Hungarian artist creates life-size painting of John Paul II

Award-winning Hungarian painter Erzsébet Udvardi (79) is close to finishing a life-size painting of the late Pope John Paul II who died in 2005 at the age of 85, writes stop.hu, based on a report by the MTI. The painting will be placed in a statue nook created for this purpose in the artist's hometown of Badacsonytomaj, and will be consecrated by the Papal Nuncio on March 30, the Sunday of Mercy.

(Top) Painter Erzsébet Udvardi, seen here in a photo by Zoltán Bakos, has been living in Badacsonytomaj for 50 years. Her favorite topics to paint are sacral scenes and the nearby Lake Balaton. Her latest effort is a life-size painting of the late Pope John Paul II. (Bottom) One of Udvardi's paintings, "Angelic Greeting," which was featured at an exhibition in Keszthely in 2003.

Udvardi, who among other honors has received a Kossuth Award and a Hungarian Heritage Award for her work said: "I consider Karol Wojtyła, that is Pope John Paul II, the biggest personality of the 20th century, who was close to the heart of the majority of people. Here in Badacsonytomaj, we wanted to create a memorial to the Holy Father, because this is a sacred place in the Badacsony Hills. A Pauline monastery operated here in the 13th century, of which a well has remained to this day. A statue nook has been built - naturally from basalt – - for the painting and it is located below the old mine, near giant rocks and old trees."

In the painting, the pope is standing in front of the altar of a small chapel, lightly leaning on the papal staff. Udvardi has nearly finished it and will only have to work some more on the folds of the clothing, the shoes and the flame of the candle.

Udvardi added that she spent a long time deciding in what position the late pope should be painted. She first tried to copy photos, but none of them depicted the spirituality she was trying to express.

"Finally, I put the photos away and started the work over. I erased what I had done, and recalled my memories from when the Holy Father visited us. I wanted to depict his always radiant face and slightly hunched posture."

The memorial place will be accessible from Badacsonytomaj on a footpath.

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