Some Light for the Winter Solstice

Interesting online lecture from Richard Stemp looking at the work of the 15th century Dutch artist Geertgen Tot Sint Jans.

Stemp took Geertgen’s “Nativity at Night“ from the National Gallery as a starting point to talk about the career of this artist who I didn’t really know although I knew this picture. He talked about Geertgen or Little Gerald’s links to the Order of St John and walked us through most of the artists  known works with his usual witty take on the pictures.

He finished by talking about the Nativity picture a few days before Christmas, looking at the role of light in it linking that to the fact he was talking on the longest day of the year, hence the talks title. He also talked about how the picture reflects St Bridget’s vision of the Nativity which I’ve gathered from other talks changed some of the iconography of the scene.

 

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