New! In the Cloister of the Bonn Cathedral – August von Wille – Beautiful Catholic Art – Catholic Gift

This lovely painting shows a woman artist in the cloister of the Bonn Cathedral. The cloister is verdant and peaceful, and it is overgrown in an appealing, dishabille way. The looming cathedral does not dominate; it protects. It creates the space and gives the setting its calm. It gives the vegetation its enchantment.

The artist is sitting in the shadow of a tree; she has her easel and is about to paint the setting. Next to her is a clergyman, who is shy but curious, and they appear to be in some conversation with each other. This symbolizes the relationship between art and spirituality. The painting also places nature in a beauty made stronger by the presence of the Church.

We very much like these Catholic pictures of artists making a picture. There is something about them, their meta level of observing the observation, which is pleasingly contemporary to us while at the same time being rooted deeply in the faith.

August von Wille (1829–1887) was a prominent artist from Germany who spent most of his years in Dusseldorf. He did portraits and landscapes and often included nicely detailed architectural elements, as is in this painting. Also like the woman in this painting, he often did his work plein-air. Im Kreuzgang des Bonner Münsters. Oil on canvas. 41.5 x 32.5 inches. Painted in 1886. Last sold in 2014. Owned by a private collection.

** 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 Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.