Friday, April 6, 2012

image of Christ crucified

 brush drawing by Thomas Merton
(image size 6 1/2" h x 4 1/4" w)

Notes from Roger Lipsey
“This perfectly grand image of the Crucifixion was found in a booklet, a kind of diary of drawings, as just one among ten or so brush drawings, the others of no special interest. Though monumental in “feel” and impact, it is factually a small print produced by inking and printing with the edge of an envelope or something of the kind. The method could hardly be simpler; the result could hardly be more majestic. This image recalls medieval carvings of the Crucifixion to which Merton was exposed as a boy in France, especially of the Romanesque period before the elaborations of Gothic art.
… this image of Christ Crucified draws together, remarkably, the values he most cared for as a contemporary artist and the values he most cared for as a monk …”

(Angelic Mistakes, The Art of Thomas Merton, by Roger Lipsey, p. 53)
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7 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 10, 2012 at 7:48 AM

    beautiful
    emblematic
    a sign on the wall

    better than the shroud of turin

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  2. beth cioffolettiApril 10, 2012 at 8:45 AM

    yes, and seems that Merton was "playing" with "inking" when this image emerged.

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  3. claire bangasserApril 12, 2012 at 10:27 AM

    I love to know I can come and spend time here. What a blessed place you are offering, Beth.
    Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. beth cioffolettiApril 12, 2012 at 3:16 PM

      you're welcome, Claire! I have to warn you, though, this blog goes through phases. There are times when it is almost completely silent for long periods :-) ...

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  4. bob knabApril 14, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    Greetings Beth _____________________

    my 2 cents !

    Perhaps
    the cross as well as the raft should be abandoned
    burden's only to be transported ,if faith and belief
    were churned to kindness for self and others ,it would
    solve much human problems but it seams humanity is attached
    to guilt and despair is that not where most life is lived
    is this not why sin had to be invented ,mankind is
    truly a defected product -

    Blessings _______________________________________________________-

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    Replies
    1. beth cioffolettiApril 18, 2012 at 7:03 AM

      Thanks for you pocket change, Bob.

      You're right, we're a pretty broken lot. It does seem that simple acts of kindness, toward ourselves and others, could go a long way in healing us. Yet we get bogged down in what we do or do not believe, which can be just another head trip.

      In my opinion deep knowing can only come from silence and un-knowing.

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