69th Annual Berwick Lights - And a Little Bit of Art History

Saturday, December fifth marked the opening of the 69th Annual Berwick Christmas Boulevard (aka Berwick Lights). The traffic was heavy, but it was worth the wait.

There were plenty of great displays this year.

~ Scrooge ~

And here we have a modern, graphic depiction of a Medieval painting of Christ in the manger. How neat to see this artwork in the Berwick Lights.

Artist:  Giovanni Cimabue
Title: Madonna and Child in Majesty Surrounded By Angels
Date:  1270
Owner:  Louvre Museum

I love how the Medieval artists, such as Italian painter Ciambue, tried to create lifelike figures in their paintings. Cimabue's work was done mostly in the Byzantine tradition; however, he was also a founder of the movement toward more realistic work that culminated in the Renaissance.  

In Medieval artwork, the proportions were never spot on. Notice how Jesus looks like a mini-man vs. a boy. Scroll down, and you'll see some mini-boys in the Berwick Lights display.

The paintings above and directly below, of course, were not featured in the Berwick Lights this year. If they could pull that off, what a joy that would be.

 Artist:  Sandro Botticelli
Angel from “Madonna of the Magnificat”
Date:  1481
Uffizi Gallery, Florence

And then along came the Renaissance artists, who just blew the doors off the stiff and rigid artwork created by Medieval artists. Through the use of linear perspective and masterful techniques of using shadows and highlights, the Renaissance artists created more lifelike and realistic artwork. Amen!

Back to the Berwick Lights and the glorious artwork of the 21st century, created in China of course.Who doesn't like Yoda?

Johnny couldn't get enough of these child figures with infant heads. They're so insane! These are two great examples of how proportions in artwork and/or displays are so important. When the proportion of the body doesn't match the proportion of the head, it's just not going to work. The Medieval artists would have loved these two figures.

 ~ Had a ball at the Berwick Lights! ~