The Immaculate Heart of Mary

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Haim KATZ

1893
Silver, forging, embossing, gilding;
53.5 × 47, 27 × 33.5
Embossed on the edges of the setting and the crosspieces: the Maker’s Mark XK, the Assay Master’s Mark AK/1893, the Standard Mark 84, Vytis

The pictures The Sacred Heart of Jesus and The Immaculate Heart of Mary painted by Wincenty Sleńdziński (1837–1909), an artist from Vilnius, represent the religious tendencies which prevailed in Catholic Europe in the 19th century. At that time, the theme of the Passion receded into the background, and images of the Saviour reflecting His divine love and mercy gained importance. The Sacred Heart of Jesus became an important expression of piety encouraged by Rome and the dioceses, and was in line with the social and cultural changes of that period. The devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was inseparable from the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The portrayals of these themes, which quickly gained popularity in the 19th century, reached Lithuania through the abundant religious literature and imported devotional pictures, which Sleńdziński used as examples for his work. His pictures show the high quality of his skill, and embody the sweetly sentimental character of religious images from the second half of the 19th century. In 1893, Haim Katz, a craftsman from Vilnius, was commissioned to make silver casings for these pictures, to cover the garments and haloes. It was customary in the 19th century to place images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary over the tabernacles of lateral altars, in order to supplement the existing altar compositions. Sleńdziński’s pictures, dressed in silver casings, may once have adorned altars in a church in Vilnius.

Text author Dalia Vasiliūnienė

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