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Dear
Friends,
Although this forum has been
mostly inactive of late, these Christmas days I have been feeling the
least I could do was offer you again, as I did in years past, three great painter's master pieces centered on the Nativity of
the Lord. This time the three of them are oils but the first one was
painted on wood panels. As usual, they are not very
known to the general public but they are among the most
beautiful religious paintings ever made. I hope you will like
and feel inspired by them. (NOTE: You may click on the images to
enlarge them.)
The first one, "Concert of Angels and Nativity", is
the central panel of the Isenheim Altarpiece
painted circa 1515 by the German Northern Rennaincence painter
Matthias Grünewald (1470-1528); the other two main panels (not
shown here) being "The Annunciation" (left) and "The
Resurrection" (right). This wonderful altarpiece is preserved at the
Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar (in
Alsace, present-day France).
Concert of Angels and
Nativity
by Matthias Grünewald
The second, "The Adoration of the Maggi" (better-known as
"The Three Maggi"), is a wonderful, most original oil on canvas
painted in 1512 by the Italian High Rennaisance (Mannerist)
painter Jacoppo Bassano (ca. 1510-1592). This medium-sized masterpiece
(92.3 x 117.5 cm) may be viewed at the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna, Austria.
Adoration of the Maggi
by Jacoppo Bassano
The third and
last one, titled "Nativity with St Francis and St
Lawrence", is also a precious, most impressive oil on canvas painted
ca. 1609 by the Italian Baroque painter Michelangelo Merissi di
Caravaggio (1571-1610). This painting,
which is one of his many works of
religious subject, was unfortunately stolen from the Oratory of
San Lorenzo, Palermo (Italy) where it was preserved.
Nativity with St Francis and St Lawrence
by Caravaggio
This time too I have avoided
including too many technical
data about the authors and their works, as my only purpose was to provide you with
some particularly beautiful paintings of the Nativity of the
Lord.
Merry Christmas to all of you and your families!
Luis Miguel Goitizolo |
