Most
of us have heard the expression 'art is in the eye of the beholder',
I've even expanded this in my novel Brushstrokes of a Gadfly:
“Art
is in the eye of the beholder, and everyone will have their own
interpretation.”
It
is human nature, we can't help but interpret what we see depending on
our personal experiences and tastes. Often the artist means to depict one
thing, and the viewing public sees something completely different!
(Is it just me, or does a bowl of spaghetti has more 'art' to it than this?)
I for one cannot help but shake my head at the modern monstrosities creators in the art world are producing, (and
I bet most of you out there do too!)
What happened to
honest-to-goodness skill and artistry?
Like
this? Beautiful! Dashing! Dramatic!
(Image: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David, 1803)
Or
this? Impressionism is beautiful too!
(Monet's famous 'Poppies')
But
now we've come to this? Seriously?
Uggggh.
Do
modern artists of today truly think what gobbledygook they are
producing is really 'beautiful'?
(Picaso's first and last self portraits.
I can't help but say he did not think much of himself later in life.)
Again,
it just feels like a scam market at times, galleries and art dealers
wowing would-be investors with stories of how 'this is the latest
collectible trend', pumping up a market that sells nothing more than
splotches on a canvases , a 'hot-air balloon' system which one of my
characters in the same novel also notices:
“They
lived off each other's hypocrisy, fueling a worthless market of
trash.”
Then,
more importantly, they seem to forget to ask the question: does
Heaven care about what we draw, paint or design?
As
Our Lord said Himself noted: “For out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45)
If
spoken words display what is in the heart of a person, what does a
picture show if indeed one picture is worth a thousand words?
I've
come across several examples that show yes, Heaven does care.
The first is an account of an artist who came
back from the dead to warn the owner of a beautiful but scandalous
painting he produced for him:
“A
painter of great skill and otherwise exemplary life had once made a
painting not at all conformable to the strict rules Christian
modesty. It was one of those paintings which under the pretext of
being 'works of art' are found in the best families, and the sight of
which causes the loss of so many souls. (…) The artist of whom we
speak had allowed himself to be misled to this point by bad example.
Soon however, renouncing this pernicious style, he
confined himself to the production of religious pictures, or at least
of those which were perfectly irreproachable. Finally, he was
painting a large picture in the convent of the discalced Carmelites,
when he was attacked by a mortal malady. Feeling he was about to
die, he asked the Prior to allow him to be interred in the church of
the monastery, and he bequeathed to the community his earnings, which
amounted to a considerable sum of money, charging them to have Masses
said for the repose of his soul. He died in pious sentiments, and a
few days passed, when a Religious who had stayed in the choir after
Matins saw him appear in the midst of flames and sighing piteously.
“What!”
said the religious, “have you to endure such pain, after leading so
good a life and dying so holy a death?” “Alas!” replied he,
“it is on account of the immodest picture that I painted some years
ago. When I appeared before the tribunal of the Sovereign Judge, a
crowd of accusers came to give evidence against me. They declared
that they had been excited to improper thoughts and evil desires by a
picture, the work of my hand. In consequence of those bad thoughts
some were in Purgatory, others in Hell. The latter cried for
vengeance, saying that, having been the cause of their eternal
perdition, I deserved at least the same punishment. Then the
Blessed Virgin and the saints whom I had glorified by my pictures
took up my defense. They represented to the Judge that that
unfortunate painting had been the work of youth, and of which I had
repented that I had repaired it afterwards by religious objects which
had been a source of edification to souls.”
“In consideration of these and other reasons, the
Sovereign Judge declared that, on account of my repentance and my
good works, I should be exempt from damnation but at the same time,
He condemned me to these flames (Purgatory) until that picture should
be burned, so that it could no longer scandalize anyone.”
Then the poor sufferer implored the Religious to take
measures to have the painting destroyed. “I beg of you,” he
added, “go in my name to such a person, proprietor of the picture;
tell him in what a condition I am for having yielded to his
entreaties to paint it, and conjure him to make a sacrifice of it.
If he refuses, woe to him! To prove that this is not an illusion,
and to punish him for his own fault, tell him that before long he
will lose his two children. Should he refuse to obey Him Who has
created us both, he will pay for it by a premature death.”
The
religious delayed not to do what the poor soul asked of him, and went
to the owner of the picture. The latter, on hearing these things
seized the painting and cast it into the fire. Nevertheless,
according to the words of the deceased, he lost his two children in
less than a month. The remainder of his days he passed in penance,
for having ordered and kept that immodest picture in his house.”
(Source “Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of theSaints” by Fr. F.X. Schouppe, original edition 1893, reprint TAN,1986.)
Here is one example Heaven will judge on artist on the
damage their work will do – for their art could
be a means causing the
edification and salvation of many, or, bring about grave scandal and
the eternal loss of souls.
Immodesty is a big
no-no.
I
found another example of the danger of immodesty in a picture, this
time with regards to sacred art, with Satan making an
attempt to trip up and trap a holy priest, the
humble Pére Lamy (1853-1931),
who received many visits from Our Lord, Our Lady and the Angels. (Yes, he is an
approved mystic.)
As usual with mystics whose spiritual gifts are
extraordinary like his were, which included the discernment of souls,
his fame as a visionary quickly spread. Naturally people asked
him what Our Lady and Our Lord looked like. Not many people get to
see Christ and His Mother! In some instances, Pére Lamy tried to
give examples of what Our Lady was like, no statue or painting made
by human hands was good enough, but he indicated a couple of statues
he thought looked the closest to her manner of bearing and
expression.
One day in 1915, however, he was brought to see a newly
built church, Saint Michel de Batignolles in Paris, where they were
pleased to show off a sculpture of the Madonna and Child that
apparently had won the prestigious 'Prix de Rome'.
While everyone was
proud of the prize-winning sculpture and the purity of the marble used, Pére Lamy
had a different reaction, especially with the depiction of the Christ
Child Who was depicted "completely naked", according to the words of
Père Lamy, Our Lady holding the Child with a mere piece of cloth,
but only as an artistic effect, not a proper covering. Père Lamy
said he found this 'disconcerting' and even made a furious glare at
it.
To confirm his feelings, The Madonna appeared to him right then
holding the Christ Child in front of the statue, and, he noted with
satisfaction the Child was fully and properly dressed in his little
brown wool tunic. Then Our Lady warned Père Lamy:
“Take care,
Lucifer is after you like a dog tracking down a hare.”
He
noted this was her way of showing her displeasure with the statue.
She then warned him to be very careful of his words regarding it, no
doubt this was due to the fact that any indication of an approval
coming from him would imply the statue was accurate when it in fact
displeased Our Lady, and of course, and would end up giving bad
example. So, he carefully replied that the statue “did not
answer the great dignity of the Mother of God and that the statue
did not please me.”
There you have it.
Nakedness in art for "art's sake" is not approved of by Heaven.
Fr. F.X. Schouppe explains what true art is when giving
his example of the artist who came back from Purgatory to demand his
immodest picture be burned:
“True art is an inspiration from Heaven, which
elevates the soul to God; profane art, which appeals to the senses
only, which presents to the eye nothing but the beauties of the flesh
and blood, is but an inspiration of the evil spirit; his works,
brilliant though they may be, are not works of art, and the name is
falsely attributed to them. They are the infamous productions of a
corrupt imagination.” (Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints)
As we have seen with Satan attempting to trip up Pére
Lamy, this point is indeed the case.
But,
what is even more unnerving, I've hunted down a picture of the statue
that caused Our Lady's displeasure. According to the person telling
this story they heard from Père Lamy, the statue was carved c. 1920
by Arthur-Joseph
Gueniot (1866 – 1951).
The
statue does not look
immodest to our standards at all!
("Mater Dei" in Saint Michel des Batignolles by Arthur-Joseph
Gueniot.)
Our
Lady looks perfectly clothed, her neckline does not seem open or that low
at all to our eyes, and while the Christ Child is wrapped in a cloth,
He is not 'completely' nude from the waist down like many other pieces as the text seem to have suggested!
Oh.
If this piece displeased Our Lady, what does Heaven consider to be
improper 'nudity'?
The
answer can be found in the book of Genesis.
When
Adam and Eve fell, already they had become blinded by their sin and
did not even know how to fully clothe themselves. They took fig
leaves and made simple aprons, but God let them know this was not
enough – He had to make them tunics of skins after they confessed
their misdeed.
A
tunic or robe-like garment covers the whole upper half of the body,
over the shoulders, and slightly below the knees. Having an
uncovered chest and torso was still considered nakedness by God. But
also observe: to make the skin-tunics, something had to be sacrificed
and shed its blood to make them proper garments, a symbol of the
Great Sacrifice the Lamb of God would offer to cover the whole human
race with His Precious Redemptive Blood. Those re-clothed in grace
with the Blood of the Lamb at the end of time are given full white
robes as we see in the Apocalypse. Pére Lamy noted the Christ Child
in the vision with Our Lady was fully dressed in a tunic when He
appeared
Wow,
it makes you take stock of how bad most of our Renaissance and
Classical art must look like to Heaven!
Père Lamy also noted the Mother of God's “tastes are
very artistic”.
In one instance he tells the story of a little plaster
statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal he once had as a child and
that he had daubed up with his paints. He said the thought he was
doing something wonderful in painting it, but agreed with the wisdom
of hindsight gained from his adult years that his childish attempt at
statue-painting was a real mess!
He had painted her white, apparently he had painted her
hands and face white, her cloak blue, and her veil white, but then
gave her a yellow girdle, which clashed with the whole white and blue
ensemble. However, the statue was lost when the family home burned
down. One day in a vision Our Lady commented on the statue he had
painted when a child, declaring, “He thought to give me a yellow
girdle: it was very very ugly!” She then laughed heartily, and said
“but I liked the intention.”
Yes, Père Lamy noted Our Lady does laugh at times!
And, we see the Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Mother
of Wisdom and Truth, has no qualms in saying when something is ugly.
We can hazard a guess she still liked the messy statue because she
could see he had painted it with love even if it had not been
aesthetically perfect, just like any charitable mother would who
goes ahead and tapes up their child's finger painting on the front of the
refrigerator as though it belonged in a gallery. Those childish
gifts are well meant, splotchy though they may be!
Pére Lamy confirmed this again when he noted Our Lady
does not find many of her statues good to look at, but still, she
loves them for they “are signs of the affection people have for
her”, and therefore the ugliness of the statues does not hinder her
from using them as channels of grace. (Source for the information and quotes on
Père Lamy: “Père Lamy: 1855-1931”, by Comte Paul Biver, TAN,1973.)
In
all, Heaven will make concessions for some 'ugly' pieces of art, but
we have to ask: if Heaven will punish those artists who create
scandalous pictures, and Satan could attempt to trap a very holy
priest with an immodest statue, not to mention Our Lady has very
high artistic tastes, then what does Heaven think of modern art?
The
Holy Souls from Purgatory give the answer to this.
Maria
Simma (1915 -2004) from Sonntag, Austria, had been chosen as a
victim soul to receive visits from the Holy Souls in Purgatory and
aid their release. (Note: her case is still under investigation by
the Church, but there has been no negative rulings on her as yet,
and, she was permitted to speak of her experiences by her local
bishop. I personally have not seen anything contrary to Church
teachings in her visions.)
According
to the book “My Personal Experiences with the Poor Souls” (Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago,1979, p. 61), she one day received a message from the Blessed
Mother via the visit of a Holy Soul requesting that a chapel be built
in Sonntag. Maria's spiritual director agreed with the request,
because he realized the exact spot where the chapel to be built
according to the Holy Soul's directions once had a wayside shrine
there long ago dedicated to the Blessed Mother, but it was removed
during roadworks. The villagers had promised to put it back up, but the
promise was forgotten, and as the years passed, only the older
generations barely remembered it. So, Our Lady obviously wanted the
promise kept, but now wanted a chapel big enough to where Mass could
be said.
When
the chapel was finished, a new request came from the Blessed Mother
via the visit of a Holy Soul: Our Lady desired a picture be painted
and hung in the chapel depicting her as “Mother of Mercy for the
Poor Souls”, but, the request also demanded “it should be a
picture of natural beauty, not a contorted work of modern art.”
Wow.
Heaven considers modern art a 'contortion', with no
'natural beauty'.
Basically, that it is twisted and therefore grotesque!
Maria Simma would later give another example, I believe
it is in the book 'Get Us Out of Here!”, by Niki Eltz.
Unfortunately I only borrowed that copy and gave it back to its
owner, so I don't have it on hand and will have to paraphrase what I
recall. When asked about art and what the Holy Souls had to say
about modern art, I believe it was about sacred art, she said the
Holy Souls have told her Heaven does not approve of it as it is a
mockery of what it represents.
Uh oh. Modern 'sacred art' of today therefore is more
than just a mere fashion.
Heaven
calls out modern “sacred art” for what it is -- a contorted,
twisted, mocking sacrilege.
Heaven has also
extended its disapproval to modern church designs.
In
the prophecies of the mystic Ven. Sister Domenica of Paradise
(1473-1553) Our Lord warned that nearer the end of time a
dark period was coming when the faith would drastically wane, one of
the signs would be when church buildings would resemble caverns:
“My
bride, pray and weep for My faithful, there will come a time when My
faith, declining, will be missed in many and few (faithful) will
remain, when souls fall into the hands of My enemy for the scarcity
and lack of the Word God,
(i.e. when the Word of God will not be taught or preached, the word
'lack' also means it may not be preached properly as it should)
and when the temples of the Christians
will resemble caverns than churches,
then the night of blindness will reign, and the day and the sun of
cognisance will be extinguished, and amid so much darkness few
will know those who can exercise virtue, and employ themselves in the
worship of My faith (...)” (For more info, click here.)
Therefore,
modern art and architecture are displaying the corrupt nature of the
times and the loss of faith.
Interesting
how everything seemed to take a nose-dive after Vatican II. By their
fruits, you will know them.
All
one has to look at is the infamous “church” that has been dubbed “Our Lady of Minas Morgul” built in the 1960s.
(Real name: "St. Francis de Sales", Muskegon, Michigan, USA)
The
dark joke is not far off: I can't help but imagine a hoard of
Sauron's orcs from Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings' conducting a black
mass here. Yikes.
The
times are growing dark indeed.
Fr.
Schouppe observed: “If such is the consequence of an immodest
picture, what then, will be the punishment of the still more
disastrous scandals resulting from bad books, bad papers, bad
schools, and bad conversations?”
The
loss of Faith.
Being
a writer today is a daunting occupation knowing what you do may
affect the eternal condition of a reader's soul … but that is for
another post!
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