U.S. Christmas stamp to arrive Sept. 14 nationwide

By Jay Bigalke

On Sept. 14, the United States Postal Service will issue its new Christmas forever stamp at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

The nondenominated (73¢) Christmas Madonna and Child stamp features an oil-on-canvas painting by the workshop of Sassoferrato (1609–85), an Italian artist. According to the Postal Service, “he and his workshop produced many versions of this painting.”

“The artwork depicts a watchful Madonna, her head tilted toward the sleeping Christ child nestled against her. She wears a blue cloak and a dark red gown, from which off-white undersleeves emerge at the elbows. A beige veil, reminiscent of a halo, covers part of her light brown hair. Her child appears partially swaddled in beige cloth,” the Postal Service said.

Ceremony details were unavailable as of Linn’s press deadline.

In anticipation of the busy Christmas mailing season, the Postal Service ordered a print run of 210 million Christmas Madonna and Child stamps in double-sided panes of 20 (10.5 million panes).

The Postal Service refers to this format as a booklet because selvage strips on both sides of the pane can be peeled from the backing paper to facilitate folding into a compact size that is easily carried in a purse or wallet.

Nonetheless, collectors prefer to leave the selvage strips on double-sided panes intact to make it easier to mount the pane in an album.

Greg Breeding served as the designer for the Christmas Madonna and Child stamp. William Gicker served as the art director.

Banknote Corporation of America printed the stamp using offset lithography on phosphored paper with block tagging.

The painting used for the stamp is currently in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, Ind., and was a gift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge.

Most of the original painting, which measures approximately 25 inches by 19 inches, is pictured on the stamp.

Shown nearby is the uncropped painting courtesy of the museum.

“Sassoferrato achieved success by emulating the work of earlier Renaissance artists, especially Raphael (1483–1520). Modestly scaled depictions of the Madonna and Child were among Sassoferrato’s most popular paintings,” according to the Postal Service. “Because the extent to which Sassoferrato had a hand in painting it is unknown, it is attributed to his workshop.”

Sassoferrato himself was credited specifically as the artist for the Christmas stamp (Scott 4424) issued in 2009.

When asked about the selection of this painting for the new Christmas stamp, designer Breeding told Linn’s:

“Our research agency constantly researches Madonna and Child images on display in American museums. As we pore through the images, we are often drawn to those from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. These images, like this Sassoferrato workshop painting, are life-like and offer a sense of the tenderness and warmth between mother and child.”

“These historic masterpieces are always of concern when reproducing at stamp size, but this one is a bit simpler in both color and execution,” Breeding told Linn’s when asked about what was challenging about taking this masterpiece down to stamp size.

And lastly, Breeding was asked what features of the painting he found particularly compelling. …

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