Consoler of the Afflicted – Loreto Embroideries - Catholic Art Print

In this image of Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted (Consolatrix Afflectiroum), we have the Blessed Mother comforting a young bride, still in her veil, as her husband goes off to war.

As with all the titles of Mary in the medieval Litany of Loreto, this one expresses an aspect of her relationship to us. The Litany has about 50 titles, and an Italian artist, Ezio Anichini, made illustrations of most of them in 1912. His work is Art Noveau, one of our favorite styles. He makes his Litany precise yet romantic and emotionally engaging.

A seamstress, unknown to history, took 12 or 13 of Anichini’s pictures and made them into exquisite needlework. They are now held by the Royal School of Needlework in London, regarded as masterpieces of beauty, design, and execution.

The reason the knight is done so lightly in this picture is because he is not central to the story. What is central is his bride’s grief and Mary’s consolation.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER!  There is a blank border around the image. Approximately 0.5" wide for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11, 1.6" for 11x14, and 1.75" for 13x17 and 16x20. For the two poster sizes, 18x24 and 24x36, we use 0.5" borders. We do this because the ratio of the rectangle of the art almost never matches the rectangle of the paper, and if it did happen to match one size, it would not match the others. Most fine art printers do this because otherwise they’d have to crop the art or warp it to make it fit the paper. The border looks good. It gives the picture a faux matted appearance.

There is almost always a little more border either on the left-right sides, or the top-bottom, depending on whether the ratio of the art is wider or taller than the paper. 

We make Archival Quality fine art prints: 

– Acid-free paper

– Archival pigments 

– Cardboard backer for sizes 11x14 and less. 

– Above story of the art

– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal-clear bag.

– Rated to last 200+ years without fading if kept dry and out of the direct sun.

Thanks for your interest!

+JMJ+

Sue & John

Lincoln, Nebraska