Alison Saar (b.1956 Los Angeles) is the daughter of artists. Her father Richard Saar was a coast guard combat artist, painter, and art conservator. During high school, Alison helped her father restore Egyptian, Pre-Columbian, and African art. Her mother Betye Saar is a prominent African-American artist whose assemblages and collage art are known and collected by museums and connoisseurs world-wide. Art and history were part of Alison’s upbringing. She graduated from Scripps College in 1978 with a double BA degree in art history and studio. She received her MA in 1981 from Otis College of Art and Design ins Los Angeles.

 

Saar’s work is strongly influenced by her studies of the culture of African and African-American peoples, with an emphasis on the role of black women. Her work reflects her interest in gender, race, and her personal experiences. Her early works are hand-carved, life-sized wood sculptures, including “Snake Charmer” (1985) (Hirschhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.), and a 15’ tall commissioned bronze sculpture titled “Monument to the Great Northern Migration” (1994) (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Chicago).

“Strange Fruit” (1995) (tin alloy, dirt, wood, found objects, rope, paint) (Baltimore Museum of Art) is named after the 1939 Billie Holiday song “Strange Fruit”: “Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood on the root. Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze; strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.” 

Rather than the expected male figure, “Strange Fruit” depicts a nude female with noticeably red lips. She hangs upside down by a rope tied around her ankles. She is the strange fruit. The niche in her abdomen resembles the key hole of a door. Sealed in the niche are found objects. Several African cultures carve niches in the abdomen of their male figures and fill them with powerful objects that are capable of healing, settling disputes, punishing evil, and keeping the peace. Saar’s niche, filled with unknown found objects, is a signature feature shared with her mother’s art. There is a key hole, but no key, suggesting something of value is locked inside.  

Beyond the reference to American slavery and ancient African customs, “Strange Fruit” contains a significant reference to art history. The pose of the figure, while upside down, is the pose of Venus in Botticelli’s painting “Birth of Venus” (1485). American history, art history, and African history are combined in her piece. Saar asks the viewer to contemplate the human experience, while creating a haunting and mysterious presence.

“Swing Low” (2008) (13’ bronze standing on Chinese granite) was commissioned for the Harriet Tubman Memorial, located on the traffic island on West 122nd St and Frederick Douglass Drive, in Harlem. Tubman is depicted as a determined figure who strides forward with purpose. Saar describes her vision: “What I wanted to do was depict outwardly her inward spirit of compassion, and her fearlessness…this unstoppable locomotive…because despite all these efforts and bounties on her, she managed to continue her work…That’s sort of where the train-like image of her petticoat came from…I intentionally had her facing south. The community largely saw it as the figure not facing the direction of the Underground Railroad, which was north-bound. But for Harriet Tubman it was a two-way street, going back and forth, and that’s how I wanted to remember her.” 

Saar created a pattern on Tubman’s long skirt to resemble West African passport masks, small masks (1-3’’) that are considered sacred objects. They are carried about the person, and they are used in special ceremonies and rituals. To Saar, these masks represent the slaves who were saved by Tubman on the Underground Railroad. Tubman’s skirt also has roots that grow from the earth and attach to it.  Symbolic of the roots of slavery, they are pulled out of the past and out of the ground as the slave moves to freedom.

Square carvings placed around the granite base of the statue depict stories of Tubman’s life. These alternate with traditional American quilt pattern designs.

“Embodied” (2015) (14’ x 6.5’) (bronze) is located on the lawn of the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles. Rather than the traditional scales of justice and a sword, the female figure holds an open book of the law in her right hand. She is a tall, slender woman with a presence and stature that allow her to hold the open book out to the viewer, and to balance it. Her left arm is raised, and perched on it is the dove of peace.  Her serene face combines several ethnic features: almond eyes, broad nose, high cheekbones, and full lips that are characteristics of the diverse population of Los Angeles.

Saar adorns the statue’s dress with 200 words that reflect the meaning of justice in more than a dozen of languages. The words were collected from the staffs of the Los Angeles County Sheriff and District Attorney. Saar also solicited from the public and students’ words that they believed embodied the spirit of justice. 

The statue has exceptionally long braids. One braid is draped over her arm and the other falls down her back. Braiding is the method used to make thin grasses into thick ropes. Saar states, “The braid is a universal symbol of unification, by the twining of different entities to achieve a greater strength.”    

“Imbue” (2021) (12’ bronze) (Pomona College, Claremont, California) was made for a Saar retrospective. Saar depicts the Yoruba goddess Yemoja, goddess of childbirth and all bodies of water, protector of pregnant women, child safety, feminine mysteries, love, and healing. The goddess has a special meaning for Saar: “Yemoja crops up in my work a lot. I first discovered her when I was living in New York in the 1990s, trying to grapple with being a young mother and having a career–it felt like a real balancing act…I see Yemoja as not only helping me in terms of patience and balance and child rearing but also as a watery, life-giving spirit who nourishes my creative process.”  Saar depicts Yemoja as a strong woman who balances several types of water containers on her head, and pours water from a bucket onto the earth.  “A lot of my life has been a balancing act between anger and a kind of serenity, and that’s also reflected in my process,” says Saar. The goddess Yemoja came to America with African slaves. She remains a figure of worship in Africa, the Americas, Cuba, and Brazil. 

 Alison Saar is a prolific artist. She continues to carve sculptures for exhibitions and large public commissions. She also is a prolific printmaker. Always conscious of current events, she created “Rise” (2020) (8.5’’ x 11’’) (linoleum print) to honor the Black Lives Matter movement. Her inspiration for the image came from studying photographs of women from the Black Panther movement. Prominent among them was the raised fist gesture, and she updated the Afro hairstyle. She chose the print media and the small size for “Rise” because they made the work more accessible and affordable. All the profits from the sale of the prints were donated to three Los Angeles community organizations. 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

Anonymous was responsible for thousands of works of art in the ancient world.  Although he or she was a master, art history does not record the name. Such is the case with those who created images of the Buddha, yet his image can be found in museums world-wide, and his discipline is still practiced today. At the Freer Gallery in Washington, images of the Buddha are close at hand. Who created the images is still unknown, but when, where, how, and why, can be explored.

Buddha (the Enlightened One) was born Siddhartha Gautama in about 563 BCE in Nepal/India. Buddhism was recognized by the Emperor Asoka, who ruled from 272-231 BCE, as the belief system of his kingdom. As a result, Ashoka built monuments to Buddha all over his kingdom. 

One of the most significant of the monuments built by Ashoka is the Great Stupa at Sanchi. It holds one of the 84,000 relics (cremated ashes and bones) of the Buddha. The Stupa is a great mound resembling a mountain.  A wall surrounds the stupa. The entry gates at the north, south, east, and west entrances are densely carved with Buddhist symbols and stories (jatkas). However, the physical image of Buddha is never shown. In the “Worship of the Buddha” (3rd Century BCE) (Sanchi) an empty throne is depicted under the Bodhi tree. This is where Buddha sat, meditated, and determined that after years of searching he would not leave until he received enlightenment (c500 BCE). The Bodhi tree (Ficus religiosa or fig) is located in Bodh Gaya, India, and remains a significant site for Buddhist worship.  New statues of Buddha have been added at Bodh Gaya in the 21st Century.

The Bodhi tree is one of the most popular images in Buddhist sculpture. The leaves are individually carved in the shape of a heart. Clusters of figs hang from the tree. Two small figures kneeling in front of the empty throne raise their arms in prayer. Between them a small child, back to the viewer, kneels and prays as well. Next to them, two monkeys bring gifts to Buddha. In the jatakas (stories of Buddha’s life and miracles) he befriended the King of the Monkeys and the King of the Cobras. Monkeys and cobras appear frequently with Buddha. They are his friends and helpers. 

Four well-dressed nobles have come to worship and bring gifts. Two are depicted as hieratically taller figures, while beside them are two smaller figures. Hinduism (2300-1500 BCE, Indus Valley) had a strict caste system that maintained a human hierarchy that could not be changed easily. Therefore, the early art of Buddhism contained a number of adapted Hindu images.

Buddha’s mother Queen Maya died seven days after she gave birth to him. His father King Suddhodama saw to it that nothing but beauty and perfection touched Siddhartha’s life. They lived in an elegant palace within an enormous walled garden. Siddhartha’s life was never touched by unhappiness until he was 29 years old. He went to explore the farthest ends of the gardens. For the first time he saw real life. In the east he saw an old man. In the south he saw a sick man. In the west he saw a funeral. In the north he saw a beggar. This experience changed his life. With the help of four Hindu deities, he escaped the confines of the palace grounds. He wandered for six years in search of knowledge and for great teachers.  He even tried physical suffering to find meaning. 

At thirty-five, Buddha arrived at Bodh Gaya, and he sat under the Bodi tree. After seven weeks, he found enlightenment. Physical images of the Buddha were first depicted during the Kushan period (late 2nd to early 3rd Century CE) in the region of Gandhara (now Pakistan and Afghanistan), located along the Silk Road. It was a crossroads for all the known cultures of the time. The multicultural mix included Alexander the Great (327/26-325/24 BCE) who brought the Classical sculpture of the Greeks to every land he conquered. 

The Classical Greek figure was chosen as the model for the physical Buddha. He is seated under the Bodi tree that is depicted as an arch shape over his head. The figure of the Buddha has several special characteristics. He has long earlobes, ostensibly from wearing the heavy gold pierced earrings as a prince. They symbolize his increased ability to hear and understand. He has an ushnisha, the swelling of his brain that occurred with his enlightenment. It appears to be a hair bun. An urna, the dot between his eyes, represents the third eye. Circling his head is a halo, the symbol of divinity and kingship. Not visible in a seated pose, his small protruding stomach is the symbol of his well-being and comfort.

As in Hinduism, body positions (asanas) and hand gestures (mudras) have significant meanings. Buddha reaches down with his right hand and touches the earth. He calls the earth to witness his enlightenment. His left hand makes the Musthi mudra, a fist that releases tensions and frees the mind of negative emotions. There are over 40 mudras.  He sits in the lotus position, his legs crossed and soles of his feet turned up. The lotus position calms the mind and also is a preparation for deep meditation. The lotus (Padma) flower is an ancient and important symbol of purity, spiritual awakening, and faithfulness.  The lotus flower regularly emerges from mucky water, but it is beautiful and pure. Its scent promotes relaxation. Buddhism teaches that everyone, male or female, rich or poor, can become a Buddha.  

In front of the Buddha’s throne are two soldiers in the armor of the time. They have done battle, and the war has ended. On either side of the throne are rows of people who have come to worship Buddha. In the first row, well-dressed men and women smile and acknowledge him. A second row includes both worshipers and demons.  A dog stands at Buddha’s left. In the next row, a monkey on horseback and an elephant can be seen. At Buddha’s right a monkey holds a sword, and another animal is above him. These animals protected Buddha while he meditated. Demonic figures can be seen at the upper right and left corners. One demon rides a large bird and another raises a boulder over his head.  At Buddha’s right side are four demonic figures carrying weapons.  They are demons sent by Mara (the devil) to tempt Buddha away from his meditation.

Buddha’s “First Sermon” (late 2nd to early 3rd Century CE) (Freer Gallery) was delivered at Deer Park in the forest at Sarnath, India. He is seated in the lotus position under a tree and is surrounded by those who would become his disciples. His right hand is held upright and facing outward in a gesture to reassure everyone they need have no fear (Abhayamudra). Three fingers of his left hand are extended in a gesture that symbolizes the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma (teachings), and the Shanga (community of monks). This hand is held over his heart to indicate his teaching comes from his heart. The Dharma are the Four Noble Truths: man suffers, the origin of his suffering is his desire for things, suffering can end, if one follows the Eightfold path. The Eightfold path describes the practices that will liberate man from Samsara, the Hindu endless cycle of birth, life, death, and re-birth.

Deer Park was named for the herd of deer that roamed there. The deer came and listened intently to Buddha’s first sermon. Between the deer is the Dharma Chakra, the Wheel of the Law. In this first sermon, Buddha explained his enlightenment for the first time. Thus, he turned the wheel of the law, setting it into motion. It is the most important symbol of Buddhism.

Nirvana is a transcendent state where suffering and desire end, and Samsara, the cycle of death and rebirth has ended. For 45 years Buddha resisted taking the path to Nirvana in order to travel the earth and teach others. “I am 80. My body is like an old cart held together with straps. Only when I am deep in meditation is my body comfortable.”  Buddha died at Kushinagar at age 80.  As a matter of courtesy, he had eaten a dish offered to him by a devoted follower. Unknown to the man, but recognized by Buddha, the food had spoiled. It was reported that the earth shook and trees blossomed at Buddha’s birth and at his death. 

With the Buddha are the members of the Shangha dressed as monks. The handsome young men with elaborate crowns and jewelry are Bodhissatvas. Like Buddha, they followed the Eightfold Path and delayed their Nirvana to help Buddha, and to help others. Buddha’s last recorded words to his followers: “Be your own lamps. Be your own refuge. Hold fast to the dharma. Do not look for refuge beyond yourself. This way you will overcome darkness.” The way, even during the lifetime of the Buddha, was open to all men and women who chose the path.       

Namaste

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

 

 

Edmonia Lewis (1843-1909) was one of the American women sculptors who in the 1860’s went to Rome, where the Carrara marble quarries were located, and made names for themselves in the world of art. Much of Lewis’s biographical information is verifiable, but she had a vivid imagination and tended to exaggerate. She was born either in Ohio or Albany, New York. She was Ojibwe/Chippawa and Haitian. Her Indian name was Wildfire; her brother’s name was Sunrise. Orphaned at five, she lived with the tribe until she was twelve. She spoke of her parents: “My mother was a wild Indian and was born in Albany, of copper color and straight black hair. There she made and sold moccasins. My father, who was a Negro and a gentleman’s servant, saw her and married her…Mother often left home and wandered with her people, whose habits she could not forget, and thus we, her children, were brought up in the same wild manner. Until I was 12, I led this wandering life, fishing, swimming…making moccasins.”

In 1856, Lewis received an Abolitionist Scholarship to Oberlin Academy Preparatory School in Ohio. Wildfire (Lewis) entered Oberlin College as Mary Edmonia Lewis. Oberlin College was the first American college open to women and people of color. She studied languages, arithmetic, composition, public speaking, and drawing. She was the victim of racism every day. In her final year (1862), she was accused of poisoning her two best friends, tried, defended by John Mercer Langston, and acquitted. A physical attack that left her for dead, along with more accusations of wrong-doing took their toll. She left Oberlin without registering for her final semester.
One of her Abolitionist supporters, Frederick Douglas, advised her to go East. In New York she met abolitionist Henry Highland Garnet. He put her in touch with the William Lloyd Garrison in Boston (1864), who introduced her to portrait sculptor Edward Brackett, with whom she began training in sculpture.

In 1864, she opened a studio in Boston. Her first portrait sculpture was “Colonel Robert Gould Shaw” (1864) (23.5’’ x 13’’ x11.5’’). Shaw, a Bostonian, led the 54th Massachusetts regiment, the first black regiment in the Civil War. He was killed with his troops when they attacked Fort Wagner in South Carolina. On the base of the portrait bust Lewis carved the words “Martyr for Freedom.” He was extremely popular in Boston. Lewis made 100 copies of the Shaw statue and sold each for $15. She also sculpted medallions of John Brown, William Lloyd Garrison, and prominent Boston abolitionists. When the Civil War ended in April 1865, Lewis used her earnings from the Shaw sculpture to travel to Italy.

The Emancipation Proclamation was declared in 1863. The Civil War ended in April 1865, and the Thirteenth Amendment that banned slavery throughout the United States was ratified on December 1865. Never-the-less, in an 1878 interview with the New York Times Lewis stated, “I was practically driven to Rome in order to obtain the opportunities for art culture, and to find a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color. The land of liberty had no room for a colored sculptor.”’
When Lewis arrived in Rome in 1865, she was welcomed into the group of expatriates that included Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, William Lloyd Garrison, Charlotte Cushman, and Harriet Hosmer. The prominent sculptor Hiram Powers let her share his studio in Rome until she found one of her own.

Her first non-portrait sculpture was titled “Freedwoman and Child” (1866). Her next work “Forever Free” (1867) (3.5 feet) became one of her most popular works. The work originally was titled “Morning of Liberty”; however, Lewis changed the title to “Forever Free,” found in the text of the Emancipation Proclamation. A young, partially clothed man raises his left arm, displaying a broken chain and a shackle. Under his foot is the ball of the chain. His right-hand rests gently on the shoulder of a young women who kneels beside him, her hands clasped and raised in a thankful prayer for freedom. Lewis depicted the young woman fully clothed to counteract the idea that African-American women were sexual symbols. “Forever Free” was shipped to Samuel Swell, an abolitionist in Boston.

“Hagar” (1868) (52.5’’) depicts another of Lewis’s themes. “I have a strong sympathy for all women who have struggled and suffered.” In an Old Testament story, Hagar was handmaid to Abraham’s wife Sarah. Since Sarah seemed unable to bear children, Abraham slept with Hagar, as was the custom. She bore him a son, Ismael. Years later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Hagar and Ismael were forced to leave and to find their own way. Lewis depicted Hagar as a beautiful woman, but one who prays for help in the desperate circumstances forced upon her. Barefoot, hands folded in prayer, Hagar walks slowly forward into her new life. An overturned water pitcher at her feet is a symbol of her loss. Art historians have interpreted Lewis’s intention to show Hagar’s situation as similar to African mothers in America, abused and left alone by white men.

Lewis’s Indian heritage also played a large part in her choice of subjects. She had read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha” (1855) about the Ojibwe Indian leader, who finally wins the hand of his true love Minnehaha, a member of a rival tribe. In 1867, Lewis began sculpting individual portrait busts: “Hiawatha” (1867), “Minnehaha” (1867), and “The Old Indian Arrow-maker and His Daughter” (1866-72). In “The Marriage of Hiawatha” (1871) (32”), the two figures look adoringly at each other and hold hands. At the time, the clothing of her Indian figures was considered to be authentic. Lewis tended to blur facial features of her sculptures, except portraits, keeping black, white, and Indian figures indistinguishable. Longfellow visited her studio in 1869 and posed for a portrait.

Lewis returned several times to America, where her reputation as a sculptor continued to grow. The Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 featured several sculptures by women artists. Lewis’s “Death of Cleopatra” (1876) (3,015 pounds) was a standout and took an unexpected approach for the contemporary audience. Artistic depictions of Cleopatra, a very popular subject at the time, were of her in life. Lewis depicted her in death. Sitting on her throne, regally dressed with richly carved drapery, jewelry, and wearing her crown, Cleopatra holds in her right hand the snake that has just bitten her. Her left-hand hangs limply at her side as it would in death. She is at peace. A touching addition, the heads of her two children with Mark Anthony are carved on the arms of the chair.
The Centennial Exposition included over 500 pieces of sculpture, 151 of them by Americans. “Cleopatra” was a sensation. The People’s Advocate (Alexandria, Virginia) wrote, “The Death of Cleopatra excites more admiration and gathers larger crowds around it than any other work of art in the vast collection of Memorial Hall.” J.S. Ingraham wrote that “Cleopatra” was “the most remarkable piece of sculpture in the American section of the Exposition.”

During her long career, Lewis made portrait busts and medallions of many of the abolitionists. In 1877, Ulysses S. Grant commissioned his portrait, and was well pleased. She presented a bust of John Brown to Henry Highland Garnet in 1878. Her bust of Charles Sumner was exhibited at the 1895 Atlanta Exposition. She was baptized as a Roman Catholic in 1868, and over the years she created several commissioned religious works. In 1883, she prepared a bas-relief altarpiece of the Adoration of the Magi for the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Baltimore. Her work was exhibited in Paris, London, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, and San Francisco. She died at the age of 42 in London and is buried there.

Her Roman colleagues described her: “Edmonia Lewis is below the medium height, her complexion and features betray her African origins; her hair more of an Indian type, black, straight and abundant. She wears a red cap in her studio, which is very picturesque and effective; her face is a bright, intelligent and an expressive one. She has the proud spirit of her Indian ancestors; and if she has more of the African in her personal appearance, she has more of the Indian in her character. She is one of the most interesting of our American women artists here, and we are glad to know that she is fast winning fame and fortune.”

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

 

 

On December 15, 1964, Henry Luce, assistant director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American Art, told the Washington Post that walking into the garage “was like opening Tut’s tomb.”  Where was he, who was there, and what did he see that caused such a monumental reaction?  It was a garage full of silver and gold works by James Hampton, consisting of 108 pieces of sculpture arranged like a great altar. Eventually it became known that he had spent the last fourteen years of his life creating an enormous altar for the prophesized second coming of Christ in the Millennium.  He was convinced that Christ was coming soon, to Earth, to Washington, DC.

In 1950, Hampton rented the garage, formerly a carriage house, on 7th Street NW. It was unheated, drafty, and lit by a few light bulbs. He worked on “Throne” from 1950 until his death from stomach cancer on November 4,1964.  His landlord, Meyer Wertlieb, checked on Hampton when the rent had not been paid and discovered he had died.  He then went to the garage and was stunned. Hampton’s sister came from South Carolina to settle the estate.  She did not want the sculptures.

Wertlieb placed an ad in the newspapers that caught the attention of sculptor Ed Kelly, who contacted art collector Alice Denney. When she and Harry Lowe went to see the art, Denney brought Leo Castelli and Ivan Karp, both major figures in the New York art scene, and the artist Robert Rauschenberg.  All were in DC for the Corcoran Art Biennial.  Lowe immediately paid the rent and took possession of the garage and the art.  In 1970, after restoration and preparation of a specific display area, “Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation’s Millennium General Assembly” (1950-1964) (17’ x 17’) went on display at the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), in Washington, DC. Parts of the work have been on tour and on display in at least ten museums.

James Hampton is not a familiar name to many people who like art. Considered an “outsider artist,” he was among a number of untrained artists, uneducated in artistic techniques or art history, working alone, and not part of the artistic community. Some of these artists, such as Grandma Moses, eventually are recognized for their unique talents and contributions to the art world. 

James Hampton was born in 1928 in the small sharecropper town of Elloree, South Carolina.  His father James Sr, an itinerant and self-proclaimed Baptist preacher, gospel singer, and sometime prison inmate, early on abandoned his mother Sarah and their five children. The family struggled to survive.  At the age of nineteen, James went to live with his older brother in Washington, DC.  On a work application he stated that he had a tenth-grade education from an elite black high school in DC.

At the age of twenty-two, Hampton had his first religious vision. His visions were not dreams; he wrote of them as being real visits. “This is true that the great Moses, the giver of the tenth [sic] commandments appeared in Washington, DC, April 11, 1931.” He mentioned visits from Mary in 1946 and 1950, and from Adam in 1949.  His one great work was influenced by these talks and his intensive reading of the Bible, particularly Revelations.  He was influenced by his Baptist father and the newer religions of Haitian Voodoo, Cuban Santeria, and Brazilian Candomblé, intertwined with Roman Catholicism.  He was familiar with the American Millenarian and Dispensationalist movements that divided the history of religion into either five or seven phases, and spoke of the final coming of Jesus to Earth before Doomsday.

Another influence was the Reverend A.J. Taylor, minister of Mount Airy Baptist Church, close to Hampton’s apartment, that he sometimes attended.  Taylor referred to DC as the city of monuments, but none to Jesus.  “Monument to Jesus” was installed in electric lights over the door of his church.  Hampton referred to himself in notes as St. James and proclaimed he was the Director of Special Projects for the State of Eternity. According to a few of his acquaintances, Hampton said when he retired that he wanted to be a minister and to set up a sidewalk church in the area.

While in DC, Hampton worked as a short order cook. He was drafted into the United States Air Force in 1942 and assigned to the 385th Aviation Squadron in Texas, a segregated non-combat unit responsible for carpentry and maintenance of airstrips.  He was sent first to Hawaii and then to Saipan and Guam.  His first altar, labeled “Made in Guam, April 13, 1945 (24’’x12’’), is a small part of the ensemble. Hampton received a Bronze Star (1945) and returned to DC in 1946.  He was hired by the General Services Administration in 1946 to be a janitor, a job he held until his death.

The title “Throne” is taken from several verses from the Bible.  “Third Heaven” refers to the heaven of heavens from the Book of Kings 8: 27-30: “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.  How much less this temple I have built.  May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘my Name shall be there’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward the place.” One of the hundred biblical references to the Millennium is found in Revelations 22:12: ”Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to pay every one for what he has done.”  Hampton told a friend they were living in the last millennium.

“Throne” consists of 180 items including altars, pulpits, thrones, lecterns, plaques, and crowns, many with inscriptions from Revelations. The central figure is a seven-foot-tall throne with the words “FEAR NOT” at the top.  Revelations 20:11 states the first thing St. John the Evangelist saw in Heaven was “a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.” This throne is made from an old maroon upholstered chair that Hampton bought at one of the small used furniture stores nearby. Store owners remember him shopping in the neighborhood and using a child’s wagon to take home whatever be bought or found.  A few pieces are made with furniture bases, but most are built on cardboard forms.

The basic materials of all the objects included jars, lightbulbs, and hundreds of found objects covered with found aluminum and gold foil, purple craft paper, green desk blotters, mirror shards, and house paint.  Objects were held together with tacks, glue, straight pins, tape, cut cans, cardboard strips, and tin tabs. No screws were used. Hampton searched the streets for these items and found gold and silver foil, cigarette cartons, candy wrappers, and chewing gum packaging.  Reynolds Wrap became available in 1947, and his life became easier. Even the handy sticker Reynolds added to indicate coming to the end of the roll can be seen in his work.

On the left side wall of “Throne,” Old Testament figures and apostles are represented on altars and plaques.  One specific plaque is dedicated to Moses, with a card telling of Moses’s first appearance to Hampton in 1931. New Testament figures and other patriarchs and prophets are represented on plaques on the right side wall.

Several crowns are included at the front of the ensemble.  Biblical references to crowns come from Revelations 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may steal your crown.” First Corinthians 9:24-25 speaks of “the imperishable crown.”  Revelations 21:4 speaks of the “crown of rejoicing.”  Second Timothy 4:8 speaks of the “crown of righteousness.” First Peter 5:4 speaks of the “crown of glory.” Revelations 2:10 says “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

A bulletin board on the wall of the garage contained the message “Where There is No Vision The People Perish.” A blackboard with diagrams and notes depicts two renderings of the Ten Commandments. Also found was a loose-leaf notebook titled The Book of the 7 Dispensations.  It was written, as were many of his notes, in an undecipherable text similar to Semetic and Asian.  It has yet to be deciphered, even though it has been run through several computerized language translation programs.

Very few of Hampton’s acquaintances are known; most were people with whom he worked.  Hampton preferred being alone.  He was described as small, wearing glasses, soft-spoken, diligent, seemingly religious, but not trying to push his beliefs on anyone. He spoke of finding a wife who could help with his work, but he never married.  He did contact local newspapers about writing an article on “Throne,” and he offered “Throne” to a nearby church for use as a teaching tool. No one was interested.

After its discovery, Hampton’s work stimulated the interest of several writers, musicians, and musical groups. Author and poet Denis Johnson published a book titled The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly that included a poem named after the work. In 2007, Jefferson Friedman debuted “The Throne of the Third Heaven,” commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the ASCAP Foundation.  Le Loup, an indie music group, used the entire name of “Throne” for its debut album in 2007. Shelley Pearsall’s 2015 novel, written for young adults, tells of a troubled thirteen-year-old boy who meets Hampton. She commented, “For more than a decade, Hampton had labored alone, without fanfare, to create art for art’s sake—a nearly impossible concept to grasp in today’s world of rampant social media sharing and instant celebrity.” Tommy Orange, a Cheyenne/Arapaho writer, referenced Hampton’s work in a short story in 2018.

In the 1970’s, this writer worked at the Smithsonian Museum where “Throne” was first on view. It was remarkable and thought provoking.  Hampton wrote that God frequently visited him while he was creating “Throne.”  Famous writer and art critic Robert Hughes wrote in Time Magazine that Hampton’s piece “May well be the finest work of visionary religious art produced by an American.” 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship Him’…And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  (Matthew 2: 1-12) (New King James Version)

The feast of Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, twelve days after Christmas. Matthew describes the visitors as wise men from the east. The number of Magi was determined by the three gifts. At that time, Magi were thought to be astrologers and dream interpreters.

The first known depiction of the “Adoration of the Magi” is found on the sarcophagus of Crispina in the Catacomb of Priscilla (3rd Century) (Rome). From the earliest representation, it is typical to see the newborn Baby sitting upright, acknowledging the Magi and accepting their gifts. As they were from the east, they are wearing Phrygian caps (Persia, now Iran), short tunics over trousers, and shoes. They are the same age, and because of the artist’s limited skill, they have the same face. The gifts are not quite identifiable. The first of the Magi offers what is either a vessel or a crown, the second a bowl of fruit, and the third a bowl containing leaves. Behind the Magi are two camels, and at the right is a column with a palm tree-like top. Other sculptures on the sarcophagus depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments. 

Several Christian churches were built in the city of Rome in the 12th Century. The Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, built by Pope Innocent II (1130-1143), was the largest and most important. The Italian painter and mosaicist Pietro Cavallini (1259-1330) was commissioned to decorate the nave with a series of mosaics depicting scenes from the birth to the death of the Virgin. In “The Adoration of the Magi” (1296-1300) the Virgin and Child are seated under a classical white marble arch. Mary sits on a golden bench with a cushion. She wears the traditional blue robe, but she wears red shoes. Only royalty was allowed to wear red shoes. Wearing sandals, the elderly Joseph stands quietly behind her. Dressed in green, the color of renewal and regeneration, Jesus reaches out the accept the gifts. 

By the Sixth Century, the Magi had been given names chosen from a list of Middle Eastern rulers. Each Magi represented one of the three ages of man. The gifts were of the quality given to a king, and the Magi were at that time thought to be kings. The oldest of the Magi, Melchior, kneels and offers gold. The middle-aged Balthasar, wearing a crown, offers frankincense. Gaspar, the youngest, brings myrrh. All wear Phrygian/Persian boots, leggings and rich garments.

The sky is gold to represent heaven, in the traditional style of Byzantine art.  A path on the green hill leads to a Romanesque church, signifying the journey of the kings to Bethlehem. The Star of Bethlehem appears in a blue circle. The prophesy of Balaam, a descendant of Abraham, can be found in Numbers 24:17: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; A scepter will rise out of Israel.” The Magi (priests of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroaster) were watching and waiting for the Star.

Different from the four-pointed star in Early Christian art, the eight-pointed star depicted here is called the Star of Redemption. The inscription across the bottom of the mosaic states, “With the star as guide, the unknown child becomes known to the Gentiles.” The eight-pointed star also is an ancient symbol of beginnings, resurrection, salvation and abundance in Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Native Americans symbols.

The illuminated manuscript page by the Willenhalm Master contains the “Adoration of the Magi” (1330-35) within the letter a.  Mary, crowned as a queen, sits on a chair carved with Gothic pointed arches and rosettes. The eldest King offer Jesus gold, which He accepts and passes to Mary. Gold was a gift the Holy Family could use in their sojourn in Egypt. The middle-aged and young Kings stand behind an altar rail as if they were in a church. The middle-aged king’s gift is frankincense that would help dissipate the odor of the stable. The young king’s gift is myrrh, a consecrated incense used for anointing priests and kings. The middle-aged King points to the seven-pointed star, symbol of the seven days of creation. The star also was thought to ward off evil. 

Botticelli, one of the most popular artists in Florence, was commissioned to paint at least seven Adorations of the Magi. This “Adoration of the Magi” (1475-76) (44’’x 53’’) was commissioned by Gaspare del Lama for his chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Novella.  Del Lama was a money lender and had difficulty with the law. This painting, like many others commissioned by wealthy Florentines, was to help mitigate his sins in the Last Judgement. Botticelli includes his self-portrait, the first figure at the right dressed in gold. Farther back, an elderly face, thought to be del Lama’s, looks out at the viewer.  

Del Lama also paid homage to the influential Medici family. Florence held religious celebrations with elaborate processions through the streets. One of the most prestigious was for Epiphany in which the Medici family often played the Magi. Botticelli includes the Medici and many of their friends and associates. The patriarch of the family, Cosimo de Medici, kneels before the Virgin and Child and reaches out to touch Jesus’ extended foot. He uses a delicate white cloth because he is touching someone holy. Cosimo’s son Piero I (the Gouty), the middle-aged Magi wearing the red mantle with the ermine stole, kneels in the center of the composition. The angel in white and gold is Piero’s son Giovanni de Medici, later Pope Leo X. He holds Piero’s gift, and they exchange glances. Lorenzo de Medici (the Magnificent), also Piero’s son, looks on from the right. Although he stands behind his father and brother, his dark hair and black mantle with red slashed sleeves set him apart. 

Easily noticed at the far left is Giuliano de Medici, Cosimo’s second son. He wears a short red tunic, but is noticeable for his strutting pose. He was the “golden boy” of Florence. His favorite horse nudges him.  Leaning on Giovanni’s left shoulder is Francesco de Pazzi. Although he looks like he is Giuliano’s best friend, he will assassinate him in the Pazzi revolt against the Medici in 1478.

Botticelli sets Joseph, Mary, and Jesus above the gathering on an outcropping of rocks.  The stable consists of a partial stone wall, a large rock, and a makeshift wooden roof. The Star of Bethlehem shines down with golden rays on the Holy Family.  Young vines sprout from the crumbling walls. In the distance at the left, Botticelli has painted decaying Roman arches: The old gives way to the new.

Perched high on the stone wall at the right is a peacock. In Christian art, the peacock was a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. The peacock’s splendid plumage is a symbol of royalty. It was thought that when a peacock dies, the flesh does not decay; thus, the peacock became a symbol for everlasting life.

Although Botticelli’s painting of 1475-76, was highly political and was made for public display in the chapel of a church, not all of Botticelli’s Adorations were political. The “Adoration of the Magi” (1478-82) (28’’ x 41’’) (National Gallery, Washington, DC) is solemn and religious. The event takes place in a peaceful, green landscape. The Holy Family and two of the Kings are at the center of the painting in a triangular composition. They kneel to offer their gifts. The middle-aged King is located at the left of center. His righthand rests on his chin as he contemplates the scene. He extends his left arm to present his gift. Joseph leans on his crutch. The ox and the ass look on. 

Gathered in a circle in front of the manger, those who accompanied the Magi look on in reverence. Closer to the manger, some individual faces can be seen, but they do not distract attention from the scene. Botticelli includes horses, camels, and the Magi’s attendants at both sides of the painting. The arrangement of the retinue of the Magi, similar to that found in da Vinci’s unfinished “Adoration of the Magi” of 1481-82, is a tribute da Vinci. Botticelli also includes ruins of Roman arches on the left, similar to those seen in his earlier painting and in the da Vinci version. Dead branches protrude from the ruins, while at the right, two tall green trees can be seen. The manger clearly is intended to represent the new replacing the old. Botticelli splits the Roman temple into two parts, which support a new solid wooden roof. 

 

Botticelli was able to satisfy a number of important patrons and their different spiritual needs. This work probably was painted while Botticelli was in Rome working on the walls of the Sistine Chapel. Here, the beauty of Botticelli’s style is on full display. The colors throughout are delicate and fresh. The figures are placed in graceful poses, and delicate threads of gold extend throughout the entire scene.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Hugo van der Goes’s “Adoration of the Shepherds” (Portinari Altarpiece) (1476-1478/79) (99.6’’ x 119.6’’) (oil on panel) is considered by art scholars to be one of the most celebrated and influential works of Christian art of the 15th Century. The Flemish painter was chosen for the commission by Tomasso Portinari, a wealthy Italian banker who lived in Bruges for forty years and managed the Medici family bank. Van der Goes painted the altarpiece in Bruges; and it was shipped by boat to Sicily, then sent by barge to Florence, where it arrived in May 1483. Portinari commissioned the triptych for the altar of the family chapel of the Church of St. Egido, the church of the well-known hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.  Portinari was a descendant of Dolco Portinari who founded the hospital in 1285. 

It was a tradition during the Renaissance for patrons to be painted in the scene or on the side panels of a triptych. On the left panel, Tomasso Portinari kneels with his two sons Antonio and Pigello. The hieratically taller figures behind them are their patron saints, the elderly Saint Anthony with the cane, rosary, and bell, and Saint Thomas with the spear. In the distant landscape, Mary and Joseph are on their way to Bethlehem.

On the right panel is Portinari’s wife Francesca Baroncelli and their daughter Margarita. They are accompanied by Saint Barbara with the pot of ointment, and Saint Margaret with the cross, book, and dragon. Behind them, a peasant directs the Magi to Bethlehem.

Van der Goes follows the old tradition of the hieratic scale that depicts the most important figures as tallest, with the rest of the figures reduced in size according to their significance.  In this scene Mary, Joseph, and the three shepherds are the tallest. Ranks of angels in decreasing scale are dressed in plainer clerical garments. The angels’ garments represent the various liturgical vestments worn by priests who administer mass.  Mary and Joseph adore the Christ child, who is not in a manger, but who lies on the ground on an aureole (golden rays) that shines from his body and keeps him warm. 

The three shepherds fall to their knees in astonishment and adoration. For the first time the shepherds are depicted realistically, with rustic clothing and coarse features. Their hands are gnarled and rough. Their individual facial features display their understanding of what they have been called to witness. The portrayal of the three shepherds was a innovation; as a result, van der Goes’s painting stands out from all others of his time.

In the background a Romanesque church (round arches) is beginning to deteriorate. In front of the church is a partial stone wall, and a large gray classical column supports the roof of the stable that shelters the ox and the ass. The church and broken wall symbolize the decline of Old Testament law with the birth of Jesus. The column symbolizes the New Testament that begins with His birth.  Mary was said to have leaned against a column while she gave birth. The ox, looking up, symbolizes the Gentiles who will accept Christ. The ass, head down eating, symbolizes the Jews who do not recognize Christ.

The work is done with oil paint, a significant new medium invented by Northern painters. Oil paint gave artists the ability to paint textures. particularly noticeable in Joseph’s red cloak and the rich brocade garments worn by the group of the highest-ranking angels at the lower right.  In contrast, the other angels are robed in simpler garments. Above the ox and ass are two angels: one beautifully robed in gold, but the other emerging from the shadows robed in dark colors. It is generally agreed this dark angel represents Satan. However, the angel’s head is bowed with hands clasped in prayer. The meaning remains ambiguous.

Flemish painters were not yet skilled in depicting human anatomy and they were just learning about linear perspective.  Oil painting set them apart, and van der Goes and others employed symbolism to strengthen their message. The still-life at the front of the painting is not placed there accidentally, nor is Joseph’s single wooden sandal that he has removed because he is standing on sacred ground. 

The wheat sheaf represents fertility, renewal, and abundance. A sheaf of wheat was often present at births because it was thought to ease labor. Bethlehem was called the house of wheat because wheat was the major commodity for exchange. A clear glass of pure water holds three red carnations. Carnations symbolize fidelity, and red symbolizes blood: Christ will fulfill his mission. The columbines were thought to resemble birds. White columbines symbolize doves and purple is the symbol of royalty. The white and purple violet scattered on the ground symbolize modesty and humility.

The alborello (lusterware ceramic) was used in apothecary shops to hold herbs, spices, and other healing compounds. It is decorated with bunches of purple and yellow grapes. Three of the flowers in the alborello are iris, and three symbolizes the Trinity. Iris is also called sword lily, and Mary will feel as if a sword pierced heart at Christ’s death. The two other flowers are tiger lilies, and their brown spots represent drops of blood. The five flowers symbolize the five wounds Christ received on the cross. The Flemish artists of this period incorporated numerous symbols in their paintings. Nothing in a painting simply filled a space.

 

 

When van der Goes’s “Adoration of the Shepherds” was placed in the Portinari family chapel in Florence in May 1483, the citizens of Florence were enthusiastic.  Francesco Sassetti commissioned Dominico Ghirlandaio, the most popular artist in Florence, to paint an “Adoration of the Shepherds” for his family chapel in the Church of Santa Trinita.  Sassetti, like Portinari, was a wealthy banker. He managed Medici family banks in Avignon, Lyon, and Geneva, and he was an advisor to both Piero and Lorenzo de Medici. Ghirlandaio painted portraits of Francesco Sassetti and his wife Nera de Corsi on the wall on either side of the open space where the “Adoration of the Shepherds” would be painted. Under the Sassetti portraits is the inscription “Anno Domini 1480, 25 December,” the date the contract was signed. At the time, Ghirlandaio was painting the three walls of the chapel with scenes of the life of St Francis of Assisi.

Ghirlandaio’s “Adoration of the Shepherds” (1485) (65.7’’ x 65.7’’) (fresco) repeated the poses of the three shepherds from the van der Goes scene, with one exception. The dark-haired shepherd leading the others is Ghirlandaio’s self-portrait. With his left hand he introduces Jesus to the shepherds, and to the viewer. His right hand touches his heart. The shepherds are rustic, copying van doer Goes’s startling innovation. The shepherds appear to understand and absorb the significance of the event they are witnessing. One shepherd holds a lamb in his arms, a symbolic reference to Christ as the Lamb of God.

As in Saint Bridget’s vision, the Christ Child lies on an edge of Mary’s robe, placed on the ground, His head cushioned by a sheaf of wheat. His head also leans against the Roman sarcophagus that contains straw, because it serves as the manger. Ghirlandaio links symbolically the birth and the death of Christ. Ghirlandaio/shepherd points directly at Jesus but also at the garland carved on the sarcophagus. Ghirlandaio was the artist’s nick-name, and it meant garland-maker. He put himself into the scene close to Jesus, and the garland serves as a type of signature. 

The Latin inscription on the front of the sarcophagus contains an ancient prophesy by the Roman Fulvius (63 BCE): “While Fulvius, augur of Pompey, was falling by the sword in Jerusalem he said: the urn that covers me shall bring forth a god.”

Ghirlandaio connects the fall of the pagan Roman world to the birth of Jesus. The two Corinthian pilasters of the old world support a newly built wooden stable roof. The old making way for the new also was painted in the background. His hand on the sarcophagus, Joseph looks over his shoulder to see the procession of the Magi as they pass under a Roman triumphal arch. Above the Magi is the shepherds’ pasture.

Ghirlandaio has imagined two distant towns. At the far right, the most distant city is Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock visible. The central town represents Rome with its Towers of Milizie and the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, and a church that resembles the Duomo of Florence (Santa Maria della Fiore). It is thought that in combining the city of Rome and Florence, Ghirlandaio was proposing Florence as the new Rome. To support this idea, the gray Roman pilaster bears the date 1480, the date of the commission. The pilaster is a compositional element positioned above the Jesus’ head.

In the foreground are terra cotta tiles. The Italian word sassetti means “small rocks.” A goldfinch sits nearby on a book. The goldfinch has yellow feathers with black tips and a splash of red on its head, symbolizing the crown of thorns and drops of blood. Jesus’ gold halo is striped with red in recognition of His destiny. But here, He looks out at the viewer as an innocent new born child.

Giorgio Vasari, author of The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550, and 1568), wrote about Ghirlandaio’s “Adoration of the Shepherds”:  “He painted in tempera, as a companion to this work, a Nativity of Christ which must excite the wonder of every thinking man, introducing his own portrait and some heads of shepherds, which are considered divine.” 

The idea that common shepherds would have understood and reacted emotionally to the birth of Jesus opened a new and exciting avenue for artists of the Renaissance.  Prior to this introduction of Flemish painting to Italy, very little exchange of style or technique had taken place. This interaction between van der Goes and Ghirlandaio, and these paintings, was recognized then and now as the most significant development in art of the 15th Century.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

Before Christianity was recognized officially in 313 CE by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, Christian art was limited to painting on the plaster walls of catacombs. The early community largely was made up of the poor, but as the community grew in the 4th Century, people of means joined. Stone sarcophagi began to be carved for the catacombs.  However, the quality of all of the arts had declined, and Early Christian art began at a very rudimentary level.

The “Nativity,” depicted on one side of Stilicone’s Sarcophagus (4th Century), is most unusual for the time because early Christian art consisted of Old Testament Resurrection stories such as Jonah and the Whale or Daniel in the Lion’s Den. The sarcophagus was found under the pulpit of the basilica of San Ambroggio in Milan. The basilica was consecrated by Saint Ambrose in 379 CE and completed in 386 CE.

Centered in the triangular composition on the sarcophagus is the swaddled Jesus in a crib. At His right, the ass lies down and looks at Jesus as does the ox to His left. They keep watch over the newborn baby. At the points of the triangle, doves eat fruit from baskets. Although the artist was not skilled, there is something innocent and charming in the sincere attempt to create a meaningful image.

A carved border of rosettes and swastikas can be seen along the bottom of the triangle. Representing an open flower, the rosette is a symbol found in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Hindu, Buddhist and other ancient cultures. The four-leaf rosette was a symbol used frequently in Christian art. The right-facing swastika also is found in all ancient cultures and it is a symbol of divinity, hope, and well-being. It represents the sun, but was carved or painted with straight lines to simplify the circle with rays of light that it represented. The image did not become associated with evil until the 1930’s, when it was adopted as the symbol of the German Nazi Party.

The artists who copied and painted Illuminated manuscripts were mostly monastic monks and nuns, only a few with training. Vellum (stretched calf skin) was used since paper was scarce until the 15th Century. Missals were texts containing all the necessary information to celebrate the mass throughout the year. They were commissioned by the wealthy. The text and images are referred to as illuminated, rather than illustrated, since they were intended to bring light to the word of God.

Initial letters of the first words in sections of the text also were decorated elaborately. The “Nativity” (English Missal) (1310-20) is painted inside the circular top of the letter P.  Stretched out on the bed, Mary has just given birth to Jesus. She appears fatigued. Joseph, her aged husband, has a worried look on his face, and he reaches with his left hand to touch Mary. 

Behind them in a manger, Jesus and is snuggled by the white ox and licked by the gray donkey. Both animals frequently are depicted near the Baby to keep Him warm. Their presence in a Nativity scene is a reference to the Old Testament verse of Isiah 1: 2-3: “The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s manger: Israel has not knowledge, my people have no understanding.”

On the crib, the artist has drawn the popular quatrefoil rosette design that is carved on all Gothic cathedrals. The color composition successfully balances the red of Mary’s cloak with the red used to form the circle of the P, the green used to create the bed clothes and the crib, and the blue of Joseph’s robe with the blue surrounding the P. The illuminator has created a tender and moving Nativity scene.

Gertgen tot Sint Jans (1465-1495) of the Netherlands was one of the first artists to attempt a night scene.  His “Nativity at Night” (1490) is very small (13.3’’ x 9.9’’) and was made as a private devotional piece. Sint Jans’s painting was influenced by the writing of Saint Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), whose mystical visions were extremely popular at the time. Saint Bridget’s words describe the painting: “The Virgin knelt down with great veneration in an attitude of prayer…she gave birth to her son, from whom radiated such an ineffable light and splendor…Then I heard also the singing of the angels, which was of miraculous sweetness and great beauty.” Joseph stands quietly behind Mary at the far right.

Sint Jans included the Annunciation to the shepherds at the upper left corner. The scene is lighted by two sources: the glow of the angel and the shepherd’s fire.  Gathered with their flock, shepherds witness the appearance of the angel.  At the lower right, one shepherd kneels and looks up to hear the message. The flock of sheep are gathered and peaceful, guarded by sheepdogs. Sint Jans’s “Nativity at Night” begins a tradition of night paintings, and he paints the Nativity at the time of day that is consistent with the Bible story. 

 

Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1557) was a Venetian artist during High Renaissance. The “Nativity” (1523) (18’’x14’’) (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC) depicts what is sometimes called “The Adoration of the Child.” Mary and Joseph kneel, and each in their own way looks upon the newborn Jesus with wonder and adoration. Lotto placed the three major figures in a triangular composition. Mary wears the traditional red dress with blue cloak. Joseph‘s white hair and beard indicate his advanced age, and a crutch is tucked under his arm. Jesus lies in a wicker crib. He is an active child; His hands reach up, His feet kick, and He smiles at Mary. Two sets of gold rays shine from His head, instead of the usual halo. The bag of grain and a small casket of wine in front of the crib, may be food for Mary and Joseph, but they also represent the bread and wine of the Eucharist. 

The stable behind Mary and Joseph has a thatched roof and a ladder leading up to a loft. At the top of the ladder, two white doves perch quietly on a beam. They are messengers of peace, love, and hope. Flying above the thatched roof, three cherubs hold a large page of sheet music and serenade the Holy Family. In the distant landscape, a shepherd and a sheep can be seen. This image can be read in two ways: a reference to the shepherds who will come soon to see the Child, or to Jesus who was sent by God to die as a sacrificial lamb. This second reading is supported by the scene of the crucifixion on the dark wall at the left side.  Artists often include sheafs of wheat and grapes, Jesus asleep on Mary’s lap, or other symbols foretelling what is to come. However, the focus of Lotto’s painting is clearly on the charming, active infant in the manger.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

One of the most popular subjects painted during the Italian Renaissance was the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38):  the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her the Lord was with her, and she would give birth to a son, and she was to call him Jesus. Renaissance artists imagined this scene in a number of creative and interesting ways because there was no mention in the Biblical text of where this event occurred. Many Italian Renaissance artists painted the Annunciation again and again, in various settings, and with or without iconographic symbols.

In the “Annunciation” (1430-1432) (60.5” x 73”) Fra Angelico placed the scene on an elegant porch next to Mary’s cell, where she lived as a student in the Temple of Jerusalem. The round arches of the structure are supported by columns with Ionic scroll capitals with leafy bases. The ceiling is painted to represent Heaven, with a rich aquamarine blue spattered with gold stars. An elaborately carved classical floral frieze runs along the top edge of the porch, and red Tuscan tiles edge the roof. Two sculptured roundels with shell designs and detailed centers appear on either side of a larger roundel with the head of God carved in the center. To finish this elaborate porch, Fra Angelico painted a gold and blue marble floor.

Mary wears traditional garments: an aquamarine cloak over a light red gown, both edged with gold trim. Her robe is blue, the color of Heaven, associated with Mary’s divinity. The red color of her gown symbolizes Christ’s Passion, and the green color of her veil symbolizes regeneration and renewal. Mary wears a golden halo. Although her clothing covers her chair, the gold cloth of honor hung behind it designates it a royal throne.  The open book on her lap represents her knowledge. She bows gently to Gabriel and crosses her hands over her chest in acceptance. His hands crossed, Gabriel bows to greet Mary, and he delivers the message as a white dove flies in on rays of golden light. Gabriel’s pink robe is decorated with bands of gold, and his wings are composed of a variety of golden feathers. 

Gabriel’s wings direct the viewer’s attention to the scene of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, Fra Angelico’s addition to the Annunciation scene. A Catholic tradition refers to Mary as the second Eve and Christ as the second Adam, making this scene a logical addition. At the upper left, connecting this scene with the Annunciation, is the golden globe of Heaven with God’s hands releasing the white dove to Mary. Having eaten the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve are clothed to hide their nakedness.  At their feet are three pomegranates, representing the Trinity. The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was often thought to be an apple or a pomegranate.  Each flower and tree in the garden has a symbolic meaning associated with values and virtues, earthly reminders to humans of what was lost and what they should embrace to get into Heaven. Fra Angelico represented human damnation and salvation in this scene.

Botticelli’s “Annunciation” (1489-1490) (59’’x 61’’) demonstrates advancements in perspective and offers a different interpretation of the Annunciation. Mary has been praying at a prie diue (prayer desk) and sways dramatically as if to faint as Gabriel delivers the message. Botticelli is known for elongated, slender torsos drawn with long sweeping lines, and for elegant hand gestures. Gabriel, swathed in an abundance of wrapped and flowing drapery, makes a deep bow to Mary, and gestures with his right hand for her to be not afraid. He holds a stalk of five white lilies in his left hand.  White lilies have been a symbol of purity since before the Christian era, and they were adopted by Christians to represent Mary’s purity and virginity. The golden center of the lily represents Christ in her womb.  It is one of the first flowers of Spring; therefore, it symbolizes regeneration and rebirth, and the Resurrection of Christ. 

Although he could paint accurate body proportions, Botticelli chose to depict elongated religious figures to give them the authority of royalty. However, he chose to depict indoor and outdoor space using accurate perspective. The terra cotta and white floor is an accurate depiction of a flat floor leading to the door at the back of the room. Beyond a small garden is another symbol of Mary: her virginity is an enclosed garden.  Beyond the window, a peaceful landscape includes a walled city, a river with sailing ships, and a bridge. A hilltop town at the left is typical of the Italian countryside. 

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), trained in the late Byzantine tradition, moved to Venice, then Rome, where he absorbed the late Renaissance and Mannerist style, before he settled permanently in Toledo, Spain. His style springs from these eclectic roots. The “Annunciation” (1596-1600) (44.4’’x 25.5’’), painted near the end of his career, is an example of his unique, and highly spiritual style. El Greco drew from Italian Mannerism overly elongated figures to emphasize a more spiritual, less physical presence. Mary’s and Gabriel’s clothes are made of a shiny cloth that flows in dramatic folds over their thin torsos. Their hands, faces, and gestures appear normal, except their skin is pale, almost white. Gabriel’s harsh green robe, one of El Greco’s favorite colors, is a clear statement of new growth in Spring, and it reflects his response to the intense colors of Venice and the harsh colors of Mannerism. Both figures are placed at the front of the scene. No real perspective is provided; instead, nebulous blue-gray clouds cover the entire background. Perspective was absent in Byzantine icons because the scenes took place in Heaven, not on earth. 

As in the painting by Fra Angelico, El Greco includes several symbols of Mary. At the left is a prie diue with Mary’s book. On the bottom ledge, a sewing basket contains red cloth and a white veil.  According to the Armenian Gospel of Childhood (6th Century), while Mary was in the Temple, one of her jobs was to sew cloth hangings for the Temple. The white cloth alludes to the veil of the Temple she was said to be working on when Gabriel appeared. Above the basket is a burning bush. This unusual inclusion ties the Annunciation to Moses and the burning bush on Mount Sinai. The bush burned continually but was not consumed, symbolic of Mary, who would conceive a child but remain a perpetual virgin. 

Clouds of cherubs rise into the sky above Mary and Gabriel, and the white dove of the Holy Spirit ascends with golden light behind.  Music-making angels play in celebration at the top of the painting. At the right, an angel plays a bass viol, a second angel plays a harp, and a third angel strums a mandolin. In the center, an angel plays a harpsichord, another, a flute. At the left, an angel holds sheet music and conducts the ensemble. El Greco’s time in Venice acquainted him with the first representation of angels as musicians, and the bright colors favored by the Venetian painters. His unique style was highly appreciated by the Catholic Spanish court. 

 

The evolution of Italian painting can be seen by the comparison of Fra Angelico’s “Annunciation” of 1423 with Gentileschi’s “Annunciation” of 1623. Fra Angelico’s “Annunciation” represents painting of the Late Gothic era into the Italian Renaissance. His work is filled with symbols, and they display religious figures and settings as aristocratic. Botticelli’s “Annunciation” represents fully the development of perspective and a down-to-earth realism. El Greco’s “Annunciation” reveals several artistic influences, including an emotional and heavily spiritual atmosphere resulting from the rise of the Protestant Reformation. Orazio Gentileschi’s “Annunciation” (1623) (112.5’’ x 77’’) represents the Italian Baroque era, when the Roman Catholic Church used art to encourage its members to return to and stay with the Church. 

Italian Baroque paintings returned to naturalism in poses, proportions, and perspective, but presented dynamic and emotional scenes with the use of light and dark (chiaroscuro), diagonal compositions, and an intensely rich color palette. To add to the emotional experience, large swathes of red drapery were added everywhere. The setting of Gentileschi’s “Annunciation” is Mary’s bed chamber: Gabriel holds a stalk of white lilies and points to heaven while delivering God’s message. The dove of the Holy Spirit flies into the room from the upper right. Mary responds quietly to Gabriel’s message: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word.” (King James Bible, published 1611). Beyond the drama of light and dark and rich colors, Baroque artists created an additional pull on the viewer’s emotions. Gentileschi’s painting is over nine feet tall and six feet wide, thereby, making the figures in the painting life-size or larger.  For the first time, the viewer not only could witness the event, but also could be present in it.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

The Academy Art Museum of Easton recently has added Graciela Iturbide’s “Our Lady of the Iguanas” (1979) to its growing permanent collection of black and white photographs. Hispanic artist, Iturbide (b. 1942, Mexico City) has achieved an international reputation for her photographs of the indigenous people of Mexico. “Our Lady of the Iguanas” is one of a series of photographs Iturbide took from 1979 to 1986, when she was invited to visit Juchita, a small town on the coast Mexico in the valley of Oaxaca, to photograph the Zapotec people. The Zapotec, known as the “inhabitant of the clouds,” are descendants of an ancient matriarchal society that existed from 500 BCE until 900 CE. Juchitan women run a successful economy based on their ability to trade. The people describe themselves as well nourished, happy, wealthy enough.

“Our Lady of the Iguanas” fulfills the artistic parameters Iturbide set for herself: “I need to be close to the people…I need their complicity…Complicity, for me, is looking at someone and discovering that they are looking back. If I don’t get that answering look, I don’t get results.” The photograph shows Zobeida Dias who came to the market to sell the iguanas she carried on her head in the traditional manner. Iturbide describes the moment: “Here she comes with the iguanas on her head! I could not believe it. She put the iguanas on the ground and I said: ‘One moment, please. One moment! Please put the iguanas back’.”

“Only one photo from the 12 I took of her was good, because it was the only one where the iguanas raised their heads as if they were posing.” She notes that she had only 12 frames left on her film, but she managed to capture what she was looking for, that “ethereal sense of self-possession.” Zobeida is a woman of majesty and mystery. Shot from below, the figure rises prominently above the viewer’s eye level, creating a dramatic pose.

“Our Lady of the Iguanas” was a great success with the citizens of Juchitan, who requested copies of the photograph to display in their houses. Postcards were made to sell at the market. They named the work “The Juchitan Medusa,” after the Greek gorgon Medusa, who angered Athena and was transformed into a monster with snakes for hair. If someone looked at Medusa they immediately turned to stone. However, once Medusa was killed and the snakes severed from her head, their blood became a cure that saved lives. An important food source to the citizens of Juchitan, iguanas also are involved in many of their myths. Therefore, “The Juchican Medusa” is viewed as a positive image.

Iturbide named the photograph “Our Lady of the Iguanas” and described the iguanas as forming a halo. Her interpretation recognizes the prevalence of images of the Madonna and Saints on the streets and in their homes and churches. The photograph has become one of the quintessential Iturbide images. When journalist asked Zobedia if she was a feminist, she answered, “Yes. When my husband died, I work, I take care of myself.” Something of a celebrity. Zobedia died in 2004.

Iturbide describes herself as feminist: “I am feminist. And as I am, in my photographs, my way of being is revealed. That does not mean that I deliberately do feminist photography. I do what surprises me. Something is beautiful when it touches my heart. My eyes see them, and my heart shoots them.” Iturbide’s photographs find and celebrate the essence of the image, whether it is from her Mexican heritage or from her photographs in Cuba, Germany, India, Madagascar, Hungary, France, and the United States. “Photography for me is a ritual. To go out with the camera, to observe, to photograph the most mythological aspects of people, then to go into the darkness, to develop, to select the most symbolic images. The photographer’s job is to synthesize, to make strong and poetic work from daily life.”
The Academy Art Museum’s goal is to diversify its permanent collection of traditional black and white images created be many well-known American photographers. Iturbide’s is the first Latin-American woman’s photograph represented. The acquisition on “Our Lady of the Iguanas” acknowledges Iturbide’s technical proficiency and her remarkable ability to capture a compelling and authentic human presence.

NOTE: To learn more about the matriarchal society of Zapotec please go here.

Iturbide’s fascination with the camera was enhanced when she met Henri Cartier-Brisson in Europe and adapted his declarative statement to find the “decisive moment.” To wait, and watch and find that one spontaneous moment that is the essence of the subject.

1920s Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Sergei Eisenstein, Langston Hughes, Henri-Cartier Brissom, Tina Modotti, Edward Weston has no works by Latin American women artists in the Permanent Collection, and the addition of Iturbide’s print would help diversify the Museum’s photographic holdings considerably traditional black and white darkroom prints in our Collection by master American photographers, educational encounters and create dialogues.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown six years ago, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and Chesapeake College’s Institute for Adult Learning.  She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.