tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21346696.post3537983557283438002..comments2023-11-03T05:33:56.202-04:00Comments on On Not Being a Sausage: The Nativity: Piero della FrancescaDeirdrehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02106311465508277283noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21346696.post-34636615732265371332007-12-29T11:10:00.000-05:002007-12-29T11:10:00.000-05:00I only recently saw a print of this painting of th...I only recently saw a print of this <A HREF="http://ilcrise.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/piero_della_francesca_la-_madonna_del_parto.jpg" REL="nofollow">painting of the pregnant Madonna</A> that he painted. Evidently it was scandalous for its day to show Mary in pregnancy.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08348048990003701953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21346696.post-40876902524390670442007-12-29T09:40:00.000-05:002007-12-29T09:40:00.000-05:00it seems that in the Nativity, the painter used a ...it seems that in the Nativity, the painter used a lot of details in ways he didn't in, say, the Flagellation, the Resurrection, or the Baptism. The birds, for instance, and their stasis. In the others, the human figures gave the story. It is interesting in the Baptism, it is the females again who imply interest, while the males are either walking away from the water, or the one is removing clothing preparing for baptism. <BR/>I hadn't seen some of these paintings. Thanks for drawing my attention to them.Pastor Pam Szurekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07145358251046156712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21346696.post-25383052602250141492007-12-29T08:17:00.000-05:002007-12-29T08:17:00.000-05:00H'm.In Byzantine icons of the Nativity, Joseph is ...H'm.<BR/>In Byzantine icons of the Nativity, Joseph is sometimes seen seated off in a corner in conversation with a shepherd next to a few sheep and water. The sheep stand still and the water doesn't flow. In the Protoevangelium of James (a noncanonical text) at the birth of Jesus time stands still: water, sheep, birds. Is it possible there's a faint echo of this in Piero's depiction of Joseph's contemplation and his odd seat?<BR/><BR/>BTW, note the three tiny birds (chaffinches?) in the front left of the painting. The females are looking towards Mary while the male looks away. Perhaps he mirrors Joseph who also looks away from the mother and baby. Could the males be in contemplation or "on guard?"Deirdrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02106311465508277283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21346696.post-3947224440763934632007-12-28T19:59:00.000-05:002007-12-28T19:59:00.000-05:00In this painting, Joseph is sitting on an open roc...In this painting, Joseph is sitting on an open rock, in an odd shape. Is it a foreshadowing of the tomb? Is the water flask or vessel underneath it a symbol of the rock that closed the tomb? Or am I reading into the painting something that isn't there?Pastor Pam Szurekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07145358251046156712noreply@blogger.com