St. Monica In The Wine Cellar

by Seaux-N-Seau Soileau

Title

St. Monica In The Wine Cellar

Artist

Seaux-N-Seau Soileau

Medium

Painting - Acrylic On Canvas

Description

In the book Confessions by St. Augustine one reads of his mother St. Monica. In her younger years she struggled with alcoholism. The young girls whom she attended accused her of being a drunkard. Each time she poured out wine for meals she would drink a little from the dipper. I have always had great love and admiration for St. Monica. Her steadfast love for her husband and son is to be admired. Her ability to limit her intake of wine at a time when wine was not just "the drink of choice," but the only safe drink. Water was unsafe to drink during her life time because people did not know how to filter it and that it should be boiled first. Fruit juice had a very short life and often soured or mildewed quickly as did milk. Because of her Christian faith she was able to overcome alcoholism. I painted her in a wine cellar because her determination to be good and holy began when she was accused of drinking to the point of being a drunkard. The cross on her neck points to the cup with the least wine. I wanted her age to be flexible in the viewer's eye. I painted her short and with a large head like a child. I painted her hair grey and her poise a bit slumped. I painted her eyes and lips a bit bold like they might be a teenager's. She carries the wine a bit to one side almost in the position of a mother carrying her child. The lines of her dress particularly her sleeves and skirt are loose and without bounds to show a bit of fear and weakness. Her dress is colored the same color as the wine to show how powerful alcohol can be and how it wants to be all that you want and need. Her eyes are large. One looks straight ahead all the way to Heaven's Gate. The other stares straight into the viewer's heart. The Wine barrels appear not to have sure sides as if they are spirits.
She holds the alcohol but yet one gets the feeling that without her determination it could hold her. The halo around her head proves that she has won the battle with alcohol and achieved her eternal reward!
I love reflecting on St. Monica and her struggles with alcoholism during the 40 days of Lenr. It gives me strength to carry out my church'sdays of fasting and abstinence.

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Uploaded

June 10th, 2016

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