Mottez - Ressurection of the Dead
What do you think of the new header? I "borrowed" it from the blog Hallowed Ground. It depicts the Ressurection of the Dead, a painting of Victor Mottez, a French Fresco artist from the 1800's. He came from a very religious family, and painted some of the really beautiful religious art of the times. I find it very striking and beautiful, but not everyone appreciates that type of art. Today I recevied this anonymous comment, which means I will probably be replacing the Mottez header with something else.
Anonymous said...
Is there any chance you could change your header? I'd really like to recommend your blog, as there is so much great stuff on it. I personally find it offensive and much too sensual for any male coming to it and I'd think most women would be turned off by it and just disgusted. None of the females in this family considers this to be art or beautiful and I wasn't about to ask the men. I can't take the chance of being the cause for the males I wanted to recommend this to of being placed in the near occassion of sin or to commit a sin, no matter how great the content is. With all the beautiful and modest pictures out there, I'm surprised to see you put something like this up. You've had good headers in the past and hope this one is changed as soon as possible. Thank you for reading this and considering it. God bless you for your uplifting and helpful posts.
Mottez - The Artists Wife
Mottez - Louis, the Artists Studio
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7 comments:
i wasn't offended by it in the least. its art. leave it the way it is. your the master of your blog as shirley tells me. if it offends the anonymous poster then there's nothing you can do about that but decide you either keep it up, or you don't. its your blog. i wouldn't worry about it. if it bugs you that he is offended, then simply take it down and put up another one it more suitable to his wishes. either way, its your blog. i appreciate beautiful art, and that is exactly what it is, beautiful.
It doesn't bother me any.
Actually, I was suprised when you put that picture up, I too found that it tended towards sensuality. It tended to draw you away from thoughts of the beauty of God, if you know what I mean.
when I got the email with this follow up comment, I came to see what the picture was. I was surprised that this person found it offensive. I agree that some art is offensive but this picture doesn't offend at all.
I am always amazed when religous people find art portraying the human body offensive.
I went to art school and not only did we have to learn all the major bones and muscles of the body...we drew the human nude as well. It is a testament to God's work as an "artist"...the human body is complicated, sophisticated, a beautiful living machine...there is nothing inherently obscene about it. By the way...NOT ONCE did we ever, when drawing the nude (which is extremely difficult)have innappropriate thoughts...the task at hand (to attempt to replicate God's work) was too daunting. If readers are offended by classical art, perhaps they should examine their own thought patterns first.
Hi I'm Anonymous. The problem with the picture wasn't the nudity as much as the poses. The human body is an incredible gift from God. What I took offence to is the sensuality/sexuality of some of the poses. We are to strive towards purity of both mind and body, so as to keep our souls pure. We are to avoid the near occasion of sin and not put others in a possible occasion of sin.
Although many people do not have a problem on this regard, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, some people are very sensitive to it, for any number of reasons. Therefore, don't we have a certain responsibility towards our neighbor, in helping them grow towards virtue and sanctity and not towards the slippery slope?
I know for a fact, the centre couple and the one on the right side would be an occasion of sin for some and they would not be able to control their ideas. If you asked a priest what is the greatest sin or temptation people confess, they'll tell you they are the sins of the flesh. Our Lady, I believe of Fatima, has told us more souls go to Hell for sins against purity than any other.
My purpose in mentioning this was not to create a "debate" or scandal but to look out for the well being of souls. Not for a minute am I accusing Paramedicgirl of not caring about this. I think she has a wonderful blog. I was thinking maybe she hadn’t thought of this point. I never for a minute expected a post to out of it. My concern was that we are responsible for the sins we cause others to make and I’m sure she wouldn’t want anyone to fall from grace from visiting her blog. Maybe no one coming here, will find this to be an occasion of sin for them, but what if it is. We have sensuality and sexuality pushed into our faces everywhere and it would be refreshing if we didn't need to deal with it at Catholic sites.
As far as, “If readers are offended by classical art, perhaps they should examine their own thought patterns first.” As said beauty is in the eye of the beholder but we must not dismiss those who do take offence. My thought pattern was based on years of working with abuse victims and dealing with abusers. My feeling of it being “offensive” is I see where the sins against impurity can lead.
My thought pattern was based on a dear gentleman at Church who is striving to be a virtuous Catholic and become a saint, but has confided that his weakness is not being able to control his thoughts and how he sometimes has to leaves the local NO mass, where ladies have served mass in tight mini skirts and tops, and as a result he’s lost his communion because he feels he has sinned and can no longer receive and leaves mass discouraged and ashamed of his inability to overcome this occasion of sin. Mass should never be a place for an occasion of sin to take place.
My thoughts where how St Don Bosco, would be scandalized to have his boys exposed to this type of picture because he so guarded the purity of his boys and knew how many were being lost because of sins against it.
My thought was the men I wanted to send a link to this blog to are religious men (brothers/priests) whom I would not dare send it to with this picture as it’s header, for fear of placing one of them in an occasion of sin if they should have a weakness on this point. I don’t know if they would but am not willing to chance it. Some of the saints were tempted greatly against purity.
My thought was truly for the benefit and salvation of souls and nothing to do with classical art, modern art or whatever type of art or the beauty of the naked body. All that God has created is beautiful but when it is used for or in the wrong way, that beauty is tarnished and we men do a good job at tarnishing a lot of what God created for a beautiful end.
Paramedicgirl, I’m sorry if I offended you or if you felt I was attacking you. I was actually surprised to see my comment go up in the combox, as I figured you’d edit it out and either ignore it or change the header without anyone knowing why. I’m even more shocked to see a post on it. I hope my clarification will help others to see it in a different light they may not have considered.
By the way, the new header is beautiful. There is so much symbolism in it. I can figure out a lot of them but there are a few, I haven’t got a clue what they could stand for. A header that inspires and makes you want to learn more, is a good thing.:)
Anon, thanks for joining in the discussion here and clarifying your original statement. I am not at all offended by your objection to the header in question. I made a post out of it as a means of discussion for those who may not have thought about how this type of art could affect others. (and also to explain why I removed it after such a short period of time)
Of course I am going to take it down when someone proposes a reasonable objection to it. As you say, a Catholic blog should not lead others into the realm of temptation or sin. We must guard ourselves against occassions of sin, and now that you pointed out how this particular picture can put susceptible people in the near occassion of sin, I am happy to replace it.
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