Christmas Art Part 1: The (bizarro) Tree of Jesse
As we loom ever nearer to Christmas (good heavens, I need to do more shopping!), I thought it would be fun to look at some of the art of great moments in the Christmas story. I could have started with something obvious, but I thought, hey, why not begin where the Bible does? With genealogy!
Because when you flip open Matthew hoping to get to some dreams and angels and Wise Men, what do you get first? Begats. A whole bunch of them. At least Luke waits until after the baby is born to bore us with ancestors.
The point was that Jesus was descended from King David and David's father Jesse, and thence back all the way to Abraham. He is of royal lineage and the legitimate heir of the kingdom of Israel's greatest king. This is a little confusing, since after all Jesus is supposed to be God's son, not Joseph's, but the Biblical writers do a little arm waving and note that Joseph was Jesus' "earthly father." (Mary was also believed to be descended from Jesse, and sometimes the tree is shown leading to Mary and then Christ.) You can tie these two New Testament references back to the Old Testament, to Isaiah, who in verse 11;1 wrote, "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Jesus, therefore, is the "shoot of Jesse."
Modern churches spend little time with this passage, but in the Medieval period this was a big honking deal. Genealogies mattered immensely to Medieval people, particularly powerful aristocratic ones, since inheritance and therefore wealth and power were all derived from family. If you've ever tried to figure out the War of the Roses, you'll grasp the point immediately–who was descended from whom took on vast importance. And so the people of the era found the family tree of Jesus relevant and fascinating.
What is so marvelous about these images is the Medieval literalness with which they are interpreted. The Bible says a shoot shall come forth from Jesse, so by golly a shoot comes forth from Jesse:
Detail of Jesse Window, Chartres Cathedral, c.1150
In other words, dude, there is a tree growing out of your crotch!
Jesus' descendants sprang from Jesse's loins, so that's exactly where the tree, er, arises.
Illustrator of 'Speculum humanae salvationis', Cologne, c. 1450
So many jokes. So completely inappropriate. Particularly here, where the flower blooming from Jesse's wood (heh) is the red rose of Mary on which rests of the dove of peace/Christ/the Holy Spirit. This simple depiction is unusual; most are much more complicated:
Master of James IV of Scotland Flemish, Bruges and Ghent or Mechelen, 1510 - 1520
The number of ancestors varied and seems to have depended on the space available and the artist's creativity. The manuscript above only shows a handful. Others go all out:
Herrad of Hohenburg, Hortus Deliciarum, c. 1195
At least here Jesse is sitting next to his tree, rather than having it grow directly out of him.
Oh well, here's another snicker-worthy Jesse fully, er, sprouted.
Hrabanus Maurus, De laudibus sancte crucis, c. 1170-1180
It's unclear why Jesse usually seems passed out. Perhaps this is a visual reference to Adam, who slept while God removed the rib from which he would shape Eve. The allusion to Adam and Eve would make sense, because they are associated with another tree–the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil from which Eve at the apple. Trees had huge significance in Medieval art and theology, and connections were often made between Adam and Eve and their tree and Jesus' crucifixion on the Cross–i.e., another tree. The family tree of Jesse served as a bridge between the two and a pleasing third.
Jesse Tree, Lambeth Bible, c. 1150-1170
We'll end on this magnificent image from the Lambeth Bible with its sinuous Celtic figures. Mary becomes the focus here (dressed in blue, the color of virginity), with tendrils emerging from her head to hold Christ. The seven doves surrounding his head symbolize the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Four prophets are seen in the circles on the four corners of the page; you can tell they're prophets because they hold little scrolls (known as banderoles) and are shaking their fingers ("You kids get off my lawn!"). Notice how the figures in the different circles interact. (For a full explanation, see this discussion.)
So think of poor Jesse this season, and the remarkably literal Medieval mind.
