We are fortunate in the Bay Area to have a treasure trove of
Christian art dating back to the Middle Ages at the Palace of the Legion of
Honor in San Francisco. Right now, in
addition to the usual stellar collection, a visiting exhibit called, “The
Mourners: Tomb Sculptures from the Court
of Burgundy” gives us a chance to think more deeply about what it means to
“pray for All Souls,” as we have been invited to do at Mass during this month of
November, and to discover what a few sculptures might teach us about prayer.
The 37 devotional figures in the exhibit, created in the 14th
& 15th centuries from alabaster to adorn the tombs of Philip the
Bold and his son John the Fearless, are all unique in their emotional impact
and in their postures of prayer. The
figures range from choir boy to bishop.
Some carry rosaries or prayer books; some look heavenward, while others
gaze downward. Several are weeping. Cowls cover the faces of many, either
partially or completely, though most faces are visible if you stoop to peer
underneath. For Philip the Bold, the
commissioning of his own tomb was intended as a form of personal prayer in
which the statues are “designed to
perform for all eternity the vigil for the dead, offering up prayers for the
salvation of the deceased.” More
importantly, they remind us, as Jesus said, to “pray always” (Luke 18:1), and
they suggest that our prayers and prayer stances can be as varied as the needs
we bring before God.
Visit the Legion of
Honor’s interactive 3-D site, which allows 360° access to these remarkable pieces
of art: mourners.org. The exhibition continues until December 31st.
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