Chapel of Mt Calvary
In The Franciscan Monastery Church

An Original Oil Painting by Gerald King

     In the summer of 2003 Gerald King started a series of oil paintings of the interior of the Franciscan Monastery Memorial Church of Washington, D.C. As a creative artist, Mr. King has a desire to imbue his work with life. He found satisfaction in depicting some of the figurative wall reliefs and murals as if they existed on the floor of the church.   This was not a preconceived idea but rather an inspiration emanating out of the process of painting. Perhaps, as suggested by many, he was guided by the Holy Spirit. The result was a series of five paintings featuring the four transept isles of the church, and a separate painting of ‘The Chapel of the Blessed Virgin’.  The five works can be seen as the five crosses in the Franciscan Order’s seal of the Custody of the Holy Land.

This is the third painting in the Monastery series. Nothing in the church rivals the marvelous tableau depicting the Crucifixion of Christ on Mt. Calvary. The figures are so realistically sculpted that the artist has merely to copy the accurately to capture the powerful drama as if taking place in the church. Christ on the cross is portrayed as larger-than-life. The bound and scourged figure sitting at the top of the stairs reiterates Christ’s suffering on Mt Calvary.

The friar and nun added below the drama are there to better identify the scene as the Franciscan Monastery Church

            The Other Paintings in this Series which are available in prints:

                        #401    “Three Shrines
                        #402    “Chapel of the Sacred Heart”
                        #404    “Chapel of the Holy Spirit”
                        #405   “Chapel of the Blessed Virgin