To Begin - chosen by Lindsay Litton- “For a bit of frivolity, have you come across the work of photographer Ed Wheeler? I've included just one example of his sense of mischief. You can find more at:

Santa Classics (squarespace.com) 

1) Rain Before Christmas, by Leonid Afremov - Maggie Roberts

I am afraid I am not religious, but like Christmas because it is  winter festivity and to me one of the best things is the lights  - so I was drawn to this image, by Leonid Afremov. It is warming in its choice of colours and from an art perspective dealing with rain always fascinates me. The snowy pictures always seem too sentimental (schmulzy) and a bit unrealistic for us in England, whereas Christmas in this part of  Northern Europe is always fairly mild. So this picture of a Copenhagan street seems more appropriate.

Maggie Roberts

 

2) Three examples of Greek Christmas Art, featuring carol singers, pomegranates and hobgoblins- Margaret Christopoulos

May we sing the Carols?Wish making and happy melodies are standard things during the Christmas period and the New Year’s Day! According to tradition, on the Eves of Christmas, New Year’s Day and Epiphany Day [January 6], children visit one neighbourhood after the other, they knock on the door and ask: “May we sing the Carols?” By playing metal triangles and drums, sometimes harmonicas and accordions and on the islands violins and guitars, visiting every household. However this practice is less common in urban areas nowadays.Nikiphoros Lytras, Carols, oil on canvas, Private Collection, 90 X 59 cm. 1872This picture, depicts the festive tradition in an austerely simple manner, is “Carols” by Nikiphoros Lytras. [1832 – 1904]. Nikiphoros’ life is typical of many Greek artists. Born on the island of Tinos he first studied art in Greece and then went to Munich to study further. He travelled then to France, then Algiers before returning to Greece where he became Professor of Fine Arts.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Pomegranate for good luckThe pomegranate has been the symbol of good fortune, abundance, youth and fertility since antiquity. The deep red-coloured tasty fruit and was thought to have magic properties has been the source of inspiration for many artists, such as Georgios Jakobides for his painting ‘Pomegranates’. According to myth, Persephone, the daughter of goddess Demeter, tasted the fruit during her stay in Hades; since then the pomegranate became associated with the regeneration of nature and the cycle of seasons. Jakobidis was born on the island of Lesbos in 1853. He died in Athens 1932. His career path was similar to that of Lytras’. At the age of 13, he travelled to Smyrna [now in Turkey] to live with his uncle and study at the Evangelical School. From 1870 to 1876, Jakobides studied sculpture and painting at the

Athens School of Fine Arts, and in 1877 he went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich on a scholarship to continue his painting studies under Karl Theodor von Piloty.In Munich, he lived for 17 years where he worked in his studio, painting mythological scenes, genre pictures, and portraits. His work was influenced by German academic Realism. His most famous paintings were of children but it said that after his wife's death in 1889, he stopped painting happy themes. In Munich he was regarded as a successful German artist selling many of his works at high prices. The Greek government invited him in 1900 to return to Athens to organize the National Gallery of Athens, and in 1904 he was appointed Director of the Athens School of Fine Arts, where he taught for 25 years. At this time, additional to his themes he produced formal portraits of eminent Greeks (e.g., Queen Sophia). He opposed all new artistic tendencies, including Impressionism and Expressionism, but supported younger artists to follow their own individual artistic tendencies.He was awarded at five international exhibits: among those in Berlin 1891 and in Paris 1900. His works are found in the National Gallery of Athens, private collections and in museums and art galleries around the world including art galleries in Germany and the Art Institute of Chicago. His opus consists of some two hundred oil paintings. His son, the actor Michalis Iakovides, donated his personal journal – which includes a list of his paintings between 1878 and 1919 – to the National Gallery of Greece in 1951.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Kallikantzaroi [Elves, fairies, hobgoblins]Part of Greek folklore are the kallikantzaroi. The picture below is taken from the book Fairies, elves and hobgoblins by Th. Velloudios, illustrated by P. Tetsis. From Christmas Day until the Eve of Epiphany Day, the legend of the kallikantzaroi is reanimated throughout the country. In the popular imagination they are little monsters with bandy legs and arms, hunched backs, over-sized ears!.The hobgoblins are doomed to live underground and throughout the entire year they keep sawing the tree that supports the world! At Christmas, when their sawing is nearly done, they decide to visit the humans, have fun and play all kinds of tricks on them! Humans in turn do their best to ward them off by placing a sieve outside their door or by hanging a large onion! Painter Panyiotis Tetsis [1925-2016] created lively illustrations of hobgoblins in the book Fairies, elves and hobgoblins. He was born on the island of Hydra and moved to Piraeus in 1937. The artist mainly

depicts marine themes that were familiar to him - mostly set against the backdrop of Hydra and Sifnos. Balancing discipline and emotion, Tetsis regarded himself as a painter driven by the senses. His singularity, according to Koutsomallis, consisted in his combination of “elegiac colour tones, compositional clarity and precision, thematic variety, a monumental character and freely, openly sketched contours”.

Thanks to Wikipedia and visit Greece web information, http://www.visitgreece.gr/en/christmasevents/greek_art_depicts_christmas_and_new_years_day_traditions Margaret Christopoulos, December 2020.

3) Christmas Scenes-Anton Franciscus Pieck -Lindsay Litton 

I have really enjoyed browsing through a very wide variety of paintings on the Christmas theme. During my searches I stumbled on the Dutch painter, artist and graphic artist Anton Franciscus Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987) He was prolific and his works are noted for their nostalgic or fairy tale-like character and are widely popular, appearing regularly on cards and calendars. He is also famous for designing the fairy tale forest in Dutch theme park De Efteling. To me, his work is whimsical, but enchanting, at times a strange blend of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, L. S. Lowry and Arthur Rackham! After much deliberation, I've selected two of his works, the first a new twist on the three wise men and the second a lively winter scene.

Lindsay Litton