Name/Title
Print, Christmas: 1950 Country Prints Christmas GreetingDescription
A 1950 Country Prints Christmas greeting mailed to retailers, suppliers and other people of note. The lower right corner bears Wert’s signature, the company name, and the date. A second version was produced for Wert’s family with the company name removed; see separate entry.
This is a five-color silkscreen print on natural linen. At center is the Holy Family, with Joseph and Mary kneeling on either side of the manger containing baby Jesus. The image is bordered by a dark green field with yellow stars representing the night sky. Within are partial lyrics to the Angelic Hymn/Hymn of the Angels, the words the angels sang to the shepherds in Luke 2:14:
“GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO
ET IN TERRA PAX HOMINIBUS
BONAE VOLUNTATIS
AND ON EARTH PEACE-GOODWILL”
In the upper left corner is a paraphrasing of the Bible verse Luke 2:8 in lower case red script:
“and there were
shepherds in the
same country
keeping watch by
night over their
flock“
Repeated at the perimeter in red type, “GIVE US PEACE, DONA NOBIS PACEM”, which likely refers to the traditional canon, or song in the round, “Dona Nobis Pacem”. Songs sung in the round have a sense of the infinite, which may be the symbolic reason for the border repeating itself.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Robert Darr WertRole
ArtistManufacturer
Country PrintsDate made
1950Time Period
20th CenturyPlace
Location
Gill MA.Continent
North AmericaInscription/Signature/Marks
“ROBERT DARR WERT FOR COUNTRY PRINTS CHRISTMAS ANNO DOMINI 1950”, lower right corner.Dimensions
Height
18 inWidth
16-1/2 inColors
Color
Brick Red, Dark Green, Yellow, Brown, Light BrownColor Notes
Additional colors produced by overprinting.
