By Deacon Mary Delancey
Grace member, Tyrus Clutter, College of Florida Professor of Art and Art History, will be holding a series of talks about the exhibit “Seeing Christ in the Darkness: Georges Rouault as Graphic Artist.” These will be at the Webber Gallery, College of Florida, on Sundays, February 4 and 25, and March 3 and 10, from 2-3pm. A group from Grace will be gathering on Sunday, March 3 to view the exhibit and hear the talk.
This exhibit is particularly relevant to our Lenten journey. These are images that express the anguish that we may feel during this penitential season as we look at those things that bring sorrow to ourselves and all humanity.
As Tyrus writes in the exhibit brochure: “With subject matter rooted firmly in his Catholic faith, the imagery that obsessed Rouault was anything but the placid, gentrified Christ typically personified in his day. Instead, highly impacted by the horrors of World War I, his work focused on the depravity of mankind, with only occasional hints at the triumphant, resurrected Christ. This darker imagery remains jarring even to contemporary viewers of his work, yet the power of the images is undeniable and necessary as we confront and consider the darker side of human behavior and suffering….Misery, pain, suffering and death show forth as the eternal thoughts of humanity, but in Rouault’s hands, faith gives them force and the light of hope.”