Irish Jesuit Province

A Religious Work of ArtAuthor(s): Daniel ShieldsSource: The Irish Monthly, Vol. 81, No. 956 (Apr., 1953), pp. 145-147Published by: Irish Jesuit ProvinceStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20516528 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 19:00

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Irish Jesuit Province is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Irish Monthly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.113 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:00:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

A RELIGIOUS WORK OF ART

By DANIEL SHIELDS, S J.

THE Stations of the Cross, painted by Miss Kathleen Fox, for

the chapel in Milltown Park, follow the artistic Christian tradition of the portrayal of the Passion. A humble submission

to an accepted tradition, especially when the theme is religious, has never hampered real creative genius; indeed, the acceptance of justly restraining laws seems to intensify the power of expression. On the other hand, the ignoring of tradition, through an excessive

desire for freedom, has completely negatived the often outstanding technical ability of many modern artists, in their attempt to

create religious works of art. The guiding hand of tradition in

religious art cannot be lightly brushed aside. Styles and fashions

may change, but the relationship between the human and Divine

remains unchanged, and although the expression of this relationship may vary, through the passing of the years, in unessential details, yet the qualities of humility and reverent love, which are of its very essence, can never change and, in all authentic religious art from

earliest times down to the present day, are always present. In the Art of the Stations, the artist is faced with problems which, in

the representation of incidental scenes from the Passion of Christ, do

not arise. Incidental scenes can be portrayed quite independently of

what has happened or is going to happen in other scenes, but in those

of the Stations the artist must envisage them as a single unit, in which

each separate scene is subordinated to the unity of the whole, while a

monotony in the sequence of scenes must be avoided through a

sensitive appreciation of the emotional reactions peculiar to the

circumstances of each Station. This dual quality of diversity in unity demands from the artist a deep insight into the psychology of suffering, both mental as well as physical. Without this endowment of sensitive

ness to the effects of progressive suffering, there is every likelihood

that the artist will compose each scene as a separate entity in isolation

from the emotional content of the whole series. If this is done, the

dramatic force of the Stations will be lost, and with it a corresponding

lessening of emotional values. In the Milltown Stations this quality of progressive dramatic intensity is always present.

145

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.113 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:00:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

IRISH MONTHLY

Another problem of representation and one which requires the

greatest degree of sensitiveness in the artist is that of restraint in the portrayal of suffering. The representation of suffering is always a difficult subject, since its proper depicting demands from the artist a discriminating power of judgment which is capable of deciding \o what extent realism is permissible, with the object of evoking a

sufficiently deep emotional reaction. It is on this point of nice dis crimination that most artists fail. For instance, the crude brutalism of Grunewald offends our sensibilities through a too violent realistic

presentation, while the anaemic sentimentalism of the Victorians is too weak to stimulate an adequate reaction. In the portrayal of the

sufferings of the Passion this balance between exaggerated realism and sentimental understatement is of essential importance, and wher ever the Art of the Passion has achieved success this balance of

judgment is easily discernible. The sense of restraint has ever been

of the very essence of Christian tradition in the representation of Our Lord's sufferings. In the portrayal of the humiliation of Christ

in His sufferings the reverent love of the Christian artist has in

stinctively tried to shield Him from the cold gaze of the world's

indifference. A mother's love will always strive to shield her child from the indignity of a too intimate revelation of its humiliations.

The Christian artist has never shirked the sad telling of the humilia

tions and sufferings of Christ in His Passion, but his method of

telling his story is not one of stark and revolting realism, but one

of subtle suggestion. It may be only a gesture of Christ's hands or

a movement of His eyes, but through the loving skill of the artist

such simple actions acquire a significance more capable of suggesting torment and agony than it is possible for the most vivid realism to

achieve. To this tradition the Milltown Stations are closely linked.

Tenderness is blended with realism in such a way that while the

brutality of the sufferings is in no way minimised, their portrayal does

not outrage our feelings, for the effect is gained by a subtle suggestion rather than by a direct representation. Through this treatment of

suffering the strength of emotional appeal, far from being diminished,

gains in intensity. So far our discussion of the Art of the Stations has centred round

their devotional value, but there is another aspect of the Stations

which, although at first sight it may appear as completely extrinsic

to their primary object, yet, on closer examination, it will be found

146

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.113 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:00:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

RELIGIOUS ART

to have an indirect bearing on their devotional value. It is the

question of style in the Stations in relation to their architectural

setting. In modefn times the Stations of the Cross have become

in many churches a main agent in their decorative scheme. (In this

connection, it may be of interest to recall the fact that the

erection of the Stations was not in common practice in England

and Ireland before the middle of the nineteenth century.) In

consequence of this decorative r?le, it is essential that in style

they be subordinate to the laws that govern the art of decoration.

The main principle of this art is well expressed by the dictum

of Pugin : "

There should be decoration of construction, not

construction of decoration." Decoration is the natural flowering

of architectural construction and must rest in its setting as naturally as leaves rest on the branch of a tree or a flower on its stalk. It

must be a completion of structural design and not an unrelated super

imposed addition. It is this unity of design between architectural

setting and decorative motif which produces that quality of tran

quillity which is so essential to church architecture. On entering a

church we should find ourselves in an atmosphere where, through harmony and balance between structure and decorative detail, the

spirit of distracting restlessness is banished. A wise and discerning choice of Stations, in which the decorative values as well as the

devotional are given due consideration, will do much towards creating that atmosphere of tranquillity which is so helpful to devotion. M

When we enter the door of a great French cathedral," Belloc

wrote, "

we leave behind the spirit of the market place and enter

into an atmosphere that lifts the soul into the heavenly mansions."

In the Milltown Stations the relationship between style and

architectural setting displays a sensitive appreciation of the problem. The classical form of the figures and architectural backgrounds reflect

the Romanesque rhythm of the chapel architecture while in colour

they softly harmonize with the grey and amber coloured marble of

their setting. The true artist has always been the handmaid of religion in making the House of God a worthy setting for prayer and worship.

Miss Kathleen Fox, through her present achievement in the Milltown

Stations, can rightfully take her place among those artists who have

given such noble service to the Church.

147

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.113 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 19:00:29 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions