THE Christmas card tradition has taken a hammering with e-cards, Covid-19 and growing secularism. The days of people showing off their popularity by displaying the cards they received are over. It's now a wall of carbon-footprint shame near the environmentally unfriendly chimney.
For those who still send cards at this time of the year, Nativity scenes are still the No.1 attraction. They jostle with the more elusive Kwanzaa, the bland Season's Greetings and the jokier side of the season led by Rudolf the reindeer.
Those depictions of the infant Jesus and parents, plus assorted animals and angels, tend to be by a limited number of painters from the past, and their work is usually out of copyright.
Paintings work well on a card. They are two dimensional and the proportions tend to fit neatly into landscape or portrait format. The colours are rich, with enough detail to fascinate those rare recipients who take time to examine them.
When the Three Wise Men are in the picture, there is also the pleasure of checking to see how their origins in the Orient have been depicted. Balthasar has, for centuries, been shown as a Sub-Saharan African.
After seeing enough of these seasonal paintings, the viewer may begin to wonder if any other types of Nativity scenes have ever existed. The answer is "yes", but as they don't work so well on a card, they have been overlooked in modern times.
EARLY DEPICTIONS
The first depictions of the birth of Jesus were not paintings as we know them at all. These came much later. Those pioneer artists preferred the media of the time. In the 5th century, that meant carvings mostly.
The concept of painting on canvas is comparatively modern at just a few centuries old. Paintings on walls have been around for much longer and were the choice of ancient artists. Around 1,700 years ago, these began to take shape as the scenes that we still know today.
Before these happenings in a stable — or a cave in Palestinian and other Orthodox compositions — there were painted and carved images of the Magi. The importance of these wise men, or astrologers from "the East", was considered to be spreading the word of the new religion and the importance of the baby in the hierarchy.
The more human side of a couple who had made their way to distant Bethlehem from Nazareth became the essence of the Nativity. The Magi may lend some grandeur, but most viewers preferred the pathos of the woe-begone couple forced to place a newborn in an animal feeding trough for want of anything more appropriate. The presence of animals, such as an ox and a donkey, adds more to the poverty-stricken ambience.
Behind all the Christmas carols welcoming this child into the world, there is an inescapable sadness. Not only is Mary's son destined to die before his time, in the Christian tradition, there are going to be harrowing episodes in his infancy.
Artists soon latched on to depictions of the refugee family having to escape Palestine for fear of King Herod. The Judean king ordered the killing of every boy under 2 years old, which makes for some of the most bloodcurdling imagery of any religion. The Massacre of the Innocents rarely appears on greeting cards, but it is everywhere in Renaissance art.
DIVERSE MEDIA
Back on the safer ground of the Nativity stable, the variety of artistic media used has been astonishing. There is every exotic material, from ivory to alabaster, and amber to nutshell.
There has never been a better opportunity for sentimental artisans and their patrons to depict family life. While the old masters of painting outdid each other on canvas and wood panels that could dominate a church or palace, workers in different media could bring their diverse skills to the picture.
These might be the crudest whittled wood — which St Francis of Assisi turned into living depictions with plenty of farmyard animals — or they could be bejewelled marvels to wear round a royal neck.
In three dimensions, the most imposing are sometimes the most overlooked. They also provide a handy link with Argentina's victory in the World Cup, courtesy of the late legendary Diego Maradona.
NATIVITY COMPOSITION
For the Christmas shopper who has everything, the most stunning indoor attraction that I've ever seen is an antique Nativity scene from Naples (the football-obsessed second home of Maradona).
Recently on display at the world's oldest private art gallery, Colnaghi in London, was a 5-metre-wide crèche. Known as a presepe in Italy, it was clearly intended for a spacious home.
Fortunately, there was plenty of room at the original inn, which must have been one of Naples's most magnificent homes. This is where Italian painter Caravaggio ran to after being banished from Rome.
The Nativity composition is as light and festive as Caravaggio is not. Created by the city's most superior artists and craftsmen, it is a perfect slice of Neapolitan life from 200 years ago. Many homes would have had smaller versions, and still do. Occasionally, modern updates include Diego Maradona.
The Colnaghi example has a more regal presence to it. Every detail tells us about local society, including musicians and others who are wearing turbans and other accessories from the Ottoman Empire. Amidst the hubbub of the crèche, it's easy to lose sight of the baby Jesus and his parents. The herald angels truly come into their own on this occasion.
Follow Lucien de Guise at Instagram @crossxcultural.