A beautiful wooden carving of the Madonna and Child is surrounded by the offering of a rich bouquet of flowers, arranged like a halo around her. The picture exudes peace and beauty, and so it is like the subject matter it depicts, peaceful and beautiful.

Simon Saint-Jean (1808–1860) lived in Lyon, France, when he painted this picture. The city was one of the great horticulturist cities in Europe, and there were enormous amounts of beautiful flowers available for him to paint. As a painter, he was a prodigy, having entered art school at age 14. He soon became successful, winning many medals at Salons and garnering various appointments into elite artist guilds. Charles Baudelaire (Flowers of Evil) did not like Saint-Jean's painting, said he used "too much yellow," which we think is actually a reason to like Saint-Jean even more.

This was the picture that launched him into stardom. It is like a still life of Mary and Jesus with impeccable flowers, beautifully arranged, almost glowing. It is like another one in our shop he did a few years later, called "Our Lady of the Roses." The title in French is, "Offrande à la Vierge." 1842. Oil on panel. At the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a white border of about 0.5" inch for 5x7", 1.3" for 8.5x11", or 1.6" for 11x14" pictures. We usually do larger sizes with a 1.75" border, but there is some leewayto that if you want to reach out to us. All Approx! Fine art printers do this because the images are almost never the same rectangular ratio of the standard paper sizes. It also gives the prints a finished look, and lets them look good in a frame without a matt.

– Acid-free paper
– Archival pigments, rated to last for generations.
– Cardboard backer
– Above story of the art
– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal clear bag.

Thanks for your interest!

Thanks!
Sue & John

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewerly by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven
Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.” ~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – CatholicArtAndJewelry.