Art and devotion goes hand in hand. It is through art that we can get the visual experience of it. It heightens our senses and helps to make a deeper connection with the Almighty.
Taking a cue from here, Victor Hugo Gomes of the Goa Chitra Museum, Benaulim, is displaying the original panels, depicting the life of St Francis Xavier, which were used in the 1974 exposition.
These panels were made by artist Dom Martin and will be on display at the Ferry Cross – Historical Photo Archive and Guest House, Betim, throughout the decennial Exposition of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier.
These panels are the eight original ones made by artist Dom Martin and are titled ‘The Birth’, ‘Quo Vadis’, ‘Conversion’, ‘Dream and Passion’, ‘In India’, ‘Voyage to East’, ‘Opening the door to Japan’ and ‘The last Journey’. They were generously donated to the Goa Chitra Museum by Martin.
These panels once adorned the casket that held St Francis Xavier’s sacred body during the 1974 exposition.
Eight original drawings depict the different facets and life of St Francis Xavier. Interestingly, Martin came up with this concept in just three days before the 1974 exposition.
The panel was well received and the image of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier along with the panel made it to the cover of the renowned international magazine, National Geographic.
Martin, who is now based in California, USA, informs that it was the rector of the Basilica of Bom Jesus, the late Fr George D’Sa, who had approached him for the task, back then.
“Fr George displayed the panels from the earlier 1964 exposition, which consisted of the intonation ‘Pray for Us’ inscribed in several different Indian dialects, and urged me to come forth with something more powerful and compelling to showcase at the 1974 exposition,” he mentions.
“In the time span it took me to commute from the basilica to my residence, I had already envisioned his life (St Xavier’s) in eight panels,” he says, adding that he practically had just one day to complete the work.
The panel was well received and the image of the sacred relics of St Francis Xavier along with the panel made it to the cover of the renowned international magazine, National Geographic.
Interestingly, Martin came up with this concept in just three days before the 1974 exposition.
This was a turning point for Martin to excel further in his art. His ‘Station of the Cross’ is now permanently displaced in the Basilica’s art gallery.
“I went all out with my concept of the ‘Stations of the Cross’, breaking away from the traditional imagery where different characters are depicted in their various attire and function, while Christ is fulfilling, in excruciating pain, the path to His death and resurrection," he reveals.
"My version would involve the magnification of Christ’s face to singularly reflect His agony, reducing the other theatrical aspects and function to a sketch delineation,” he continues.
Martin shares that until that point of time, his credentials as an artist was that of a ‘Sunday painter’, replicating holy pictures and repainting a neighbour’s old car registration plate. However, his encounter with the rector changed all that.
He reminisces, “The birthplace of my palette is the Bom Jesus Basilica. And, without the trio of St Francis Xavier, the late Fr George D’Sa and the basilica itself, there would not have been a ‘Dom Martin’ per se.”
Martin shares that until that point of time, his credentials as an artist was that of a ‘Sunday painter’, replicating holy pictures and repainting a neighbour’s old car registration plate. However, his encounter with the rector changed all that.
DETAILS
WHAT: Display of original panels of the 1974 Exposition of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier (by artist Dom Martin)
WHERE: Ferry Cross - Historical Photo Archive and Guest House, Ferry Cross Apartments, Betim, North Goa
WHEN: Till January 5, 2025
TIMINGS: 9 am to 5 pm (by appointment)
FOR APPOINTMENTS: +91 9850466165