My only problem with the Sacred Heart devotion is aesthetic. In this, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have to confess that I find almost all of the popular imagery saccharine at best and off-puttingly androgynous at worst.
However, if we could duplicate the statute of the Sacred Heart in the Basque city of Bilbao, we'd be on the right track. Completed in 1927 after a subscription campaign by the Jesuits, it is still a major attraction today.
I mean, just making small copies of the depiction of Jesus would put us on the right track.
One time we were driving through Quebec we left the highway and we started running into a ton of Sacred Heart statues. Took photos of a few. Nothing on this caliber, but better than average.
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit upon the main complaint of progressives against much devotional art in the Church. It can be very hard to wrest it away from those attached to the sentimental, saccharine, and as you say, androgynous. But some contemporary artists have done good work along the vector you and Bilbao might suggest.
ReplyDelete