Canada Post rang in the holiday season today with a series of new Christmas stamps.
Included in the new issue are three mirthful images from one of Canada’s most prolific stamp designers as well as a classic Renaissance rendering of Mary and the baby Jesus, offering both secular and sacred images.
ROLF HARDER CHRISTMAS STAMPS
Filled with billowy snowflakes in a navy blue sky, Rolf Harder’s images appear to be taken from an enchanted forest, occupied only by Santa Claus, a single Christmas tree and a dove carrying an olive branch. The renowned designer, who died in 2013, produced more than 60 works for Canada Post. His work has been added to the permanent collections of the Musée national des Beaux-arts du Québec and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
This three-stamp souvenir sheet issued by Canada Post on Nov. 1 features designed inspired by renowned designer Rolf Harder.
Designed by Hélène L’Heureux, these Christmas stamps were developed from Harder’s original illustrations under the art direction of his daughter, Vivi. They are available in domestic booklets of 12 Permanent stamps, and single-sided booklets of six U.S. and international-rate stamps. They are also available in souvenir sheets of three Permanent, U.S. and international stamps. Printed by Canadian Bank Note using six-colour lithography, they measure 22 mm by 24 mm.
MASTER OF CASTELLO
The fourth stamp depicts the Virgin and Child, which was painted around 1460 by a highly esteemed painter from Florence, Italy, known only as the Master of the Castello Nativity. This rare painting uses gold and tempera, a pigment common until the advent of oil paint, whose many layers create intense colours. Virgin and Child is part of a generous donation of paintings made by Michal and Renata Hornstein to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Designed by Louise Méthé, this Permanent domestic stamp measures 26.25 mm by 32.25 mm and was printed by Canadian Bank Note using six-colour lithography, including a special gold ink. Virgin and Child was photographed by Brian Merrett and the image was made available courtesy of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The stamp is available in booklets of 12 with a single-stamp Official First Day Cover cancelled in Montréal.