The Art of Advent: Day 10
Behind today’s door are the top ten images of our favourite festive character - St Nickolas. Being a prominent part of the Christmas season across the world and across many centuries, he is a character that has taken on many different forms. Here are ten examples of the various ways he has appeared throughout time.
No. 1 St Nicholas, 18th century Russian icon
This is an 18th century Russian icon showing St Nicholas, a Greek saint who lived during the 4th century. This image has all of the typical stylistic features of a religious icon - the elongated figures and added gold leaf applied to his halo. We are reminded here that St Nick started life as a real religious figure - hence his Saintly status! What is so great about this particular icon of the Saint is the eighteen surrounding miniature scenes. These small images show events that occurred within the saint’s life that remind the viewer of his love of gift giving. Now that sounds like the St Nick that we all know and love!
No. 2 T.R.R Tolkien Illustration
This is an illustration by The Hobbit author J.R.R Tolkien. Starting in 1920, Tolkien spent 23 years writing tales of Father Christmas for his four children. Though the story, which appeared in letter form, began with short instalments, in true Tolkien fashion it eventually evolved into a full world with mischievous polar bears, goblins and other magical creatures. This particular illustration is one of my favourites. The zig zagging colours that appear before the tiny figure of Father Christmas is an explosion set of by a polar bear underground. Tolkien would make sure the letters appeared as though they had arrived from the north pole and even convinced the postman to include them in his deliveries!
No. 3 Let’s bring the heavy mistletoe, Sergeant! (1918)
This is an image by JC Leyendecker who was a contemporary of Norman Rockwell. The two artists defined the early modern image of Santa Claus in their covers for the Saturday Evening Post such as this one here. Here Santa is seen wearing a tin helmet and holding his arm in a salute position. These details along with the title of the piece reveals that this was made just after the First World War was declared over. What a Christmas celebration that must have been in 1918! What is interesting about this image is that it predates the Coca-Cola interpretation of the jolly man in red by at least two years - they do look quite similar don’t they?
No. 4 Coca-Cola Claus
This is where the Father Christmas that we all recognise and love comes on the scene. It’s safe to say that most of us see this guy nearly everyday in December (and let’s face it, these days from late October) on TV, on packets of biscuits, and that good old chilled can of Coke. The Coca-Cola Claus sees the saint become solidified as a secular hero. It also puts the figure as a fundamental part of commercial culture and it’s safe to say that it was a marketing strategy with unmatched sustainability! This image of Father Christmas managed to become the dominant form that we think of when it comes to the Christmas season, unfortunately overshadowing the rich and religious origins of St Nick.
No. 5 Japanese Santa, 1914
Though Coca-Cola Claus had a significant impact on the visual form that Santa has taken on, this interpretation by a Japanese artist from 1914 suggests that the fat man in the red coat and bobbled hat was developing even without the involvement of the Coke franchise. What I particularly like in this image is the way that we see the meshing together of so many different cultures and traditions. Christmas really is a time for everyone to celebrate for whatever reason they see fit - whether it be religious or traditional, for the family or the feasts. Whatever it may be, festive cheer is universal and can be celebrated for any reason in any way.
No. 6 Christmas Scene by Franz Xaver Frh, vom Paumgartten, 1820
This image is a painting from Austrian artist Franz Xaver vom Paumgartten. It shows how by the beginning of the nineteenth century St Nick was becoming a standard part of the Christmas scene, appearing more like the Father Christmas that we all love today. Though he still appears as a white robed religious man, much like a bishop, he is seen in the family home, joining in with the family’s festivities and holding the hand of a child by the Christmas tree. This kindness towards children was used as the main characteristic of the future Father Christmas. There is another mysterious figure in this scene. Around the door peers what is known as ‘Krampus’ - a part of the Christmas story popular in Austrian and Nordic countries. He is sometimes seen as a kind of ‘anti-Santa’ as he would punish those who had wound up on the naughty list. Luckily this creepy looking figure didn’t quite make it into the British version of the Christmas story - thought maybe we would all make certain to get onto the nice list if he had done!
No. 7 Hands Up! by Will Crawford for Puck magazine, 1912
This is an illustration by Will Crawford made in 1912 for Puck magazine. Puck was an early satirical magazine in the United States and often featured these types of illustrations on its cover. The image is titled ‘Hands Up!’ and the caption ‘As Santa Claus looks to some of us’ accompanied it. This is quite a different interpretation of the figure as he takes his treatment to those on the naughty list to an extreme.
No. 8 Single cover of ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ by Jimmy Boyd, 1952
Here we see Santa Claus appearing on the cover of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause by Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song was a hit and has been covered from artists from The Jackson 5 to Amy Winehouse. Even in this image, whilst ‘mommy’ is planting a big kiss on his lips, Santa is still attempting to deliver the present he has for the little boy hiding behind the banister - this harks back to the original purpose of Saint Nicholas and his devotion of giving gifts.
No. 9 Photograph of Oxford Street, London, 1951
This photograph shows a site near Oxford Street in London in 1951 where a model of Father Christmas lies in a broken heap in the aftermath of a bomb dropping. This image is an example of the devastation brought by World War II, the jolly image of Santa Clause acting as a stark contrast to the scene of destruction around it.
No. 10 ‘The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus’ by L. Frank Baum
This image was the front cover of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz. The tale played a big role in the popularisation of the legend of Father Christmas. However, here he has not yet donned the red suit that would later become his staple uniform, appearing instead in a dark green coat and hat with fur lining.