| According to an article
by Barbara E. Stevens in the January 2000 issue of the St.
Anthony Messenger, the portrait was painted by Roberto Ferruzzi
(1854-1944) in Venice, Italy. The exact date the portrait was
painted is unknown, but the painting was entered in a prestigious
1897 exhibition in Venice. Although he called the painting
"Madonna" or "Little Mother," it is better known
today as the "Madonna of the Streets." He later
denied there was any intention of portraying Mary and Jesus.
the models for the mother and child in the portrait were Angeline,
age 11, and her one-year-old brother, Giovanni. Ferruzzi had
been in Venice when he noticed the girl with the baby. She was
draped against the cold and holding the child close to help them
stay warm. It was obvious that Angelina was too young to be
the baby's mother, but she displayed a maternal gentleness that was
irresistible to the artist.
The article continued with the
story of a California nun named Sister Angela Marie. While
visiting relatives in Italy, she was told the long-held "family
secret" that her mother and uncle had posed for this painting.
She was able to verify this from research notes of Roberto Ferruzzi
held by two of his nephews.
It is unknown what glass studio
made our window, but according to the man at Franklin Art Glass of
Columbus, Ohio, who has worked on the window many times over the
years, it is an American-made window, not of European origin.
The window was donated by Amor
William Sharp in honor of his mother Harriet (Rees) Sharp.
Amor was a Columbus, Ohio attorney who was born in 1865 in
Groveport, Ohio. He died in Columbus in 1914, not too many
years after donating the window for the 1908 church building. |
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