© Jeannette D’Souza 2024
The National Gallery at London’s Trafalgar Square holds a sentimental spot for me.
It all began when I first arrived to Great Britain (literally within the first few days) that I visited this fine gallery and fell in love with its collection. And so this nostalgic attachment grew on me for years if not over decades into something even more precious, from a spiritual perspective of interpreting art that continues on to remain….
Holding over 2300 works the gallery’s delightful collection is so impressive and ranges from various art periods and genres in the Western European tradition, making the visitor’s experience fascinating and vividly engaging.
I visited the splendid gallery after awhile and this time with the intention to view works mainly that are captured by artists from a biblical perspective. And so it is with this feeling and the necessity to cherish the artist’s faithful biblical interpretations and the emotional intensity that holds even deeper meaning I immersed myself into the gallery’s vibrant halls.
Rambling over 3 days through all the floors and not withholding my usual inclination to photograph constantly I started off on my blog- ‘Paintings in the trace of Christ at London’s National Gallery’.
While mainly dwelling on the theme of the story of Jesus Christ in 2 parts I have tried to connect the paintings in a story form with relevant extracts from the Bible and furthermore conveying my thoughts and the sentiments that they evoked.
All images below are taken personally from The National Gallery museum of London, my sincere thanks to the gallery in enabling me to portray my spiritual expressions visually!
The gallery has a fantastic Christian collection and an enriching one that fills the aesthetic mind’s journey, and furthermore to me which then inexplicably got connected towards a spiritual one!
Hope you find this little journey of spiritual pics ‘Paintings in the trace of Christ’ (part 1) enriching and uplifting as it did me, blessings to all!
‘Hail Mary! Full of grace! the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus!’
And Mary said, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word’, and the angel departed from her.
One of my fav mystic artist the great renaissance master – Fra Filipino Lippi has portrayed so very delicately the scene of the Annunciation with tender expressions.
As the Angel Gabriel appears to the blessed Virgin Mary and announces the glad tidings, from above the hand of God is seen sending the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove close to Mary, while a young Mary reveres the salutation with great faith yieldingly! The white lilies and the walled garden refer to the virgin’s purity and the greens of the garden and orange floor symbolise immortality and praises to God!
This painting held my breath with its message engraved deep – Fra Lippi’s immense faith to narrate the account of this mystery while creating a connection of love between God & man is awe inspiring, it still holds such gravity and an endearment to the account of the Annunciation!
The ‘Immaculate Conception’ meaning the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception… It is one of the Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church.
Furthermore the Angel Gabriel greets her with alluding words ‘Hail Full of Grace and Most Blessed of all women!’ Mary was highly favoured and with grace for The Almighty poured out His Holy Spirit upon the handmaid of the Lord, Mary, and the power of God overshadowed her!’, thus God preserved her for Jesus- the son of God, who was born without original sin!
In reflection, how beautiful were the words foretold by prophet Isaiah and then mentioned in the gospel of Mathew…; ‘Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall name Him Emmanuel’!
Diego Velazquez depicts the young Virgin Mary in a prayerful yet triumphant stance, standing on the moon and crowned by twelve stars which relate to her Immaculate Conception.
Besides being a court artist to King Philip of Spain and Portugal where the theme was popular, Velazquez was also a believer and so he expresses Mother Mary’s aura with grace from within which is glowing outward in resplendence in the painting. There have been earlier paintings that allude the symbolism to the words from the book of Revelations.
Velázquez conveys sentiments through notable expressions and visuals referring to Mary’s purity and holiness!
A disturbed Joseph is left mystified after learning about Mary’s conception, he intends to call off their betrothal. But the angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream saying – ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit’……! ‘She will bear a son while still a virgin and her child will be the son of God’ (Matthew 1: 20-21).
This is such a striking painting- the artist Champaigne used bright colours on attires to contrast the scene and bring out the mood to highlight a difficult theme thus bringing the painting together visually. In the foreground Joseph is shown resting and a bit perturbed still in his sleep while Mary In the background is seen kneeling and in a state of astonishment, that God looks after her needs even to this point.
The angel reveals to Joseph the mystery of Christ’s incarnation, and Joseph reveres this message.
Notice the surrounding soft organza like effect overhead to Joseph, it helps us transcend into a celestial dimension, it seems to lift the ‘earthly way of thinking’ off from Joseph to reveal the heavenly truth of God’s incarnation into human flesh. I loved the composition and its ardent bearing -‘of angels interacting with humans’
There are some woodworking instruments at the feet of Joseph relating to his profession of carpentry. The artist put great thought into interpreting the scene so wonderfully transporting the viewer into another spiritual dimensional level.
In this moment of simultaneous happenings the story is woven aesthetically and brings into the foreground a gentle nature of Joseph and his faith in God’s promise, thus he goes on to fulfil his own promise …to take care of Mary.
This is a rather uncommon painting scene although not mentioned in the canonical gospels yet was referred to from the apocryphal origins.
When the Virgin Mary was betrothed to Joseph she was carrying the holy child in her womb, she needed protection and Joseph was the chosen one by God for Mary. This is symbolically conveyed with the blooming flowers on the rod that Joseph holds. Furthermore his unparalleled committment towards Mary is observed in his bent poise as he faces Mary, and the gestures and expressions from surrounding countenances suggest the approval of the holy matrimony upon this occasion.
The Holy Spirit is visualised in the form of a dove hovering gently above the blessing of this union, gracing the conjugal bond as shown with the Virgin Mary and Joseph joining their hands and kneeling beneath a priest.
A vividly inspiring scene of radiant blue and orange colours that marry well conveying the richness and gifts of the sacrament of matrimony. While the expressions of the betrothed couple in a unison humble poise make the scene endearing!
And a host of angels sang in chorus ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men….’ 🎺 🎶
The artist Botticelli’s mystic narration of the nativity is laden in symbolism and wonder and focuses on an ethereal jubilation.
His depiction of creating a dreamlike sequence with soft gestures, of pale pastel tones against vivid colour contrasts are all iconic bringing out the sublime nature of the nativity. Mary is seen kneeling in humble adoration while St Joseph is shown as completely awed by the Holy Child’s birth. In the foreground angels are seen embracing mortals passing the message of victory and peace while seven devils are shown fleeing to the underworld.
Shepherds and Wisemen come to pay homage to the ‘King and Saviour’ of the world.
The angels above hold olive branches as a sign of peace and there are olive wreaths shown as reaching the earth to mortals, the heavens are bright when the earth is blessed in fulfilment of God’s promise to us!
And so the saviour of the world was born in a stable meek and lowly in the midst of oxen, sheep and hay and hence it is this divine enfolding that mother Mary and St Joseph are yet discerning…, in reverence and awe they keep adoring the holy infant.
‘For unto you is born in the city of David a saviour, which is Christ the Lord! And this shall be a sign unto you, you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger’…
The unknown artist of this painting has taken the scene up, close and personal- such a rich narration of wonder, amazement and reverence. The virgin mother reveals the infant messiah tenderly to the shepherds, her face speaks of varied emotions through the outpouring of faith, joy and of a soft melancholy too. The shepherds’ awestruck countenance in beholding a peaceful infant stirs my heart to question- what would I have done, how would I respond and what would I give Him… except all of my heart.
St Joseph leans on his staff gently in a fixed gaze contemplating at the miracle of the holy child, his expressions ‘the dream has come to be…’. In the far distance the dark night remains illuminated with angels that announced the saviours birth to the shepherds. The young child (closest to the viewer) is seen eagerly offering a fowl and a bread basket to baby mJesus, there is another to the far right who plays the pipes- maybe a lullaby to baby Jesus, and there are lambs tied lying below- perhaps a symbolism of the Christ’s reason to be born, to redeem us from the slavery of sin and Him being the ultimate sacrifice.
‘And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him! And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh’.
The star led the Three kings (aka Three wise men) to the manger where Jesus lay. King Casper in burgundy cloak is shown kneeling before the mother and child presenting his gift, King Melchior in a gold cloak stands further to the right and King Balthazar in a red cloak stands to the left both as well bearing gifts. Bystanders including shepherds watch in wonderment to the significance of the travellers, their solemn entrance with reverence in connection to the little babe… It must have been such a glorious sight and Mary Joseph witnessing this event might have felt overwhelmed with amazement and wonder to the marvels that God worked.
While the gifts might have even helped the holy family to survive during their escape into Egypt yet one cannot but ponder over their hugh significance- Gold signifying Jesus Christ’s kingship and as the most High priest of the order of Melchizedek , Frankincense signifying Jesus as the mediator between God and mortals for the forgiveness of our sins and Myrrh signifying the greatest sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross to give us everlasting life.
The great star is shown shining above and the Holy Spirit descending from the star bringing hope, peace, love and joy to all!
This painting is so aesthetically charged, rich in interpretation and visually rapturing, the colours are vibrant and inspiring, I could not move from this breathtaking sight for several minutes. Notice the delicate, docile and unique soft features on all characters depicted, they have such an impact on the viewer and surely a delight to gaze in and on…
Just imagine the artist Jan Gossaert making humongous efforts hours upon hours to incorporate intricate details of finery, ornaments, embellishments and maybe taking days to even preparing those rich vibrant colours.
The portrayal of such a grand scene with meticulous details and such perseverance to complete this stunning masterpiece speaks in itself wonders!
‘When the child was eight days old, he was circumcised and was named ‘Jesus’. This was the name the angel Gabriel had given Him before Mary conceived Him.
According to the Jewish tradition Mary and Joseph followed the law which required the firstborn son to be circumcised thus fulfilling the covenant. Upon presenting the child Jesus at the temple…, – as per belief there it was for the first time that the blood of Jesus was shed’.
This painting was designed by Bellini but painted mostly by His workshop, this subject was widely popular in Venice with a veneration for the sacred blood of Christ. The arrangement was later frequently copied throughout Europe.
Notice the expressions on the parent’s face as depicted…silently speaking they reveal a certain fulfilment and yet a sombre note that His blood would be shed for all mankind. The solemn darker tones against the striking bright colours convey significant meaning – the reds symbolise sacrifice and atonement leading to deliverance , the golds mark priesthood in a way pointing onwards to the Christ priest of the order of Melchizedek which meant that Jesus is the king and priest, and the blue signifies the covenant between God and creation …
This painting held my presence in a trance for reflections; the scene so delicate and thus offering a glimpse into the reality of Jesus’s birth – for offering himself on the cross, and thus at Christmas this outpouring of thanksgiving for His coming into the world to save us!
With this theme of Christmas I close this part of my blog as part 1 – the next part 2 to follow in the new year’s.
Wishing everyone a very Blessed and Peaceful Christmas filled with the light and love of Christ Jesus!, May His birth in our hearts bring great joy and abundant blessings to all!!
And a Happy New Year 2025! 🌟🎄💫✨💖✨💫🎄🌟
22 December 2024
© Jeannette D’Souza 2024
