“There is no need to reinvent the wheel.” How often I heard this saying as a child.
Today I am reminded of these words because I want to invite you to partake in a marvelous series available from the National Gallery in London. Rather than present my own prose about the role in art of John the Baptist, a principal figure during the season of Advent, it is far better to experience the art itself, particularly when guided by two of the most pleasant specialists you can imagine: art historian Dr. Jennifer Sliwka and theologian Dr. Ben Quash.
The first episode alone, if that is all you have time to enjoy, conveys a helpful understanding of the topic. But each following episode expands the framework marvelously, bringing surprising concepts and details to life. There is also noteworthy music along the way (beginning with This Is the Record of John by Orlando Gibbons).
It’s odd to say, but I think it is true: in our current Zoom-based virtual world, clips of nine minutes can seem long, right? These episodes, though, will fly by, leaving in their wake much information and an enhanced understanding of what artists (well-schooled artists, at least) try to do within a painting, particularly in earlier periods when people turned to visual art for their schooling. Our children do not always realize that art of all kinds, and especially paintings, functioned like a textbook, at least until literacy spread among the general populace.
So, perhaps these vignettes will fit nicely into your family’s life across this Advent, and even into Christmas’ Twelve Days. For that matter, they will make an ideal build-up to January 6th which, in the Eastern Christian tradition, marks the Theophany, or Feast of Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist. You can also skip around and start with Episodes 8 and 9, should you want to grab your adolescent boys with the gruesome end of the Baptist’s life. See what their response is to hearing sculptress Ana Maria Pacheco explain (Episode 9) why she used a chain saw to fashion her famous 1992 wooden head of John the Baptist! To stay within the spirit of Advent and Christmas, though, it is better to start with the initial episodes and set the right tone.
Like so many things we hope to learn, but wonder how we will manage, piercing the layers of art history can seem daunting. Remember, though, that a little spice (exposure, experience) can go a long way. True, there are no LED lights flashing from a Renaissance altar-piece, nor does it explode with high-decibel sound. Still, it has more power to communicate its ancient messages than we first think, especially when we are guided wisely through it. And if you have good results, I’d love to hear about it.
Episode Three: Birth and Naming
