HISTORY OF THE SECOND IMAGE OF MERCIFUL JESUS
Painter of Divine Mercy - Adolf Hyła
The story of theImage of Merciful Jesus from Krakow- Lagiewniki is a remarkably interesting. The painting was made after the death of sister Faustina. In the first years of World War II, in the chapel of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki, the Devotion to Divine Mercy began to develop, which was also attended by Adolf Hyła. He then decided to paint the image of Merciful Jesus as a votive offering for the graces received during the war and for saving his life. From Fr. Józef Andrasz, S.J., sister Faustina's confessor in Krakow, received a fragment from the Diary, describing the vision of the revelation of Jesus to sister Faustina in Płock on February 22, 1931, and a picture, a copy of the image of Merciful Jesus by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski.
However, this first image of Hyła is not the one we all know. From the very beginning, the painter was accused that the Lord Jesus has a Semitic type of beauty, black hair, a transparent dress and a severity of gaze. It soon turned out, however, that the image of Merciful Jesus could not be placed permanently in the side altar due to the different dimensions of the altar recess. In this situation, Hyła decided to paint a second image of Merciful Jesus. On April 15, 1944, he delivered his new work, already fitting the shape of the altar retable, measuring 222 cm x 95 cm. The image of Divine Mercy presented the Lord Jesus as a Divine physician, going through the world to heal aching mankind and bestow mercy on it. This is how he understood the idea of the image of the Merciful Savior, Fr. Józef Andrasz SJ, who supervised the creation of the image. Therefore, the background of the painting was the landscape of the mountain region, and not a uniform, dark background, as in the case of Kazimirowski's work.
The confessors of St. Faustina - Fr. Sopoćko and Fr. Andrasz - they were not unanimous about the painting itself. From the very beginning, Fr, Michał Sopoćko did not like the image of Divine Mercy painted by Adolf Hyła. The confessor did not find in his painting any resemblance to the vision of sister Faustina and strongly criticized the painter, accusing him that his depiction was non-liturgical and non-evangelical. The reservations mainly concerned the attitude of Christ in the image and the background. According to Fr. Sopocko, the painting should show Jesus appearing in the Upper Room to the Apostles, and the background of Hyła's canvas was the landscape of the mountain.
The artist did not want to adapt to the comments of Fr. Sopocko and defended himself, citing the authority of Fr. Andrasz, S.J. However, because of strong pressure, Hyła - in 1952 - changed the background of the painting with the landscape, and replaced the fields, meadows and mountains with a stone floor and a dark background. This is how the third image of Merciful Jesus was created in Łagiewniki by Adolf Hyła. The image of Jesus was displayed on the wall on the right side of the chapel, but during the solemn services in honor of the Divine Mercy, held on the third Sunday of the month, it was moved to the left side altar, where from the beginning there was the image of the Heart of Jesus.
In 1959, after the Notification of the Holy See forbidding the spread of the devotion in the forms provided by Sister Faustina. When the images of Merciful Jesus were removed from many churches, but in the convent chapel in Łagiewniki, thanks to the decision of Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak, this image remained on the altar and thanks to the Divine Providence It is there to this day and is the most famous depiction of the Merciful Savior in the world. This is how the words of the Lord Jesus, spoken to sister Faustina during the first apparition of the image, were fulfilled: I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then} throughout the world (Diary 47).
What are the basic differences between the images of Vilnius and Łagiewniki? The painting by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski was created in 1934 in Vilnius under the watchful eye of Sister Faustina, regularly - once or sometimes twice a week - who came to the painter's studio to share her observations and remarks. On the other hand, the image of Merciful Jesus by Adolf Hyła, as I have already mentioned, was painted after the death of the Apostle of Divine Mercy. The painter never met her.
Kazimirowski's painting depicts Christ the Lord, dressed in a white robe of an ashen shade - light at the top, dark at the bottom - turning blue. The right hand of the Savior is raised shoulder-high for blessing, the left one reveals the robe on the chest, from where two intense rays emerge: red and pale. In Kazimirowski's painting, they are joined together to form a coherent whole. On the other hand, in the painting by Hyła, the rays coming from the tearing of the white garment on the chest are separated and directed to the sides.
Another difference is Christ's gaze. In the Vilnius painting it is directed downwards - as if from a cross, embracing all sinners, while in Hyła's paintings Jesus looks directly at the viewer. According to the interpretation of Fr. Andrasz, S.J. is a gaze full of merciful love towards all people. In the Vilnius painting, the Savior has his right hand raised for blessing at the height of his shoulder, and in the Łagiewniki painting, Jesus is raising his hand to the level of his forehead. The question is: Are these differences intentional? Or is it an issue of the artist's interpretation? I think it is a matter of interpretation by both painters. It is worth remembering that Sister Faustina saw the one in Vilnius, the Krakow one - no.
Before the devotion of the image of Merciful Jesus was allowed, Adolf Hyła had to make some arrangements in order for these images to appear in churches. How did he do it? From time to time, he applied some treatments to his paintings, adding to the heart and delicate rays departing from it, indicating this worship of the Heart of Jesus. And the inscription "Jesus, I trust in You" was attached to the painting later. However, nothing stopped Hyła's artistic activity. He did not stop even for a moment, because someone kept coming to him and ordering another and another painting, and the painter did not oppose and thus a new painting of the Divine Mercy was created. When he died in 1965, pictures of Merciful Jesus were hung in many Polish churches, similar to those in the convent chapel of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Łagiewniki.
Adolf Hyła painted almost 240 pictures of Merciful Jesus. Today these paintings can be found on all continents. In Europe, they are Italy, France, Great Britain, Austria and the Czech Republic, in Africa they went to Uganda and Zambia, in Asia to the island of Flores in Indonesia, there are also in the United States and Canada, as well as in Melbourne and Carlton in Australia.
Most of these paintings, however, can be found in Poland. It can be seen primarily in churches, chapels and monasteries. Some are privately owned. Most of the paintings were commissioned, because the news about the painter creating the images of Merciful Jesus spread quite quickly in various circles of the clergy, nuns and lay people.
So, people came to Kraków, to Łagiewniki, to order a painting directly from the artist, often with a specific background.
What kind of painter was Adolf Hyła? Although the painting he created is one of the most famous works in the world, we know little about the artist himself. I believe that Adolf Hyła is still one of the most undiscovered figures in Polish art history of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that he studied painting with Jacek Malczewski. He also studied law and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University. During World War II, he settled in Kraków's Łagiewniki, near the convent of the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy. He died in Krakow on December 25, 1965. Faith influenced his work. He was a practicing Catholic who did not hide his faith from others. His spirituality was influenced from the very beginning by his family home and parents, who took care to instill in their children the Christian spirit. Later, he deepened his faith by participating in the Jesuit formation. An important role in the spirituality of Adolf Hyła was played by Sister Faustina, her revelation of Merciful Jesus, and above all, God's Mercy itself. It was what set the direction of his artistic and painting search for a lifetime, which also translated into the multitude of paintings with the Merciful Savior. Hence, we can undoubtedly call Adolf Hyla the Painter of Divine Mercy.
Let us return to the image "Jesus, I trust in You". Lord Jesus - as we know from the Diary of St. Faustina - he said that " I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish. I also promise victory over [its] enemies already here on earth, especially at the hour of death. I Myself will defend it as My own glory. " (Diary 48). Why, did Jesus choose the image as a source of grace? The veneration of the image of the Merciful Savior is one of the ways of glorifying the Divine Mercy. We can speak of a double role of the image. First of all, it is an instrument that serves both Jesus and people. The Savior, through this very image, distributes His graces. But it is not the image that gives grace, because the image itself does not have such a driving force, independent from Jesus. For all of us, this image also serves as a vessel to which we can come to draw graces from the springs of Mercy.
On the other hand, the image of Merciful Jesus is a sign reminding us, people, of the call to show mercy. We can do this in three ways: by deed, by word, and by prayer. This practice of concrete love towards another is something very essential and important in the devotion of the image of Merciful Jesus, which we must not forget. The Savior very clearly said about it to sister Faustina: “I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.” (Diary 742)
To the devotion of the image understood in this way, consisting in the attitude of Christian trust and mercy, the Lord Jesus attached a general promise of all graces and temporal favors, if they are in accordance with God's will. Also, He attached specific promises: the grace of eternal salvation, great progress on the path of Christian perfection, the grace of a happy death and all other favors that people will ask for with trust.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george