PERSONAL APPROACH: The Christmas Spirit ('The Adoration of the Shepherds')
When Christmas time comes, I
cannot avoid pondering over the Christmas spirit. I thought that it would be a good idea to
post a brief text about this festivity, along with a characteristic
painting. The birth of Jesus is one of the most important events of the
Christian Liturgical Year, and it has awakened a great interest between artists
throughout the years. I have chosen the El Greco’s work about the subject,
because he is an artist whose paintings I beheld in some occasions in Madrid
and Toledo. What I consider the most remarkable thing about El Greco is the
fact that he was seen as a forerunner by many different artists in the XIXth
and XXth centuries, probably due to his expressionist and subjectivist worries, away
from the faithful imitation of reality. His extremely distorted bodies and the
contrasts between light and dark are two of the main characteristics of
his painting.
I thought that I could use
this painting as a pretext to talk about the Christmas spirit, which is well
depicted in this artwork. And I am writing not only for believers (I am not discussing
a theological matter), but also for anyone who feels that something is missing
nowadays about this festivity. I think that one beautiful idea is that at
Christmas the Creator became a little and weak creature, in need of love and
protection: a baby who cries in a narrow manger. He symbolically dethroned
Himself from the centre of the universe, by becoming one of us, and for the
first time divinity and fragility converged. This has been seen as the beginning
of a new relationship between God and mankind. This way, there was a main
change in the Universe and in the worldview until that moment: God, by the
Incarnation, gave us a message of humbleness
and compassion.
Best regards,
Jacobo González
Best regards,
Jacobo González
DETAILS:
Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds
Artist: Domeniko Theotokopoulos, El Greco
Date: 1612-1614
Dimensions: 319 cm by 180 cm
Artistic technique: Oil on canvas
Style: Mannerism
Provenance: The Prado Museum, Madrid
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