Wednesday was museum day for me. It was supposed to rain, so I’d scheduled myself for an afternoon at “El Prado,” Spain’s national art museum.
I’m not huge on art, but I was very moved by an exhibit I saw in Toledo last week. It was by Abraham de la Cruz, a Jew turned Catholic monk who is using his dual perspective to help bridge the gap between the Catholic Church and Israel.
Born Abraham Kron, de la Cruz founded a monastic order, Fraternidad Maria Estella de la Mañana. Their stated purpose is to “participate in the suffering of the Lord due to the schism between Israel and the Church, desiring to see the image of God reflected in a relationship of love” between Israel and the Church. I encourage you to pray for these men as they seek God and seek to reconcile the Church to Israel.
Following is my favorite piece by de la Cruz: Meguilat Rut (the Scroll of Ruth).
Well, after experiencing first hand the power of art, I relented and decided to visit El Prado. The works are beautiful. The historical pieces, such as Goya’s pieces “El dos de mayo” and “El tres de mayo” attract me for their documentation and commentary. And the Christian pieces attract me as a follower of Christ.
In three hours of viewing art pieces, one artist stood out to me… and one I’d never heard of before: Juan Bautista Maino. He, too, was a monk.
When you see lots of Christian art, you will find that the same themes and scenes are painted over and over again. Because of this, it becomes easy to pick your favorite style and critique theological details. Maino seems to get his theology right, and the costuming of his subjects isn’t overpowering as to seem anachronistic (I’m easily put off by paintings of pale, aristrocratic, medieval people portraying Middle Eastern scenes).
So here are four pieces by Maino, depicting the adoration of the shepherds, the adoration of the magi (notice he made them two distinct pieces in two distinct settings) and two versions of the spirit descending on the disciples at Pentecost.
Comments
17 responses to “Art that understands Scripture”
That was great, glad you enjoyed the art. I was surprised how moved I was by a piece at the Getty. It was a painting of Christ, and tears sprang to my eyes when I viewed it.
We visited the Prado many years ago. I think it was in 1970. Our youngest child at the time had been born in Africa, and had never been inside a large building before. We let each child pick out a postcard for a souvenir, and as I recall they preferred the violent paintings. I don’t remember much of the art, but I do remember my 2 year old running down the marble-floored hallways and having the time of his life.
Thank you. Bless you. May God’s love be with you. I truly devoured this post.
How wonderful to be able to see and enjoy art like this! I love visiting art museums!!!
Thanks for sharing
Nice! Although the people are mighty pale… accept for that one Magi!
Beautiful pieces.
Very nice choice of artists…I can see spanish influence in their style (obviously due to being in spain)…
It would be interesting to know the size of these pieces. Sometimes that can add to the visual impact of the piece.
Thanks for sharing.
B E A U T I FU L !!! They are wonderful! Thank yo ufor sharing them with us! *HUGS*
I remember those Goya paintings from my 1983 visit. The tres de mayo one in particular was gripping. I’d never heard of Abraham de la Cruz; I’m glad to know of him and his order.
I love the distinction he made between the shepherds and the magi! I had to come back and say that….sorry, I had to run off earlier!
@edlives – edlives? on my site?! Thanks for gracing me with a visit.
@followfreedom – The Ruth piece is probably on a 5 foot x 4 foot canvas
Maino’s pieces are large, about 10 feet tall. The figures are probably close to life size, so very impactful.
Very nice, thanks.
Very, very gorgeous art! I wish I could stand in front of it!