The WORD became Flesh

The WORD became Flesh
© Cecilia Lawrence
January 12th 2015
Watercolor and Ink
11.5 x 8.5 inches

Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year everyone! Here's my first piece of 2015! I wanted to finish this particular piece by Christmas (but that didn't happen) then I tried to finish it before the end of the Christmas season (which ended yesterday) so I didn't get it out then either. Ah well. It's up loaded now! I haven't done a good big piece in a long time; I've mostly been working on the smaller icons or little pyrography pieces. It was nice to work on something much more involved. And this one was quite involved; I really don't know how many hours it took me from start to finish. I know it just took me ages to just sketch out the whole thing, and yesterday I spent the whole day inking it with gold. The scanned image doesn't really have quite the same effect. The picture literally glistens with gold in the light.

I've been wanting to do a piece with Arabic calligraphy for a long time. I love the lavish decorations in Arabian and Moorish art, so I wanted to incorporate a bit of that in here. I was inspired by lots of different images from Islamic art, but I ended up making my own design for the border (one that's a bit less orderly I think, hah). In the middle, framed by the moorish arch is Our Lady of the Sign, pregnant with Christ, who is symbolically represented in a medallion over her breast. It is a reference to Isaiah 7:14: "Therefore the LORD Himself shall give you a sign: "Behold, the Virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be Emmanuel, that is "God is with us." Mary, is surrounded by a sort of "rose window" with twelve "petals" in which are twelve stars, symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel, and in reference to Revelations 12:1: "Behold, a Great Sign appeared in the Heavens, a Woman, adorned with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Six of the petals are golden in color, and form the star of David, signifying that Christ is the Messiah and Savior of Israel. Flanking the Mystic Rose are two angels adoring the God-made-Man while perfuming the heavens with fragrant incense.

The whole thing actually reminds me a bit of a gothic cathedral, with all of those sharp triangles and quatrefoils and the horse-shoe arch around the "rose window" in the middle. But I'm perfectly fine with that.  

The Arabic text is from the first chapter of St. John's Gospel (John 1:1-18).

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was Life, and this Life was the Light of the human race; the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but came to testify to the Light. The True Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to what was His own, but His own people did not accept Him. But to those who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.

And the Word became flesh
   and dwelt among us.
    And we saw His glory,
   the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
   full of grace and truth.

John testified to Him and cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘The One who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because He existed before me.’” From His fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him.

This image is dedicated to all Christians throughout the world (but especially for those in the Middle East) who are suffering persecution because of their love for Our Incarnate Lord.