George Hawley Hallowell (Boston, 1872 - 1926, Arlington, Massachusetts)
The Nativity (recto) and Sketch of a Stained Glass Window (verso), after 1887
Ink and watercolor on paper , 23 x 15 cm (9 1/16 x 5 7/8 in.)
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This is a Nativity scene, showing Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus. The painting is done in an extremely dark, muddy palette of ink and watercolors. The overall feel is of a night scene in deep, deep shadow. None of the faces of the human figures can be discerned. Mary is seated on the ground to the left of her baby while Joseph, supporting himself with a long staff, crouches just behind. The baby Jesus, wrapped in a light colored cloth, is sleeping on the ground in the lower center of the scene. A semicircle of white moonlight around the baby’s head and reflecting off the blanket slightly relieves the overall darkness. Mary is wearing a blue cloak with a dark pink shawl draped over her left shoulder. Her face is a black shadow under her blue hood. Joseph wears a dark pink robe that turns orangish on the right side as firelight from an unknown source casts a thin light orange glow on it and on areas beside and behind the trio. The upper half of the scene shows an inky black night with shadowy indeterminate forms. There is bright white moonlight behind the heads of the parents and in a few irregular patches in the distance. In the rear center the orange illuminates a wooden structure. The work is matted in a wide taupe mat and framed in a thin simple dark wood frame.
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Commentary
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