Carl Bloch: THE HOLY NIGHT

THE STORY:

 Luke writes, “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." This painting of the nativity illustrates that moment.

ANALYSIS:

Through the open doorway on the right-hand side of the painting, the star that appeared to herald Jesus’ birth is visible.  The shepherds stand below that star and the open sky, reminding viewers that they came because angels from those heavens appeared to them.  The shepherds are all shown mid-action, one removing his hat, one shading his eyes from the light, another crouching. This is the moment they see the Christ child. 

The painting is lit partially from the small oil lamp that Joseph holds, but mostly from the light emanating from the baby Jesus.  The illumination around Him represents that He is the light of the world, that He is holy, and that without Him, there is only darkness.  Joseph and the shepherds look at the baby, but Mary looks out of the canvas directly at the viewer, “pulling back the cloth that covers Him, to show us her newborn child” (Pheysey and Holzapfel 67).

I found this so interesting: “The image of the adoration of the shepherds first became part of the artistic canon as a result of the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.  It was he who taught that the poor were the favored ones, for the lowly shepherds were those to whom the angel first appeared and were privileged to be the first to see and adore the Christ child” (Pheysey and Holzapfel 67).

PERSONAL IMPACT:

My favorite element of this painting is that while the shepherds and Joseph are focused on the infant Christ, Mary is not. She is looking directly at the viewer, drawing us in and inviting us to witness her testimony of the Savior's birth. I also imagine her looking into the future with an understanding that her child came to atone and to conquer death and that His life would be glorious and His death brutal. 

Works cited:

Dawn C. Pheysey and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, The Master’s Hand: the Art of Carl Heinrich Bloch (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010)