I went on a road trip in Montana and stopped where you can see the Mission Mountains. I used to ride my bike up and down this highway but there's really too much traffic on it now to be safe. This is on the Kootenai and Salish Indian Reservation. The Bison Range is to the left of my car and at the foot of those Mission Mountains is a mission (of all things) built by some priests. I'd always heard that there were some beautiful paintings inside and never stopped to see them so I decided it was time to check it out.
This is what it looks like inside. There are 58 frescos done by Italian Jesuit Joseph Carignano who was the cook at the mission and lived from 1853 to 1919. It's really beautiful. Mary on the left and Joseph on the right.
Mary is usually depicted with a blue robe in Christian art and usually has a halo.
This painting was on canvas at the back of the sanctuary. This figure was on the left and there was a native male figure on the right. Also Mary and Joseph. The native american Mary and her baby Jesus both have halos. The top of her robe is blue. There is a star painted on the cradle board above the baby's head. And it's kind of hard to see but there is light shining down on her from above. I thought this was an interesting painting. I didn't get the significance of these two paintings until I got to the cabin and reviewed my photos.
3 comments:
This is so beautiful.
I really love the artwork inside some of these old Catholic churches.
Wow! That church is really an amazing sight! I love the depiction of the Native American with the cradle board... reminds me of my time one the Navajo Reservation.
They say that Carignano had no formal training. You'd never know it.
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