The Art of Advent: Day 22

For today’s advent post we have a Festive Favourite from Gabriella Sotiriou who discusses an image of the nativity by Chinese artist He Qi. She considers the mix of traditional and the modern that is featured in this painting and explores some of the symbolism within the scene.

This painting of the birth of Christ is by Chinese artist He Qi who painted political paintings during the Cultural Revolution as a way to escape forced labour. However, when he was able, he painted images of the Madonna as a result of his fascination with Raphael’s Madonna and Child, painted in 1503.

This nativity scene is a perfect meshing together of a traditional image and Qi’s modern abstracted style. It uses the artists typical vibrant colours and dynamic shapes to reimagine the scene that has appeared countless times during the course of art history.

There is something reminiscent of stained glass in the shapes and colours used here, giving a traditional and modern notion to the painting.

We can see Mary embracing her beautiful new born son as sheep dance to the voices of the angles above. The scene is lit by the divine light of heaven that floods each area of the image equally however, the light is stronger around the mother and child. Joseph fades into the image, as he admires the amazing scene before him, recognising that his work is done.

Jesus offers a red apple to his mother, signifying the garden of Eden and the idea of creation. The bright red apple has a potential double meaning - it appears in the shape of a heart, symbolising the heart of God promised to humanity.