A soon-to-be knight gazing upon the Lord

The Scottish painter, John Pettie painted this picture in 1884 at a time when Christian art had shifted from depicting heavenly scenes of Jesus, Mary, and the saints to focusing on us as the receiver and our response to God in faith. Therefore, a common theme was to show people in the act of piety. It is called the era of Romanticism. This is why you don’t fully see what the man is gazing at; the focus is on him. 

The subject which Pettie used comes from inspiration through popular novels at the time. In this painting he depicts a squire soon to be knighted, in a kneeling pose before an altar. The mood of this painting is subdued. The church is darkened with a single light on the squire. The pillars of the church resemble the pillar shown holding up the altar and the floor tile is similar to the altar cloth. It all just flows together as one, yet our gaze is on him and most especially his face. The squire is gazing at our Eucharistic Lord in the Monstrance placed on the altar. You can barely see the edge of the monstrance on the altar.

It was custom for a squire to be in vigil before the Eucharistic Lord the night before the great event. The Vigil is performed in a quiet location and permits the squire to mediate and focus his attention on our Lord and his calling. As per custom, the young man would put on white clothes, a symbol of his baptism and a red cloak, a symbol of martyrdom if it comes to that. He would lay his suit of armor and sword at the foot of the altar. The scene presented to us in this painting is the part where the squire is offering his sword before he lays it in front of the altar. He knows the battle that lies ahead, and he knows from where his strength will come to overcome it. The next morning, the priest would come for Mass along with many knights and ladies. The priest would bless the sword and fasten it round his waist. The squire would take a solemn oath to God and his king to fight against those who do evil or wrong and to protect the innocent. The priest would then dub him a Knight. This is a fictional knight, but the shadow from his arms and sword makes a particular cross on his chest resembling the red cross of the crusader knights reminding us again of the religious aspect of the painting.  

The thing most striking about this picture is the squire’s gaze and that is exactly what the artist wants you to focus on. Our position in this painting is on the side of the altar and we too must be kneeling since our eyesight is level with the squire. We are invited to be there with him in this vigil and enter into the prayer of the soon-to-be knight. We take our inspiration from him and are reminded that we too can be strengthened for the battles in our lives and temptations yet to come when we come to our Lord in adoration.