Fine Arts

4 Paintings With Real Christmas Presence

Celebrating the birth of Christ with great art and revealing the sacred messages hidden within it.
4 Paintings With Real Christmas Presence
Detail of the “Adoration of the Magi,” 1423, by Gentile da Fabriano. Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy. Public Domain
Lorraine Ferrier
|Updated:
0:00
“Love Came Down at Christmas,” according to Christina Rossetti’s aptly titled Christmas poem and hymn. The 19th-century English poet sweetly recalls the Nativity in the first stanza:

Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine; Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign.

Rossetti’s poem reveres the essence of Christmas: the birth of Christ, who Christians believe is the Son of God, and who descended from heaven for humankind’s salvation. Nativity scenes and paintings traditionally mark the auspicious occasion.

Many religious paintings now in art galleries and museums were once an important part of church architecture. Everything the artists depicted was meant to deepen the faith of churchgoers. Each biblical theme guided Christians to their salvation.

Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.