Mary and Jesus in the Big Woods – "The Forests Rustle Quietly" – Matthäus Schiestl – Catholic Art Print – Archival Quality

The title is kind of mysterious. The Forests Rustle Quietly? Is the artist talking about the experience of Mary and Jesus as they walk through the trees? It’s a pleasant thought, and there’s nothing ominous in it. We think maybe that’s part of it, but our mind wanders to the mysterious rustling of the breeze in a forest in general—one of the most enjoyable things we know—and we wonder if Schiestl was also linking Jesus and Mary to us through the rustling breezes. Father Gerard Manley Hopkins had a poem like that, where he compared Mary to the air. Matthäus Schiestl (German, 1869–1939) is one of our favorite Catholic painters. His works always seem charming and cozy to us. This one could be called, “Little Mother and Child in the Big Woods.” We hope you like it, too. The title in German is, “Es rauschen leis die Wälder” We think it was painted perhaps in the first decade of the 20th Century, when Schiestle was very famous and popular. We think this picture looks adorable in the 5x7 size