Numerous incisions and pouncings were made in the fresh plaster and are still visible on the mural. Thin but deep incisions outline all the halos and head contours. On the walls, Jesus and Mary’s halos are decorated with deep ray-shaped pouncings, while only the halos of the Child in the Nativity scene and of the Holy Trinity on the area of the eastern wall beneath the vault feature quatrefoils decorated with parallel rays, pressed into the plaster. The halos of the angels on the vault are also incised. However, only those painted on the white background also feature thin ray-shaped pouncings, while those on the red painting base do not feature any pouncings. This could indicate the work of an assistant. The symbols of the Passion of Christ, the trumpets, certain other musical instruments, and perhaps the divisions between the different colour bands are also incised on the vault. A pair of compasses was used for the halos and the basic shape of the architecture, as the incised semicircles are still clearly discernible under the colour layers (Fig. 6). As the colour layers have mostly fallen off, the strong red line used to outline the figures stands out. This could be an underdrawing, though in some places (Mary, the Holy Trinity), the preparatory drawing could also have been applied in yellow, while the red may actually be the final contour (Fig. 7). The contours could also have been painted over during restoration works, as the original ones, completed al secco, would have probably fallen off. It is also possible that both red and yellow were combined for the underdrawing. The samples also fail to resolve this dilemma. The red contour of St Joseph’s face, which could be either an underdrawing or the final contour, was applied directly to the limewash, while no other colour layer is visible underneath; it is also possible that it fell off the analysed sample. Perhaps the preparatory drawing was first painted on the plaster (in yellow?), then the limewash was applied over it, and then the red drawing was made. No underpaintings are visible unless the red background on the vault with the angels bearing the symbols of the Passion of Christ was once blue and this is actually a so-called morello (a red underpainting under the azurite). The colours were applied directly to the plaster or limewash, as can be seen in the sample cross-sections (Figs. 1–5). The painter used mainly local colours as the base for modelling. He often used yellow ochre (the hair, the stable, the architecture) and then applied darker colours on top of it. Most of the faces have not been preserved. Facial features are still vaguely discernible on some figures, while on others, they are still surprisingly clear (subsequent retouchings?). The heads of the angels on the vault and Jesus’ head appear slightly more rounded, while the heads of the other figures are elongated, featuring high foreheads and slightly narrowed chins. The eyes are large and slightly almond-shaped. The lower and upper eyelids are narrow and drawn with a thinner line. The notably semi-circular eyebrow is drawn as strongly as the outline of the eye, which it meets at the inner corner, where the contact is further accentuated with red shading. The inner eyebrow continues into a short but beautifully shaped nose, ending in the wavy line of the nostril. The forehead features a horizontal wrinkle, which is clearly one of this painter’s characteristics, as are three parallel wrinkles at the back of the neck (Figs. 6–7). The mouth is shaped around a strong central line curving slightly upwards at the corners, while the triangular accentuation of the corners creates a smile. A short, thin line outlines the heart-shaped upper lip, while a short lower line separates the lower lip from the chin. The crescent-shaped ears are modelled rather schematically. The hands are too big for the body, but they feature elegant long and narrow fingers. The faces of the angels have not been preserved. God the Father is the only figure painted en face. Beneath his high forehead, he gazes sharply at the faithful with large eyes, above which the painter modelled strong, thick eyebrows. If it ever existed, the line of the nasal ridge has not been preserved. The nasal tip is narrow, and the nostrils are elegantly outlined. Under the nose, fleshy lips are hidden behind a moustache and a beard. The face widens with cheekbones that continue into slightly protruding ears. Only a few remains of the carnation’s colour modelling, best visible on the sleeping St Joseph, have been preserved. The relevant sample cross-section has revealed that, at least in this spot, thick colour layers were applied on limewash. The base colour of the carnation is yellow, the shadows along the contours are painted with a broad brush in pink, and the shape is outlined with a red (final?) contour. The skill with which the painter modelled the ox in the stable is fascinating. He applied the same red and pink colours found on the carnations but no yellow. He modelled the animal with a broad brush in an intense pink colour and defined it with a narrower red contour. The colour has mostly fallen off the draperies. On some of the figures, only broad brushstrokes, which the painter used to create the folds, have been preserved (Figs. 6–7), while on the vault, flat-looking blackened parts of the garments and the entire tunics of the angels have been preserved. The halos, which probably used to be bright yellow (massicot), have also blackened. The colour modelling is best seen on Mary’s hair, where the painter applied the basic ochre colour with a thick brush and then modelled the strands with an increasingly thinner brush and a darker red-brown colour. The painter was obviously well-versed in combining thick and thin brushes, but we do not know if he achieved any fine transitions between the highlights and shadings.