In 1760 Batoni realised the painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that was placed in a Chapel in the Jesuit Church of the Gesù in Rome. This work became the official image for the popular devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was inspired by the apparition of Jesus, under the title of the Sacred Heart, to St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690). In 1673 on the Feast of St. John the Evangelist Our Lord came to St. Margaret Mary, while she was in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The saint describes His Sacred Heart with the following words: “The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound. And it was surrounded with a crown of thorns, signifying the punctures made in it by our sins, and a cross above signifying that from the first instant of His Incarnation, […] the cross was implanted into it […].”
Batoni represented Christ dressed in a red tunic (which is the colour of blood, of martyrdom and humanity) and a blue mantle (the colour of heaven and of the divine). In the masterpiece, Jesus is young and beautiful with long hair falling down to his shoulders. Christ’s face has a short beard whilst his right hand indicates His inflamed heart which is crowned with thorns with a cross on top.
St Margaret’s account continues with the words that Jesus said to her, “My Divine Heart is so inflamed with love for men, and for thee in particular that, being unable any longer to contain within Itself the flames of Its burning charity, It needs to spread them abroad by thy means, and manifest itself to them (mankind) in order to enrich them with the precious treasures which I discover to thee, and with contain graces of sanctification and salvation necessary to withdraw them from the abyss of perdition. I have chosen thee as an abyss of unworthiness and ignorance for the accomplishment of this great design, in order that everything may be done by Me.” Jesus asked Margaret to place her head on His breast asking her to give Him the gift of her small heart to be placed in the furnace of His Divine Heart, before returning to her inflamed by His love.
The artists skill in painting was able to make Jesus’ gaze penetrate the observer of the piece and His right hand invites those who look upon the piece to place their head on Jesus’ breast, in the same manner as St John the Evangelist and St Margaret Mary. Upon Jesus’ request to give her heart to Him, the nun promptly donated it to be infested with God’s passion for humanity.
Looking at the image and reflecting on the fact that Jesus took St Margaret’s heart and emerged it in His before returning to her, raises question of who does the heart that Jesus is holding belong to? Is it Jesus’ Heart, or alternatively, that of St Margaret’s made it similar to His?
We may find the response in the prayer that the Church recites during the Month of June, which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart:
“Jesus meek and humble of heart make my heart like yours”
Pompeo Batoni |
1767 |
Oil on canvas |
74.8 cm × 62.2 cm (29.4 in × 24.5 in) |
Church of the Gesù, Rome |
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an oil painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Batoni, painted in 1767.
Description[edit]
The work is painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1767. In this artwork, he depicts Christ wearing a red tunic, which symbolises the colour of blood, martyrdom and humanity; and a blue mantle which symbolise the colour of heaven and Christ's divinity. Batoni represented Jesus with long hair and a short beard, holding in his left hand an inflamed heart with a crowned thorns and with a cross at the top. Batoni's artwork became popular for the official image for the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.[1]
The portrait is the most notable painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Batoni was born 18 years after St. Margaret Mary Alacoque died, the saint who inspires the artist of all Sacred Heart of Jesus portraits.[2]
Batoni was motivated in painting the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the supposed apparition of Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alacoque under the title of the Sacred Heart. The apparition was said to have occurred when St Margaret prayed to Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament during the feast of St. John the Evangelist in 1673. His Sacred Heart was depicted by the saint with these following words: "The Divine Heart was presented to me in a throne of flames, more resplendent than a sun, transparent as crystal, with this adorable wound. And it was surrounded with a crown of thorns, signifying the punctures made in it by our sins, and a cross above signifying that from the first instant of His Incarnation, [...] the cross was implanted into it [...]."[1]
The portrait is an altarpiece placed above the altar in the northern side chapel of the Church of the Gesù in Rome.[2]
Another series of large paintings of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Batoni is commissioned for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lisbon by the Portuguese queen in the 1780s.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "The Most Famous Image of the Sacred Heart". Missionaries of Divine Revelation. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ a b "The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus". Catholic Art Company. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
- ^ Seydl, Jon L. "The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Art and religion in eighteenth-century Italy". ProQuest. Retrieved 13 July 2021.