a visit with jesus

 Bible Art

The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel
Artist: Duccio
 1308-1311    Tempera (on wood)

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This horizontal painting is made up of three parts: in the center square panel, a woman reclines under a wooden shelter set into a rocky cave, which is surrounded by angels, and narrower wings to either side are each occupied by a standing man. All the people have pale skin, which is tinged with faint green.

The three panels are joined with a gold frame, and the gold background behind the central scene and the men in the side panels are covered with a noticeable network of cracks. In the central panel, a cobalt-blue robe nearly envelopes the reclining woman’s body; this is Mary. It covers her head and falls open where she crosses her wrists over her chest to show a pink garment underneath. A flat gold halo encircles her head ,and her body is surrounded by a field of crimson red, almost like an aura. She rests under a wooden structure with a pitched roof, which is surrounded by craggy, barren rock.

A swaddled infant lies in a rectangular, tray-like manger. The infant’s head is also surrounded by a gold halo.

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
Artist: Abel Grimmer
 1611    Painting

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The parable of the barren fig tree is a parable of Jesus which appears in Luke 13:6–9.  It is about a fig tree which does not produce fruit.  This parable is about Jesus warning  Christians that they must bear fruits after their conversion worthy of repentance or risk being condemned to Hell. God, in his mercy, repeatedly checks on believers to see if they have borne fruit worthy of their baptism and conversion. If someone who has been baptized and says they are Christian has not borne fruit, they are condemned. This verse was used during the Counter-Reformation to help support the belief of the Church that faith without works is dead.