paintings on the lower part of an altarpiece, often showing scenes from the lives of saints.

Only the actual participants in the Mass and the

kneeling communicants could see them clearly.

" .....these predellas are filled with awe at the dark miraculousness of everyday life........A distinctly American imagination is at work here". ..........- Gerrit Henry ART IN AMERICA

..............."The Toreador" Predella...1980 ...acrylic on panel...14" X 48"......private collection, Chicago 

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"Couture recalls a childhood sense of adult matters, cultural and sexual alike, and reminds us how close to the surface that early uneasiness remains."

he young boy was quietly excited. He sat in a pew carved in the shape of a sphinx. The Offertory was nearly over. Then came the sound of tiny bells. He left his place and walked forward. He knelt on the red cushion and pressed his body against the rail.

There it was! Now he could clearly see the painting; It was long and narrow. His eyes went slowly from one end to the other, - through small doors , across oriental carpets, through windows to landscapes beyond.

The people in the painting were both strange and familiar to him. The rooms became his own. He saw the beautiful woman in the doorway and smiled at her. He sat in a velvet covered chair and stroked the black dog.

He pulled up the shade ; two lovers were embracing outside. He heard someone running barefoot up the stairs. He knew a stranger was in the hall, and somewhere a little naked girl was singing into a mirror.

The young boy shuddered, closed his eyes and lifted his face to receive Communion. He rose and went back to his pew. Her song remained in his mind; "Virgine bella, che di Sol vestita....."

from "Predellas"
by Christin Couture

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PAINTINGS TIMEPIECESVITAEREVIEWSCHILDREN'S BOOKSILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY

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