Metaphor, Making, and Mysticism
for Boston CollegeFebruary 2019
The work entitled The Genius of Painting by Livio Mehus (1621-1691) depicts a reddish cherub, showing just a bit of wing, holding a painter’s palette and working away at the depiction of what seems to be a holy scene. The focus of the painting is located just in the space between the face of the angel and its canvas; a self-portrait of Mehus himself, staring directly at the viewer. The roles are clearly
defined— the artist addresses the audience, the divine being forms the representation.
The work of the artists in this exhibition examines these conditions, assessing both the work of the cherub and of Mehus. How does divinity coax meaning from the world around us? How does the
delivery of an artwork create the conditions for divine perception? In the creation of environments for contemplation, or in the making of symbolic objects, each artist broaches the reciprocal nature of divine intervention: the sacred that inspires and the inspiration that is sacred.
Photos by Julia Hopkins
