The article characterizes the conditions of visual arts in their dual structure: conceptual and artistic. The theory of conceptual integration provides research tools insight into complex network of mental spaces responsible for creating material anchor of blend, for example the Nativity of Christ. The preservation of conceptual structure in the material form of the image brings a number of formal solutions conjoined to the primary text. The definitions worked out on the ground of psychology of art (figure-background, shape, form, space) juxtaposed with terms of cognitive science (figure-background, vital relations between mental spaces) appear to be complementary in the multimodal distribution of the content within the Christian culture.