Sacred art can help us to contemplate the mysteries of our faith. Every month we will look at a different image and the mystery it represents.
Nativity of Christ with Saint Jerome.
By Bernardino Pinturicchio (1485-9) In Jerome Basso Della Rovere Chapel in Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, Italy.
The Augustinian Basilica of Santa
Maria del Popolo was built over a small chapel by Pope Paschal II in 1099, on
the north side of Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city
of Rome. From early times, it was a place of pilgrimage to a
miraculous image of Our Lady, of which a copy in mosaic form can be found in St St Peter Square.
The church contains several treasures
by famous artists, architects and sculptors of the "quattrocentro", including Bramante,
Raphael, Bernini and Caravaggio… Among
them, in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and St.
Jerome (patron saint of the donor), is The Adoration of the Child with St Jerome, an exquisite altarpiece
by Pinturicchio.
The tender and serene scene
occurs by day, at the front of a humble hut. The night is
over; the sky is bright blue, slightly cloudy. Mary is kneeling, raptured in
adoration before the Infant Jesus who lies on a bundle of wheat - an image of the
Eucharist. The divine Child stretches his little hands towards His Mother to be
taken in her arms.
Joseph is figured seated and
pondering, in a posture alluding to his role as the guardian of the Holy
Family, but without any active participation in the procreation. To the right,
the ox and the donkey (symbolizing the Jews and the Pagan peoples) are penned
behind a fence of woven twigs. Beside Joseph, Saint Jerome meditates on the
Word made flesh, with the head of a lion - his symbol - at his back. In
fact, the Golden Legend by Jacobus de
Voragine tells the story of a lion’s paw that was healed from a thorn by the
saint, and became friend with him. On the very left, we can see a self-portrait
of the young artist as one of the shepherds.
In the background landscape, as the Magi approach to
pay homage to the King of kings, an angel is appearing to the shepherds from
the heights, saying: “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”. (Lk : 2, 10-11)
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