Woman why are you weeping?
Five works of art for Holy Week and Easter from the artist Celia Montague
One of the main ways that I have discovered Celia’s mesmerising artwork is through the social media platform Instagram! And I have regularly commented on her work on that platform. And so, when Celia offered us for Easter a series of paintings depicting scenes from Jesus’s Passion & Resurrection I was overjoyed. The way Celia employs colour and texture is so tender and soothing, and I feel transported to a sense of peace every time I look at them.
Two of the paintings are hanging in the pillars of the Nave at St Barnabas during Holy Week (The Agony in the Garden on the north side, and The Crucifixion on the south side). The third image, Syria is on display in the Lady Chapel. The two which depict the Resurrection (Woman, why are you weeping? and The Road to Emmaus) will be displayed from Easter Eve.
To fully appreciate the detail in these paintings, you should look at them closely, rather than from a distance. These paintings are in fact windows to prayer. They employ very appropriate artistic imagination to bring a unique perspective to the Gospel narratives. Celia’s work allows us to notice new aspects of very fundamental truths of salvation history.
What do you notice about the colours, the landscapes, the figures in the paintings?
Does anything strike you as unusual or different?
What comes alive for you in the paintings that you hadn’t previously considered from the scriptural texts?
Does anything challenge or surprise you in these paintings?
St Barnabas has many very talented artists, and we have had the great fortune to enjoy their creations at different points in our history. Celia’s gifts are gratefully received this year and I am so grateful to her for allowing her very personal work to be available to everyone who comes to the Church this Holy Week and Easter.
I will be using these five works of art as the basis to my Holy Week and Easter devotions in the services. The texts of the homilies and images of the paintings are available here:
