Adoration of the Wise Men

Abstract

As told in the Book of Matthew of the Christian bible, more than2000years agoastrologers fromtheMiddle East observed a bright star in the sky and interpreted its appearance tomean that a great leaderof the Jewshadbeen born. A fellowship ofwisemen followed the star to Jerusalem, where theywere questioned byHerod, King of Judea. Perceiving a threat to his sovereignty, Herod instructed the wise men to sendhimword as soonas they found thebaby. They located thebabyJesus inthetownofBethlehemandpresentedhimwith priceless gifts, but chose not to send word to Herod and went homebyanother route.WhenHerod learned that thewisemen had betrayed him, he ordered the killing of all the babies in Bethlehem, but Jesus andhis family escaped toEgypt, beyond the king’s reach. This foundation story, with its elements of prophesy, intrigue, andthestrugglebetweengoodandevil,has resonated for centurieswith artists such as Leonardo daVinci, Albrecht Durer, Diego Velazquez, and the American painter Romare Bearden (1911-1988),whoseAdoration of theWiseMen is one of 24 paintings in his series, “The Passion of Christ.” In thecenterof thispaintingMary themotherof Jesus cradlesher infant inherarms.Toeither sideare thewisemen,bending low tooffer theirgifts.Bearden’skaleidoscopiccomposition is reminiscentof stainedglasswindowsand thedeconstructedgeometry of the French painter Georges Braque. Beardenwas born inCharlotte,NorthCarolina, in 1911.His familymoved toNewYork in 1914andsettled inHarlem.HeattendedLincolnUniversityinChesterCounty,Pennsylvania,transferred toBostonUniversity (where he pitched for the university’sbaseballteam),andgraduatedfromNewYorkUniversitywith adegree ineducation.WhileatNYU,Beardentookcourses inart andwasacartoonist andart editor for ahumormagazineabout campus life.AftergraduationBeardenworkedfor theNewYork CityDepartmentofSocialServicesandpainted inhissparetime. During the 1930s,he createdcovers andcartoons forTheCrisis, published by theNational Association for theAdvancement of ColoredPeople,andCollier'smagazine. In1935,Beardenbecame aweeklyeditorialcartoonistfortheBaltimoreAfro-Americanand the following year he studiedwith the German painter George Grosz at the Art Students League. During this period Bearden paintedDepression-era subjects suchaspoverty-stricken farmers, factoryworkers, and folkmusicians, inaplain,blockystyle reminiscent of the laborers inMexicanmurals. In1942heenlistedintheUSArmy.Forseveralmonthsin1942 and1943,his regimentwasassigned toguard theNewYorkCity subway system against sabotage andwas stationed in Harlem, not far from his studio. Bearden continued to pay the modest rent on the studio during his time in service, so he was able to paint in his off-duty hours. He was visited there by Caresse Crosby, who had recently opened a gallery inWashington, DC. Crosbyoffered to exhibit Bearden’s newseries, “ThePassionof Christ,” a narrative of key events in the life of Jesus. Bearden agreed, and the exhibition opened in June 1945. The 11 watercolors and13oils in this serieswerenothing like theempathetic realismofBearden’s pre-war paintings.His newstyle dissected and pinned the human figure so it could be viewed frommultipleanglessimultaneously,andhissubjectswerehistoricaland religious figures rather thanworking-classAmericans.Themultiple perspectives of Adoration of theWise Men can best be appreciated inthefacesofMaryandher learnedvisitors,whichare seen in profile as well as face-on. Bearden’s viewers were reminded of Braque’s paintings, cathedralwidows, and thework of theFrenchpainterGeorgeRouault,whosecompositionswere also fragmentedand illuminated in themannerof stainedglass (JAMA cover, November 19, 2008). Like Rouault, Bearden had adopted a style in keeping with his subject matter, inviting his viewers to lookcloselyandthinkabout thepictures in theirnarrative context. By choosing subjects with strong traditions, Beardenwasable tocommunicatewithhisaudienceonbothvisualandcontextual levels.“ThePassionofChrist”exhibitionwas wellattended,mostofthepaintingssoldquickly,andhewaspropelled into the ranks ofmajor American painters. ForBearden, “ThePassionofChrist” representedachange in philosophy as well as a change in style. Before the war he was under pressure to carry the mantle of “American Negro artist.” Some critics considered it his responsibility to make paintings about African American heritage. Others found his themes of oppression and poverty to be stereotypical and demeaning. Bearden found a way out of this trap by addressing universal rather than culture-specific themes. Later in his careerhewould return tohis roots, but fornowhedidwhatblack ministers,politicians, andartistshavedone throughoutAmerican history—find common ground through traditional stories of leadership and sacrifice, penance and rebirth, suffering and redemption. Thepublicwas ready for a return to values in art. AfterWorldWarItherewaswidespreaddisillusionmentwith traditionalmorality, but afterWorldWar II the Judeo-Christian imageryofartistssuchasBeardenandRouaultmadeanemotional connection with survivors of the recent world conflagration. Thosewhohadwitnessed,evenatadistance,thecrueltyofWorld War II rediscoveredthenarrativeofagoodmanwhowassingled outandtorturedbutnever losthis faith. Itwas the familiarityof theWesternworldwiththeChriststorythatBeardenfoundmost compelling.Beardenwouldlatersaythattheabidingthemeofhis artwas the“prevalenceof ritual,” referring to thepowerofcommon(orat leastanalogous)cultural traditions toconnectpeople tooneanotherandmakesomekindofsenseofhistoricalevents.