Global Christian Worship

This is the last of 3 sets of paintings of scenes of Holy Week created by Sister Claire SMMI of India. She’s one of my favorite artists but mostly unknown outside certain churches of India, so I’m delighted to promote her artistic vision and devotional approach to painting.

Earlier posts in this series:

Holy Week Art from India (Sr. Claire, set 1)
http://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/140609059310/holy-week-art-from-india-sr-claire-set-1

Holy Week Art from India (Sr. Claire, set 2)
http://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/140646751255/holy-week-art-from-india-sr-claire-set-2

All of the paintings in sets 2 and 3 of this series are from a set of around 100 paintings she made to illustrate Bible stories (Old and New Testaments). The paintings have been published in book form in India and Pakistan. Set 2 in this series ended with the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, and Peter’s denial. Set 3 (here) picks up the storyline with Jesus on trial. Set 1 has pictures from a different book by Sister Claire which are not in the set below, such as the Pieta. You have to view all 3 blog posts (30+ paintings) to see more of the storyline.

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Jesus on Trial before Caiphas the High Priest

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The Crowd Cries, “Give Us Barabbas!”

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Jesus is Scourged and Beaten

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Jesus is Mocked with a Crown of Thorns and Robe

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Pilate Presents Jesus to the Crowd

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Pilate Washes His Hands

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Simon of Cyrene Helps Carry the Cross

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Jesus is Crucified Between Two Criminals

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Jesus says, “Dear Woman, here is your son. John, behold your mother.”

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A Soldier Pierces Jesus’ Side, Bringing Blood and Water

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Jesus ‘ Body is Laid in the Tomb

Set 1 of this series: 
http://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/140609059310/holy-week-art-from-india-sr-claire-set-1

Set 2 of this series:
http://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/140646751255/holy-week-art-from-india-sr-claire-set-2

This particular 3-part blog series ends here. In Easter season I’ll do another blog post with scenes of Resurrection stories painted by Sr. Claire SMMI.
http://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/143458443735/resurrection-art-india-sr-claire

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Sister Claire was born in 1937 and is still alive as of Feb 2016. She has lived for many years at St. Mary’s Convent, Briand Circle, Chamarajpet, Bangalore (India). This photo is of her in 2012.

“Sister Claire: A Brush in the Hand of the Lord”

Dr. Mathew Chandrankunnel CMI  has written an online short essay about Sr. Claire and her art. Below are excerpts; you can read his entire essay at
http://chandrankunnel.8m.com/clare.htm

Simplicity, powerful expression, lighter themes, Indianized, rustic representations of Christian life are some of the characteristics of Sr. Claire’s paintings. She interprets the Christian imagery in all colours, depicting the themes in terms of the simple life of the villagers. Themes like the Last Supper, Crucifixion, Christmas etc., are so powerfully portrayed in the Indian backgrounds. Her works of art are an embodiment of piety that invoke the faithful to devotion and a total surrender to the Lord.

Sr. Claire’s Christian imagery is rooted in the Indian soil, penetrating its culture, and drawing inspiration from the day to day life of the common man. Her symbols, like her, are simple in their forms and meaningfully represent the Indian ethos. She also deliberately avoids the classical [western] art styles of strokes, cubic and other modern and western techniques and introduces the line structure indicative of Indian art. Sr. Claire depicts saintly women like mother Mary in saris and adorns them with bindhis on forehead. The dress code and the bangles these women wear are borrowed from her own Hindu [background] culture. In the same way, the men in her painting wear the traditional dress code belonging to her culture. The colours in her paintings have special meanings. For example, red is for love, yellow for glory, green for fertility and hope, and blue for peace. Often the represented peacocks add a spiritual dimension to her paintings. Her paintings radiate the joy and simplicity of finding solace in the Lord. In short, she powerfully portrays the Indian and indigenous elements through her paintings. Her paintings express the form and the beauty of natural colour combination and texture.

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All images posted here belong to those who own their copyright, and are used here for educational, non-commercial purposes under Fair Use criteria.