Actually Bernadette was very clear in insisting that the Lady she saw did =
not look like the statues in the church. The idea that she might simply =
be projecting her vision based on statutes in the church was suggested by =
the ecclesial authorities who were trying to find a "natural" explanation =
for the apparition (as they were, indeed required to do by the Church's =
theology on private revelation). Bernadette insisted this was not the =
case, just as she insisted that she had never claimed the Lady was the =
Blessed Virgin Mary. Others around her made that claim but she did not. =
Even when she asked the apparition to identify itself, the answer she got =
was not simply "I am the Mother of God" or "I am the Virgin Mary" but "I =
am the Immaculate Conception"--which was puzzling to Bernadette.
The claim that visionaries are _mere_ instances of auto-suggestion or =
projection is, of course, ancient. Careful study of visionaries' accounts =
indicates things are much more complicated. That the paintings and =
statues they have seen play a role in the images in their visions is =
undeniable--no one's mind is a tabula rasa, certainly not the minds of =
seers. The theology of "private revelation" does not at all preclude some =
influence from previously seen religious art--but neither does it reduce =
an authentic private revelation to mere projection. A genuine seer has =
had a glimpse of something beyond the ordinary experience, has glimpsed a =
"limit experience" in the terms of philosophy of religion. (Extra-ordinary=
does not mean a violation of nature but rather beyond the ordinary =
observed patterns of nature, hence, something marvelous, something =
mirabile, a miracle or wonder. See G. K. Chesterton, _Orthodoxy_, ch. 4 =
and 9 and Stanley Jaki, _Miracles and Physics_.) It necessarily surpasses =
what he can put into images whether in words or visual arts. But what the =
seer has at her disposal to try to express what she has seen is, of =
course, a vocabulary drawn from the religious art and poetry and hymnology =
of her experience. So the visionary will make use of this vocabulary =
without it thereby being a case of auto-suggestion or mrere projection.
Perhaps more revealing on these matters is the case of Saint Faustina =
Kowalska (Helen Kowalska), a Polish nun who had numerous visions of Christ =
beginniing as a child. At one point he commanded her to have a painting =
made of what she had seen. She could not paint. She tried repeatedly to =
convince her superiors to enlist the services of an artist. Eventually a =
competent artist was employed. He listened to her descriptions and =
painted. When he unveiled his work, she wept because it did not come =
close to expressing the beauty of what she had seen. He felt hurt, as an =
artist, thinking his work was being rejected. His painting was eventually =
hung and has now become well-known around the world. Variations on it are =
common. I recently saw it combined in a quasi icon-format with traditional=
Sacred Heart imagery. The original painting, following her description =
of the vision carefully, showed Jesus in a white robe with one hand =
outstretched, palm open, in a welcoming gesture and the other touching his =
chest, parting the robe, from which two rays, one white and one red, =
stream forth. The vision, combined with other private revelations to Sr. =
Faustina, emphasized Christ as Lord of Mercy, which she was convinced was =
particularly appopriate to an agnostic age. She was also commanded to =
petition for a Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday after Easter. This has =
now been granted, without displacing the normal Easter Season lectionary =
for that Sunday. She also was given the words for a Chaplet of Divine =
Mercy, a series of prayers said on regular rosary beads, that has now =
spread around the world. I mention all of this to indicate the package of =
elements that all combine to originate anew and fairly powerful popular =
devotion within the last few decades (she died in 1938 at the age of 35 of =
tuberculosis).
Sr. Faustina was from the Diocese of Krakow, from a dirt-poor rural =
family. She had almost no elementary education and could barely read or =
write. Her convent was in Krakow, though she also lived in other houses =
of her order elsewhere in Poland and Lithuania. Because of the Krakow =
connection, she is a favorite of John Paul II, who canonized her this year =
and granted the alteration to the Eastern calendar. As with many =
visionaries, she was much misunderstood by her fellow nuns and superiors. =
Her writings were for a time put under a cloud by a faulty Italian =
translation which confused the boundary between her own words and those of =
Christ speaking to her in visions. As Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyla =
played an important role in clarifying the orthodoxy of her writings; =
later as pope he presided over her beatification and canonization.
This case is instructive, I think, because, anyone who sees the Divine =
Mercy painting, frequently found in Catholic churches, will immediately =
say, "This looks like traditional (kitschy) Catholic devotional art." Of =
course it does, because the artist was drawing on the vocabulary he knew =
when he painted according to her description. But she immediately =
realized that it wasn't even remotely close to what she had seen. We will =
never know what she really saw--all we have is her general description =
about the placement of the hands, the color of the robe, the rays of =
light. (She was also given an inscription to be placed at the bottom: "My =
Jesus I trust in you.")
This is really not much different from the artistic vision of any really =
great and original artist. She "sees" in the depths of her artist's soul, =
something so beautiful (in all possible senses of the word beautiful) that =
it cannot be fully captured in a painting or in music or poetry. We all =
know the experience of overpowering beauty. The less artistically gifted =
among us reach for cliched vocabulary of our poetic or relligious =
previously existing art and produce kitsch. The great artists have that =
vocabulary, of course, but redeploy it in more powerful ways and we =
celebrate their artistic achievement. Their contribution, of course, gets =
added to the vocabulary. People choose from among the vocabulary more =
daringly or in a more cliched way, depending on their own tastes, artistic =
genius, artistic insight etc.
Perhaps this can help us as we evaluate medieval religious visionary and =
miracle texts and art.
Dennis Martin
>>> [log in to unmask] 11/22/00 03:49AM >>>
Thank you, a good point. cf. Bernadette Soubirous (I know, not medieval, =
but
pertinent), when asked how she knew that she had seen a vision of the
Virgin, she said that it was because she looked just like the statue of =
her
in (I think) the parish church.
A very interesting area for discussion, but perhaps Ghazwan doesn't want =
to
know about the far too many byways that the question could lead to.
Pat Cullum
-----Original Message-----
From: Dr Beth Williamson, Department of History of Art
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]=20
Sent: 22 November 2000 08:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: RE: Theologians and Art
In this context it is also worth taking account of the suggestion that=20
images in art affected the form of mystics' visions, rather than=20
imagining the process of 'influence' to have been only one-way. It is=20
all too easy to think of religious imagery as being illustrative only,=20
and not in any way dynamic or influential in itself.=20
While it is clear in some instances that influential texts and=20
writings on visions could have influenced the form taken by=20
subsequent representations, the particular form of certain visions=20
also appears to have been influenced by paintings or sculptures which=20
the visionary might have seen. When one considers the role of images in=20
teaching and preaching, and in liturgical and extra-liturgical=20
devotions, this is hardly surprising.
See the following paper by Chiara Frugoni:
'"Domine, in conspectu tuo omne desiderium meum": visioni e immagini in=20
Chiara da Montefalco, in S. Chiara da Montefalco e il suo tempo' *Atti=20
del quarto Convegno di studi storici ecclesiastici organizzato dell'=20
Archidiocesi di Spoleto, Spoleto 28-31 Dicembre 1981*, eds. Claudio=20
Leonardi and Enrico Menesto, Florence, 1985=20
Beth Williamson
On Tue, 21 Nov 2000 14:18:25 -0000 Patricia Cullum=20
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Have you also considered the extent to which mystics might affect
> representation through dissemination of their visions? Bridget of=20
> Sweden's vision of the Nativity comes to mind. =20
> Pat Cullum > [log in to unmask]
----------------------
Dr Beth Williamson, Department of History of Art
University of Bristol
43 Woodland Road
Bristol, BS8 1UU
department office: + 44 (0)117 954 6050
direct line: + 44 (0)117 954 6047
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