Guest Article by George Capps and Polly Capps Paule
In a letter, De Smet described the pivotal events of July 5 like this:
I had the privilege of celebrating, to the great joy of all, a Mass which the character of those assisting and the majesty of the wilderness combined to render solemn. The altar was erected on an elevation surrounded by branches of trees and garlands of flowers. It was a spectacle truly moving to the heart of a missionary to see this immense family composed of so many different tribes bowing down with equal humility before the Divine Host. The Canadians intoned hymns in French and Latin, the Indians chanted songs in their own mother tongue; all distinctions, all rivalries of peoples, were obliterated before a unanimous sentiment, that of Christian piety. Oh! it was truly a Catholic ceremony. This place has since been called la Prairie de la Messe. (Translated from Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, vol. 13 (1841), 488.)
In 2022, Goretti Fine Art was commissioned to create a depiction of this remarkable liturgy. Our studio, which is familiar to readers of LAJ, is dedicated to creating bespoke religious paintings in the classical tradition. Although this commission was religious in character, it differed from most of our previous work in that it fell solidly in the Historical category of Christian art, which contrasts in key respects with Sacred, Devotional, and Allegorical works (for more on the classification of Christian art, see here). For example, background research plays an outsized role in shaping historical compositions, and, unlike with most religious artwork, this category lends itself to naturalism of subject matter and realism of artistic mode (as those terms are defined here). The commission therefore required a change of mindset compared to our usual approach, beginning with an exhaustive dive into the documentary and artifactual evidence relevant to a visual reconstruction of the scene.
The correct portrayal of De Smet’s portable Mass kit proved particularly challenging. Numerous sick-call kits from this period survive, but documentation is surprisingly sparse regarding the liturgical effects of itinerant missionaries. In the end, we had to triangulate among numerous sources, including rare surviving artifacts from the period, rubrics in effect at the time, and even photographs of military chaplains offering field Masses on the front lines of early twentieth-century conflicts.
In our depiction, the chalice and wine flask are modeled after portable specimens believed to have belonged to De Smet. Since he was traveling lightly for this exploratory tour, we hypothesized that he might not have packed fragile glass cruets or hurricane-globe candlesticks. Rather, in our painting he is using a mountaineer’s tin cup as a makeshift water cruet and tinder box holders for the beeswax candles—both items which would have been easy to obtain at the rendezvous. Given the rough conditions, his Roman chasuble is of simple make (unlike the highly embroidered silk damask specimens which predominate in archival collections of vintage vestments today). The host, placed directly atop the corporal without a paten, is based on period molds, and the central altar card is propped against an American Fur Company crate used to transport goods to the rendezvous. We even consulted a pre-conciliar travel-size Roman Missal to determine the exact page to which it would have been open at this stage of the liturgy as well as the correct arrangement of the ribbons marking the propers for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost.
The final oil painting, which was unveiled this month and is entitled La Prairie de la Messe, presents an integrated picture of these liturgical-historical findings. It also showcases the exuberant ethnic diversity of the Rocky Mountain fur trade, with American, French Canadian, Métis, and Indigenous on-lookers represented in period attire/accoutrements all researched with equal rigor. We are gratified that our uncompromising commitment to historical accuracy has been affirmed in a recent peer-reviewed article about the painting in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal.
Although it was the most daunting project we have tackled to date, this commission has been among the most rewarding experiences of our artistic careers. Our hope is that La Prairie de la Messe will broaden the horizons of its viewers by highlighting the complex economic and religious dynamics at play in a seminal moment in our nation’s past; pay fitting tribute to De Smet’s contribution to the spread of Christianity in the American West; and foster a renewed appreciation for the power of the liturgy to transcend cultural barriers and unite people of diverse backgrounds in the shared pursuit of sacred worship.
