The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-07-14
4Wonderfui Painting.

4 Won a Painting 10 I *, - =.
About month ago We were invited to visit
No. 12s Carondslet street, the fssidsnce of Mr..
O'Hara, who ii tho possessor Of An unknown
and most beaatifnl work of art, viz; An oil
painting Of the scrucifxion, done in the hish-
est style of5art, and painted not only with IN
artists touch but with the hsnd Of . devous
and loving follower Of Christ. Against ) dark
background are dimIy seen the sombss ont
lines of the cross, upon whose, arms hangs the
dead form of Che crucifed Redeemsr.f Thslsfs
side is turned towards the beholdef,a and the.
divine face is seen only in profile. We were
told the singular story connected with this
paiatiDgi end while listening tosa simple nars.
ratise, our thoughts went back TO those din,
ages "ripe ~ishmystery,r when faith lissd il
the heart and glowed in all the inspiratiens'Sf
She poet and the psfnter. -, N- hsap9
~ ~ NJ. o'Hara purchased fhis painting at auc,
ton, for hestfi6ing sam of eleyeh dollars, and
carzisd it homo . little inidl .:fot fserhe had
invested too largely in Whist was oulyi q pioaS
fancy. AT this time p6shipg waste " sssuson
Che canvas but q white, dead figure, standing
outin sad aid startling vividness from 'ths
glcom-of sn indistinguisha able darkness. Upon
close OK anaination he discovered and brought,
to Wow the full outlines Of thecross with the
lettered scroll above the. head subsequsnt
cleaning laid bare skuli at the foot OF
the wood and, what ID stin more surprising,
two large and brilliant coats of arms were dis
covered, one on each side Of the cross. Thess
last had evidently been carefully concealed for
some purpose, known only to him who did IL.
However, these coats Of arms are what throw
over the painting its strongest. mystery, and
the disappearing Of which has puzzled all those
who have inspected this work of art. The
questions that now arise are, by, whom was
this painting wroughfs at what time was IL
done and for whom was It painted $50
=. Considered rs q simple piece of painting, the
most ignorant amateur. cannot fail to be JIM
pressed by ito wonderful grace and sweetness,
while to culti waited connoisseur IL affords ON.
limited food for thonght and admiration. The
form, emaciated and terribly bruised, is yet
full of divine and pathetic grace which touches
the heart most deeply as tho eye wanders from
the bowed yet placid face, along the blne and,
shrunken body, down to tho nailed and tender
feet, then slowly dwellsagain upon the gashed
side, tho dropping blood, the contracted fin
gers, the whole unbelievable depth Of aorfow
and suffering. The cloth around the Saviours
loins, though, of course, simply white band
age Displays the wonderful genius Of the artist
in its perfect contrast with the white, dead APP
,pearance of the sacred bloodless flesh. I'D" .'
The profile, perfect in its sublime, sweet re-
,signation, 10 said to be one of the few attempts
at O Likeness of the Divine Sufferer, being iden-
tical with the features carved on on emerald,
which is held in Rome as the authentic por-
trait of the Saviour, and from which all SINH
lar pictures are copied. Words canuot describe.
the supernatural beauty of the face, it's noble
ness is not like sught we can conceive on
earth, its serenity 10 such as is never seen on
mortal features, its submission is o mystery of
faith which mono but the gloritied can under
staud, aud its simple majesty unfolds O. mean
ing which human minds can never fathom.
How long We gazed upon it We mover knew,
but under the pretence Of closer. Inspection,
We found ourselves upon Our knees before it,
realizing with IN acute and woful fear the
dreadful Passion of q self-sacrifeing God; and
when at last we turned away, it was with .
fond, regretful yesrning, as though the heart
had been strangely won to stay forever near
Him, who said even to the vilest traitor.
"Friend, why hast thou comet"
In regard to the coats of arms, it requires
acquaintance with the technical language of
heraldry to describe them properly. But what
we saw We will attempt to tell.
The larger OF the two escutcheons shows u
most prominently q lions head, eyes glaring
and tongue protruding. Above is steel
casqus with gold chains and three plumes, the
eolors, green, yellow and red, are singulafly
clear and glowing ; then Warriors left arm
appearing q battle-axe, while, surrounding
these, is q linked chain with scallOp shells,
token of pilgrimage aud zeal; medal sus-
pended from the chain contains the figure of
st. Michael striking the dragon there are also
two OF three rampant lions in the chain, over
all of whici runs the inscription on the scroll:
."Dp Deus Fortitudo Mea"
The second and smaller armorial ensign is sim
ply a diamond-ahapedf figure, with the impress
zion of . goman's head thereon, ssrro undsd by