Mary holds the body of her crucified son, in a style lie Michaelangelo's Pieta. The colors of this 19th Century holy card print are muted and grave. It was done by the monks at the Beuron Abbey in Germany, an enormous Benedictine outpost that developed its own art style as a counterpoint to secular art of the time. The composition is aligned with primary shapes, circles and pyramids, to give it a formal calm, almost a Platonic aspect. If you look at the composition, you will see the circles and triangles in the arrangement of the figures. The giant circle mandala around Mary and Jesus is profound, too, thematically: They are two people, distinct, but they are like one, even in his death, sharing one huge halo.

We also offer this beautiful print as a restored holy card, which you can find here in this shop at
www.etsy.com/listing/1678666896/new-in-thanksgiving-for-his-sacrifice

We're calling this print "In Thanksgiving for His Sacrifice" because of the prayer of grateful thanksgiving on the back of the holy card. The words in the front are Latin and German, and they mean, "Oh, all of you who pass by on the way, pay attention and see if there is any pain like mine." Circa 1900.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

– Acid-free fine art paper.
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

Thanks for your interest!
Sue & John

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.