Loading ...
If you are in NYC, check out the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibit of the works of Blessed Fra Angelico. Fra Angelico was a Dominican painter from Italy. Among his subjects were St. Thomas Aquinas & St. Catherine of Siena. Here he depicts the “Apostle St. James the Great freeing the Magician Hermogenes” from the torments of the devils, which Hermogenes originally conjured up to plague St. James!
Btw, does anyone else think it’s weird to see Catholic devotional paintings and objects in a museum instead of a consecrated church? Although, this didn’t feel as weird as the Byzantine exhibit the Met did a year ago. I must have seen at least 100 relics! This time I only saw no less than 10 nuns in their habits at the museum. Dominicans and the Sisters of Life.
go to main page
Thanks for posting this, Catharina!
People might also be interested in this article about Bl. Fra Angelico at Seattle Catholic
Yes, it is strange to see the paintings out of context, just as it is strange to hear chant outside of the Mass or the Hours, or Bach’s choral works outside services.
Displaying the paintings out of their ‘home’ obscures their purpose (to give glory to God) and highlights aspects of lesser importance (their artistic value, technique and historical context).
Kind of like listening to the Mass for the Immaculate Conception on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and for the enjoyment of the style, competence and harmoniousness.
The Samizdata blog’s post Bach and God shows a reaction of someone who only ‘knew’ (intellectually) the religious context of Bach’s works.
Yes, thanks! I do happen to be in NYC and went to see the show today. It was wonderful–my favorite painting there was the Virgin of Humility, but all of the Madonnas were spectacular. One cannot help but see how much Fra Angelico loved the Blessed Mother in the sensitivity and beauty with which he rendered her. It almost seems like he must have been favored with many graces to have done this as well as he has. Today, I also saw a gaggle (yes that’s the proper term) of Dominican sisters in full habit, along with several priests (at least one in a cassock) and some CFRs.
I completely agree with the strangeness of seeing such paintings and other artworks outside of their proper context and have often felt agitated by this. I remember seeing several gorgeous frescos at the Cleveland museum which had been removed from the cells of a friary. There was one painting of the Crucifixions before which I wanted so much to pray, but I felt rather embarrassed. Then I felt embarrassed that I felt embarrassed for wanting to pray, and so I did say a short prayer there on my knees before it.
One cannot help but wonder how the people at such shows react to such paintings, especially those of the Blessed Mother. It seems such a shame, because anyone with any sensitivity towards her at all cannot help but feel the warm glow of her maternal love for all Christians.
Well put, Dr. Asinorum. Our Mother *was* particularly beautiful. One can’t help but feel the painter’s love for Christ, and Mary.
Perhaps despite the sacrilegious nature of taking these things outside of the Church, we can also think of it as bringing the pagans closer to God. Perhaps the Met will unwillingly and unwittingly inspire the Fra Angelico’s of the next generation.