The oil painting, 70 cm by 100 cm, was commissioned by the Rector Major who asked the two young Polish artists, already well-known for their work and the painters of a portrait of Fr Chávez, to produce a painting of a smiling Don Rua so as to refute traditional Salesian iconography, that, inspired by some photographs, always showed the Blessed Michael in an austere manner. The painting, with the clarity typical of a snapshot, shows Don Rua who, almost taken by surprise as he says his breviary, smiles at the observer. A special detail that gives the painting a symbolic value is the shadow of someone on the wall in the background which appears to be that of Don Bosco.
Before starting the work, as is their usual custom, the two brothers studied their subject and carefully read a biography of Blessed Michael Rua; “the man who emerged was a happy person,”, Fr Robert, the principal artist of the painting said. The smile, in fact, is something that distinguishes the work both sculptures and paintings of the two brothers, such, for example, as the crib they made for their parish in Krakow, in which the various people, including Mary and Joseph, are smiling.
“It’s something we have inherited from our family where everyone used to smile,” the brothers explained. Their first artistic steps were taken in their teens when they used to get other youngsters involved in drawing competitions, as they loved to communicate and share the beautiful things they saw as they went around. Later plucking up courage they entered and sometimes won artistic competitions. On one occasion in the preliminary stages their work was not accepted by the judges who thought that because of its high quality it could not have been the work of such young artists.
“We know that we have the responsibility to communicate through our work the positive values in life, and we feel, as Salesians, that we are collaborators in building the Kingdom of God evangelising through art.”
The painting will be placed at the beginning of the corridor leading to the offices of the Vicar of the Rector Major, matching the painting of Don Bosco outside the offices of the Rector Major.
Published 07/12/2007
