New! The Holy Staircase in the Monastery of San Benedetto in Subiaco – Jørgen Roed – Catholic Art Print – Archival Quality

La Scala Santa, the holy staircase, was built in the 1100s in Italy to link two holy places. Later, a large Benedictine monastery complex (San Benedetto) was built around the two rooms and the staircase, along with with several chapels. The frescoes on the walls you can see in the painting were done in the 1300s. We found this beautiful picture peaceful and suggestive of prayer and contemplation.

The museum that has it says this of it: "One’s gaze is led through a series of frescoed vaults opening up into the lower church, from where a staircase continues into the upper one. The monk and the three churchgoers serve to give the architecture a human dimension, as well as to tie together the rhythmic course of the composition."

Jørgen Roed (1808-1888) was a Danish artist; he joined the Art Academy in Copenhagen at the age of fourteen and studied portraiture and architecture painting. Later he moved to Italy, and while he worked on landscapes there, he would also spend many days painting in Catholic places such as this Benedictine monastery. This is one of his most enduring works. The scene is carefully and accurately made, besides being beautiful. La Scala Santa at the Monastery San Benedetto near Subiaco, 1857.

Oil on canvas. 47 x 37 cm.(source: the hosting museum, The Nivaagaard Collection, Copenhagen.)

** 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.