When you walk into the Botticelli Room, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, you will have a hard time deciding what to look at first. Botticelli's Birth of Venus, his Primavera (Spring)? Their beauty will knock you over, it's true. Then, look to the right. The Portinari Altarpiece, by Hugo van der Goes, his great masterpiece.
Hugo van der Goes, one of the great Northern Renaissance artists. We think of the Renaissance as an Italian phenomenon, but northern Europe developed a distinctive style all its own. Hugo lived from 1440 to 1482. In 1467, his name shows up as a member of the Artists Guild in Ghent, in Belgium. Tommaso Portinari, branch manager of the Medici bank in Bruges, commissioned the altarpiece for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. Fast forward thru the centuries. Hugo's masterpiece shares a room with Botticelli's greatest works. I've been in that room. As marvelous as Botticelli's paintings are, Hugo is the artist who grabs my attention.
Hugo van der Goes, one of the great Northern Renaissance artists. We think of the Renaissance as an Italian phenomenon, but northern Europe developed a distinctive style all its own. Hugo lived from 1440 to 1482. In 1467, his name shows up as a member of the Artists Guild in Ghent, in Belgium. Tommaso Portinari, branch manager of the Medici bank in Bruges, commissioned the altarpiece for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. Fast forward thru the centuries. Hugo's masterpiece shares a room with Botticelli's greatest works. I've been in that room. As marvelous as Botticelli's paintings are, Hugo is the artist who grabs my attention.
All eyes focus on the little babe. He is a skinny infant. The Italian Baby Jesus is always a plump little fellow. In Northern Europe, He is long and lean.
The shepherd in the back strains to see the babe. What tenderness in the faces of the other two! The angels look very solemn and serious, realizing more than any of the human participants what a monumental event they witness. They alone of the participants have been in Heaven, have seen God. "Veiled in Flesh, the Godhead see," the old hymn says, "Hail the incarnate Deity. Please as man with men to dwell. Jesus, our Emmanuel." For God to become a baby! It's like pouring the ocean into a dixie cup!
A literalist would quibble with the details. Does the Bible describe angels dressed in rich robes and with bird wings? Would Mary wear a garment of blue -- such an expensive dye? Was Joseph, standing at the far left of the center panel, really an old, old man? So many unbiblical details! Does it matter? Not at all. The message is clear. A little babe, the focus of human and angelic attention. A marvelous sacrifice. Merry Christmas.
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