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.

** IMPORTANT PLEASE READ ** We print with a white border around the image. The image is not quite square, so the image size of the 8.5x11 paper is not quite 6x6. The image size of the 11x14 is not quite 7.9x7.9. The image size of the 5x7 is not quite 4x4. On the 13x17 and 16x20 paper, the image size is about 10x10 and 13x13, respectively. On the 18x24 and 24x36, we can do the margin on the short side to as low as 1/2 an inch, which we will do if you don't ask for a custom margin. That would mae the image size about 17x17 and 23x23 respectively.

– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.