in the world has been illustrated by so many
famous artists It is easy to see some of the
reasons which have made it a favorite subject
First there is the religious interest which
centers in the entrance of the Divine Saviour
into the world Such an event for all who be
lieve in the Christian religion must have a
profound significance It is the sunrise of
faith the beginning of a new spiritual world
the laying of the cornerstone of the kingdom
of heaven on earth Even if the artist himself
were not sure of this did not altogether be
lieve it he would know that other people be
lieved it and by the imagination he could see
what a supreme importance was given by the
faith of Christendom to the brief and simple
story of the birth at Bethlehem
Second there is the human interest which
clings to the ever beautiful relation of mother
hood and childhood The tenderest and most
unselfish love is that with which a true moth
er looks upon her little child the most perfect
innocence and trustful joy are revealed in the
deep eyes of the baby who smiles into the face
of nis mother bending over him The paint
ings of the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mary
have drawn into themselves the best thoughts
of men concerning the gracious secret of ma
ternity and the unstained bliss of infancy
Fantastic Legends
Third there is the poetic and pictorial inter
est which grows out of the incidents of the
story the strange contrast between the heaven
ly significance of the birth of Christ and its
outward circumstances the blending of light
and shade joy and sorrow hope and fear an
gelic songs and earthly persecutions All these
varied elements centering about a single figure
afford a field of illumination and illustration
such as art loves
My first advice then to those who wish
thoroughly to appreciate and enjoy these pic
tures would be to read and re read the gospel
of St Matthew from the eighteenth verse of
the first chapter to the end of the second chap
ter and the first two chapters of St Lukes
gospel Then it would be wise to read some
of the later legends which were woven in the
apocryphal books and in the mediaeval poems
and narratives about the birth and childhood
of Christ Many of these legends are curious
and fantastic evidently allegorical and symboli
cal They have none of the simple directness
and quiet restraint of the Biblical history
They are in effect clear illustrations of that
native trait of the human mind familiar to
every one who has tried to tell a true story
to a child the craving for picturesque detail
How did it happen Where did it happen
Who was there How did they look What
did they do afterwards These are the ques
tions that children ask when they hear a story
and these are the questions to -which men have
given fanciful answers in the apocryphal and
mediaeval legends such as the protevangelium
ofSt James the gospel of St Thomas the
gospel of the pseudo Matthew The history of
the nativity of Mary the golden legend of
bus de Voragine the poems
of Konrad of Fussesbrunn
Walther af Rheinau Abbess
Kroswitha arid the tradi
tions given by Justin Mar
tyr St Jerome St Bernard
and many other writers
Much of this legendary
and symbolist material was
taken up quite naively by
I
PJUNTJN BY DgfgGGgjR
the painters and embodied in their pictures
Suppose you have a picture of the Annuncia
tion which represents Mary as passing through
a garden when the angel came to her that is
in accordance with the Protevangelium which
says that Mary was chosen by lot from among
the virgins of Nazareth to spin the royal
purple of the Temple veil one day as
she was returning from the fountain with her
pitcher of water the angel met her and said
Hail thou who art full of grace and when
she went back to her spinning he came again
to her to complete his message If the picture
represents Mary in the house working at the
veil the artist has chosen to show us the sec
ond appearance of the angel The emblems
which the artists put into their pictures are
significant The pot of lilies at Marys side
the lily branch in the angels hand symbolize
purity The olive bough borne by the dove
means peace
Or here is a picture of the nativity which
shows the Child and his mother and Joseph in
a cave This is according to the account of
Justin Martyr and quite in harmony with
the customs of Palestine that the stable of
the inn where Christ was born was a grotto
in the rocks Here perhaps you see the o
and the ass bowing their heads before the
child This is told by the gospel of the pseudo
Matthew in fulfillment of the prophecy of
Isaiah The ox knoweth his owner and the
ass his masters crib Here again is a daz
zling supernatural light radiating from the
child so that shepherds who have just entered
must shade their e3es This detail is given
in many legends
How the Story Develops
The five chief points around which the paint
ings of the birth and childhood of Christ nat
urally group themselves are 1 The Annun
ciation 2 The Nativity 3 The Adoration
of the Magi 4 The Flight Into Egypt o
The Home at Nazareth
1 The Annunciation comes from the first
chapter of St Luke and with it are associated
two minor incidents the visit of Mary to her
cousin Elizabeth and the birth of John the
Baptist the forerunner of Christ Tha painters
have delighted to show us the virginal beauty
and meekness of Mary the joy -with which the
angel brought his message and the awe and
wonder with which she received the new con
ception of her son as the Son of the Highest
the Saviour of his people No picture of the
Annunciation is good in which this wonder and
this joy are not expressed If in addition the
painter has chosen to put in many details to
L s
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make us feel the innocence and lovely grace of
Marys life if he has shown us the quiet work
with which she is busy the sweet order of her
room which images the tranquillity of her soul
this also is well But the great thing is that
he should perceive and show as simply as pos
sible the charm of that perfect figure of maiden
hood no rude peasant girl but one with royal
blood in her veins and heavenly thoughts in
her heart
The Nativity
2 The pictures of the Nativity have a great
er variety of incidents and of modes of presen
tation The simplest are those which show
Mary and Joseph in the stable with the child
then come those in which the angels appear
or the shepherds came to pay their adoration
another conception represents the mother
alone with her babe adoring him or nursing
him Pictures of the presentation in the tem
ple and perhaps some of the Madonna and
Child belong to the general theme of the Na
tivity because their central idea is the advent
of Christ as a little babe
Here the painters have found a wide
field for imagination and have used large
liberty in expressing the feelings with which
different persons drew near to the holy child
Mary is almost always shown as wondrously
happy sometimes as in Murillos Adoration
of the Shepherds lifting the cloth that cov
ers the child and displaying him with gentle
pride
3 With the Adoration of the Magi a new ele
ment comes into the scene These wise men
from the east whether they were kings or
not were the representatives of the outside
world
There are pictures which show the Magi on
their journey led by a star sometimes
shining in the form of a babe in the sky and
others which show them at the court of
Herod asking their way and others which
show them being warned by an angel in a
dream not to go back to Jerusalem and oth
ers which show them returning by sea to their
own country But the great majority of paint
ers have chosen the moment at which the
gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh were
presented to the child Here there is room for
splendid color and dramatic contrast
4 The Flight into Egypt is the contrasting
companion piece to the Adoration of the Magi
The one brings the great world into the dwell
ing of the Child Jesus the other carries the
Child Jesus out into the great world
Story of the Flight
The pictures of this subject fall into two
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main divisions those which represent its ac
tual journey and those which show the Holy
Family resting either by the way or in the
land of Egypt The paintings which deal with
the latter theme commonly known as the Re
pose include some of the most beautiful works
of art especially during the last three centu
ries Many details have been introduced from
the legends of the flight in which the apocry
phal History of the Nativity of Mary is par
ticularly rich This is one of them The Holy
Family rested by the road beneath a date palm
and Mary desired to eat of the fruit but it
hung high above her head Joseph being
weary was not able to climb the tree But the
Child Jesus knew his mothers wish and at his
command the tree bent down its branches
Then he thrust his fingers into the sand and
a spring of water gushed forth The next morn
ing Jesus thanked the obedient treeand prom
ised that one of its branches should be carried
by the angels and planted in Paradise
The Triumph of the Innocents
The landscape is half shadowed by night
but the moonbeams weave a filmy radiance
over plain and the distant hills where the
watch fires are growing red In front marches
Joseph with his basket of tools on his back
a sturdy son of toil The mother a noble
woman of Palestine carries the child in her
arms happy and fearless But who are these
little children that run and float beside the
travelers They are the spirits of the mur
dered innocents of Bethlehem set free to fol
low the infant Saviour and knowing that
through him they have entered by the gate of
death into eternal joy Three tiny ghosts in
the rear have not yet felt his presence nor
caught sight of him and the pain and terror
of mortality are heavy upon them But the
others are radiant and rejoicing as ransomed
souls and at their feet rolls the river of life
breaking into shimmering bubbles in which
the glories of heaven are reflected Joseph
does not see the spirits I doubt whether even
Mary sees them clearly But Jesus recognizes
his former playmates with joy He leans from
his mothers arms to greet them holding out a
handful of wheat the symbol of the bread of
Heaven
It is all mystical visionary unreal Or is
it a true picture to the eye of what faith be
holds in the religion of Jesus Surely if this
gospel has any meaning it is the bringing of
light and blessing to the suffering little ones
of earth a deeper compassion and a tenderer
care for them and the promises of a heaven
full of happy children
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A Natural Cause
I think said the smart child re
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