The Nativity scene is perhaps the most iconic part of the actual Christian celebration of the Christmas holiday. The image of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus is one that’s been depicted in paintings, film, sculpture and other mediums throughout the world.
Adam Pomeroy Press ReleaseView Artwork
In Adam Pomeroy�s monochromatic paintings, motifs are articulated by a fall of pale, muted light, like a beam of moonlight.
A stillness pervades his work whether the subject is an object or, as is often the case, a person. Both still life items and people are usually individual presences, isolated in pools of darkness, with just faint indications of the parameters of a room, for example. If the subject is a person, he or occasionally she is as if lost in thought.
Jim by Adam Pomeroy Jim by Adam Pomeroy.
This basic format allows him to focus on one person or thing without losing a sense of the surrounding world. The enfolding darkness is not just a void, rather you feel everything is there in the shadows. It�s as if Pomeroy is constantly trying to establish how much he can exclude from visibility without losing a sense of the enveloping world. He can leave out quite a lot, in the event. As he sees it, he comes from a photorealist position, but allies realism with minimalism.
He refers to the tradition of the vanitas still life, a reminder of mortality, and identifies with the theme. It could be that the shaft of light, in his paintings, defines a brief moment of life in an infinitely greater darkness. He cast a melancholy spell, but the work is far from gloomy. In his concentrated attentiveness there is also a delight in sheer vitality.
Until March 22nd, thedoorwaygallery.com
Irish Times March 2018
“Five of the Best art exhibitions to see this week.” Aidan Dunne
Adam Pomeroy: Nocturne
Paintings by Adam Pomeroy,The Doorway Gallery, 24 South Frederick St, Dublin Until March 22 thedoorwaygallery.com
The show�s title is apt. Adam Pomeroy aims for what he describes as a �minimalist realism, paring down representation to the essential�. The result is, he says, as much about that is not there as what we can see. Each subject is animated by �mere flickers of light, like the perception of ghosts.� The viewer will instinctively, he believes, intuit what is not immediately visible.
Painting of the Nativity at Galway Cathedral, Galway Advertiser
Painting of the Nativity at Galway Cathedral
By Kernan Andrews Galway Advertiser, Thu, Dec 29, 2011
A painting of the Nativity by Adam Pomeroy, is currently on loan to and being exhibited in Galway Cathedral.
The painting is a modern day depiction of Mary and the new-born Jesus. The focus is on the mother and child with the intention to bring to the fore the human, emotive, content of the scene.
Other biblically inspired paintings by Adam Pomeroy can be seen in Ennis Cathedral and in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin
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Famous Nativity Paintings
Caravaggio is one of the most celebrated artists from the Baroque era which took place in the 17th century across Europe. Many of his paintings include a very high contrast between light and darkness which is meant to signify good and evil.
Caravaggio is known to have painted a number of religious works and one in particular is centered around the birth of Jesus Christ.
The painting is titled Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence and was completed in 1600 at the peak of Caravaggio’s career.
It features the characteristic light and dark contrast that was so common with Caravaggio’s paintings, as well as two of the more well-known religious figures from the Catholic church at the time the work was painted.
The painting was on display at the Oratory of Saint Lawrence in Palermo, Italy when it was stolen in 1969. Authorities that have investigated the matter suspect the theft was the work of the Sicilian mafia, but the painting has not since been recovered.
Portinari Altarpiece – Hugo van der Goes
Dutch painter Hugo van der Goes was famous for his ability to portray religious scenes from the Bible. Many of his most prominent paintings have been placed at the altarpiece of different churches throughout Europe since the 15th century.
Van der Goes created one work that depicted the Christian Nativity scene in 1476 which was intended to be serve as an altarpiece.
The work is titled Portinari Altarpiece and is one of the famous triptych works that van der Goes did during his career.
This painting features most of the characters that were associated with the Biblical story of Christ’s birth, but the Flemish artist also included a few prominent religious figures from the time period in which the work was done.
This painting was done in the same style as most other works from van der Goes and looks similar to other artists’ works from the early Renaissance era.
The Mystical Nativity – Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli is one of the more highly-revered artists from the early Italian Renaissance period. Unlike some of the more well-known artists from this era, Botticelli was not very popular during his lifetime, or for a few centuries afterward.
His works began to be noticed by art scholars and critics studying the Italian Renaissance during the 19th century.
One of the more talked-about works that is credited to Botticelli is titled The Mystical Nativity. This 1501 painting depicts a three-layered work that was quite common for this time period.
It features the typical Nativity scene in the center while angels and light circle overhead.
There are also angelic beings painted at the bottom third of the work. The infant Jesus, as well as the Virgin Mary and Joseph are featured in a cave that served as a makeshift manger that was mentioned in the Biblical story of Christ’s birth.
