Christmas Eve reflection: Georges de la Tour's The Newborn Child - video

Dec 24th, 2018 (Updated Jan 4th, 2019)

In this video from Christian Art Today, art expert Patrick van der Vorst looks at Georges de la Tour's Nativity painting: The Newborn Child.

Georges de La Tour (March 13, 1593 - January 30, 1652) was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine. He painted mostly religious chiaroscuro scenes lit by candlelight. La Tour's work was stylistically similar to Caravaggio in both his treatment of subject and colour.

There is an introspective flavour to this particular nativity. It is both sombre (infant fragility) and enlightening (the light of Christ). De La Tour personally suffered from a history of family infant mortality and we can detect a guarded and introspective mood in his life subjects. As well as becoming the shrine of God, the Virgin Mary's dramatic Christmas story is also one of fragility and selfless abandonment.

Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S1zeUzplmg&feature=youtu.be
For further study materials see: www.christianart.today/delatour

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