With Candlemas approaching on 2nd February (traditionally the time to remove Christmas decorations and lights from the home) it prompted me to consider the magical effects of candlelight I have felt quite profoundly this Christmas. 

In this month’s The Art of Seeing, we will consider the sense of spiritual and mystical illumination by exploring the evocative qualities of candlelight through just one work of art. Aided by the words of the great mystic Meister Eckhart, the layers of meaning presented by the magical glow of candlelight are there not to remove the darkness entirely but to bring light to it. This can be read on a number of different levels –  while the celebration of Christmas has passed, the Scriptures state that the arrival of Christ’s birth is to be understood as ‘the light of the world’. The presence of light from a candle is to remind us of something other than us – in the Christian sense, the glory of God and Christ – illuminating not just the heavens, but our hearts and minds. 

In other ways,  the shorter daylight hours during winter in the northern hemisphere encourage us to embrace the darkness and add more light to our homes.  The darker evenings illuminated by candlelight can feel like a vigil in some ways. For hundreds of years, artists have understood the extraordinary spiritual qualities and feelings that the many possible effects of candlelight in painting can summon, and thereby bring forth something in the viewer of that image too. We are reminded of the sense of comfort, and by its very nature, inner and outer illumination, a glimmer of hope and love, candlelight can bring. 

You are welcome to light your own candle or candles during this session.