Can Beautiful Art Uplift the Weary Soul?

By Nicole Henry

As I research and write the #latemodernera history catechisms, I get pulled into many shocking, horrible, unbelievable rabbit holes. This era is not a very happy one. It’s filled with death - not that every era isn’t - but with the revolutions and the world wars taking center stage, and because we are not so far removed from these events, unlike the events of the #ancientworld and #medievalworld, the death count seems more visceral.

When I find myself getting overwhelmed with sadness at what we’ve done to our fellow men and women through the ages, I inevitably turn to art, because in great art there is truth, goodness, and beauty to be found, even if the subject is disturbing.

Here is just one example of this. While wandering the galleries of the Houston Fine Art Museum last week, I was arrested by this piece. I had been struggling through the independence movements of South America, trying to untangle the threads to put it in simplified form for the guide, and getting lost in the minutia of it all.

While I research for the history sentences, I am always keeping my eyes open for art pieces that will complement the catechism, and this one definitely fits the bill! Mexican artist, #joseagustinarrieta brings his subject into living, vibrant color and makes you stop and think about what this piece is about. Because it’s not neutral. Art never is. Art is a powerful kind of rhetoric - the artist knows that every time they pick up a palette and a paint pot, and sweep the brush across the canvas, they are trying to tell their viewer something.

What do you see when you look at this piece? What is the artist telling you?