The Standard Bearer of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

by Bill Angresano

Artist Bill Angresano explains his influences, “It was a chance viewing of another artist’s work that would move me then and ever since. His work influenced my first entry into the national show in Helena: Antonio Mancini, one of the greatest painters of his time and,in the estimation of this artist, of all time.”

Mancini had painted a work entitled The Standard Bearer for the Harvest Feast. "I remember seeing this painting in a dimly lit, overcrowded room in Boston's Isabella Gardner Museum. We drove all day and into the early night to get to Boston from New Jersey, so I am not sure if it was fatigue and joy, mixed together or an age-old response that people feel when they 'experience' great art. But as I stood 'devouring' the image, to my amazement, I literally felt a tear at the corner of my eye," Angresano says.

The image by Mancini is of a young peasant boy, holding a small statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with a rich abundance of festive clothing and symbolic components of the harvest. It is the boy's face though that is most compelling. An innocent, emotional contenance. "Later I fount out that Mancini's strongest work was of the poor street boyd or scugnizzo in various states of mood and conditions," said Angresano.
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(to the left) Antonio Mancini's The Standard Bearer for the Harvest Feast.

When it came time to plan one of the paintings for the Helena show, Angresano chose a similar subject, almost in homage to Antonio Mancini. However, Angresano's work would be titled Standard Bearer for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in honor of his parish in Tenafly, New Jersey, which is administered by the Carmelites.

Angresano picks up the story of the painting. "I used my daughter for the model, posing her in a beatiful, warm light against the wall, holding a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. There are various items of spring, rebirth, a hint of a harvest."

However, when people saw the sketches and the final piece, they felt that a decidedly Catholic, Christian priece of art out West in Montana would not "sell."

Angresano's mind was made up however. "I entered the Standard Bearer for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and a landscape which I painted the previous summer in Glacier Park."
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(to the left) Bill Angresano's The Standard Bearer for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. A larger version of the painting can be seen on Mr. Angresano's biography page.

Both paintings sold, as well as seven plein aire sketches of the park.

Angresano recalls a very successful show. "I also received one of the highest prices for a landscape at the annual 'paint out!' I look at this as nothing short of a grace from God, a strong message sent that I should follow my conivctions and love!"
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(to the left) A detail of a study for the oil paintingThe Standard Bearer for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The artist's daughter is the model for the main figure.

The Standard Bearer for the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is owned by Richard J. Smith of California. The oil painting measurers 24"x30".