The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 23, 2024
French Church Series No. 40: In Memoriam
1939
(American, 1887–1953)
Courtesy of John Taylor Arms/© Suzanne Arms Hawkins
Catalogue raisonné: Fletcher 317
Location: not on view
Description
This etching, which commemorates the death of Arms’s mother-in-law, depicts the north portal of Chartres cathedral, “man’s supreme spiritual achievement in stone and mortar, the last word in his effort to embody in a building his own aspirations and emotions. It is the most perfect part of the most perfect church in the world,” according to the artist. The intensity of Arms’s vision is denoted by the technical brilliance and masterful feel for design, detail, and mood. The complex architecture, embellished with sculpture, is described with precision, yet the print also contrasts textures, patterns, and the play of light and shade. The image is infused with an almost otherworldly luminosity and clarity that evokes the expression of the divine that Arms found in Gothic architecture.- Modern Gothic: The Etchings of John Taylor Arms. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 9-September 30, 2012).
- {{cite web|title=French Church Series No. 40: In Memoriam|url=false|author=John Taylor Arms|year=1939|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.461