Incarnation Art: a word on art

This issue of the Wesley Journal used a slew of visual art pieces depicting the baby Jesus and his family, some of which were painted or drawn long enough ago to be in the public domain and some of which have been painted in recent years. Below is a listing of the pieces, with short comments as needed, and links to support the artists; work where available.

Cover art, Editor's Note, and end page: The Stalingrad Madonna

The Stalingrad Madonna was drawn by Kurt Rueber on Christmas Eve 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad. A copy of the Madonna is housed in Coventry Cathedral in the United Kingdom and they offer this description of how the icon came to be:

On Christmas Eve 1942, while working round the clock in a field operating theatre somewhere in Stalingrad, he gathered a group of soldiers to hold a Christmas service in an underground bunker: no cross, no tree, no candles. But on the back of a captured Soviet military map he had drawn an icon, the picture of a Russian Mother, a Russian Mary and her Child: the Stalingrad Madonna. It was fastened to an earthen wall. This Russian Mother, like Mary, was sheltering the vulnerable Christ child in the midst of a world of suffering.

Credits page: The Black Madonna of Częstochowa

This Eastern Orthodox icon, currently housed in Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland, has a long history and story. Scholars think it was likely painted in the sixth or ninth century, with the slashes on Mary's face coming at the hands of robbers in the thirteenth century.

Contents page: The Holy Family

This image, which has the quality of an icon, can be found here. While Mary and Joseph tend to the infant Jesus, Jesus looks at us, holding out a hand in invitation. This is a frequent facet of icons, which are meant to be visual devotional aids, helping us to contemplate our invitation into God's story.

Planning for Our Future and The IncarNATION: we need a light!: Bethlehem Star

Information about the artist can be found here.Though the star of Bethlehem that directed the Magi to Jesus is only found in Matthew's Gospel, it is a frequent subject of art and discussion, along with the town of Bethlehem.

Around Campus: The Gospel of Peace

This is a throw-back to our last issue of the Journal, which focused on the windows in Oxnam chapel. The photo was taken by Wesley alumna, Kelly Drury.

Incarnation: The Nativity

This is a stained glass window dating back to the thirteenth century at All Saints Church in York, England. (More detail can be found here.) At the bottom of the image, we see the Holy Family along with an adoring shepherd, but the window extends upward with other intricate images.

Re-Imagining Nativity: José y Maria by Everett Patterson

This image, which you may have seen shared around social media last Christmas, rewards another glance as it is filled with details of the nativity story in the background, from Mary's sweatshirt to the advertisement on the motel sign. Read the story behind the drawing by visiting the artist's page here.

The IncarNATION: we need a light!: The Holy Family by Janet McKenzie

Again, we find a depiction of the Holy Family with Joseph and Mary watching Jesus and Jesus looking back at us, the viewer, but it is a more subdued and knowing Jesus that looks back at us from the face of this image. It provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the writings of theologians like the late James Cone who will tell us that Christ came in radical solidarity with those who are oppressed. Learn more about the artist here.