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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