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The Spiritist Review - Journal of Psychological Studies - 1863 > July > Mediumistic painting
Executed by Mr. Paul Lombardo, from Constantinople, who ignores the art of drawing and painting.
At this time, the painting is showing at the Palace of Exhibitions on the right-hand side of the area reserved to paintings and works of engraving. The price tag was established as 20 Turkish pounds or 460 francs. This is something that thousands of people see with their own eyes.
I received letters from several points of Europe, Asia and Africa but my answers are sober unless it is to stimulate a serious and profound study of our great and beautiful science. I then refer them to your excellent publications, The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book.
We always have sessions for the physical experiments and for the psychological studies. Although the former almost always wear us out, we cannot abandon them completely for they serve to convince the unbelievers that wish to see and touch.
I ask you to please forward to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies the fraternal and respectful compliments from our Spiritist brothers of Constantinople and, in particular, from this one that is also said to be your devout brother,
Repos Son, lawyer”
The significance behind the exhibition of the painting by Mr. Lombardo in Constantinople is that it was admitted and ostensibly presented as a mediumistic piece of work, much like the Spiritist fables that were crowned in the Floral Games of Toulouse.
It was said elsewhere that if the Toulouse Academy had known the origin of the fables they would have been rejected. That is the grossest calumny; it is also a misrepresentation of the fact that the works sent to that kind of contest must not bear a signature or any other sign that may identify authorship or be excluded. Hence Mr. Jaubert could not add his name or that of a Spirit not even mention that it was the works of a Spirit because he would have violated the regulations of the event that requires the most absolute secrecy. That is the answer to those who accuse Mr. Jaubert of having deceived by keeping his silence about the origin of the fables. Nevertheless, an official sanction is given to works from beyond the grave in the two extremes of Europe.
Similar facts would suffice to demonstrate the irresistible power of Spiritism if, in fact, it had not become evident for everything that has taken place before our eyes from some time now and by uselessness of the efforts to fight against it. And why are such efforts useless? Because, as we have been saying, it has a character that turns it different from all other philosophical doctrines that is the fact that it is not a single focus and of not depending on the life of any single person. Its focus is everywhere, on Earth and in space, and it they attack it here it surges elsewhere. As declared by the Spiritist Society of Palermo Spiritism stands up by the facts themselves that each person may verify and by a theory that has its roots in inner sense of each person. One cannot silence it by compressing one point on the globe or a village or a town or even a whole country but the whole world. Even in such a case it would be a temporary pause because the forthcoming the generation brings the intuition of the new ideas that sooner or later will prevail. Look at what happens to a neighboring country where a cover is placed on top of these ideas and from where they escape through multiple fissures.
At this time, the painting is showing at the Palace of Exhibitions on the right-hand side of the area reserved to paintings and works of engraving. The price tag was established as 20 Turkish pounds or 460 francs. This is something that thousands of people see with their own eyes.
I received letters from several points of Europe, Asia and Africa but my answers are sober unless it is to stimulate a serious and profound study of our great and beautiful science. I then refer them to your excellent publications, The Spirits’ Book and The Mediums’ Book.
We always have sessions for the physical experiments and for the psychological studies. Although the former almost always wear us out, we cannot abandon them completely for they serve to convince the unbelievers that wish to see and touch.
I ask you to please forward to the Parisian Society of Spiritist Studies the fraternal and respectful compliments from our Spiritist brothers of Constantinople and, in particular, from this one that is also said to be your devout brother,
Repos Son, lawyer”
The significance behind the exhibition of the painting by Mr. Lombardo in Constantinople is that it was admitted and ostensibly presented as a mediumistic piece of work, much like the Spiritist fables that were crowned in the Floral Games of Toulouse.
It was said elsewhere that if the Toulouse Academy had known the origin of the fables they would have been rejected. That is the grossest calumny; it is also a misrepresentation of the fact that the works sent to that kind of contest must not bear a signature or any other sign that may identify authorship or be excluded. Hence Mr. Jaubert could not add his name or that of a Spirit not even mention that it was the works of a Spirit because he would have violated the regulations of the event that requires the most absolute secrecy. That is the answer to those who accuse Mr. Jaubert of having deceived by keeping his silence about the origin of the fables. Nevertheless, an official sanction is given to works from beyond the grave in the two extremes of Europe.
Similar facts would suffice to demonstrate the irresistible power of Spiritism if, in fact, it had not become evident for everything that has taken place before our eyes from some time now and by uselessness of the efforts to fight against it. And why are such efforts useless? Because, as we have been saying, it has a character that turns it different from all other philosophical doctrines that is the fact that it is not a single focus and of not depending on the life of any single person. Its focus is everywhere, on Earth and in space, and it they attack it here it surges elsewhere. As declared by the Spiritist Society of Palermo Spiritism stands up by the facts themselves that each person may verify and by a theory that has its roots in inner sense of each person. One cannot silence it by compressing one point on the globe or a village or a town or even a whole country but the whole world. Even in such a case it would be a temporary pause because the forthcoming the generation brings the intuition of the new ideas that sooner or later will prevail. Look at what happens to a neighboring country where a cover is placed on top of these ideas and from where they escape through multiple fissures.