If you haven’t been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see “Siena: The Rise of Painting,” I hope you will have a chance to do so. The exhibit focuses on works of art painted in that Italian city just as the Renaissance was beginning to come to life. Between the years 1300 and 1350, Sienese artists moved the art of painting into a new era of detail, color and perspective.
I was blessed to see this exhibit on the weekend before Thanksgiving. Viewing the pieces included in the show was a perfect way to prepare for Advent, as almost all the works portray scenes from the Gospels. There are a fair number of paintings of the Annunciation, the events of Holy Week, and portraits of the disciples. But the majority of the works of art depict Mary, the Mother of God, holding the child Jesus on her lap.
Depending on the artist, the child is shown in a number of poses. Sometimes Jesus is looking straight at the viewer. Sometimes his head is inclined upward, as if to get a view of his mother. A couple of paintings show Jesus playing with the veil that is covering Mary’s head! But Mary’s position is consistent in almost all the works: she is always, always, always gazing directly at Jesus.
In addition to being an idealized portrait of a mother’s love for her baby, the iconography in these paintings pulls us toward a similar focus. There are many forces calling our attention away from the miracle of the Incarnation. May we be inspired by the images of Mary that remind us to bring our gaze back to the living God, present with us always.
The Siena exhibit will be at the Met through January 26—and will be just as powerful to view at Christmastide or in the early weeks of Epiphany!
Advent blessings,
