The longer you look at this painting the more you become aware of the hidden depths that the artist is unveiling for us. His intention is not to indoctrinate but to reveal. ‘My art is intuitive, not intellectual’, he says. He uses themes that overflow from his own firm beliefs. He combines his great artistic talent with his Catholic certitude.

 

In this canvas the sustaining power of the Trinity is graphically brought to life. The figure of the Father hovers over his creation, the power of the Holy Spirit is transmitted through the angelic figure who in turn points towards the Son, born of the Virgin Mary and living among us. He has pitched his tent on this earth. For the artist this is the focal point and he uses the bright yellow triangular shape to compel our attention. The inverted triangle above it links up again with the Father. The strong line supporting the star of Christmas joins earth to heaven. The wise men from the east are on their way. Swirling, flowing shapes in muted colours compliment the sharper triangular shapes in the overall composition.

 

Today you would find Patrick Pye in his studio in Wicklow, though he was born in the English town of Winchester in 1929. His Irish mother, a highly intelligent Protestant lady, brought him to Dublin when he was a little boy. He was educated at St. Columba’s College, Rathfarnham. There he encountered Oisin Kelly, the sculptor, who taught art to the boys. Patrick remembers him as a kind, encouraging teacher.

 

It was here, too, that he came across, in the library, a book on El Greco, the Spanish artist that, he said, enthralled him and made him a painter. On finishing school he studied at the National College of Art in Dublin. Independence was important to him so he left home and took up residence in cheap lodgings in Mount Street, sharing his board with Patrick Swift, another artist.

 

He admits to many influences, apart from El Greco, in his pursuit of art. The poetry of T.S. Eliot had an enormous influence. In his travels in Europe he favoured the earlier painters, such as Giotto, to those of the High Renaissance. But however much he looked to others, he has carved out for himself a very special place in the world of art today. His work is mainly figurative but he also paints still life and landscapes. However, he is unique in his almost exclusive use of religious themes.

 

In this remarkable painting we are invited to reconsider our belief in the Three in One and One in Three of the Creator of Creation. Christ, the Son of the Living God has come to live with us. He has pitched his tent among us, not for a day or a year but forever. ‘I am with you always even to the end of time’. (Mt.28:20)