From Manger to Canvas: The Byzantine Nativity
268 views · Published 22 December 2017 · 5:31 · Indexed 22 September 2026
Channel: Salt + Light Media · 2017 · News & Politics
Christmas urges us to reflect on the Mystery of the Incarnation. In a short video series, Fr. Eric Nicolai, an Opus Dei priest and art expert, helps us reflect on this mystery through religious art from the early Christians to roughly around the 18th century. When images of the Nativity started appearing, they were inspired by the Infancy narratives found in apocryphal Gospels, like the one written by Saint James. Artists found inspiration in these infancy narratives to represent the birth of Jesus in icons. This style is known as byzantine art.
