For master iconographer Br. Robert Lentz, O.F.M.在美国，艺术拥有照亮学术研究与生活之间无数联系的力量.
他说:“好的艺术对我们有直接的影响，让我们在惊叹中停下来。. “这种停顿是一个机会，让我们的心赶上我们的头脑.”
For more than 40 years, Br. 罗伯特一直在创作描绘“官方”圣徒的创新图标, but also holy persons not yet canonized. 他在许多不同国家的穷人中间的经历对他的工作产生了很大的影响, and it is rooted in his Russian and Franciscan roots.
他的祖父母在20世纪初从沙皇俄国移民过来. 他的祖母不愿多谈在俄罗斯的生活，因为这个国家对移民充满敌意, 相反，她分享了一些神圣的隐士成为圣人的故事.
Among the mysterious hermits Br. 罗伯特年轻时认识的是萨罗夫的圣塞拉芬, a Russian monk who once tamed a ferocious bear, and Saint John of Bulgaria, 他是一位奇迹工作者，在偏远的里拉山脉找到了慰藉.
“这些圣人激励我的是，在他们的一生中，他们成为了福音。. Robert said. “他们体现得如此之好，只要看着他们，你就能看到基督。.”
他希望在他的每一幅画中都能描绘出那种光辉.
An icon is a representation of some sacred person, such as Jesus or an angel or a saint, painted usually on a wood surface, and venerated itself as sacred. 拜占庭圣像学的起源可以追溯到公元五世纪.
而不是通过现实的视角邀请你进入它, an icon, with inverted perspective, comes out to you,” he explained. “出柜是一个末世论的声明，提醒你你在上帝面前.”
A retired Franciscan friar living at St. Bonaventure Friary, Br. Robert’s work is known worldwide. 他最受欢迎的一幅画描绘了圣. 第五次十字军东征期间，弗朗西斯和苏丹马利克·卡米尔在埃及(见插图).
Also popular are his many icons of Christ. Br. 罗伯特做出了一个大胆的决定，不把耶稣的描绘局限于传统肖像中具有几个世纪历史的“欧洲面孔”特征. 相反，他创造了基督在“现在”的动态形象——一个面对铁丝网的移民, for instance—and in the context of various cultures, such as his Apache Christ, 庆祝新墨西哥州梅斯卡莱罗阿帕奇人的习俗和信仰. Just as Francis met with the sultan, Br. Robert met with the medicine men of the Mescalero, and climbed Sierra Blanca, their sacred mountain, to pray. 他们互相倾听的时间造就了8英尺高的偶像Br. 罗伯特创造的，在他们教堂的弥撒中得到了药师和牧师的祝福.
他还选择为未被封为圣徒的人创作偶像. “In my youth and middle age, I painted a lot of peace and justice saints, 并因画未被封为圣徒的人的肖像而受到批评,” he said. “But an icon is not saying that a person is canonized; an icon is saying that they are holy.”
Among those icons is one of Dorothy Day, 他皈依了天主教，住在纽约市鲍厄里区的穷人中间, 几十年来，在呼吁社会正义的同时，分享他们的不适.
“我以叛逆著称，总是打破我‘应该’呆的地方。. Robert. “我给肖像学带来的任何改变都是经过深思熟虑的, sometimes even with discomfort. It was never done for the sense of rebellion. It was trying to look at where things could be now, instead of the way they once were, and still be true to what they truly are.”
他出生于1946年，和哥哥姐姐一起在科罗拉多州落基山脉的一个农村地区长大, Br. 罗伯特很早就知道他想成为一个有宗教信仰的兄弟. 而他从小就是一名视觉艺术家, 1978年，他成为波士顿一所希腊东正教修道院的圣像画家大师的学徒.
“我现在喜欢画的圣像是古代东正教圣人，”他说. “Nearing the end of my life, 我发现自己又回到了小时候遇到的、年轻时爱过的圣人身上.” These include St. Nicholas, St. Anthony of Egypt, and St. Seraphim.
Throughout a monastic life that spans many years, Br. 罗伯特曾在第三世界和美国的穷人中生活过. (他甚至曾经在一个沙漠修道院为一群努比亚山羊放羊.他最难忘的经历是在墨西哥城的贫民窟, at a Russian orphanage in Santiago, Chile, 他在新墨西哥州和亚利桑那州与印第安人生活了30年. 虽然他怀念美国西南部高沙漠中鲜艳的色彩, he is looking forward to putting down roots at St. Bonaventure.
“I hope I can stay here the rest of my life,” he said.
他想在这所大学里教学徒.
“Iconography requires a fine hand. 学习如何控制画笔可能需要几个月的时间. This is a contribution I can make at St. Bonaventure. The icons are not just paintings; they are theological statements. It’s a very deep subject,” he said. “对于一个对基督教信仰很重要的艺术学生来说, 这种类型的学徒是他们在美国任何其他大学都找不到的.”
当他第一次学习用蛋彩画(蛋黄与粉状土色混合)作画时, 他最终学会了如何将这种技术应用到丙烯酸颜料上. 他还使用真金，使他的作品散发出光芒.
He invites alumni, 教职员工参观他的偶像冥想花园, 就在他在修道院的工作室外面.
“我希望他们可以自由地观看这些圣像，坐在这里冥想，”他说.
To learn more about Br. 罗伯特和观看或购买他的图标，请全球网赌十大网站三一商店
http://www.trinitystores.com/artist/br-robert-lentz-ofm.
Photo credits
Top right: By Br. Octavio Duran, O.F.M.
Middle: (c) Francis and the Sultan, Br. Robert Lentz, OFM，由圣名省方济会修士提供
Lower right:
照片由Priscilla Contreras, 21年，现在是商学院的研究生.
Master iconographer Br. Robert Lentz, O.F.M., is shown in the meditation garden at the St. 这是他在75岁时亲手创作的, using three tons of river rock, two tons of landscaping blocks, and a number of icons from the Ukraine. Made of ordinary pine, with cedar shingles and a cross on top, 这些图标房屋类似于遍布俄罗斯的路边神龛.
Article
By Susan Anderson
September 2021