New! How the Virgin Mary Came to Brother Conrad of Offida and Laid Her Son in His Arms (1892) – by Marie Spartali – Beautiful Catholic Art

Blessed Conrad of Offida (c. 1241–1306) was just fourteen years old when he entered the Order of Friars Minor. He was zealous and devout and made such spiritual progress that some of Francis’s original disciples who were still alive called him “second St. Francis.” He was a gifted preacher and converted the hearts of many sinners.

Like St. Francis, Conrad was visited by Mary and the Saints. In the occasion depicted in this painting, on the feast of the Purification, when he was meditating on the significance of the feast, our Lady appeared to him and presented the baby Jesus for him to hold. His close friend Peter of Treja witnessed it. Conrad was also the spiritual director of Blessed Benvenuta Bojani. Pope Pius VII beatified Conrad in 1817. The Friars minor keep his feast day on December 19. (source: roman-catholic-saints.com)

Marie Spartali Stillman (1844–1927) was a prominent second-generation British Pre-Raphaelite painter. While working on it, she wrote and sent sketches to Edward Burne-Jones, an early pre-Raphaelite, asking him for advice, which he gave. She did a number of Catholic paintings we would like to offer, including The Childhood of Saint Cecilia (1892) and, if we can ever find a copy of it, the legendary Saint Francis Blessing the Pigeons He Has Freed (1902). Marie, shown above, painted this one in Rome in 1892. Watercolor, gouache, and gold paint on paper.

** 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

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.”

~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and any image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by www.CatholicArtAndJewelry.com. I guess some of our competitors, who copy and paste our text, are like some of my English students who honestly don't comprehend that writing an essay is different from copying+pasting one or using AI. Funny world. God bless us all.