Six Days of Advent: The Magi
The Adoration of the Magi (tapestry), 1904, by Edward Burne-Jones. Note the angel leading the magi with the Star of Bethlehem cupped in his hands. My father occasionally talked about the last time he saw his father. He said he was a very small boy, and there had been a blizzard on St. Patrick’s Day, and …
Six Days of Advent: The Shepherds
The Annunciation to the Shepherds, Chinese. 20th century, Unknown Artist (and that’s a pity, because it’s a wonderful painting). And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But …
Six Days of Advent: The Mystical Nativity
The Nativity, 1912, Sir Stanley Spencer. Joseph is off to the right, doing something to the chestnut tree. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Raphael, Rubens, Tiepolo, Correggio, and the other great painters who’ve painted exquisite Nativities. But there is something arresting about the mystical nativity, where reality is somehow subsumed in spiritual fervor. Sir …
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Six Days of Advent: The Census at Bethlehem
The Census at Bethlehem, 1566, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. If this looks a little cold even for December in Antwerp, bear in mind that he was painting at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was …
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Six Days of Advent: The Annunciation to Joseph
The Dream of St. Joseph by Georges de La Tour. Most of us aren’t even aware that there was an Annunciation to Joseph. The Merode altarpiece, below, pretty much reflects our impression: we’re there (in the guise of the donors) listening as the Angel Gabriel drops his world-changing news, while Joseph whittles obliviously off to …
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