Blessed Christmas

I have been hunting around the internets for some truly great nativity paintings. Doing any kind of internet search involving the word madonna requires an iron stomach, but I did find a few I want to share. I discovered (again) how truly difficult such paintings are to pull off. Even the masters struggled with the subject, in my opinion. By far, most nativity paintings I wouldn’t care to hang on my wall. Some of these can be viewed at the Art Renewal Center. You can also by a high quality reproduction of anything in their vast online collection.

God bless all on this Holy Day.

Franz Von Rhoden
Rohden_franz_von_gerburt_christi_2

Raphael’s Sistine Madonna
Madonnasistine

Sassoferrato
Sassoferratto

Wm. Bougereau
Bouguereau2

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

24 thoughts on “Blessed Christmas”

  1. Tim, much, much better art than the eyelashes below.
    Wishing everyone a blessed and joyous Christmas!

  3. Very nice selection, especially the Bougereau. My Christmas cards the last two years have featured two of his works – l’Innocence last year and La Vierge aux Anges this year. Merry Christmas to one and all.

  7. I know nothing, absolutely nothing, about art. But, I’ve always enjoyed Bougereau’s The Song of Angels. They have a replica hanging at my parish.
    It can be viewed on-line at http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/bouguereau/bouguereau_song.jpg.html , but the aspect ratio seems off to me. Might be my computer’s resolution.
    I just love the look of concern of the violin-playing angel.
    The Bouguereu you chose above has a stronger nativity or religious Christmas celebration theme, though.

  8. “Art Renewal Center (link at left)”
    Maybe I’m missing something obvious, but I don’t see the link.

  10. I saw a very moving painting (on EWTN?). It was the Madonna leaning over the baby Jesus, and a she was holding his little hand and crying. Has anyone else seen this or know the artist?

  11. A Blessed Christmas to all – especially anyone I may have irritated this last year.
    Tim showed some pictures which brought to my mind this poem by John Betjeman, which, for me, sums it up in fewest words. It ends thus:
    And is it true? and is it true?
    The most tremendous tale of all,
    Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
    A Baby in an ox’s stall?
    The Maker of the stars and sea
    Become a Child on earth for me?
    …
    No love that in a family dwells,
    No carolling in frosty air,
    Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
    Can with this single Truth compare –
    That God was Man in Palestine
    And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.

  12. As much as I prefer these clear, artfully executed and reverent classic masterpieces to neo-artistic depictions that leave me scratching my head, I still have a “bone to pick” with much artwork of the classic style. This is not because of the images of the Blessed Mother or and Holy Infant, but the tendency to render angels of God as delicate, effeminate or both. When I think of the angels attending the nativity of Christ, I imagine the frightful beings who appear to the sheepherds in St. Luke’s Gospel, whose first words had to be “Do not be afraid.”
    The cherubs of Raphael are well executed and artistically wonderful, but it seems to me that were such beings susceptible to insult, such images would offend them. In that sense I find more to admire in strong depictions, even in the crudely-drawn cartoon angels of Jack Chick than of Raphael’s masterworks.
    Humbly submitted as my own 2-cents’ worth,

  13. “I imagine the frightful beings who appear to the sheepherds in St. Luke’s Gospel, whose first words had to be “Do not be afraid.”
    Yet we also know from hindsight that even little children were very comfortable in the presence of Jesus, as were the multitudes of poor that he met on a daily basis. And if Jesus, the ‘LORD of angels’, is percieved, and portrayed in art, in this charitable light, might not we also expect the same perception and portrayal of His good angels…being that they should be in many ways similar to their Lord and Master?
    So, I find no fault with love filled portrayals of the good angels, or with the Lord either. If the angels are courteous, and nice enough, to greet with the words “Be not afraid”, maybe the fear is caused more by human lack of faith, or surprise, than the angel’s demeanor?

  14. Merry Christmas to you, Tim! As much as I like your entries, I am beginning to think that this is a Tim Jones blog page, and not Jimmy Akin’s. Is he O.K.?

  17. PBS did a nice segment on Mary recently, lots of art including a couple of assumption paintings. Quite a nice variety.

  23. I KNEW I should have looked here for some nice pictures of our Holy Mother. I too did a google search and well just imaging what came up. Thanks Tim!

  24. Merry Christmas!
    My favorite Christmas painting: Adoration of the Shepherds by Hugo van der Goes. It’s in the Uffizi in Florence.
    Diane

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