Monday 7th March

2022

Meditation 6
Brittany exercised a magnetic pull on artists from the mid 19th to the
early 20th centuries. Scores of professional painters, as well as
enthusiastic amateurs, spent months or even years in the charming
villages, inlets and costal stretches of northern France. The
combination of light and dramatically changing landscapes gave the
artists the opportunity of observing Nature majestically changing its
colours and texture.

The Interior of a Church in Brittany by the Dublin artist Aloysius O’

Kelly, was one of several canvases painted over a career which
spanned half a century. Other Irish artists drawn to Brittany included
Henry Jones Thaddeus,  Walter Osborne , William Leech and Roderic
O’ Conor.

Aloysius O’ Kelly was born in Dublin, the  youngest  of a family of

four brothers and one sister. His father was a blacksmith and had a
small smithy in the city centre close to the river Liffey. His mother’s
brother, John Lawlor was a highly successful sculptor who had
established himself in London, while a cousin, Michael Lawlor was
also a successful sculptor.  Aloysius’ brother James was sent by his
mother to London to study with his uncle, but was recalled by his
father to help in the family business.  
Aloysius was encouraged
by his mother to take up
art, and as a young man he
was hired by the
“Illustrated London News”
as an illustrator. These were
in the days before
photography, and
newspapers and journals
depended on graphic artists
to record their observations.
This experience was to have
a fundamental influence on
the artist when he turned to
painting.
As we look at the painting, our eyes are drawn to the kneeling figure of a woman. Her
back is to us, and with her head covered by a scarf, it is impossible to guess her age.
The simple black dress and traditional white headdress give us little indication of her
status.

The object of her devotion is a garishly painted statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
identified by her traditional rose tunic and blue mantel.
The statue rests rather uneasily on the top of a wooden press. The press, with
its ill- fitting door, has been pushed up against the east- facing wall. Behind the
statue of Our Lady, a large chunk of plaster had fallen off, undoubtedly
loosened by the pervasive damp of the area. 

As our eye travels upwards, we see where more plaster has fallen away. The
damp is indicated by green mould which grows alongside the column. The
verdure gives a unifying form to the painting, for as our eyes notice the mould,
we hop from one patch to the other, noting how the whole building seems to be
reeking from the rain- soaked atmosphere.

The somewhat drab interior is lit from a large window over the High Altar. The
poverty of the church is underlined as we notice that there was evidently only
enough money to pay for a small amount of stained glass.

The polychrome image shows the Crucifixion in the centre, with Mary, the
Mother of Jesus to the left and St. John the Beloved Disciple to the right. 
Underneath is a lattice of diamond- shaped window panes. There is another
source of light, but rather astutely, the artist chooses not to show the window
directly. Instead, he indicates the light which it admits by barely highlighting two
angels flanking a niche over the side altar to the right and the faint sun’s
reflection on the wooden altar rail in front. 

The last piece of religious art we see in the picture is an upright rectangular
image of a male saint to the right of the main window. It is difficult to be sure if it
is a wooden carving or a canvas. The saint, represented by a few brush strokes,
holds a book in one hand and blesses with the other. A candle leans out
precariously from the base of the image, which is supported by a plaster plinth.
We also notice that both the High Altar and the side altars are entirely bare. The
tabernacle on the High Altar quite simple. 

There are no candlesticks, no linen, no flowers. The side altar is equally barren,
while the sense of abandonment is underscored by the wooden planks piled up
carelessly  against the south wall. The stone floor is compelling in its rough state,
its texture rendered by the judicious use of the palette knife and the choice of
earthy colours. 
To the right of the kneeling figure, the artist’s signature appears- A. O’ Kelly, a
snapshot of bygone devotion.
 
Tuesday 8th
March 2022

Meditation 7
Humans have long been fascinated
by the world around them. Travelers
looked to the skies to help them
navigate, plotting their chart by the
skies. The sun and moon governed
day and night, but the stars,
sprinkled across the dark mantle of
night, were mysterious. The most
observant of our ancestors noted that
the stars lay in a formation which
could be mapped out and which
never changed. At night the stars
provided a trustworthy course
When I consider how my light is spent,
   Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
   And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more
bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
   My true account, lest He returning chide;
   "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
   Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best
   Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His
state
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,
   And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
   They also serve who only stand and wait."
(JOHN MILTON (1608-74)
Many people believed that the world
was flat, and it was not until the
invention of the telescope that
scientists began to believe that the
world was a sphere. When we read
the Scriptures, we must accept that
they were composed in an era and
milieu different from our own. But
the fundamental values are
everlasting.
For the ancient Greeks, the horse
was of incalculable value. The
animal was employed in farming
and in travel. Armies depended
on the horse to transport soldiers
from one place to another. The
artist depicts the world balanced
on the winged back of Pegasus,
the steed which was sired by
Poseidon, the god of the sea.

The ancients believed that the

earth lay in a vast ocean.

The Psalmist acknowledges the

power of the horse, but
admonishes “For the horse,
despite its power, cannot save.”
( Psalm 33)
The globe was made by the silversmith
and clockmaker, Gerhard Emmoser
( active c 1554-84) in 1579. It was once in
the possession of the Holy Roman
Emperor Rudolf II. Such scientific
marvels were enormously popular
between the 16th- 19th century and every
great ruler collected curious to show to
family and guests. In the 18th century,
philosophers increasingly saw the world
in mechanical terms, and those who
believed in God saw Him in terms of a
supreme clockmaker. Today the globe is
kept at the Metropolitan Museum in
New York.
Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place, I ask;
What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their[g] feet:
all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth! Psalm 8