Child Jesus among the doctors (Last painting of Ingres)Mrs. Dozon, a colleague of ours from the Society, received the following spontaneous communication on April 9th, 1862:
"The Child Jesus found by his parents preaching in the Temple, among the doctors. (Luke, Nativity.)
This is the subject of a painting inspired to one of our greatest artists. In this work of a man there is more than genius. In that work, we see this shining light that God gives the souls to enlighten them and lead them to celestial regions. Yes, religion has illuminated the artist. Was such lightning visible? Has the worker seen the flashover from the sky falling down onto him? Has he seen the head of the Child God deifying under his brushes? Has he knelt before that creation of divine inspiration and has he cried like the old Simeon: Lord, will you let your servant die in peace, according to thy word, since my eyes have seen the Savior you give us now, and that you intend to be exposed to the eyes of all peoples?
Yes, the artist can say that he is the servant of the Lord, for he comes to execute an order of his supreme will. God wanted that in times when skepticism reins the crowds would stop before that figure of the Savior! More than one heart shall depart carrying a memory that will lead them to the foot of the cross where the Divine Child gave his life for humanity, for us, uncaring crowd.
On contemplating Ingres’ painting, the eyes reluctantly move away from the figure of Jesus, where there is a mixture of divinity, childhood and also something flowery; the draperies, the dress in fresh colors, young, delicate, recalling sweet colors swinging on the fragrance of branches. Everything deserves to be admired in the masterpiece of Ingres. But our soul especially seeks the contemplation of two characters: Jesus and his divine mother. Once more we feel the need to greet her by these angelic words: Hail Mary, full of grace.
We dare cast an artistic look to that noble and deified figure, the tabernacle of God, wife of a man, virgin by purity, a woman predestined to the joys of heavens and the agonies of Earth. Ingres understood all that and we will not pass before the Mother of Jesus without saying: Mary, very sweet virgin, in the name of your son, pray for us! One day you will study it. I saw the first brush strokes go on that blessed canvas. I saw the figures coming up one by one, the poses, the doctors; I saw the guardian angel of Ingres inspiring in him to drop the scrolls from the hands of those doctors because, my God, that is a revelation! The child's voice will also destroy the laws that are not his, one by one.
I do not want to do art here as former artist. I am a spirit and only religious art touches me. Also I have seen in these graceful ornaments of vines the allegory of God's vineyard where all humans must quench their thirst and I said to myself with profound joy that Ingres had just matured one of his beautiful bunches. Yes master! Your Jesus will also speak before the doctors who deny His law, before those who fight it. But when they find themselves alone with the memory of the Divine Child, ah! More than one will tear apart the scrolls on which the hand of Jesus will write: Wrong!
Look then how all the workers get together! Some come voluntarily on ways already known; others are led by the hand of God, who will find them in their places and shows them where to go. There are others still that arrive, without knowing where they are, attracted by a charm that makes them sow flowers of life to raise the altar where the infant Jesus comes still today for many, but who under the outfit of sapphire color or under the tunic of the crucified, he is always the same, the only God.
David, painter.”
Neither Mrs. Dozon nor her husband had heard about that painting. Discussing the matter with several artists, none was aware of that to the point that we started to believe in a hoax. The best way to clarify the matter was to go directly to the artist, to inquire whether he had done this. It was what Mr. Dozon did. As soon as he entered the artist’s workshop he saw the painting that was completed only a few days back, and hence still unknown to the public. This spontaneous revelation is all the more remarkable since the description given by the spirit shows perfect accuracy. Everything is there: vines, scrolls fallen on the ground, etc. This painting is now on display in the hall of the Boulevard des Italiens, where we went to see it and as everyone else we were in awe before that sublime page, unquestionably one of the finest of modern painting.
In terms of execution it is worthy of the great artist who, we believe, has done nothing like this before, despite his advanced age of eighty-three years. But what makes it an exceptional masterpiece is the dominating feeling, the expression, the thought that springs out from all those figures, from whom we read surprise, amazement, enthusiasm, doubt, the need for denial, and irritation for being beaten by a child. It is all so true, so natural, that we begin to put words in each one’s mouth.
As for the child, it is of such perfection that it leaves far behind everything that was done so far on the same subject. It is not a speaker that talks to an audience. He is not even looking at them. We guess the organ of a heavenly voice in him.
The genius is no doubt present in all that conception but there is unquestionably inspiration. Ingres himself said that he had not painted that work under ordinary conditions; he began, he says, by the design, which is not his style. Then the characters came, so to speak, to ask themselves for a place under his brush, without premeditation on his part. We have reasons to believe that this work is related to things that we will have the key later, about which we still have to remain silent, as on many others.
The above fact was reported to the Society. On that occasion, the spirit of Lamennais spontaneously dictated the communication that follows.
About Mr. Ingres’ painting
Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies, May 2nd, 1862 Medium Mr. A. Didier
I recently told you about the child Jesus among the doctors, and I singled out his divine illumination amid the wise darkness of the scholarly Jewish priests. We have here another example that spirituality and the works of the soul constitute the most brilliant phase in art. Without knowing the Spiritist Society it is possible to be a great spiritualist artist. Ingres shows us in his new work the divine study of the artist, but also the purest and most perfect inspiration. This is not about a false idealism that deceives so many people and that is hypocrisy in art without originality, but idealism drawn from simple and true nature, and therefore beautiful in every sense of the word.
We, the Spirits, we applaud the spiritualist works as much as we condemn the glorification of materialistic feelings and bad taste. It is a virtue to feel the moral and physical to that extent. That is a clear indication of harmonious feelings in heart and soul. When the sense of beauty is developed at that level it is rare that the moral sense is not developed also. This is a great example from that eighty-year-old man who, in a corrupted society, represents the victory of Spiritism, with an always young genius and pure faith.
Lamennais
