Elizabeth Nourse: Religious Work

"Cappuchin Monk" by Elizabeth Nourse

"Elizabeth Nourse's oeuvre contains only a few religious pictures, of which two were painted in Assisi and Rome, the historic centers of her faith. Assisi was a place of religious pilgrimage for Elizabeth and Louise, both of whom had become members of the Third Order of Saint Francis, a lay group that observes a modified version of the Franciscan rule. Certain religious practices are required, but the primary rule is that members perform acts of personal charity in the spirit of Saint Francis, a requirement the Nourses took very seriously and incorporated into their daily lives. The result was their becoming deeply involved in the lives of Elizabeth's models, feeding their children, helping the sick and elderly in their families, and performing innumerable personal services for them. Because Elizabeth shared in their lives, she was able to portray urban and rural working people with a depth of understanding that eluded artists who knew them only as picturesque models.

In a letter from Assisi to her twin, she described one of them, 'Le pardon de Saint Francois d'Assise,' her most ambitious work to date, as 'a huge picture in the church with at least twenty models and numerous dabs which represent another twenty. On loan from its owner, a Cincinnati woman, this painting and 'Peasant Women of Borst' were exhibited in the Cincinnati Room at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. [Sadly its current location is unknown.]

Nourse's Italian sojourn produced at least twenty-five paintings that she was to exhibit later, including 'A la fontaine.' The reception this work received in Paris in 1891 proved that the artist's decision to join the New Salon was a fortunate one. Both 'A la fontaine' and another work were illustrated in the Salon's livret, an honor that would never have been accorded a young American's entries in the Old Salon."

To be continued 

(Excerpts from "Cincinnati Societaire" by Mary Alice Heekin Burke in "Elizabeth Nourse, 1859-1938: A Salon Career.")