Archives Blog Post
At first glance, this sculpture might suggest an image of the famous St. Patrick because of the green vestment and staff. However, this is a sculptor of an Archbishop that was made in the 1500s. In this post, I will discuss some fascinating details about this object and the role of renaissance art.
The object is a sculptor of an Archbishop holding a miter and a cathedral. This means he was a member of the Roman Catholic Church. The sculpture was a gift donated by Msgr Arthur T. Connelly, a Boston Roman Catholic Priest to the Catholic University Special Collections. He was an avid collector and traveler who on multiple trips to Europe and South America acquired numerous art objects and books. A little background about this Avid Collector.
Msgr Arthur Connelly was born Dec 2, 1853, in Waltham, Massachusetts. He would go on to study theology at the Grand Seminar in Montreal, Quebec for the catholic priesthood and ordained by Bishop Edouard-Charles Fabre on December 21, 1876. Upon ordination, he returned to Boston and served in various Catholic parishes in the area most notably as Inaugural Rector for the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Jamaica Plains neighborhood in Boston, where he served from 1892 to 1931. Beyond his priestly duties, Msgr. Connelly’s love for knowledge lead him to donate countless books to Boston College, his alma mater, and Catholic University of America. He also began picking up various artworks collection from the renaissance era and donated most of his collection to the Catholic University between 1915-1918. The archbishop sculpture piece was donated during this time frame. The date of entry indicates that the object was donated on May 5,1917. This sculpture donated by Msgr Connelly was originally from England as indicated in the object file. The sculpture is well-preserved in the Catholic University Archives. This brings us to the next important question, what is this piece of artwork all about and who might the image represent ?
From my file, I am informed that this sculpture of an Archbishop with a miter and pallium holding a miniature cathedral in his left hand and a crozier in his right was originally from England and made between 1500-1599. No further information is given about the sculptor or artist who is responsible for making this sculpture.
The visual of this sculptor appears as a tall figure with a little bent on the left side of the object which can be observed in fig 1. First look at the object, spectators might find little detail about the object and left with only the melancholy face of the archbishop. However, upon closer look and time, we see that some of the painting of this sculpture has faded away. The miter although brown would have been painted red and his vestment seemed to have had a combination of red and green. The crozier was glued back to the object as image shows in the object file of detachment earlier. Although faded, this color gives an important detail about who this figure might have been. It gives the impression that the figure represented through this sculptor was a Man of great importance in the Catholic Church of England. Another observation upon closer look at the sculpture shows that most of it sides have been glued together over the years. Working with such a delicate object required precision and shows that it might have passed through different hands and collector before it arrived at the Catholic Archives. The parts that have been glued include the hand as seen in fig 2, the cathedral held by the archbishop, the bottom layer, the shoulder on the right side. The combination of faded color and broken parts of the sculpture was crucial in concluding that this sculpture was painted with colors that didn’t last during the times and therefore led to the fading. An awareness of the different color represented on the sculpture leads to the next question, what do the color signify.
The color red on the bishop miter indicates that the Archbishop was a martyr of the faith, meaning he was killed for his belief in the church and its teaching. The green color of vestment that is painted throughout the rest of the sculptor indicates the ordinary time of the church. Ordinary time of the Catholic Church is when the church isn’t celebrating any of the big events such as Easter or Christmas. This also means that the archbishop was martyred during the ordinary time of the Church. This color helps to understand that Archbishop was someone prominent in England who was martyred because of their faith in the Catholic Church. With this few information, I began to ask myself, who would this be since we are not given any other information on the image from the file. Being a religious object, I knew it had to play a role in the life of the church in England. A hint to discovering more about this sculpture and who its represented was the cathedral it held in its right hand.
England known for its cathedral namely Westminster Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral Ely Cathedral. All these cathedrals have distinct features and style. Yes, you might be wondering, how are we going to find out the cathedral that is held by the sculpture. With the detail, that the archbishop was a martyr, I began finding out which of these cathedrals had a martyred archbishop who is buried in it. After narrowing the number of cathedrals and comparing each with the one held by the sculpture, I came to the conclusion that the cathedral held by the archbishop is Canterbury Cathedral. Not only because of the close resemblance between the cathedral and the one held by the sculpture but most important because of who was buried there namely Thomas Becket. Now you may be wondering, who is Thomas Becket and how does he connect with both the Cathedral and in a big way, the sculpture. Thomas Becket was an Archbishop of Canterbury and was martyred by followers of King Henry II over a disagreement. He is buried in Canterbury Cathedral. The figure bellow’s an image of a painting of Thomas Becket in a stained-glass window and the image shows similarities between the painting and the sculptor I’m researching on. A little history of this proposed Archbishop whom I believe to be the archbishop that is the representation of my sculptor.
Thomas Becket was born on December 21, 1119, in London and died on 29 December 1170 in Canterbury. He worked as chancellor for the King and was considered to take over as Archbishop after the passing of the former Archbishop. Due to this, he was ordained on 2nd June 1162 and consecrated as Archbishop on 3rd June 1162. However, there began a rift between him and King Henry II because the King sort to gain authority over the church by using Thomas Beckett position as both Archbishop and Chancellor. This eventual led to exile in France however upon return, he was murdered by the King Knights, and this led to chaos in the city. However, Becket’s death and subsequent miracles transformed Canterbury Cathedral into one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe. This investigation of the sculptor leads me to concludes that the image is the representation of Archbishop Thomas Becket. However, the question that readers would ask is Why make a sculptor of Thomas Becket, a man from the 1100s during the 1500s. This is were the cultural aspect of the object plays a major role in answering this question.
During the 16th century during the 1520s, King Henry VIII, King of England broke away from the Catholic Church and established the English Reformation leading to persecution of Catholic Bishops and Priests. Sounds familiar. Just as it happened to Thomas Becket. This persecution led to the establishment of the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England was in a great deal of suffering. This raises the question, what ways could people (Catholics in England) during this times encourage each other as the go through this persecution. I suggest that one way would through images and sculptor on people who had also been persecuted for the faith. An example would be Saint Thomas Becket. Having an image and sculptor of Archbishop Becket, someone of prominence who also was killed for refusing an earlier King, who inspired in the people during the English reformation, to have courage and follow the example of this great Archbishop. A symbolism from the sculptor that shows this courage is how he holds the Cathedral in the sculptor. The way he holds the cathedral close to himself shows a deep courage and steadfastness towards the faith symbolizing a form of encouragement to the people during that time period. His sad and gloomy face could indicate the sad and troubling times being faced by the catholic people of England during this time.
This object I believed served as a way of encouraging people to keep the faith during these times and representing an Archbishop it shows the importance of the clergy in upholding the faith even if it leads to death.
This object shows the renaissance art in full effect with its use of symbolism, humanism to convey its message to people during the English reformation. I believe after the reformation; this image might have been kept hidden and forgotten before eventually being discovered and collected later by various people in England before making it way to Catholic Archives thanks to Msgr Conelley. This would explain why it wasn’t well maintained and the color fading over time.
The image below of another bishop illustrates my ideas of the symbolism between the sculptor to its people. The sculptor image below is John Fischer. He was a cardinal during the English Reformation and had this sculptor erected after his death. Through this image, we see how the church is part of the object although now the church is behind the object. A major different between both object is that the sculptor of John fisher isn’t wearing a miter but a hat. This symbolizes he is a cardinal, which is a higher position in the Catholic Church. He also isn’t holding a crozier but gestures his hand making a sign of blessings. Both images communicate to the people the importance of courage in times of persecution and the example of leaders in bearing witness to martyrdom for the faith. Through these images, we see the rise of renaissance art in its use of color, humanism and how it portrays that rebirth of art.
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