Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Fine Art



This is called The Nativity, by Geri Melcher.   This is the Holy Family...  after the birth but before the Angels and Shepherds showed up.  Mary is exhausted.  Joseph...  looking down at the Lord.

This is to my eye... art perfected.

It is both comforting and disquieting at the same time.

I suppose it will surprise most of you, at least those who have never actually visited my house, but DrWho and I very much appreciate art.  The walls of our house are covered with paintings.  Many of which are originals.  We're not hoity toity about it.  We buy what we like.  If there is a story... all the better.  This though...this is special.  

It may be a little high brow for this blog... but I'd very much like to know what ya'll think of it.

9 comments:

Susan said...

I seriously doubt that the angels were absent in any way Nate. They just did not show themselves at that point. God would have had legions of angels surrounding Jesus and his mother at this point. Satan would not have let an unguarded moment pass him by to destroy Mary and Joseph.

God knows His creation. The archangel messenger would not have appeared yet, you are right about that IMO.

This is indeed a fantastic work by this artist. What is disquieting to me is the idea that Mary got to kiss the face of God. That still has the power to amaze me. This is NOT high brow, this is very realistic, and I imagine is exactly what happened for real. That is what is so special about it.

Did you not do the same basically when your babies were born? I like to imagine that there was not a shirt made which could contain your pride and total joy at the births of each of your precious children.

You like to come off as an average, everyday Southron "good ol' boy" Nate. But anyone with a lick of smarts knows from reading you long time, that is the farthest thing from reality. Just your ATF posts and choices in those regards tell more about you than you realize.

Buying what you like as opposed to just solely "investment" art is how actual real people do it. I would think that art as investment is one of the more dodgy ways to invest your money. Never has been my impression that you indulged in dodgy.

Raggededge said...

I wonder what Joseph was thinking? This wasn't his son, I wonder if he did have doubts that Mary was actually a virgin. I'm sure Satan would attack him with all he had to cast as much doubt as possible. Joseph had to have been one hell of a man to be able to weather a storm like that.

cheddarman said...

I really like it Nate, I am sure I will come back several times to look at it. I grew up Catholic and like beautiful art which this painting is

Res Ipsa said...

My first thought was that everything was too clean. Mary and Joseph look too old, too mature. They were probably a couple of teenagers. This Joseph has male pattern baldness.

I like the concept of time alone as a couple. I wonder if Mary had an older women serve as her midwife, or if she had to deliver on her own with only Joseph to help. How if the world did they manage?

After reflecting, there were lots of little, "normal" if you will moments in Jesus's life. Boring normal tedium, just like everyone else.

You are right Nate, truly a work of art.

Susan said...

Ragged, don't forget that after Joseph was going to put her away for being pregnant during their engagement, God spoke to Joseph one night in a dream and told him what Mary had been chosen to do.
Joseph knew from the get go that he was responsible for rearing the son of God. That is probably what is on his mind.
I think most people would be seriously wondering if they were indeed up to the task at hand. How mind blowing would that be to know you were responsible for the parenting of the son of God?

Res, from everything I have ever read from Biblical scholars, Mary was very young, most likely mid to late teen. Joseph could have been much older than she was. Lots of guys start having male pattern baldness in their late 20's. I believe Patrick Stewart the actor said most of his hair was gone by the time he was 19.

Although I didn't get the impression that he was suffering from that when I first looked at the painting.

daddynichol said...

Perfect, and thank you for sharing. Perhaps you would post some of your other pieces.

Nate said...

Indeed a widely held belief is that mary was very young... 13 or 14... and joseph was much older. Perhaps even in his 50s. I have no idea... but my belief is that Joseph was a lot older than Mary. As the tasks required of him would likely be far beyond a teenager. Even in a time when teenagers were men.

Mr. B.A.D. said...

High brow is fine in moderation. I'm partial to poetry.

Susan said...

Nate, I finally figured out what that artwork reminds me of. There is a YouTube of Josh Groban singing O Holy Night that accompanies some very moving video.
You can see after Jesus is born that Joseph is crying tears of joy, then the look on his face when he realizes the enormous impact of what he just participated in.
They look up at the mighty star in the night sky as if to thank and praise God. Then you see the shepherds and the three kings arriving to witness Jesus.

It really is a nice companion to this piece of art.