One: Merry Christmas

May God bless your family this Christmas Day.

The Mystical Nativity by Sandro Botticelli

c. 1500-1501

The National Gallery of London

Happy Birthday Jesus

Merry Christmas! Best wishes for a Christmas filled with love, time with family, and a remembrance of the birth of the Word made flesh today on this blessed day.

We also wish you safe travels and an overall safe Christmas. We hope that no one pulls a crazy-lady-in-red on you and knocks you down like that woman did the Pope! In case you missed it, here's a link to the madness that happened yesterday.

Madonna and Child, c. 1600s
Sassoferrato
Hearst Castle, California

Speaking of safe travels, I hope that all of your lovely Christmas cards made it on time to their destinations! I know our family's haven't...but maybe that's because it hasn't been written yet. Haha. Maybe some of you sent them with this accompanying postage stamp.


The painting is by this man:

Self-Portrait, c. 1600s
Sassoferrato
The Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

Giovanni Battista Salvi, better known as Sassoferrato, was born in 1609. To commemorate his birthday 400 years ago, the United Postal Service decided to use Madonna and Child as its Christmas emblem this year. Again, Merry Christmas! And let's not forget what Sassoferrato has unintentionally reminded us of today- that facial hair like that is no longer in style. Praise Jesus!

Two: Christmas Eve

Let's take a cue from the reverent shepherds depicted here and adore all that the Christmas season is about together :)

Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1644

Georges de la Tour

Musee du Louvre, Paris

Three: A Secret Christmas

Look at this everyday scene of a typical 16th century Netherlandish town:

Children are playing on the frozen canal:

People are standing in line outside of a tavern while the village butcher is prepping for dinner:

Joseph is leading the Virgin Mary through the crowd to report for the census:

Wait a minute....

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, that's THE Joseph and THE Mary. And there is a really good reason why they are hanging out in the freezing cold with a bunch of Dutch people and not in Judea.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder painted Census at Bethlehem at a pivotal and dramatic point in Dutch history. The Netherlands was at war and the art world, which had flourished in Northern Europe during recent decades of prosperity, was ripping in two. Catholic painters fled south to Spanish Flanders as protestants lashed out at one of the Catholic Church's most important teaching and veneration tools--the image.

In 1566, torch bearing bands of Calvinists went from town to town in the young Dutch Republic, burning churches, destroying icons and altarpieces and defacing statues of God, Mary and the Saints. When the anger and embers cooled a few weeks later, countless precious works of art had been destroyed and remaining Catholic artists were in hiding. Facing inquest, financial ruin and violence, artists were forced to choose-- either find new inspiration or find a creative way to mask it. But, as protestant influence grew stronger, critics grew bolder and more creative.

Peter Bruegel, a Catholic, was one of these critics. The possiblity of backlash was real even for him, an artist living in the relative safety of Flemish Antwerp. In fact, the threat was so real that he ordered his wife to destroy several paintings as he lay on his death bed, fearing their discovery would result in her persecution.

Bruegel masterfully hid both religious figures and political criticism in plain sight. (His work The Beekeepers is an excellent example this.) A protestant inquisitor would simply overlook the pretty young woman dressed in blue riding on a donkey. But a Catholic, aware of heightened ridicule of religious icons, would see the Virgin Mary there as clear as day.

Look again. Do you see her now?

Census at Bethlehem by Pieter Bruegel the Elder c. 1566
Museum voor Oude Kunst, Brussels

Five: Christmas Rush

Did all that last minute Christmas shopping this weekend leave you feeling like this?

Christmas Rush (Tired Sales Girl on Christmas Eve)

by Norman Rockwell

Saturday Evening Post Cover, December 27, 1947

Six: A Perfect Tree

We are very blessed, for lots of reasons. This is one of them:

Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina
Photo by Hugh Morton

Jenny and I were raised in a beautiful state, with rugged mountains filled with perfect trees. Growing up, my favorite book was about one of these perfect trees, grown on the peak of my favorite mountain in Avery County, NC.


Appalachian writer Gloria Houston's book, The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree, tells the story of Ruthie, a little girl who picks out the perfect Christmas tree with her daddy before he leaves to fight in WWI. While the story is wonderful, the illustrations really make the book.

Ruthie

Houston's story is brought to life by award winning illustrator, Barbara Cooney. Ms. Cooney's folk art graces the pages of over 100 books, including 15 books that she authored herself.

Grandfather Mountain

Barbara Cooney
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree

The Brooklyn born artist's long and active career as an illustrator began in the 1940's. In 1959, she was awarded the Caldecott medal for most distinguished children's picture book for her book, Chanticleer and The Fox. She won the award again in 1980 for Ox-Cart Man. (Other Caldecott winner's include Where the Wild Things Are, The Polar Express and Madeline's Rescue.)

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree was published in 1988 and was one of Ms. Cooney's last collaborations. She passed away in 2000 leaving behind a legacy that lives on in the book shelves of millions of children and adults alike.

Seven: Sinterklaas is Coming to Town!

The Dutch are often credited for bringing Santa Claus to the US, though that is definitely up for debate (the Calvinists of the 16th century Netherlands weren't exactly keen on Catholic Saint Days!)

But the Dutch did (and still do) celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas with a visit from "Sinterklaas" on December 6 and this amusing genre scene by famous Dutch Master Jan Steen captures the excitement and chaos of Christmas morning.

The Feast of St. Nicholas

Jan Steen, 1663-1665

Rijkmuesum, Amsterdam

As her amused parents look on, the little girl at the center of painting excitedly throws her empty shoe on the floor to hug the small treats that St. Nick left for her the night before.

But her disobedient brother awoke to disappointment, finding only a switch in his shoe:

In the background, the oldest brother points out Sinterklaas' favorite way in to his siblings, the chimney:

Will your house look like Jan Steen's next week?

Eight: Sedes Sapientiae!

What is sedes sapientiae, you say? It's latin for "Always wear underwear." NOT! Haha, That's semper ubi sub ubi. Sedes Sapientiae, for all of us that aren't dead language scholars, is latin for throne of wisdom.

The throne of wisdom is a devotional phrase that describes Mary and her role as a vessel for the Christ child. Physically her body, especially her lap, is a throne for Jesus. Seeing that Jesus is the living word of God, it makes sense that He would be referred to as "wisdom."

This sculpture representing the throne of wisdom is the earliest known sculpture of the Virgin Mary to date. It goes all the way back to 980 AD.

Golden Madonna of Essen, c. 980s

Artist: Mystery

Location: Mystery as far as I can find...

This wooden sculpture coated in gold leaf has been restored a number of times and has come close to collapsing into itself!

Here's a more...shall we say...modern version of Sedes Sapientiae:

Madonna of Bruges, c. 1501-04

Michelangelo

Church of Our Lady, Bruges, Belgium

This beautiful sculpture has an interesting take on Mary's grasp on Jesus. She sits somewhat complacently as the baby Jesus begins to walk away from her. It is as if she is coming to terms with her Son's destiny.

...Boy oh boy have these two inspired a lot of artists! :)

Nine: A Dutch take on the Annunciation

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

-Luke 1:34

Merry Christmas everybody! As the story goes, Mary first learned of the Lord's will to send his only Son out into the world by immaculate conception from a visit by the angel Gabriel. This is formally called the Annunciation and is the subject of so many renaissance works. Rogier van der Weyden, a famous dutch artist from the early 15th century, used many Christmas themes as subjects of his paintings. Weyden, along with Jan van Eyck, epitomize the style of Renaissance art from Northern Europe at the time. The artists both painted their own versions of the Annunciation.

The Annunciation, c. 1430s

by: Jan van Eyck

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The Annunciation c. 1440

by Rogier van der Weyden

Musee du Louvre, Paris

These two works have a lot of similarities.

Per usual, the Virgin Mary is painted in rich blue drapery. Deep blue was a color worn by empresses dating back to the Byzantine Empire. Lapis blue was also the most expensive dye for painters for a time and therefore was reserved for only the most special aspects of a work. The ever pious Mary is shown in both works with what was most likely a gospel book in front of her. The angel Gabriel wears a fabric with an intricate design. Even the carpet in the two works is painted with a bold pattern. Mary's hands are held up in the air, ever ready to take in what the Lord has in store for her.

As the anniversary of Christ's birth draws near, take the time to appreciate all of the Christmas art we've got to show you!

Ten

Welcome to our first annual Christmas Countdown Party! How about some nog?


Check out this year's lovely decor, its all by Andy Warhol.

1955

You didn't know Andy did Christmas? He sure did!

1958

Beginning in 1956, Mr. Warhol, a relatively unknown artist new to New York, was commissioned to do a line of Christmas cards for the Tiffany & Co. flagship store on 5th Ave. He worked with the store until his career took off in 1962. (Johnathan Jones, The Guardian UK)

1958

This charming book written by Tiffany's design director John Loring brings together the full collection of Warhol's cards. It would make an excellent gift for the Warhol (or Tiffany's) lover in your life!

If you want more check out this slide show of Andy's cards.