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Advent is the time when we celebrate Christ’s coming in the flesh, in humility, and also his coming in glory at the end of time.
Tradition tells us that the advent of the Messiah came to David’s father, Jesse, in a dream of a tree growing from his chest. On the trunk of the tree and in its branches, Jesse foresaw his descendants from David to Jesus.
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him… In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.” (Isiah 11: 1,10)
The family tree of Jesus rising from the body of a sleeping man, became a key motif in medieval and Renaissance art. Our lady and child are depicted enthroned at the very top, looking out over all creation through time and space.
The “Jesse Tree” was often used to illuminate medieval manuscripts. It also appeared on altarpieces, in stained glass, as icon art, and—as this week’s Brush with Faith demonstrates —as fresco pieces.
This fresco is in the north transept of the medieval Cathedral of Saint George in Limburg-an-der-Lahn, Hesse, Germany. It dates from the Late Gothic period and was heavily restored in the 17th century.