by Marie-Thérès Lanoa (1887 – 1967)
From the Vatican Church, Brussels World’s Fair 1958, Blessed Sacrament Chapel Confirmation
Photo: Max Schulz 2019
The miracle of Pentecost (Acts of the Apostles 2, 2-4)
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The miracle of Pentecost is suggested in a highly abstract, more mysterious way than depicted. At the bottom, one can make out a sort of carpet made of colorful squares, triangles, and rhombuses. Above it, standing on a pedestal, is a colorful, as it were cobbled-together group of strongly stylized people, close together, facing each other and the viewer. Above, floating against a light grey background, are yellow, elliptical, leaf-like shapes, presumably to be thought of as tongues of fire.
The mosaic is composed of tiny square ceramic tiles. The patterns become more refined from bottom to top, taking on a less strictly geometric form. Delicate pastel colors predominate. In addition to shades of green and brown, the use of yellow stands out. The conventional Pentecost red has faded to an antique pink.
Agnès Rosenstiehl, the artist's granddaughter, recognizes in the mosaic „both the seasoned ceramicist guided by the constraints she respects and which define the collection, and the painter that Marie-Thérèse Lanoa was first and foremost: Painter of nature, who led her into these worlds of green and shadow with the brilliance of the sun: here, the sunbeams are the flames that come to inspire the gathered apostles, who lean towards one another in harmony, and to teach them all the languages of the world.“ (email dated April 13, 2019, translated)
The artist from the Paris region painted well over 600 oil paintings, watercolors, and gouaches, and also created numerous ceramic pictures, among other works, many of which are landscapes. Most recently, an exhibition was dedicated to her in 2016 in the town of Yerres, southeast of Paris. Titled "l’Hymne à la rivière" (Hymn to the River), it showcased five decades of her work centered on the Yerres, a tributary of the Seine. She was the mother of Gisèle Pinsard, née Favre, two of whose works can be found in the Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche). Please, see juwel 07 'Anointing of the sick' and juwel 18 'Miracle of the Pentecost').
References:
http://mariethereselanoa.fr/biographie (retrieved Feb. 19, 2019)
Agnès Rosenstiehl: Notification by email dated April 13, 2019
