Holy-day Art for "Candelmas" | Art by James Tissot

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

"The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" (1886-1894) by James Tissot,
Brooklyn Museum, NYC

NEW YORK - French painter, James Tissot's "The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple" captures the moment forty days after the birth of Jesus, when the Holy Family travels to Jerusalem to initiate their newborn son into the service of God at the Temple, as well as to offer a modest sacrifice: the caged pigeons or turtledoves held here by Joseph. Taking the infant into his arms, the aged priest Simeon acknowledges the child as the Christ, or Messiah. While it is not currently on view, the painting is part of the collection at the Brooklyn Museum. Celebrated on February 2nd, forty days after Christmas, some Protestant churches, call the feast the Naming of Jesus (though historically he would have been named on the eighth day after the Nativity, when he was circumcised). Other more traditional names include the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, the Meeting of the Lord, and Candlemas.