The Nativity, a painting that caught my heart

By Elizabeth Prata

Now here is another piece of biblical art that I’ve discovered, thanks to Facebook. I’m so thrilled. Julius Gari Melchers’ The Nativity is beautiful and tender. It takes the scene from a different perspective and a different moment in time. We know that usually a nativity scene shows the babe being adored by his parents, the shepherds, animals and sometimes the Wise Men, though they didn’t arrive until a year or two later.

But Melchers, a painter of German descent, took the scene from the point of view of immediately after the birth of the Savior. His aim is to paint “true and clear” and so we are viewing naturalism in a scene that is usually romanticized.

In looking at Mary’s pose, one can almost feel her exhaustion, both emotional and physical. Joseph’s expression is one of concern and perturbation and near overwhelming responsibility. All among a dirty hallway…and yet the Babe’s head is aglow with the promise of God having sent the Light into the world. What were Mary and Joseph thinking and feeling then? We can ask them when we get there, but meanwhile, please enjoy this representation of the glorious moment when all was quiet, before heaven shouted with joy and all hell broke loose…of the coming of Jesus Christ the Lamb.