New! Sacred Heart – Based on a 250 Year-Old Holy Card – Catholic Art Print – Archival Quality

It wasn’t until the early 1800s that professional holy cards with high production standards became common. The earlier holy cards were home-made works. The oldest surviving holy card is a woodcut of St. Christopher from 1423 (which we ought to clean up and offer you someday). This card is a rough engraving that has been hand-painted. We think it’s from the mid to late 1700s, but we’re guessing.

Despite its humble appearance, we find beauty in this card. The flowers are more semiotic signals of beauty, but they have a simple charm, as does the appealing simple piety. The Sacred Heart, the Precious Blood, the Eucharistic cup. The holy Bible. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

What else should we want? The Italian writing in the scroll proclaims, “I want no other refuge.” Any other refuge would be paltry and unsatisfying. Not money, nor pleasure, nor pride, nor our own understanding, nor amusements, video games, television, doom scrolling, sports, none of these things bring us lasting peace. Only Christ can bring us the peace our souls were made for.

Most of the old holy cards we’ve seen do not have prayers on the back. Also, old holy cards, before the professional era, don’t have a source printed on them. They were local products, and everyone in the area would have known who did them.

** 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

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewelry by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven

Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“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.