The One Thing Needful

Paul-Alexandre-Alfred Leroy (1860 - 1942)

Jesus with Martha and Mary

1882

Oil on canvas

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen

This was Leroy`s first public work exhibited at the Salon in 1882 to great acclaim

He was later to be famous for his Orientalist works and this early work exhibits features of that work for which he was to become celebrated in his time

There is a Venetian or Middle Eastern  feel to the work but he did not set out on his foreign travels until 1882 when he did the Grand Tour to Italy including Venice

He is of course drawing on that  "library" of motifs of largely imagined works which indulged Western preconceptions of exotic Eastern interiors.

The effect is all through props and subtle suggestion

But the figure of Christ is central and what we see is the human Christ with his good friends and not the divine Christ. 

It is the Christ who walked on the earth and attracted people as his followers, someone whom we could wish that we would get to know and talk to and be with and be like. Someone we feel comfortable with

It is an imaginative glimpse of that figure we can only barely see and envisage through the dark and fragmentary writings about him in Scripture which we have

Of course the divine Christ was and is the human Christ and what is depicted is a facet of a many faceted person

It is of course only one man`s conception and as Pope Benedict XVI said about the works of writers who attempt a portrait of "the historical Jesus", it is limited and  only a reflection of the personality of the artist himself.

It is a very important caveat

To meet Jesus we have to make the journey ourselves through the Word

As regards what the scene depicts there is probably no better summary of the episode than that given by Pope Benedict XVI in one of his Angelus talks in Summer 2010:

"Martha and Mary are two sisters; they also have a brother, Lazarus, but he does not appear on this occasion. Jesus is passing through their village and, the text says, Martha received him at her home (cf. 10: 38). This detail enables us to understand that Martha is the elder of the two, the one in charge of the house. Indeed, when Jesus has been made comfortable, Mary sits at his feet and listens to him while Martha is totally absorbed by her many tasks, certainly due to the special Guest.  

We seem to see the scene: one sister bustling about busily and the other, as it were, enraptured by the presence of the Teacher and by his words. 

A little later Martha, who is evidently resentful, can no longer resist and complains, even feeling that she has a right to criticize Jesus: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me". Martha would even like to teach the Teacher! 

Jesus on the other hand answers her very calmly: "Martha, Martha", and the repetition of her name expresses his affection, "you are anxious and troubled about many things; only one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her" (10: 41-42). 

Christ's words are quite clear: there is no contempt for active life, nor even less for generous hospitality; rather, a distinct reminder of the fact that the only really necessary thing is something else: listening to the word of the Lord; and the Lord is there at that moment, present in the Person of Jesus! 

All the rest will pass away and will be taken from us but the word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily actions."

There have been tomes written about this episode in the life of Christ

But it is a straightforward story simply told. 

There is a straightforward message

As Pope Benedict XVI said:

"[T]he human person must indeed work and be involved in domestic and professional occupations, but first and foremost needs God, who is the inner light of Love and Truth. 

Without love, even the most important activities lose their value and give no joy. Without a profound meaning, all our activities are reduced to sterile and unorganised activism. 

And who, if not Jesus Christ, gives us Love and Truth? "

And with his strokes and through his great talent and labour, Leroy says the same thing to us with apparent but deceptive ease

Saint Agnes of Rome

Joseph Désiré Court (1797-1865)

Le Martyre de sainte Agnès/ The Martyrdom of St Agnes

1864 

(Salon de 1865)

Oil on canvas

496 x 812 cm

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen

The scale of the massive work can be seen from the following image:

The exact title of the work is: Martyrdom of Saint Agnes in the Roman Forum, in the Year 303, under Diocletian

Which is really what sums up a huge and massive work in a comparatively few words

It is however rather difficult to see the actual martyrdom notwithstanding that she is at the centre of the work and her death is the theme of the painting

The martyrdom is really subordinate to the study of Imperial Rome

It used to hang in the town hall of Rouen from 1897 to 1925 when it was transferred to the Museum

A distinguished history painter and portrait painter, Court won the Prix de Rome in 1821

In 1853 he was appointed the Curator of the Museum at Rouen where his work now stands

Last year the work was the subject of a number of news articles after it was reported that the French President, M François Hollande, had declined to deliver a speech for the opening of an arts festival in front of the painting and when it could not be moved that it was covered by a blue sheet

In fact he cancelled the visit for some unexplained reason. Vatican Insider also picked up the story

Some said that it was because of its religious subject. Others simply that the glare from the painting would cause problems for the photographers and cameramen who would be there to record the event. Others that he had simply good taste

However it is strange that the story of a martyr who was killed 19 centuries ago for the faith can still cause an Imperial sovereign to stop in his tracks

St Ambrose in his panegyric explained why this young girl was such a great force in her time:

"A new kind of martyrdom! 

Not yet of fit age for punishment but already ripe for victory, difficult to contend with but easy to be crowned, she filled the office of teaching valour while having the disadvantage of youth. She would not as a bride so hasten to the couch, as being a virgin she joyfully went to the place of punishment with hurrying step, her head not adorned with plaited hair, but with Christ. 

All wept, she alone was without a tear. 

All wondered that she was so readily prodigal of her life, which she had not yet enjoyed, and now gave up as though she had gone through it. 

Every one was astounded that there was now one to bear witness to the Godhead, who as yet could not, because of her age, dispose of herself. 

And she brought it to pass that she should be believed concerning God, whose evidence concerning man would not be accepted. 

For that which is beyond nature is from the Author of nature"

More recently Blessed Pope John Paul II remarked:

"As an alternative to the many things we could own, the Lord offers the one thing that is essential: to leave everything for love and to follow him: "Come, follow me" (Mk 10:21). 

The virgin and martyr Agnes responded with total generosity and an undivided heart to Christ's invitation: she made her own existence an "eloquent and attractive example of a life completely transfigured by the splendour of moral truth" (cf. Veritatis splendor, n. 93). 

Because of this, she herself was able to brighten "every period of history by reawakening its moral sense" (ibid.). 

Her example encouraged many believers over the centuries to follow in her footsteps."