Behold the Light

Here Jesus looks at our world with the bright eyes of childhood, with wonder, safe in the arms of his mother.

The patron who purchased the... more

by Nancy Lee Moran

Title

Behold the Light

Artist

Nancy Lee Moran

Medium

Painting - Oil On Board

Description

Here Jesus looks at our world with the bright eyes of childhood, with wonder, safe in the arms of his mother.

The patron who purchased the original oil painting wrote about it:
"Jesus appears as a bright-eyed, light-brown-skinned boy with curly black hair. Tiny stars, as opposed to a typical halo, radiate from His head. He is placed at the center of the work, being held prominently by His mother for us to behold. Mary is young, graceful, and serene with downcast eyes. She is taking tender care of the Child, lovingly and willingly for all of humanity."

One viewer told me she loved seeing Jesus "as more Hebrew and Galilean in appearance, as a Jewish baby, as not Nordic."

For Mary's garment, I was inspired by a statue in a historic church along the Missouri River in Brownville, Nebraska. I gleaned information from my personal library of books about the Bible, historical costumes, and Christian art. Patchwork and embroidery were done by Egyptians and Romans in the time of Christ. My husband said the image reminded him of Byzantine art and of Eastern Rite Catholicism. The color blue has been used for Mary throughout Christian tradition to show her purity.
My thanks to Janice of Brownville for suggesting the title.

See the art story here:
http://nancyleemoran.com/InspirationalArtBeholdLight.php
You can copy and paste the link.

NOTE: The Fine Art America logo does not appear on items that you purchase.

Copyright Notice: This image does not belong to the public domain. It may be licensed by asking permission, nancylee@nancyleemoran.com. All artwork in the Moran portfolio is copyrighted and owned by the artist, Nancy Lee Moran. All rights reserved.

Uploaded

December 17th, 2016