M
midori
Guest
I have one of the Kazimirowski image. (The original painting that Faustina oversaw.) There was a documentary viewing/lecture at a church during the Year of Mercy, and so we got to go see extracts from it, and a life-size reproduction that had been touched to the original painting, etc, etc. It was pretty cool.
It was interesting, because it has various levels of symbolism that didn’t get translated into some of the other interpretations (which were based on teeeeny little b&w photos that were smuggled around in wartime conditions, or verbal descriptions).
So, for example, it has an emphasis on priest/prophet/king. You get “king” from the purple halo. You get “priest” because, pre-VII, priests didn’t raise their hands above their shoulders when giving a blessing. I don’t remember catching what the “prophet” symbolism was-- that got skimmed past pretty quickly. With the rays that cut off at the knees, it’s because Faustina was kneeling down-- and so the rays were actually extending behind her, but because they were behind her, they can’t be seen in the picture. Etc, etc, etc.
It was interesting, because it has various levels of symbolism that didn’t get translated into some of the other interpretations (which were based on teeeeny little b&w photos that were smuggled around in wartime conditions, or verbal descriptions).
So, for example, it has an emphasis on priest/prophet/king. You get “king” from the purple halo. You get “priest” because, pre-VII, priests didn’t raise their hands above their shoulders when giving a blessing. I don’t remember catching what the “prophet” symbolism was-- that got skimmed past pretty quickly. With the rays that cut off at the knees, it’s because Faustina was kneeling down-- and so the rays were actually extending behind her, but because they were behind her, they can’t be seen in the picture. Etc, etc, etc.
