Christ Represented

Images, or representations, play a powerful roll in helping to educate.  There is the old saying that a picture is worth a 1,000 words.  The placement of cameras in public places, and on cell phones means that many things can be recorded.  Images also help us to recall past events, and that helps us form and remind us of memories.  A common image in Christian households this time of year may be a Nativity scene.  After all, while Christmas today is becoming more about Santa Claus, the day is reallly about the birth of Christ.  The word Christmas itself comes from Christ's Mass. As I noted in a post two weeks ago, Christmas was not set until after the Emperor Constantine had converted to Christianity; a few years later the Pope declared the date to be Decembert 25.  I recall, as a young child watching as my Mom setup the creche set, and later assisting her in the effort.  The Hummel pieces in the creche were not going to be left to the dropful hands of a young boy.  The creche figurines used in my house today was a wedding gift from my aunt and uncle.   I built the manger out of scaps of dimensional cedar lumber.

Creche set at my house.
Photo by author. 12/ 2015 

Christianity has no qualms about representation of Christ, the son of God, or the prophets or figures of the old or new testament.  Some religions, such as Islam, however, have a different view.  Images were used to help educate the populace.  The United Nations estimates that in the mid-19th century only about 20% of the world's adult population could read or write.  Today, the estimate is at 80%.  Think then, how few would be able to read and write in the early days of Christianity. Therefore, artwork, or images were developed to convey and teach.  Church artwork was to assist the populace in understanding religious events. That was the purpose of the stained glass windows in the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe.   Much of the highly thought of works of art from the Renaissance have a religious theme.  The Church of the Nativity, first constructed in 326 by St Helen, mother of the then Roman Emperor Constantine, was torn down and reconstructed in 530.  When the Ottomans took over control of Jerusalem in 614, it is said they did not destroy the church, as they did most others, because of paintings depicting the Three Wise Men.  Tradition holds that the Maji were from the east and depictions often show them in the dress of a Persian.  We don't know if Christ was born in a stable or a cave, although it was more likely the latter.  In the west, the depiction of a stable seems more common.

Interior of part of Church of the Nativity
Photo by author.  4/2013

The first record of a nativity scene has it being accomplished by Francis of Assissi in the Italian village of Grecio in 1223, nearly 800 years ago.  Having obtained the approval from Pope Honorious III, Francis set up a small scene with Mary, Joseph and the baby child in a cave in that Italian village.  He added an ox and a donkey.  While villagers gathered to gaze upon the depiction, Francis used the representation as a teaching moment, to talk about the story of the birth of Christ.  Over the next couple hundered years nativity scenes would become common--traditional--in European homes.  During that time frame,  shephards and the Maji were added to the representation.

Mosaic  tile floor below current floor in Church of the Nativity.
Mosaic floors were works of art and some often told a story.
Author photo, 4/2013

While the first nativity was not created until the 13th century, artwork or sculpture has been depicting the birth of Christ since before the rise of Constantine as Emperor, although such depictions were likely limited to the catacombs and the sarcophogi of Christians who had passed the bonds of earth.  The depiction of Christ's birth was, and is common, in Byzantine iconography.  Western artists would borrow some Byzantine techniques, but of course would do their own interpretations.  After all, art is meant not to just educate.  It is to inspire.  It is to provide reflection.  It is to challenge. Everyone can be an art critic.   Prior to the printing press, monks in medieval scriptoriums would copy works and duly decorate important writing with artwork, think the bible.

Column with artwork in Church of the Nativity
Author photo, 4/2013

The Saint John's Bible, the first handwritten bible in over 500 years to be commissoned by a Benedictine abbey, was completed a few years ago. The frontispiece for the Gospel of Luke contains a modern day interpretation of the birth of Christ. With the assistance of a work by Susan Sink, let us walk through the nativity scene frontispiece, which is shown below.

Nativity Frontispiece to Gospel of Luke, Saint John's Bible.
See source below.

The eye is first drawn to the gold shaft emanating from the manger.  This shaft of gold, at least to me, is a dissonance to the overall piece. It is abrupt, and it dominates the image.  While the Christ child is not visible, one knows simply of his presence by use of the gold, which is commonly used throughout that bible to represent the presence of the divine.  Gold angels to either side of the shaft form a cross of gold, hinting at the fate which awaits the child born to a mother and foster father.  What I find interesting is that the gold shaft looks like a person with their hands raised up, like the touchdown signal.  Notice the + symbol between the two "arms" which represents the star of Bethlehem.  To one side of the manger is Mary, who is the only person to be in colored garments, she gently leans to the manger and quietly gazes into the crib to see the face of God the son.  Behind Mary is one of the three Maji.  The opposite side the gaze into the make-shift crib is held by shepherds.  What is interesting in this piece is that the oldest shepherd is a women, not a man as most manger scenes depict.  It is thought that mainly women and children were the likely shepherds tending the flock.  Also of interest are the three animals guarding the entrance to the stable or cave.  The donkey and ram can easily be placed in a biblical context, as noted by Sink, yet the third large animal is an ox. Sink notes that the depiction of the ox is based on one of the Neolithic cave paintings at Lascaux, France.  (The cave paintings are estimated to be up to 20,000 years old.)  The movement of the ox, she says, reminds of the "Little Drummer Boy." where the ox and lamb kept time."  Yet, she also notes that the four evangelists are represented in many medieval manuscripts by a symbol--in the caes of Luke it is an ox.  To me, the ox also represents the first nativity scene created by St. Francis.  The manger, Sink notes, almost looks like a book, and she attributes that to its having been drawn in "reverse perspective" style, which is a common technique in Byzantine Icons. The use of some Byzantine style makes me think of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem which marks the site of birth of Christ.

Cover of Gospels and Acts of the St. John's Bible
From Google images.

What is powerful about the image is how it connects.  It connects to early humans by imaging an ox original to a Neolithic painting.  It connects to our  present day culture by the ox keeping time, as in the "Little Drummer Boy."  It connects to the Byzantine Church of the Nativity by marking the location of the birth of Christ.  Such is the power of the represenations of the Nativity.  This is the power of art.  Yet, there is more.  While the gold draws the eye, and at the same disrupts our view of this work of art, it also directs the eye to the large-sized letters done in gold at the bottom rendered over varied colors.  These words harken, as noted by Susan Sink, to Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist in presaging John's preaching) when he says, "By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78-79).

Location of birth of Christ
Photo by author,  4/2013

The work by Donald Jackson in the Luke frontispiece of the Saint John's Bible, is one representation of Christ. In our mind many of us will have our own view of Christ. Our represenation is derived from our experiences, our culture and our prayer life. For some, the image is ever changing as one experiences new facets in life.  The irony of the Nativity is that its power is in the humble essence of that moment. Christ was not born among the powerful, rather he was born to ordinary persons from a small town, and born well south of his hometown.  He was not even born in a building, but a cave with animals around. He was even to be a refugee due to the slaughter of the innocents. One commentator abbreviated Pope Francis' remarks on the Nativity saying "Christ uses humility and love to save the world, not impressive force or a magic wand."   Christmas is not just about Christ coming to us, but we being brought closer to Christ.  In so doing, it should also bring us closer to each other. As we celebrate Christmas this year, perhaps this post will add to your mental picture of Christ. Artwork of the Nativity informs, and reminds us of the birth of Christ, but in the end its meaning is much more.

Merry Christmas!

Sources:  

Image of Nativity scene found at:  http://archive.artsmia.org/illuminating-the-word/selected-pages.cfm

Sink, Susan.  2013. The Art of the Saint John's Bible.   A Saint John's Bible Book. Liturgical Press, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN.

The Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, MN.  2005 Gospels and Acts, The Saint John's Bible. Liturgical Press