Jan Henryk de Rosen, Polish, active in the United States, 1891–1982, Succisa Virescit (Montecassino Triptych), 1946, wax tempera and gold leaf on panel, 64 x 120 1/4 in. (open), 64 x 60 in. (closed), Saint Vincent Archabbey Collection. Photo: Richard Stoner
John Henryk de Rosen was a celebrated artist most widely known for his ecclesiastical work throughout the United States and Europe. An array of commissions for painted murals and large-scale mosaics on behalf of Byzantine, Catholic, and Protestant congregations made de Rosen one of the most sought-after liturgical artists of the 20th century. De Rosen was commissioned to create a focal piece for the Archabbey’s Crypt honoring the Abbey of Montecassino from which Saint Vincent sources its spiritual lineage. Having endured fifteen centuries of a tumultuous history marked by destructive sieges followed by periods of renewal, the Abbey of Montecassino lies at the heart of the Benedictine Order. It was here that Saint Benedict wrote his Rule, the textual foundation of Western monasticism. Taking inspiration from the motto of Montecassino–Succisa virescit– “Cut down, it grows again,” de Rosen’s triptych assembles seven abbots pivotal in the Abbey’s development.
Seated in the center, Saint Benedict of Nursia (480–547) dedicated the monastery in 529 to Saint Martin of Tours on the site of an acropolis honoring the god Apollo atop a rocky elevation some 80 miles southeast of Rome. Saint Petronax (670–747), depicted in military attire, made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Benedict in 717. Discovering the monastery in ruins following an attack by the Lombards in 581, he joined the community and later was elected abbot. Securing funds from the papacy and Italian nobility, Petronax reconstructed and re-populated the abbey with monks. Seen with crozier in hand on the far right, Aligernus (d. 986) reconstituted the monastery in the mid-10th century after it had been abandoned following an attack by Saracen invaders in 883. After its second destruction in the late 9th century, Montecassino was rebuilt and expanded under Abbot Desiderius (1027–1087), shown to the left of Saint Benedict. It was Desiderius that desired the new monastic complex employ a fusion of Roman and Byzantine influences, rendered mid-construction in the distance. The 11th century monk Leo of Ostia (1046–1115/7) is seated on the far left, seen writing his Montecassino Chronicle–a history of the monastery, its dependent properties, and memorable events in secular Southern Italy. Appointed abbot of Montecassino the same year he was elected pope, Stephen X (c. 1000–1058) stands behind him. Kneeling on the right side of the triptych, Abbot Boniface Krug (1838–1909) was a monk of Saint Vincent before becoming the abbot of Montecassino shortly before the turn of the 20th century. Krug employed artists working in a Beuronese style to restore Montecasssino’s crypt.
Lamentably, Montecassino was bombed in 1944 by Allied forces to garner control over the site believed to be under Nazi occupation, depicted on the triptych’s right panel. The bombardment resulted in over 75,000 casualties and the complete decimation of the monastic complex in one of the most significant battles of the Second World War. The triptych holds special significance as it anticipated yet another renewal of Montecassino; between 1949–1964 Abbot Ildefonso Rea (1896–1971) oversaw the formidable enterprise of rebuilding the monastery under the directive, “where it was, as it was.” De Rosen’s triptych stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Saint Benedict and the spirit of those whose lives have been guided by his precepts for centuries.
Seated in the center, Saint Benedict of Nursia (480–547) dedicated the monastery in 529 to Saint Martin of Tours on the site of an acropolis honoring the god Apollo atop a rocky elevation some 80 miles southeast of Rome. Saint Petronax (670–747), depicted in military attire, made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Benedict in 717. Discovering the monastery in ruins following an attack by the Lombards in 581, he joined the community and later was elected abbot. Securing funds from the papacy and Italian nobility, Petronax reconstructed and re-populated the abbey with monks. Seen with crozier in hand on the far right, Aligernus (d. 986) reconstituted the monastery in the mid-10th century after it had been abandoned following an attack by Saracen invaders in 883. After its second destruction in the late 9th century, Montecassino was rebuilt and expanded under Abbot Desiderius (1027–1087), shown to the left of Saint Benedict. It was Desiderius that desired the new monastic complex employ a fusion of Roman and Byzantine influences, rendered mid-construction in the distance. The 11th century monk Leo of Ostia (1046–1115/7) is seated on the far left, seen writing his Montecassino Chronicle–a history of the monastery, its dependent properties, and memorable events in secular Southern Italy. Appointed abbot of Montecassino the same year he was elected pope, Stephen X (c. 1000–1058) stands behind him. Kneeling on the right side of the triptych, Abbot Boniface Krug (1838–1909) was a monk of Saint Vincent before becoming the abbot of Montecassino shortly before the turn of the 20th century. Krug employed artists working in a Beuronese style to restore Montecasssino’s crypt.
Lamentably, Montecassino was bombed in 1944 by Allied forces to garner control over the site believed to be under Nazi occupation, depicted on the triptych’s right panel. The bombardment resulted in over 75,000 casualties and the complete decimation of the monastic complex in one of the most significant battles of the Second World War. The triptych holds special significance as it anticipated yet another renewal of Montecassino; between 1949–1964 Abbot Ildefonso Rea (1896–1971) oversaw the formidable enterprise of rebuilding the monastery under the directive, “where it was, as it was.” De Rosen’s triptych stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of Saint Benedict and the spirit of those whose lives have been guided by his precepts for centuries.
