Christmas Paintings through History.

To continue our Christmas in July celebration I thought I'd take you on a pictorial stroll through Christmas past... or at least a little sampling.

We start our tour with some random Christmas or 'Christmasy' paintings pulled from history... not in order date wise...some of them you may recognize.

First we have Winterlandschaft mit Kirche or Winter Landscape with a Church by Caspar David Friedrich, 1811.

On the left above we have A Winter Scene with Skaters by Hendrick Avercamp, 1608-09.

On the right above we have Geburt Christi or Birth of Jesus by Geertgen tot Sint Jans, 1490.

Below is Snow at Argenteuil by Claude Monet, 1875.

On the left above is Nativity by Lorenzo Lotto, 1523.

On the right above is The Mystical Nativity by Sandro Botticelli, 1500.

The three paintings below were all done by Norman Rockwell.

Top - Santa and Scouts in Snow, 1913. Boy's Life Magazine Cover.

Left Below -Santa with Elves, 1922. Saturday Evening Post Cover.

Right Below - Santa and Expense, 1920. Saturday Evening Post Cover.

The following five antique post cards are a fun example of Christmas art in the early part of the past century.

Left - Christmas Postcard. Series II. Oilette of a man walking down a snowy road with a bundle of sticks on his back. Author Unknown. 1906.

Middle - Christmas Postcard. Series II. Oilette postcard depicting a holly branch with a small bird perched on top. Author Unknown. 1906.

Date 1906

Right -Christmas postcard of Santa Claus and his reindeer. Souvenir Post Card Company, New York, 1907.

Below Top - Santa Claus, using a zeppelin to deliver gifts. By Ellen Clapsaddle, 1909.

Middle - A Merry Christmas. (Sled with holly). By Ellen Clapsaddle, 1907.

On the bottom is a chromolithograph, Christmas card. Lake Maggiore. By Helga von Cramm,1880.

While wandering through this winter wonderland, I was struck by the serenity of many of the works. From the reverential feeling in the first painting to the joyous, celebratory feeling the second painting provoked, I was in awe of the talent of all the work. While I am a big Rockwell fan and love Monet, the simple card at the very end seems to be my favorite.

As always, we like what we like. There are many more works out there to look at and enjoy. There is also time to paint your Christmas masterpiece, whether it be a glorious landscape or a whimsical snowman, a set of cherished ornaments or a treasured gift. Let the Santa in you out. Paint!

Credits - All images shown here were found on Wikipedia Commons. They are all in the public domain. Wikipedia Commons is a media file repository. I highly encourage all to visit this page and look at all the art available there. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page