Incredible article as always Amelia! The movement of the flames toward each other is a marvelous detail. It reminds me of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the tongues of flame. And it also reminds me of T. S. Eliot in the Four Quartets:
“The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre-
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.”
Truly truly, St. Augustine was aflame with the Holy Spirit, and that flame made him both fully alive and repentant of his own “sin and error.” He was redeemed from the fires of his passions by the flames of the Holy Spirit. A wonderful painting and very insightful analysis!
The interaction with Austin and the links were interesting and your quotations of St Augustine which you tied to this painting reminds me to be amazed by the greatness of God’s grace.
It's worth pointing out the Jansenist overtones of the painting: de Champaigne was associated with the Jansenists, in the painting Augustine steps on the same heretics (and carries a similar heart) as on the cover of Jansen's book (https://www.alamy.com/frontispice-de-laugustinus-de-cornelius-jansen-dition-de-louvain-1640-image257234942.html), and the prominent 'Veritas' has resonances with the Jansenists' self-labelling as "Friends of the Truth" (understood as Saint Augustine's doctrine 'rightly interpreted').
Thank you for the intriguing comment! I thought about addressing Champaigne’s ties to Jansenism but ultimately didn’t because I don’t think his association affected this painting very much for a couple of reasons. Even so, I don’t see anything in this painting that is contrary to orthodoxy.
Champaigne’s speculated association and his subsequent radical change in painting style was mainly after he painted this portrait. The paintings from his Jansenist period, such as Ex Voto, betray austere Jansenist sensibilities where this painting does not. A Jansenist rendering of Augustine surely would not have included such luxurious robes and ornate furniture.
While the Jansenists may have tried to co-op these symbols you mention, their presence in Augustinian imagery goes back to the Medieval period. The attributes of Augustine you mention such as the vision of truth and the heart outside of his body are not Champaigne’s invention and can be seen in images of him throughout the Gothic period
As for the Pelagians…The Catholic Church gave Augustine the title “the Doctor of Grace” in large part due to his writings against these heretics so there isn’t anything specifically Jansenist about him trampling these books.
I'm not an expert at all. However, I note that the editor of this book - http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/1775 - concludes that Champaigne's "oeuvre should be seen as a visual manifestation of the doctrine of Port-Royal" (the Jansenist monastery). And the fact that Jansen's book had been published only four or five years before Champaigne's painting seems to have painted, with a frontispiece that included robes and the same three heretics in the same order – https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cornelii_Jansenii_episcopi_Iprensis_Augu/_tQjY1Lbj6QC – makes me think the connection is more than coincidental. Also, judging from that interesting blog post you linked to, the depiction of Augustine holding a heart was traditional, but the specifically burning heart, which also appears in the frontispiece, seems to be less usual.
I also wouldn't worry about the heretical associations of Jansenism – after reading a few books on the topic I'm still unsure to what extent they were really heretics, and in any case the painting is certainly wonderful and wouldn't be suspect (at least in my eyes) whether Champaigne was a devoted Jansenist or not.
That’s an interesting thesis you bring up. From what I’ve studied, Champaigne made a radical change in his style as he became more and more influenced by Jansenism. Part of this discussion is also based on speculation since he didn’t write anything about it, but his daughter did join a Jansenist monastery.
You're right, the flaming heart is much more of a later barouque thing but it you see it in Italian and Spanish art too. The flaming heart also became popular along side the sacred heart devotion which is not just a Jansenist thing.
Incredible article as always Amelia! The movement of the flames toward each other is a marvelous detail. It reminds me of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the tongues of flame. And it also reminds me of T. S. Eliot in the Four Quartets:
“The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre-
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.”
Truly truly, St. Augustine was aflame with the Holy Spirit, and that flame made him both fully alive and repentant of his own “sin and error.” He was redeemed from the fires of his passions by the flames of the Holy Spirit. A wonderful painting and very insightful analysis!
That’s a wonderful connection Matt.
Excellent essay, I learned a great deal. May God bless your work Amelia, as you also are a seeker of, Veritas et Lux.
I’ve seen this so many times and never noticed the flares of the mind and heart drawing toward one another.
Thank you for your dedication to art and its explanation. This has been a moving and inspiring start to my day.
Thank you for the comment. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Beautiful and fascinating - thank you!
Thank you!
The interaction with Austin and the links were interesting and your quotations of St Augustine which you tied to this painting reminds me to be amazed by the greatness of God’s grace.
It's worth pointing out the Jansenist overtones of the painting: de Champaigne was associated with the Jansenists, in the painting Augustine steps on the same heretics (and carries a similar heart) as on the cover of Jansen's book (https://www.alamy.com/frontispice-de-laugustinus-de-cornelius-jansen-dition-de-louvain-1640-image257234942.html), and the prominent 'Veritas' has resonances with the Jansenists' self-labelling as "Friends of the Truth" (understood as Saint Augustine's doctrine 'rightly interpreted').
Thank you for the intriguing comment! I thought about addressing Champaigne’s ties to Jansenism but ultimately didn’t because I don’t think his association affected this painting very much for a couple of reasons. Even so, I don’t see anything in this painting that is contrary to orthodoxy.
Champaigne’s speculated association and his subsequent radical change in painting style was mainly after he painted this portrait. The paintings from his Jansenist period, such as Ex Voto, betray austere Jansenist sensibilities where this painting does not. A Jansenist rendering of Augustine surely would not have included such luxurious robes and ornate furniture.
While the Jansenists may have tried to co-op these symbols you mention, their presence in Augustinian imagery goes back to the Medieval period. The attributes of Augustine you mention such as the vision of truth and the heart outside of his body are not Champaigne’s invention and can be seen in images of him throughout the Gothic period
…These symbols were popular with non Jansenist Italian painters too. http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2016/08/saint-augustine-restless-heart.html?m=1
As for the Pelagians…The Catholic Church gave Augustine the title “the Doctor of Grace” in large part due to his writings against these heretics so there isn’t anything specifically Jansenist about him trampling these books.
I'm not an expert at all. However, I note that the editor of this book - http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/1775 - concludes that Champaigne's "oeuvre should be seen as a visual manifestation of the doctrine of Port-Royal" (the Jansenist monastery). And the fact that Jansen's book had been published only four or five years before Champaigne's painting seems to have painted, with a frontispiece that included robes and the same three heretics in the same order – https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cornelii_Jansenii_episcopi_Iprensis_Augu/_tQjY1Lbj6QC – makes me think the connection is more than coincidental. Also, judging from that interesting blog post you linked to, the depiction of Augustine holding a heart was traditional, but the specifically burning heart, which also appears in the frontispiece, seems to be less usual.
I also wouldn't worry about the heretical associations of Jansenism – after reading a few books on the topic I'm still unsure to what extent they were really heretics, and in any case the painting is certainly wonderful and wouldn't be suspect (at least in my eyes) whether Champaigne was a devoted Jansenist or not.
That’s an interesting thesis you bring up. From what I’ve studied, Champaigne made a radical change in his style as he became more and more influenced by Jansenism. Part of this discussion is also based on speculation since he didn’t write anything about it, but his daughter did join a Jansenist monastery.
You're right, the flaming heart is much more of a later barouque thing but it you see it in Italian and Spanish art too. The flaming heart also became popular along side the sacred heart devotion which is not just a Jansenist thing.