Maratta’s Holy Night

I have wanted to do a nativity or Christmas piece for several years that I could use for Christmas cards. I finally found an image I really loved in Carlo Maratta’s “Holy Night” c. 1655. His use of light and dark translated well into my charcoal version, which is actually white charcoal on black paper. This medium, like a scratch board, lends itself well to high contrast drawings. In this case, it achieves the desired effect of emphasizing the light that emanates from the Christ Child.