Earlier in the month of
February, 2019, I posted an article about Padre Pio's friendship with world-renowned artist Antonio Ciccone. I had tried in vain tried to find images of
Ciccone's fresco of the “Resurrection”, which graces a wall on
the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni
Rotondo, and that Padre Pio saw him working on. Also I was unable
to find on the Internet a photo of Ciccone's painting of the
possessed woman who was cured by an image of Padre Pio on a prayer
card – “Padre Pio and the Posseduta”, also known as “The
Healing.”
Now, however, thanks to the generosity of Antonio's daughter Tiana, who by the way is mentioned in the original article, these photos have now been made available to this blog, along with three others that are appropriate to the story of The Artist and Padre Pio.
Now, however, thanks to the generosity of Antonio's daughter Tiana, who by the way is mentioned in the original article, these photos have now been made available to this blog, along with three others that are appropriate to the story of The Artist and Padre Pio.
Following are excerpts from the original article, with the photos inserted in their appropriate places.
One day he was at work high upon the scaffolding in order to paint one of these great frescoes in the church, working about fifty feet above the ground. In order to see from a distance the result of his labors, he started to descend on a ladder from the platform – but he made a misstep. Losing his balance, he found himself beginning to plunge below. Then all at once, an unexpected force pushed him and turned him around suddenly, so that he was able to grasp a rung of the ladder and hold himself firmly in place. Once he felt secure, he looked down below and saw Padre Pio, who was there and had seen everything. Immediately he understood that he was saved through the providential help of the Friar. “It is true, such help is always from God, but Padre Pio was his direct instrument.”
In the evenings, Antonio along with others including Brother Daniele Natale and Padre Pellegrino, who were very close to Padre Pio, often accompanied him to the friary garden. There they sat down around the saint and listened with great attention as he recounted little stories and anecdotes. At the same time, Antonio would closely observe him to insure that his portraits and sketches would accurately resemble him. Often however, Padre Pio would seem annoyed at such intense scrutiny. “I did not look at him as the others did, but scrutinized him in order to impress his spirit in me. And he, in fact, every once in a while, stopped what he was talking about and looked right at me, saying, 'What are you looking at? Why are you looking at me that way?' I justified myself by admitting I was studying him, and he would respond with an engaging smile.”
When he was
commissioned to paint the Resurrection fresco in the Baptistery of
the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni, he approached
Padre Pio to ask him for advice on how he could adequately represent
such a magnificent event. But Padre Pio told him, “Do not be
afraid, you will see that the right sentiments will unfold within
yourself.” Padre Pio passed by the fresco every morning to see its
progress as Antonio worked on it. When it was completed, Padre Pio
happily expressed his approval, joyful with the spirit of a child. “I
realized how much the Padre, before art works or the so many things
that happened to him, reacted like an innocent child. He was pleased
just to look and appreciate, rather than analyze the techniques of
how the painting was made.”
While Antonio was
working on the Resurrection fresco, he witnessed a dramatic event. A
possessed woman began shouting and throwing herself down, striking
her head on the marble floor, a prey to indescribable sufferings.
Many people gathered around attempting to calm her, or at least keep
her from hitting her head against the floor. Antonio had never seen
anything like this, and was so petrified and shaken that he was
unable to take any action. At a certain point, however, one of the
bystanders, who had a prayer card with a picture of Padre Pio on it,
laid it upon the woman. At the initial contact, she shrieked and
cursed, slamming every part of her body on the floor. But shortly
thereafter, she completely settled down, and an interior calm
pervaded her. It was then that Antonio conceived the idea of
painting the event, and a year later executed a work inspired by the
woman cured by the prayer card with the image of Padre Pio: “Padre
Pio e la Posseduta.”
You can read the original article, The Artist and Padre Pio, Here.
See my Catholic books on Padre Pio and others Here.
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