On the warm spring evening of April 19, the opening of the exhibition of paintings of the Divine Mercy Image, prepared as part of the project “Let’s Paint Catholicism Again”, took place at the Museums of San Salvatore in Lauro in Rome. The ceremony, held in the enchanting interior of a baroque 16th century covent, brought together more than two hundred guests, who filled the museum’s rooms to the brim.
The curator and initiator of the project, Dariusz Karłowicz, spoke at the event, outlining the mission set by the project’s organizers: “There is no doubt in my mind that sacred art is the most difficult and important of all artistic fields: it concerns the infinite Truth and Beauty. The true subject of sacred art is always Christ in the Paschal mystery. That is why it seemed to us that even such a modest attempt at a renewal of contemporary sacred art should start from the very center of Christian life and contemporary piety, that is from the image of Divine Mercy.”
As the program director of the Angelicum’s St. John Paul II Institute of Culture pointed out, the exhibition is only the beginning of a wide-ranging undertaking to revive contemporary sacred art: the project «Let’s Paint Catholicism Again» does not end with the images of the Divine Mercy. This exhibition is but a part of a larger whole, its first step. Over the next twenty years we want to work on the twenty mysteries of the Holy Rosary. I hope to be able to show the result of that labour on the first joyful mystery – the Annunciation – at a similar time next year.”
Dariusz Karłowicz’s speech was followed by a short concert given by the academic vocal quartet Schola Peregrina. Three compositions were presented to the audience gathered within the walls of San Salvatore in Lauro: “Vexilla regis” by Anton Bruckner, “Jesu Dulcis Memoria” by Tomas Luis de Victoria and “Omni die dic Mariae” by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki. The extraordinary acoustics of the baroque hall and the themes of the pieces imbued the museum guests with the solemn atmosphere of the evening.
As soon as the last notes of the Polish composer’s baroque motet sounded, the large audience made their way through the picturesque courtyard of San Salvatore in Lauro towards the exhibition, where ten new paintings of the Merciful Jesus were presented. The painters who took part in the project are: Bogna Podbielska, Beata Stankiewicz, Ignacy and Wincenty Czwartos, Jacek Dłużewski, Wojciech Głogowski, Father Jacek Hajnos, Krzysztof Klimek and Artur Wąsowski.
Taking place at the Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro (Piazza di San Salvatore in Lauro 15, Rome), the exhibition will be open to the public until 21 May 2023. Admission is free.
Exhibition opening hours:
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:00 – 13:00, 16:00 – 19:00
Sunday: 9:00 – 12:00
The exhibition will be closed on: April 25 and 30 as well as on May 1.
Admission is free!
Organizers: St. John Paul II Institute of Culture at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas – ANGELICUM, Saint Nicholas Foundation, Musei di San Salvatore in Lauro
Read an account of previous exhibitions in:
– Cracow: https://bit.ly/3WS76XC
– Warsaw: https://bit.ly/3Y6MRWV
See a video of the Cracow exhibition: https://bit.ly/3Do5Zbx
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The St. John Paul II Institute of Culture is an interdisciplinary scientific and didactic institution established at the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome on the centenary of the birth of John Paul II. The mission of the Institute is to reflect on the most important problems of the contemporary Church and the world inspired by the life and thought of St. John Paul II.Thus, the Institute’s aim is not only to study the achievements of the Great Pope, but also to think with him about the most important issues of spiritual culture, e.g. solidarity, mercy, Christian art, the place of the Church in the modern world or the spiritual crisis of Europe.The Institute is co-managed by the Saint Nicholas Foundation (publisher of Teologia Polityczna) and funded entirely by private donors from Poland. We warmly invite you to join their ranks!
