Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Recently Completed Sculpture by Thomas Marsh: the Holy Spouses, Patrons of the Unborn

I was delighted to receive notice of the completion of a major commission by Thomas Marsh. It is statue group of the Holy Spouses, St Joseph and Our Lady of Guadelupe, Patrons of the Unborn, located at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Bakersfield, California.

I love the restrained use of color applied to the bronze. Also, note that the faces are not portraits from models, but rather idealized, taking inspiration from the Greek ideal that was used by High Renaissance and Baroque masters. This is something that is so important in sacred art, yet is not understood by so many artists who work in naturalistic styles. I explain the reasons why idealization is important in sacred art in an this post from last year.

These are as important to the creation of a culture of life as the noble political battles fought by those in the Right to Life movement. I hope this might add to your enjoyment of the Feast of St Stephen...or if you are in the UK, Boxing Day!
Below is a detail of the original clay model that the cast was based on.

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