ÿþ<html><head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>DANIEL MITSUI ~ OUR LADY of PERPETUAL HELP DRAWING</title> <style type="text/css"> .style1 {font-family: Times; font-size: 40px; color: #aaaaaa;} .style2 {font-family: Times; font-size: 18px; color: #aaaaaa;} </style> </head><body leftmargin="150" rightmargin="150" topmargin="100" text="#aaaaaa" vlink="#aaaaaa" bgcolor="#000000" link="#aaaaaa" marginheight="100" marginwidth="150"><header></header> <center> <span class="style1">OUR LADY of PERPETUAL HELP DRAWING<br>by DANIEL MITSUI</span><br> <span class="style2">danmitsui [at] hotmail [dot] com<br><br><a href="http://www.danielmitsui.com/artwork/religious.html">return to religious art</a></span> <br> <br> <br> <img src="http://danielmitsui.tripod.com/artwork/big/religious/small_maruya.jpg" border="0" alt="OUR LADY of PERPETUAL HELP DRAWING" /></center> <br /><br />Early in 2010, I received a commission to draw <a href="http://www.danielmitsui.com/artwork/mirigo.html">St. Michael</a> in the idiom of traditional Japanese art. The image proved popular, and many people contacted me to express their hope that I would create more religious artwork in this style. <br><br>The above ink drawing of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus contains the traditional elements of the Perpetual Help icon (the Holy Child's shoe falling off, the archangels showing the instruments of the Passion) but is realized in the style of a 19th century Japanese woodblock print. <br><br>I referenced several prints for this drawing, but one in particular was an especially strong influence. I wanted to be sure not to use as the model for the Blessed Virgin any woman with unchaste or otherwise inappropriate associations, so I searched for Japanese prints of women famous for their virtue and chastity. I discovered the print of <i>Chujo-hime and the Spirit of Her Wicked Stepmother</i> by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. <br><br> <center><img src="http://danielmitsui.tripod.com/blogpics/yoshitoshi.jpg"></center> <br><br> Chujo-hime was a nobly-born girl who was mistreated by her stepmother, who was roused to jealousy by Chujo-hime's continuous prayers for her dead mother's soul. She later became a Buddhist nun, and gained renown for her skill at embroidery (she made the famous Lotus Thread Mandala at Taimadera Temple). When I saw this print, I noticed with surprise that many of its symbols would, in a Western context, be associated with the Blessed Virgin: the snake, the vase of white flowers, the rosary. It seemed to me to be an especially fitting model for my own drawing of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. <br><br> From Yoshitosi's print, I also got the idea of making the haloes in the form of lotus leaves. <br><br /><br /> <center> <span class="style2">all works (c) Daniel Mitsui<span> </center></body></html>