Title of the painting which represents the episode described in the Gospel of Matthew 2:13-15

"After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
'Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him.'
So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt."

There are many artistic representations of Jesus' birth. They are based on the "Infancy gospels". Read carefulley and complete the following sentence: "Jesus' infancy gospel writers didn't want to produce a biography of Jesus. They wanted to explain who he was, his mission, how early Christians saw him and that Jesus is the expected ________ ".

 

Here you can see the alterpiece of Salamanca's old cathedral, a wonder of the 15th century, by Dello Delli, a painter of Florence (Italy). He captured in fifty-three images what it's most important in the Good News. Many of these images aren't based on proved historical facts but in religious beliefs. If you want to see something in detail click on any of themHERE

This painting by Andrea MANTEGNA is entitled "The Adoration of the Magi".

The scene represents the gospel story of Matthew 2,1-12. Which message does he try to pass on to us?

The gospel scene where Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth is called: ______________________

What does this painting by Roger van der WEYDEN, daiting from 1445, represent?

Annunciation is:

 

The text is from the gospel of Luke 1,26-38:

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour!, the Lord is with you!" But she was deeply disturbed by these words, and asked herself what this greeting could mean. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have won God's favour. Look!, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your cousin Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said, "You see before you the Lord's servant; let it happen to me as you have said" And the angel left her."

The gospel account where the angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary that God has chosen her to be the mother of Jesus. It has been represented in art.

In art history there are many representations of "the Annunciation". The scene is narrated in the gospel of Luke 1,26-38. In the following text some words are missing. Click on the words on the list below.

"In the sixth month the angel ______ was sent to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man called ______, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was _______. He went in and said to her: ---Rejoice, you who enjoy God's favour!. She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean. The angel said to her: ---Do not be afraid, Mary, you have won God's favour. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him ______. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; the Lord God will him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end. Mary said to the angel: ---But how this will come about, since I have no knowledge of man? The angel answered: ---The _________ ________ will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and he will be called Son of God. And I tell you this too: your coudsin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son, and she whom the people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God. Mary said: ---You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to me as you have said. And the angel left her"

As you already know, the gospels are not history books and they don't want to be so either. Sometimes they incorporate historical facts and narratives that try to explain who was Jesus for the early Christians. One of these episodes is in the Gospel of Matthew 2:16-18; he tries to convey that in Jesus are fulfilled all the prophecies of the Old Testament and that he is the expected Messiah. Read the biblical text in Matthew 2:16-18:

"Herod was furious on realising that he had been fooled by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding dristict he had all the male children killed who were two years old or less, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men.Then were fulfilled the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and weeping bitterly; it is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more."


Bearing this reading in mind, what scene is it represented in this painting, dated from 1383?

What is the title of this painting by RAPHAEL?.

This painting by VERONESE can be seen in The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. But in order to fully understand the scene you need to read the text on which the scene is based. There are some blanks in the text of the Gospel of Luke 2,8-20. Which words are mising?

"In the countryside close by there were ________ out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night. An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, 'Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.' And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours. Now it happened that when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.' So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the ___________ said to them. As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the __________ went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told."

 

In his gospel, Luke speaks about Jesus' circumcision and presentation in the Temple in order to indicate that he accepts and observes all the prescriptions of the Jewish Law. Could you say which one of the following planks in this Tryptich by Rogier van der WEYDEN matches "The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple"?



A clue: read the text of the Gospel of Luke 2:21-24; it says: " When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception. And when the day came for them to be purified in keeping with the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord _observing what is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consacrated to the Lord_ and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

This work by Luca GIORDANO was painted in 1688. It is entitled "The Adoration of the shepherds". What message did Luke want to convey in his gospel by telling us that the shepherds were the first ones to go and adore Jesus in the stable?

Look at this painting by Gaetano GANDOLFI, dated from 1790. After reading the text of the Gospel of Matthew 2,13-15 choose the correct title.

"After they had left, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and do away with him'. So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: I called my son out of Egypt."

Is it true the following sentence: "We know very little about Jesus' infancy"?.

 

Look at this painting by Dieric BOUTS the Elder, painted around 1445, that can be found in The Prado Museum. There are four scenes of Jesus' infancy.

Look at this miniature by the LIMBOURG brothers. Which scene is represented in this image?. Read in the Gospel of Luke 2,9-10.

Many of the works of art that represent Jesus' infancy scenes are based on the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Please, read carefully the following sentence and choose the right answer: "Jesus' infancy gospel writters dindn't want to produce a biography of Jesus. They wanted to explain who he was and how the early Christians saw him".

 

Here you can see the alterpiece of Salamanca's old cathedral, a wonder of the 15th century, by Dello DELLI, a painter of Florence (Italy). The most important scenes of the gospels are represented in these fifty-three boards. If you want to see them in detail click on any of themhere

What does this image represent? This is a romanic wall painting from the Pantheon of St. Isidoro in Leon, Spain

Read the following text of Luke 2:21: "When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception." Afterwards mark the title of this painting by RUBENS.

The painting dates from 1605; its dimensions are 1,05 x 0,74 m, This painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienne, Austria.

Luke stresses the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because Joseph, his father, was of David's House and line, and Bethlehem was David's town. So Joseph set out to that town in Judaea in order to be registered in the census ordered by Caesar Augustus, together with Mary who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. But, what is the religious significance/meaning of the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Why does Luke stress the fact that Jesus was born in Bethlehem?

A clue: Read this text of the Gospel of Luke 2,1-7:
"Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. This census -the first- took place while Quirinus was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David's town called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the living-space."

Another clue: Look at this painting by Fra ANGELICO, dated from 1441, that is the St Mark's National Museum in Florence, Italy.