Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1908-04-16


iourl
or the typical portraiture of Jesus,
( transmitted to US from an age in which
| the productions of pictorial art were
| either venal to inanity or utterly de-
/ based. 1t stands entirely by itself
/ purity, for power of conception ar| tor
a style of art not belonging and related
| to none other
Archaic in its grand simplicity, it is
! yet distinctly individual and portrait
| like in its type. Whether portrayed in
! humility, in suffering or in triumph,
| though sometimes severe and rugged,
| it is still always dignified and majes-
| tic. 1t addresses itself by Its infinite
! tenderness and at the same time by its
strength of character so directly TO the
| higher sympathies and aspirations of
| our nature that it is accepted at once
with undoubting, almost instructive,
faith as the veritable counterpart OF
/ the divine original.
Investigation as to the authenticity
of the most valuable representations of
| Christ, because admittedly the Oldest,
has been heset with very great diff
culties. The Church Of Rome, In whose
| possession most OF them are, has guard
ed them with extreme care and. con
sidering their snnctity, no one can Won
der at this or even complain Of it,
There is in the basilica of ST, Peters,
at Rome, in the sacristy ov r the gi-
gantlc statue of St Veronica a picture
accounted so holy and pricel IS that no
layman may ever behold it, I'D it is on
the authority of Fathers :, .rucci and
! Tebay, who were famous asRoman anti
! quarians in the reign of Plus IN, that
! even the 8 preme pontif looked upon
1t only or e u year, and then only after
! comm .hon.
! 1t -ousists of a life size he? / of the
Saviou' represented as lying IN the sep
| ulcher. The ascertained history of the
| picture reaches to the second century
Second only to this work is the pic
ture in the sacristy of the Church of
| st. Bartolomco in Genoa. The hair is
wet and matted; tears and the blood
| drops from the crown of thorns, so ex-
| prcsSiye of the stern reulit of death
mark the face, bat the calm features
and nearly closed eyes. the gently part
ed lips, speak not OF corruption. but Of
the spirit at that moment in paradise
and of the shortly to be accomplished
resurrection. This portrait is positive
~ known to be 1,S00 years old, and
tradition says it was painted by St
Luke.
a picture in the library of the Vat
ican at Rome is of n date probably
contemporary with the two just men
| toned Legend declares that this also
was a production of st. Luke. 1t is
executed in thick water color on q
wholly decayed
| Many Of the portraits of Christ found
in the catacombs afford sufficient evil
dence that the familiar traits of the
hair parted in the middle. flowing to
the shoulders and beginning to curl or
wave from the ears downward; the thin
beard, the mustache and the oval face
were recognized as the distinguishing
characteristic and true likeness even
at the early period.
This type has been followed by all
the great painters of Christendom down
to tho present day. 1t satisfied Michel
| angelo. In painting his last picture of
Christ he followed the Veronica por-
trait line for line, as if he had traced it.
This likeness of Christ is universally
recognized, so that now in every coun-
try where we see 1t painted it is well
known who it represents. New Or
leans Times-Democrat.