ST. PETER PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN THE CATACOMBS BY JAN STYKA

PART 10 OF A 17 PART SERIES ON FAVORITE ART AND ARTISTS

 

St. Peter Preaching The Gospel in the Catacombs, Jan Styka

 

I grew up in Southern California with a lot of tourist attractions. Disneyland. Knott's Berry Farm. Busch Gardens. Movieland Wax Museum. Mission San Juan Capristrano. California Alligator Farm. Marineland. Oh, did I mention Disneyland?

Would you believe on the list is Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery? Why would a young man enjoy going to a cemetery? Because there is a lot of artwork there. The Mystery of Life statue. A copy of Michaelangelo's David. A stained glass replica of Da Vinci's Last Supper. And the panorama paintings of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The former is 195 feet long and 45 feet wide. I wonder if I could put it in my living room?

A few years ago, I was in a phase of looking at various artists - which is how I've learned about a lot of the artists and paintings that I've covered. So I looked up the Crucifixion painting to find out who did it. The answer is Jan Styka (1858-1925), originally from Austrian Poland. The picture on Wikipedia made me think of Hercule Poirot. That is when I discovered his painting "St. Peter Preaching the Gospel in the Catacombs." 

Am I the only one who thinks of Pentecost when they see this painting? Of course, the title states this was a different event. Probably, the setting for this is Rome. Styka spent time in Rome and in Jerusalem when he was doing the Crucifixion painting. Anyway, this is based on Peter being in Rome before his martyrdom and, as you would expect him to do before being imprisoned, preaching to his brethren.

What is your impression of this painting? Have you ever seen the Crucifixion painting at Forest Lawn? Are there any paintings based on Biblical or Church History stories that bring that era to life?

 

The Crucifixion, Jan Styka, in the Hall of Crucifixion/Resurrection, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, CA. By FLgruiz - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=114022881