8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Unlike Mary, the shepherds are afraid when angels visit them. Tanner's Angels Appearing Before the Shepherds is symbolic of two steps in the mystical journey, the second stage of purification and the step of illumination. For Gregory of Nyssa these steps are Moses in the Sea and Moses in the cloud. For Tanner, mystics can compare it to his two trips to the Holy Land, in which he purified his art and took time to learn.
Whereas the first part of purification is revelation of self, the correlation which follows is cleansing from sin. The blueness of Angels Appearing Before the Shepherds can be compared to water, the agent of cleansing. "Those who pass through the mystical water in baptism must put to death in the water the whole phalanx of evil — such as covetousness, unbridled desire, rapacious thinking, the passion of conceit and arrogance, wild impulse, wrath, anger, malice, envy and all such things," says Gregory (bk. 1 par. 125). Jesus washed the disciple's feet with water at the last supper stating that "unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (NIV, John 13:8). Also, the Bible says that forgiveness comes through the shedding of Christ's blood, which it equates with water when water and blood flowed from the crucified Christ's side.
"The bluish palette is pervasive" according to Mosby, and intentionally or not, this is what allows the combining of the thought of purification in the sea and illumination in the cloud (blue sky and fog like angels) in one painting (224). The Bible also combines these two aspects. Regarding Moses, 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 states, "For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea" (NIV). Again cleansing and illumination are combined in the new covenant, "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (NIV, Ezekiel 36:25, 27).
In the painting, the shepherds undergo purification, cleansing, and illumination. Near the three shepherds is a fire, representing purification. A baptism of light cleanses them, the rest of the picture is dark except the very top, which could represent heaven. Their illumination comes from the knowledge the angel has given them that the Savior has been born.
Moses approaches God within a cloud on the mountain to be instructed by God, "to hear the sound of trumpets . . . to inscribe the tablets with divine characters" (Gregory bk. 1 par. 152). The shepherds also, pictured on a hilltop, receive a message from God. The shepherds would go and tell what they had seen and heard after leaving Mary and Joseph, just as the multitude "relied on Moses to learn by himself the secrets and to teach the people" (Gregory bk. 1 par. 160). Although Moses talked to God face to face, "the law was put into effect through angels by a mediator," so to the shepherds received God's message through the mediation of angels (NIV, Galatians 3:19).
Being the mediators, Tanner pictures several angels in Angels Appearing Before the Shepherds. In the lower left is an angel pictured alone, representative of the angel who actually spoke to the shepherds. Above and to the right of "the speaking angel" is an angelic choir. The other angels are even more transparent, "which give the picture such a mysterious atmosphere and make it so unusual within his [Tanner's] oeuvre (Mosby 225). No one has made a definitive statement as to the duties of the other angelic figures, but there appear to be two trumpeters and three calvaries.
The speaking angel is connected to the blueness of the painting. In the Jewish Sefirot, the Shekhinah, or "Presence" is blue, representing that the presence of God is now with men in the Messiah. The Shekhinah is in the feet, however. Mystics may relate this to message bearing in Romans 10:15, "‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" (NIV).
Mystics can view the remaining angels in a Trinitarian manner. The choir pictures the Father who is worthy of worship. "The preaching of the divine nature is truly a trumpet blast," and in Christ the divine nature has taken on humanity (Gregory bk. 1 par 158). Trumpeters also announce the arrival of a king. The angelic trumpeters, pictured in the upper right and center) announce that the Son is Lord. The Calvaries, lower center, bottom center, and right middle, are winged horseback riders representing the victory and power of the Holy Spirit.
Gregory of Nyssa. The Life of Moses. Trans. Everett Ferguson and Abraham J. Malherbe. New York: Paulist Press, 1978.
Mosby, Dewey F., Darrel Sewell, and Rae Alexander-Minter. Henry Ossawa Tanner. New York: Rissoli, 1991.
The New International Version Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
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