Masterpieces From The Roman Catholic Diocese (up for auction to fund education)

Art Daily ^ | May 3, 2005

[NYer]

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Saint Augustine in Ecstasy, Estimate: $1,500,000-2,500,000, Dated 1665-75.

NEW YORK.- Christie's New York Old Master Paintings Department announces the sale of four pictures from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, including a magnificent full-length painting by Murillo and a compelling Saint Francis by Bernardo Strozzi which, along with a captivating 17th-century Dutch still-life of a dog asleep by Gerrit Dou from the Stark Foundation in Texas, are the definitive highlights of Christie’s New York Old Master Pictures sale to be held on May 25 at Rockefeller Center.

The proceeds of the sale of these four paintings will form an initial contribution to a proposed $100 million endowment fund that Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn will establish to provide a sound financial footing for Catholic education in the future. The Bishop has begun seeking the support of the New York City business community to achieve that goal.

The group of paintings was bequeathed to the Diocese in 1956 after the death of Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy, who formed his personal collection during the 1930s and 1940s. He purchased the paintings from highly-respected New York dealers, including the Schaeffer Galleries and Julius Weitzner. It is a fitting tribute to the Archbishop that his collection will be sold to benefit the church he so devotedly led, perpetuating his generous service to the people of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

Bishop DiMarzio's decision to earmark the proceeds of the sale of the paintings for the support of Catholic education recalls Archbishop Molloy's personal commitment to that cause. In the l930s Archbishop Molloy dismissed plans to build a cathedral at a site in Fort Greene and chose instead to use it to build a high school---Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School.

"Archbishop Molloy said the Diocese needed a high school more than a cathedral," said Msgr. John J. Bracken, the Vicar General for Temporalities. "The sale of these works is a testament to Archbishop Molloy's keen eye for art and his personal support of Catholic education."

The Paintings - Included in the group is Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s Saint Augustine in Ecstasy (estimate: $1,500,000-2,500,000), which the connoisseur Dr. Gustav F. Waagen described as “the finest I know of the master…(a) chef-d’oeuvre.” Murillo is universally recognized as one of the greatest painters of the so-called “Golden Age of Spanish painting”, and the present painting, not seen publicly for nearly a century, is a major rediscovery. Datable to circa 1665-75, it is a late work by the artist, and was originally painted for the Sacristy of the Convent of Saint Augustine, Seville. Murillo’s last two decades represent his period of most intense activity and produced some of his greatest masterpieces, including monumental Saint Augustine contemplating the Virgin and the Crucifixion, now in the Prado, Madrid, which is directly related in composition to the present work. The painting reveals the influence of both Cinquecento Venetian paintings, as well as van Dyck (from whose own Saint Augustine in Ecstasy the pose is borrowed) – artists he was exposed to whilst visiting Velázquez in Madrid. It was once owned by Marshal Jean de Dieu Soult, Napoleon’s commander of the French Army in Spain during the Peninsula War, who amassed the single most important private collection of Spanish paintings in the 19th century, and whose collection of works by Murillo inspired French 19th century artists such as Eugene Delacroix. The painting last appeared at auction in 1933 when it was sold by Christie’s London from the Collection of George Pretyman, Orwell Park, Suffolk, England, who also owned Murillo’s Christ Healing the Paralytic, now in the National Gallery, London.

A newly-discovered picture by Bernardo Strozzi, Saint Francis embracing the Crucifix, painted circa 1618-20 (estimate: $300,000-500,000), reveals the Genoese painter’s debt to Caravaggio and his tenebrist technique. A principle figure in the development of Baroque painting in Seicento Genoa, and later Venice, the choice of subject matter was a popular one for Strozzi, who excelled in religious painting and had himself started out life as a monk, before fleeing the cloister in 1630. Depicting the Saint in his habit and girdle, with raised eyes and the signs of the stigmata, Strozzi finely articulates an open book and skull silhouetted in the immediate foreground, reinforcing the meditative nature of the work.

Two other paintings show scenes from the biblical story of Christ’s flight into Egypt. The Flight into Egypt by Jacob Jordeans and Studio is one of a number of versions by Jordeans, providing a testament to the popularity of the composition among his patrons in the 17th century Netherlands (estimate: $50,000-70,000); and The Rest on the Flight into Egypt is by 17th century Flemish master Gasper de Crayer (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

Archbishop Thomas Molloy - Thomas E. Molloy was born in Nashua, New Hampshire on September 4, 1884 and spent his childhood there. In 1904, he transferred to St. Francis College in Brooklyn, after which he enrolled in St. John’s Seminary. It was there he met George Mundelein, who fostered his taste in the arts and sent him to the North American College in Rome, where he was ordained on September 19, 1908.

Upon his return to Brooklyn, Father Molloy served in St.. John’s Chapel and in the Queen of All Saints Church before spending a year in Chicago. He then returned to Brooklyn once again, and served a spiritual director for Cathedral College and taught philosophy at St. Joseph’s College for Women. On October 3, 1920, Father Molloy was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn, in 1921 he became Brooklyn’s Ordinary; and on February 15, 1922 he was installed as Bishop in St. James Pro-Cathedral.

During his tenure, the Diocese of Brooklyn witnessed significant progress – Bishop Molloy conducted a synod in 1926, dedicated Immaculate Conception Seminary in 1930, and established 90 parishes and 100 elementary schools across Long Island. In 1951, Pope Pius XII granted him the personal title Archbishop in recognition of his work as leader of the largest Diocese in the United States, with a membership of nearly 1.4 million. Archbishop Molloy died on November 26, 1956 aged 72.

[NYer]

"Shoes of the Fisherman?"

[wagglebee]

I think this is a good move. The money these paintings will generate will do a lot of good for the diocese and hopefully whoever purchases them will still make them available for public viewing from time to time.

[AAABEST]

A newly-discovered picture by Bernardo Strozzi, Saint Francis embracing the Crucifix, painted circa 1618-20 (estimate: $300,000-500,000), reveals the Genoese painter’s debt to Caravaggio and his tenebrist technique.

Saint Francis (Caravaggio, 1606)

[livius]

Beautiful paintings. The Murillo is stunning, too.

[Romulus]

Cash is fungible. Is the diocese of Brooklyn a little short just now? Is it committed to expanding Catholic education, or is it selling assets to cover debts or judgments?

[Aquinasfan]

Bishop DiMarzio's decision to earmark the proceeds of the sale of the paintings for the support of Catholic education recalls Archbishop Molloy's personal commitment to that cause.

Good idea. We need more sisters and brothers to staff them though.

[NYer]

The Diocese of Brooklyn, like many dioceses here in the northeast, is dealing with the financial strain of maintaining parishes with limited attendance. The cost of catholic education has skyrocketed in an attempt to stay abreast of the technology and programs offered in the public schools.

This is an excellent move on their part to fund catholic education.

[siunevada]

Is the diocese of Brooklyn a little short just now? Is it committed to expanding Catholic education, or is it selling assets to cover debts or judgments?

Second paragraph, first sentence:

The proceeds of the sale of these four paintings will form an initial contribution to a proposed $100 million endowment fund

It goes on to say the endowment fund is for education and the article cites the historic importance of education to the diocese.

[Romulus]

First sentence: "Cash is fungible".

1. The establishment of an endowment fund is meaningful only if it represents a net increase in support for education. If income from the endowment will only replace other funds, which can now be redirected to other programs, it would be reasonable to question what's going on.

2. In populist, puritanical America, a phobic attitude towards art is in our cultural DNA. Art is regarded as a luxury, an indulgent frippery, a status marker for those putting on airs. Art is an extra. Because it's not seen as a meaningful symbol bearing content of fundamental concern, it's easy to sell the decision to dispose of it. This is pandering, not stewardship. The truth is, symbol is central to what the Church does. Symbolism is the idiom of prophecy. The sacraments are symbols. The Gospels assure us that Our Lord never spoke to the people except in parable. The Church needs symbols because she deals in transcendent truths too great for human speech, and among the symbols she needs is art.

Now, I don't mean to imply that the diocese is acting in bad faith. I have no idea about the status of education or finances in the Diocese of Brooklyn; it's why I asked. It's quite possible that the official version is the whole truth, but these are times in which one does well to give a close reading to official versions. Furthermore, these are times in which one does well not to assume overmuch about the prudential judgment of ecclesiastical authorities even when they're acting in good faith.

[livius]

I agree with you regarding art and the Church. However, I think the Archdiocese of Brooklyn is probably in pretty bad shape, and it appears that these paintings were not accessible to the public anyway, so they will probably be seen more (assuming they go to a museum and not a private collector) than they were in the past.

However, that said, I think we are far too casual in throwing away our Catholic artistic patrimony. It's true that this is probably particularly the case in America - although we mustn't forget how our immigrant forebearers spent large amounts of money on the "frivolity" of building a beautiful church. Perhaps in some cases their taste was dubious, but in many cases, they really did leave some beautiful churches, vestments, etc.

I think VatII was truly the puritanical force that was significant in the destruction of art, because even in places where art is virtually soaked into the soil - Spain, for example - VatII swept through the churches and stripped them of anything beautiful. Fortunately, in the case of Spain, many of these churches were historical buildings and couldn't be too drastically modified even in the interior. But the vestments went into the back room, the altars were ripped apart or covered up, and new churches were devoid of saints, paintings, and even crucifixes. On the exterior, they are indistinguishable from community rec centers.

So it's not entirely an American problem. I think it really relates to VatII more than anything else, because VatII (or at any rate, its application) was essentially Protestant, puritanical and almost heretically iconoclastic.

Here's a thread you might like, btw:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1395834/posts

It's on Ratzinger's words on beauty.

[siunevada]

Now, I don't mean to imply that the diocese is acting in bad faith.

As soon as I hit the Post button I thought that maybe I didn't really understand what the article was saying or your concern. A little hasty.

The article says the endowment is being established for financial stability. I presume that it is intended for the same purpose as endowments at educational institutions, a reliable source of income to pay the bills.

You wondered about expansion. The article doesn't go into much depth about the purposes of the endowment. Current, past or future expenses? It doesn't really say.

[Romulus]

While agreeing with most of your comments, I think it needs saying that Christian art belongs in a Christian setting. I know it’s a difficult choice when questions of access arise, but museum exhibits, ripped from their context and proper use, are no longer living things, but products of the embalmer’s trade. When sacred art’s displayed in a secularised setting, it is aestheticised: no longer invited enter a sacred mystery, most viewers “consume” it for its technique or decorativeness. It’s objectified, in the same way that a debauched or undiscerning person meeting Our Lady might respond not with reverence or joy in the mystery she embodies, but leeringly observe what a handsome, girlish figure she presents.

What I’m articulating is the ideal, of course, and what’s ideal is not always available. But it needs to be remembered and honored as normative, while a museum is a sorry compromise, an admission of failure.

[livius]

I agree that, ideally, they belong in a Christian setting. There are certainly enough blank walls in VII churches that cry out for something!

Sometimes in the case of major works of art, the demands of conservation and security make them very difficult to display. Many churches in Spain have a "treasury" or a crypt where they display some of their finer items, but I've never seen that here in the US.

[Romish_Papist]

Bump for later read!

[Republicanprofessor]

Did someone ping you on this yet? Interesting read.

[Sam Cree]

No, but thanks.

Art ping list. Let me know if you want on or off the art ping list, thanks.

[Liz]

Mel Gibson said Caravaggio was one of the artists that inspired him when he produced The Passion of The Christ........the scene where Christ stands beside Pilate before the throngs, at the sentencing, is one such famous moment in the life of Christ the artist put to canvas.

Caravaggio's famous Ecce Homo.

[Sam Cree]

Carravagio led a famously dissolute life, yet painted some of the more beautiful religious works of history.

[Dat Mon]

Thanks for the ping. Carravagio is a favorite of mine.

His treatment of light and shadow was probably one of the most copied techniques ever.