Part Two - The Artist and Padre PIo

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.

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.