Tea at Trianon: Murals for the Cathedral

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Murals for the Cathedral

Gwyneth is an amazing artist! From The Catholic Missourian:

Northern sunlight illuminates a panorama of Missouri wildlife, flowers and fauna. A bishop, a priest and a deacon lead a procession through a glorified version of the Missouri River. People of all ages, backgrounds and skin tones are taken up in the gathering, which close examination reveals to be expedited by a fishing net, being dragged by the clergymen.

“And caught up in the net, in addition to all the beautiful native species, are the newly baptized, who are carrying their Baptism candles and representing individuals from all walks of life who are crossing the spiritual Jordan into the Promised Land of new life in Christ,” stated Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs (gwyneththompsonbriggs.com), a painter of sacred art.

This vivid illustration will adorn the walls and octagonal ceiling of the new baptistery in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City. The work is part of a substantial, yearlong renovation, expansion and renewal of the 53-year-old Cathedral, focused on enhancing its beauty, functionality, capacity for hospitality and uniquely Catholic identity. Bishop W. Shawn McKnight directed Mrs. Thompson-Briggs to include images of distinctly Missouri wildlife and hints of the bluffs of the Missouri River in the distance. She incorporated native trout and catfish in the water, flowering dogwood trees on the banks, and cardinals and bluebirds in the air.
“The idea is to visually enculturate the universal call to Baptism within the Diocese of Jefferson City,” Mrs. Thompson-Briggs explained “to show how Christ’s call to baptize all nations (Matthew 28:19) is also a call to Baptism for the people of this particular place.”

The entire work is made up of three large panels, each about 9 by 9 feet, and eight smaller panels to adorn the octagonal cupola in the ceiling. All are being rendered in oil-based paint on thick canvas, which will be secured to the baptistery walls. The cupola will be situated above the marble baptismal font, which will also have eight sides — representing the six days of Creation, the Sabbath, and the day on which Jesus rose from the dead. The final panel includes two souls — one receiving Baptism by blood, the other receiving Baptism by desire.
“Bishop McKnight wanted to be sure that all three forms of Baptism — by water, by blood and by desire — were represented,” Mrs. Thompson-Briggs noted, referring to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1257-1261. Each of the smaller panels for the cupola includes a fruit-laden garland known as a festoon.
“All the fruits are Missouri fruits,” Mrs. Thompson-Briggs noted. “In the center of the cupola is a depiction of the Holy Spirit. So the festoons also symbolically represent the spiritual fruits that are transmitted through the grace of Baptism.” (Read more.)