room?

I'm sure it didn't really look like this when Mary was born more than ... hold on... more than 2,000 years ago.

Mouse:

2,000 years ago? Nope. But it did look like this 500 years ago. In Venice, I mean. Where Carpaccio lived.

Cat:

But surely Mary was... er, definitely not in Venice …

Mouse:

Exactly. Carpaccio cheated a bit. He took a story that happened ages ago and brought it forward into his own time. So people wouldn't say to themselves ‘But that was all done and dusted ages ago!’, and instead, they'd feel a connection with the story. And think to themselves: ‘Crumbs! That could easily happen in my house.’

Cat:

Brought it forward into his own time?! Makes sense! Just like the modern artist Ai Weiwei did with George the valiant knight, the dragon and the Lego bricks?

Mouse:

Yeah. Sort of.