Nativity of the week
The Nativity With Two Angels, possibly c 1490s, by Filippino Lippi
Mary is the main character in this nativity, revering her baby son at the centre of a stable that is, in effect, a theatre to stage her soulful absorption. Joseph watches from the sidelines. In fact, he’s separated from her by one of the angels who attend her and Jesus – and whose small size emphasises the importance of the much bigger Virgin. In the simplest and quietest moments in the Christmas story in art it is motherhood that shines out. Before the shepherds and the kings and the flight to Egypt the nativity is the bond portrayed here between Madonna and child.
• Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
Also showing
Front cover of the Lorsch Gospels, c 810
Medieval depictions like this one, from the court of the emperor Charlemagne at Aachen, often depict Mary in bed recovering from labour. This touch of raw realism about the physical process of Christ’s birth was later effaced from art.
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Nativity at Night, possibly c 1490, by Geertge tot Sint Jans
The radical lighting of this wondrous little picture, setting the scene in a dark night and mystically spotlighting the intense drama, focuses us again on the feelings of Mary as she prays to her tiny divine baby.
• National Gallery, London
Mother (from Family Suite), 1994, by Tracey Emin
The nativity’s central theme of mother and child has long fascinated Emin. Here she isolates the pungent human emotions behind the Christmas card pageantry.
• National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
The Nativity, 1470-75, Piero della Francesca
Mary’s prayer to her baby is set to music by a choir of angels in this ethereal, visionary scene. This is the antidote to modern festive materialism – a stark and sublime painted hymn.
• National Gallery, London
Image of the week
Known for her vibrant portraits of overlooked communities, Aliza Nisenbaum’s new show at Tate Liverpool pays tribute to Merseyside healthcare workers, whom she painted remotely. “It’s a huge task to do my sitters justice,” Nisenbaum said. “But in this case even more so, because they’re putting their lives on the line.” In this group from the emergency department at Alder Hey children’s hospital, which also treated adults at the peak of the pandemic, the team spirit is palpable. Read more.
What we learned
Ai Weiwei’s documentary Cockroach pays tribute to the Hong Kong protesters …
… and does so in spectacular style
Maggi Hambling defended her nude sculpture of Mary Wollstonecraft
US artists are raising money to help fight food insecurity
Australian arts organisations are still waiting for promised funds
Handmade Christmas cards by British artists went beyond glitter and puns
An angelic Maradona joined nativity scenes in Naples
NHS rainbows and a linen-weaving course were among the design highlights of 2020
Maripol electrified with a stunning Polaroid of Sade
Bags: Inside Out at the V&A was totes fabulous
Victor Burgin’s 1986 book Between is back in print – and contains themes still common to us all
A church that sealed a blossoming friendship for LS Lowry was granted listed status
New York was the epicentre of an explosive new style of photography in the mid 20th century
Jeremy Snell captured the dark secrets of Ghana’s Lake Volta
Ian Jenkins, the archaeologist who oversaw the Parthenon marbles at the British Museum, died aged 67
Masterpiece of the week
Hanukah Lamp, 18th-century Netherlands
This is the last day of Hanukah, when lighted lamps and candles mark the victory against Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 165 BC. Antiochus had tried to eradicate Judaism. When Judah the Maccabee retook the desecrated Second Temple, there was hardly any oil to light its menorah lamp, yet the little there was lasted eight days. The Hanukkah lamp is lit for the same period. This 18th-century Dutch example bears witness to how Europe’s Jewish communities have kept the winter festival alight down the centuries.
• British Museum, London
Don’t forget
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