Latest ArtWay visual meditation

In my latest visual meditation for ArtWay I reflect on work by Giacomo Manzù who "experienced both the support and censure of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to his work":

"The key debate over twentieth century ecclesiastical commissions concerned the extent to which the ‘secular masters’ of the day should be commissioned by the Church. Manzù, as a cradle Catholic whose father was sacristan of Sant'Alessandro in Colonna, Italy, gained such commissions from an early stage in his career but, as his anti-Fascist and Communist political convictions developed, found his work censured by the Roman Catholic Church.

For the traditional wing of the Catholic Church he became an emblem of all that was opposed to the Church, whilst still using Christian iconography in his work. Later he found support for his work in Pope John XXIII. The by-now atheist sculptor became the personal friend of and sculptor for Pope John, creating the masterful Door of Death for St Peter’s Basilica."

My other ArtWay meditations include work by María Inés Aguirre, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Antoni Gaudi, Maciej Hoffman, Maurice Novarina, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, and Henry Shelton.

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Randy Stonehill - King Of Hearts.

Reviews - Giacomo Manzù: Sculptor and Draughtsman

The review of Giacomo Manzù: Sculptor and Draughtsman in The Tablet suggests that: "Most visitors barely notice the bronze relief of St Thérèse of Lisieux in the south transept of Westminster Cathedral, and few who stop in front of it would know the name of the artist. The cloaked young woman looking quietly over her shoulder is the work of Giacomo Manzù (1908-1991), an Italian sculptor who in 1950 won a competition to design a new door for St Peter’s."

Westminister Cathedral considers itself fortunate to have one of Manzù's "most sensitive works." The story of how the Cathedral came to have this work by an artist who is "regarded as among Italy’s greatest modern sculptors" is told in Oremus: "In response to the invitation by the Westminster Cathedral Art and Architecture Committee to Giacomo Manzu that he should produce a low relief bronze wall panel showing St Thérèse of Lisieux for the Cathedral, Manzu submitted a sketch in 1956. This was immediately approved and the commission awarded. Manzu then proceeded to design and produce the bronze in Italy with casting taking place in Milan. The cost was £680, which was defrayed by Miss Janet Howard as a memorial to her sister, Alice Lawrason Howard."

The exhibition at the Estorick Collection is a great opportunity, therefore, to see work by a neglected modern master. In my review of the exhibition for the Church Times I argue that: "Perhaps more than any other modern artist, Manzù experienced both sides of the debate within the Church in relation to modern art — a debate that has revolved around the extent to which the best artists of the day should be commissioned regardless of faith commitment."

Commissioning Manzù was an example of the policy advocated in France by Marie-Alain Couturier and Pie-Raymond Régamey and in Austria by Otto Mauer of seeking to revive Christian art by appealing to the independent masters of the time. Curtis Bill Pepper's An Artist and the Pope documented Manzu's sacred commissions and is a fascinating expose of the difficulties encountered, even at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church and despite the significant support of Pope John XXIII, Don Giuseppe de Luca and Monsignor Loris Capovilla, in pursuing this policy.

Manzù and Pope John 'both came from Bergamo in Italy but there the affinity seemed to halt, for one was the beloved Pope John XXIII and the other was a Communist bereft of his religious faith was the famous sculptor Giacomo Manzù. Yet Pope John, discerning the man beyond the atheist, commissioned Manzù to make his portrait bust, and despite all the artist's misgivings, there developed between them a warm and deeply significant friendship which drove Manzù to achieve the remarkable bronze Doors of Death for St. Peter's in Rome - the first new doors for the cathedral for 500 years.'

The door 'has large modelled panels that depict the deaths of Mary and Christ, as well as lesser panels that show the deaths of saints and ordinary people. Vatican officials were wary of Manzù’s communist politics and criticized his refusal to temper his unflinching depiction of death and human suffering with a more spiritual theme. Particularly shocking was his depiction of a cardinal looking at a man being crucified up side-down, a reference to the execution of fascists after WWII.'

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Graham Parker - Hey Lord Don't Ask Me Questions.

Giacomo Manzù: Sculptor and Draughtsman

A true great of twentieth-century sculpture, Giacomo Manzù is renowned for his delicate and moving work, focusing on portraiture and religious imagery.

As sensitive to line as he was to form, his drawings exhibit the same restrained, sinuous qualities familiar to us from his more celebrated bas-reliefs.

Aside from a few evening classes, Manzù was completely self-taught. He first started working with wood during his military service in the late 1920s, and within a decade his sculpture was being exhibited to widespread public acclaim.

During his career Manzù produced many notable works, including a series of bronze bas-reliefs about the death of Jesus Christ, portraits of his wife Inge Schabel and her sister Sonja, and the Gate of Death for St Peter's Basilica. His last major commission was a 6m tall public sculpture in New York, which was inaugurated in 1989.

Pope John XXIII commissioned Manzù to make his portrait bust, and despite all the artist's misgivings, there developed between them a warm and deeply significant friendship which drove Manzù to achieve the remarkable bronze Doors of Death for St. Peter's in Rome - the first new doors for the cathedral for 500 years.'

The door 'has large modelled panels that depict the deaths of Mary and Christ, as well as lesser panels that show the deaths of saints and ordinary people. Vatican officials were wary of Manzù’s communist politics and criticized his refusal to temper his unflinching depiction of death and human suffering with a more spiritual theme. Particularly shocking was his depiction of a cardinal looking at a man being crucified up side-down, a reference to the execution of fascists after WWII.'

Commissioning Manzù is an example of the policy advocated in France by Marie-Alain Couturier and Pie-Raymond Régamey and in Austria by Otto Mauer of seeking to revive Christian art by appealing to the independent masters of the time. An Artist and the Pope by Curtis Bill Pepper is a fascinating expose of the difficulties encountered, even at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church and despite the significant support of Pope John, Don Giuseppe de Luca and Monsignor Loris Capovilla, in pursuing this policy.

Giacomo Manzù: Sculptor and Draughtsman will be at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art from 15 January – 3 April 2016. This exhibition focuses on examples of both his sculptural and sketching practice, revealing the similarities between the two.

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Bear's Den - Isaac.

Ernst and Michael Fuchs

'The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism formed in 1946 and included Ernst Fuchs, Rudolph Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter and Fritz Janschka. Arik Brauer and Anton Lehmden joined later. The group saw itself as surrealist although they were already moving away from the surrealist painting of the 1930s towards a more visionary approach. Technically their work had the clarity and detail of early Flemish Painting.

They were quite influential on the continent, but little known or appreciated in Britain. In 1957 Hausner fell out with surrealist orthodoxy after completing his first Adam picture and split from Fuchs and the others to pursue his own vision. Fuchs had already moved away from surrealism into visionary mannerism. He painted a number of paintings with religious subjects culminating in his triptych The Mysteries of the Holy Rosary for the Catholic church in Hetzendorf, Vienna.

His paintings from the late 50s to the present day have extraordinary visionary power. Babylonian Cherubs, visions of Christ and other mythological subjects explore the roots of middle eastern religious experience. The power of colour, form and content set his work apart from modernism.

In 1970, he began to work on monumental sculptures. Later in 1973, he acquired the Otto Wagner Villa in Vienna, which he subsequently renovated completely and which is now the Ernst Fuchs Museum and contains a complete range of his work to date. He then undertook stage designs for operas, especially Wagner. In the 1980s, he had a number of international exhibitions including a retrospective in Venice. In 1993 he had a major retrospective in Russia — one of the first major western artists to do so.'

'The life of Ernst Fuchs has been everything but conventional and filled with extremes. This is reflected in the works of Ernst Fuchs, which are very special and often mysterious. A reoccurring theme in his paintings are religious and supernatural elements, reflecting on his deep spirituality and the fact that he is Jewish and later was baptized roman-catholic. Ernst Fuchs himself mentioned that he always created pictures and images resembling dreams and hallucinations.'

'Michael Fuchs was born in Paris, France in 1952. He spent his childhood and youth with his mother, Geraldine Krongold, in New York City and Los Angeles.

1970 artist leaves America to study painting with his father Ernst Fuchs and Anton Lehmden at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, earning a Masters degree in Fine Arts in 1976.

In 1980 he commenced with studies in architecture under Gustav Peichl at the same Academy, receiving a Masters degree in Architecture in 1987.

Since 1971 the artist has travelled throughout Europe and the USA showing his work in numerous group and one-man exhibitions. Among the many commissions Mr. Fuchs has received, he has persued portraiture with special intensity. The human face, he maintains, is the culmination of nature. He is especially known for his portraits of celebrities, nobility and public leaders as well as private persons and families. His commissions hang in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Diego, Knoxville and Washington D.C. as well as Boca Raton, Denver and Santa Fe. In Europe portraits of his hang in Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, Vaduz, Paris, London, Hamburg und Zürich as well as Maastricht and Berlin, Lübeck and in Bremen.

Together with oil painting, Michael Fuchs studied the old-masters technique of etching and has, since 1970, worked continually to build up an impressive repertoire of copper-plate etchings, which have received international recognition. Since 1990 the artist has lived and worked in Klosterneuburg, near Vienna.

In 1998 he was honored by giving his Holiness Pope John Paul II a painting of the Holy Family, during the Pontiffs visit to Austria.'

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Karol Szymanowski - Stabat Mater Dolorosa.

An Artist and the Saint: Manzù and Roncalli

Angelo Roncalli turned 'his four and a half year pontificate into one of the most important of the 20th century and earned legions of admirers as the down-to-earth "Good Pope John".'

The Guardian reports that, 'On Sunday, before a crowd of hundreds of thousands in St Peter's Square, Pope Francis is to canonise this popular Italian pontiff alongside John Paul II, recognising them both as saints.'

'Often described simply as Il Papa Buona, the friendly pontiff who went walking around Rome and endeared himself to ordinary people in much the same way as Francis today, John XXIII is regarded by his admirers as one of the most courageous and important popes in history. Roncalli, who had spent much of his career as a Vatican diplomat in countries including Bulgaria, Turkey and France, called the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) in 1962 and died less than a year later. But the process of change he set in motion outlived him, proving key to the church's ability to retain a degree of relevance in the modern age.'

In a piece of serendipity I am currently reading An Artist and the Pope by Curtis Bill Pepper. The artist and Pope in question 'both came from Bergamo in Italy but there the affinity seemed to halt, for one was the beloved Pope John XXIII and the other was a Communist bereft of his religious faith was the famous sculptor Giacomo Manzù. Yet Pope John, discerning the man beyond the atheist, commissioned Manzù to make his portrait bust, and despite all the artist's misgivings, there developed between them a warm and deeply significant friendship which drove Manzù to achieve the remarkable bronze Doors of Death for St. Peter's in Rome - the first new doors for the cathedral for 500 years.'

The door 'has large modelled panels that depict the deaths of Mary and Christ, as well as lesser panels that show the deaths of saints and ordinary people.  Vatican officials were wary of Manzù’s communist politics and criticized his refusal to temper his unflinching depiction of death and human suffering with a more spiritual theme. Particularly shocking was his depiction of a cardinal looking at a man being crucified up side-down, a reference to the execution of fascists after WWII.'

Commissioning Manzù is an example of the policy advocated in France by Marie-Alain Couturier and Pie-Raymond Régamey and in Austria by Otto Mauer of seeking to revive Christian art by appealing to the independent masters of the time. The book is a fascinating expose of the difficulties encountered, even at the very heart of the Roman Catholic Church and despite the significant support of Pope John, Don Giuseppe de Luca and Monsignor Loris Capovilla, in pursuing this policy.

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Sixpence None The Richer - Amazing Grace.