Death Comes to
the Archbishop & Painterly Sight
Willa Cather's Death Comes to the Archbishop
began with Cather's interests in Puvis de Chavannes' frescoes of Saint Genevieve (see the
engraved panel above). Cather's novel shares with Chavannes' work a classical
Virgilian simplicity which moves from focusing on key figures to a sense of static
setting. Cather also mentions a portrait of St. Francis by El Greco that has been taken to
the Southwest. Look at the following paintings by Chavannes and El Greco. Ask
yourself what these images reveal about human action, character, setting, and
spirituality. How can these images be compared to the tone and structure of the
novel?
Chavannes 1
Chavannes 2
Chavannes 3 El Greco 1 El Greco 2 |