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Two Paintings, Two Mentalities, Two Doctrines
By Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Indulge in an exercise of fantasy, and suppose
that by rewinding the thread of bygone centuries it has become
possible for you to return to the time of Christ and walk
into a room of the Holy Family's humble dwelling in Nazereth.
Imagine that you find the Virgin playing
with the Child, and that both were just as Rouault depicted
them in the painting on the upper right. Would such a sight
fulfill your expectations? Would it correspond to what you
might have hoped from the Mother of God and the Word Incarnate
Himself? Would you find in those images the authentic expression
of the Christian spirit and the ineffable virtues of Jesus
and Mary?
Obviously not.
Therefore, whoever earnestly wants that
Christian art worthily and duly reflect the spirit of the
Gospel cannot be indifferent to paintings of this nature becoming
widespread among the faithful. What kind of impression would
people have of the Holy Family if nothing else were shown
to them but paintings of this ilk? As far as it is able, Christian
art has the role of an accessory to the spreading of sound
doctrine. The spirit of this painting cannot be deemed proper
for that end.
In order to illustrate these affirmations
better, look at the painting by the Maitre de Moulins (fifteenth
century), which also portrays the Virgin and Child, and consider
how efficacious it is in helping us understand, through the
senses, what the Church teaches about Jesus and Mary.
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