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GOD'S CREATION OF ADAM
The Creation of Adam is the fresco masterpiece by Michelangelo. It was painted between 1508 and 1512 and it adorns the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. The image of the hands of God and Adam nearly touching one another has become iconic of humanity in close communion with God.
It illustrates the Biblical narrative from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to Adam, the first man. Michelangelo's Creation of Adam is one of the most replicated religious paintings in the history of the human race.
On the left side of the altar of St. Xavier's University Chapel, Kolkata, India, is a localized reproduction of the Creation of Adam of Michael Angelo. The replication shows the hand of God reaching out to man from the celestial sky and the hand of man stretched out from a globe that floats on the Indian Ocean. The globe represents a human face with the Indian map as its nose. The altar was aesthetically designed (The picture is attached) by a local village artist of Bengal.
The colorful stained glass-windows with pictures of Jesuit saints including Mother Mary and Joseph add beauty and splendor to the chapel.
STATUES OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
St. Xavier's University, Kolkata has installed two life-size statues of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier in its two Halls of Fame respectively. These statues are made of pure white marble, imported from Vietnam and carved at Jaipur, India by a family of four persons. Both statues, made of exact heights of the saints, evoke realism when you see them. They are beautiful, rare and unique in the whole of Asia.
SLEEPING JOSEPH
It is indeed astounding to know that Pope Francis is devoted to a particular representation of Saint Joseph - the Sleeping St. Joseph. He has an image of the sleeping Saint Joseph on his table, and whenever he has a problem, he would write him a little note and put it underneath the statue. "I put it underneath, so he can dream about it! In other words, I tell him, 'pray for this problem!'"
The University chapel has a life-size statue of sleeping St. Joseph besides a standing one in front of the Britto House. Fr. Felix Raj has two small ones - one in his living room and the other in his office. He has deep devotion to the patron of workers and believes in his miraculous interventions.
CRUCIFIX
At the entrance to the SXUK Chapel hangs a Crucifix. We know Jesus was son of a carpenter; but this crucifix depicts Jesus as an Indian-Muslim hanging on a plough-cross, manifesting Himself as a farmer. The Plough-Crucifix was made by a local artist when India faced the national catastrophe of farmers committing suicide some four years ago.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) of India has said that 11,379 farmers committed suicide in India in 2016. The report said there were 948 farmers committing suicide every month or 31 suicides every day. According to the data in the report, the number of farmers committing suicide in the country was 12,360 in 2014 and 12,602 in 2015 respectively.
THE PIETÁ
The Pietá (The Joy) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture (Dimensions: 1.74 m x 1.95 m) by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1498-99, kept in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. This immortal work of art depicts the dead body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.
The Pietá is Michelangelo's First Masterpiece. This is one of the most famous statues in the world. It is a little less than life-size, magnificently carved out of a single block of marble. Michelangelo's interpretation of the Pietá is unprecedented in Italian sculpture. It is an important work as it balances the Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism. The picture at SXUK Chapel shows a replica of Michelangelo's Pietá made by an Indian artist from Krishnanagar, West Bengal..
LAST SUPPER
SXUK has a beautiful marble plaque of the Last Supper in the Jesuit dining hall at SXUK. The plaque shows Judas walking away from the supper room with the money bag.
The Last Supper is Jesus Christ's final meal with his apostles before Judas betrayed him to the authorities to be arrested. Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci's mural painting, The Last Supper, is housed by the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. It is one of the Western world's most recognizable paintings, celebrated as a Masterpiece.
Against all odds, the painting still lingers on the wall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Da Vinci began the work in 1495-1496 and completed it around 1498.
During their meal, Christ tells his apostles "One of you will betray me," and the apostles were deeply grieved and began to react one after another. Then Jesus answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me." Immediately Judas left the room. Judas was in charge of the money bag for Jesus and his apostles, and he used to help himself from what was put into it. .