New Paint Jesuits and the Arts

The painter Raul Berzosa has finished a new work entitled “The Jesuits and the Arts.” It is an oil on canvas, 609 x 274 cm and is the central painting of the triptych made for the Antinori Center for the Arts of the Jesuits in Tampa (Florida, USA). In this work the relationship between characters linked to the Jesuits and the seven Fine Arts is developed.

The center of the composition is occupied by the Jesuit sun, in the lower part, kneeling, St. Ignatius of Loyola prays to ask for fruits for the Society.

Sculpture: Gian Lorenzo Bernini, sculpting one of the two angels he made for the Bridge of Sant’Angelo in Rome, based on the Spiritual Exercises. At his feet, the plan of the Jesuit Church of St. Andrew of the Quirinal, a design donated by Bernini.

Music: Domenico Zipoli was a Jesuit musician, his main position was to be the organist of the Church of Il Gesú, he appears playing a small organ, this organ is found in the “Chiquitos” Missions in Bolivia, next to the musician, an indigenous boy learns to play the violin.

Painting: Pedro Pablo Rubens, a painter closely linked to the Jesuits, appears painting “The Miracles of St. Francis Xavier”, this work is currently in Vienna; This painting belonged to the Church of San Carlo Borromeo, inspired by the Church of the Gesù in Rome.

Dance: King Louis XIV, with a costume designed by Pierre Beauchamp (closely linked to the Jesuits), represents the dance, Pierre taught him to dance, Louis XIV was educated by the Jesuits, his confessor was a Jesuit and when he died his heart was taken to a Jesuit church.

Cinema: Alfred Hitchcock, educated with the Jesuits. Hitchcock shed tears when he took communion in his last days, “He had been away from the Church for a while, so he was answering Mass in Latin,” recalls Jesuit Mark Henninger. His confessor was a Jesuit, Tom Sullivan.

Literature: Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jesuit, Victorian writer influenced by the Oxford movement. One of his most important poems is represented after him: “The Wreck of the Deutschland.” Hopkins saw much of God in nature, he wrote the poem: “Spring and Autumn”.

Architecture: Brother Andrea Pozzo, Jesuit architect and painter, intervened in the great Church of St. Ignatius in Rome, combining painting and fictitious architecture.

This article has been extracted from a twitter thread posted by the author himself @raul_berzosa on March 30. More information at:

Nueva obra: "Los Jesuitas y las Artes".

Óleo sobre lienzo, 609 x 274 cm

Pintura central del tríptico realizado para el Antinori Center for the Arts en @JesuitTampaFL (Florida, EEUU).

Se desarrolla la relación entre personajes vinculados a los jesuitas y las siete Bellas Artes. pic.twitter.com/SabMojyEUo

— Raúl Berzosa (@Raul_Berzosa) March 30, 2023