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I've long imagined that I knew in just what kind of house the not-so-silent Night Before Christmas celebrated in Clement Moore's unforgettable poem must have taken place. It would have been a stately white-framed Victorian mansion with porticoed porch, gable roof, and massive stone chimney. I see it bathed in the light of good fellowship, with tidy green shutters and a white picket fence. As it happens, I've painted just such a magical home earlier in my career. It is the centerpiece of "Victorian Garden II," where it sits in a sylvan spring garden, embraced by lavish, dew-drenched blossoms.
The Night Before Christmas revisits the stately mansion, while the change of season works a dramatic transformation of the scene. Snow shrouds the foliage, replacing the gemlike dazzle of flowers in the earlier piece with a tapestry woven in shade of white. The lamp is festooned with wreath and bow, a sled stands ready-to-ride on the picket fence, a jaunty snowman greets guests. Evening falls. Soon, the family nestled within will "settle (down) for their long winter's nap," and the promised night of wonder will unfold. Come, savor The Night Before Christmas with me.
-Thomas Kinkade |
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