Anti-Clerical Art

[porphyry]

There is a today little known genre of late 19th century painting that probably deserve to have an article written about them (not that I keep up with Art History Journals). To judge from the artists’ names it was mostly popular in France, but there are also Spaniards and Germans (and thanks to Benicek we know one them ended up in an recent English auction).

The genre consists of pictures of Clergy (especially Cardinals and even the Pope in one instance) seen in vaguely ridiculous and compromising positions, such as Chased up a Tree when trying to picnic in a bull’s field or playing cards in bright red regalia . Many of them turn on the incredible waste of wealth, such as a fat cardinal dieting in the midst of a banquet among the poverty of 19th century Europe, or another feeding to swans a plate of cakes whose cost could probably have provided bread a whole shift of sweat-shop child. At least one suggests an uncomfortable homosexual desire on the part of a Cardinal for a novice.

Most of the examples are original paintings so they would have been reasonably expensive to acquire themselves, suggesting the social status of the audience for this genre. However, the collection also includes 2 postcards, suggesting that it appreciation was also more widespread.

The example below is today owned by the owner of the ARC website who of course lauds it as a perfect example of realism; in his extensive writings about it he seems oblivious to its ironic intent.




Here are 20 more:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Anebo10/VibertEtc

Comments

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

I suppose there is Protestant anti-clericalism (as when in Trollope a member of parliment sponsors legislation permitting any priest of the Church of England to strip-search nuns for Jesuitical symbols), but I beleive that many elements of society in Catholic countries are even more virulently anti-clerical, precsiely becuase tehy are dependent on priests. I unfortunately don't knwo nineteenth Fench literature well enough to give many examples, but, for instance, a paris newspaper in the 1890s bosoted circulation with a series of Hoax stories to the effect that the rock of Gibraltar was a hollow shell inside which the General of the Jesuit Order was marahlling an army for world conquest,s tarting with Spaina nd France.

[benicek.livejournal.com]

Anti-clericalism was certainly a large factor in Italian nationalism and in French socialism, and both were involved in violent conflicts with their conservative catholic overlords during the 19th century. So, as you point out, clerical parody in art was probably more of a political statement in those countries than in England, which was at that time becoming more tolerant of Catholicism and even embracing it.

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Really? Why would that be so? I mean, for what political reasons would that have happened?

[benicek.livejournal.com]

Would what have happened? Continental anti-clericalism or English tolerance?

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Oh, sorry. The continental anti-clericalism I am much more aware of; I meant the English tolerance. It rather surprised me to read about the English embracing of Catholicism.

[benicek.livejournal.com]

There were several processes at work here. Firstly the fear of rebellion in Ireland. This was a major factor in pushing through the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 which first allowed Catholics into parliament. Secondly there was growing political enfranchisement of an increasingly wealthy middle class in England and many of these were not members of the Church of England; they had defected to the nonconformist protestant sects. There was also a significant growing population of Irish Catholic immigrants. Under these social conditions a liberal approach was the only way to avoid conflict. The voters wanted a religiously neutral state, albeit under the aegis of a protestant monarchy and state church. This is the situation we still have today. Northern Ireland was never able to pull it off however.

Then there was the arts and crafts movement and the late Victorian fascination with all things medieval, which led naturally to a revival of interest in medieval religious art and ritual, leading to a style of Anglicanism which was dubbed 'anglo-catholicism' so closely did it resemble the formerly reviled papist faith.

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Very interesting. Your background on history is impressive.

[benicek.livejournal.com]

Oh er I'm not sure how accurate I am though. It's all second or third hand. Better run it by Petrusplancius to be on the safe side.

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Oh, I trust you all right. It all makes sense in a general way--I must get over my assessment of English feeling towards Catholics which was summed up in the episode of Black Adder in which Lady White Adder said that "Cold weather is God's way of telling us to burn more Catholics!" (God, that was funny, but it's rather disturbing to me that I've been quoting the show a lot--you'll soon think all my knowledge of history comes from there).

[benicek.livejournal.com]

They do still burn an effigy of the Pope on bonfire night in Lewes, but that's just a bit of fun.

Sectarian tension in England is these days more likely to focus on our Muslim population. There is still an undercurrent of protestant-catholic violence in parts of Scotland and the on-going but slowly resolving Northern Ireland situation.