In the final image of his poem The Dream of Gerontius Newman depicts the soul under the flowing waters of a crystal stream awaiting new life. Curiously enough, C.S Lewis borrowed this image to describe the death of King Caspian at the end of The Voyage of the Dawntreader.
In this picture, Newman gazes into the water at his own risen reflection, his shroud unwrapping itself under the waters. The autumn trees behind him, reminiscent of the thicket of trees preceding Dante’s descent into hell with its shadowy gateway, have become a forest of angels spanned by a rainbow, “...and with the dawn these angel faces smile....” of the Pillar and the Cloud.
The portrait of Newman - deliberately shadowy on earth and particularly vivid in heaven - was worked from several photos of him in his middle years when the full impact of what seemed a life of almost relentless failure was born in upon him. Our artists printed the portraits - all full-face - onto transparantsies and superimposed them with the Millais portrait to capture the expression they were trying to define.
We unveiled this banner as part of last Advent's Carol Service and afterward someone whom we had never met before came up to the servery hatch in the hall and said to one of the Sisters who was pouring tea, "Thank you, it has helped to take away my fear of death."
As part of the meditation, the Sisters flipped the banner up the other way. If you do this you will be able to see that this life is the shadow and eternity is the reality.....
The picture is painted on silk and is intended to be hung with the earthy image at the top (as in the picture above). For the full impact, you need to start about 15 metres away from it from it and walk towards it slowly allowing the reflection to dissolve into the two separate images. It remained in the sanctuary for the length of Advent and was turned with the heavenly end up after the first week. It has the very healing message that this earth is only a shadow and the true reality is what we shall be in the eyes of God. As it said on Newman’s grave stone: Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem - from shadows and fantasy into truth.
The banner is now the property of the Birmingham Oratory.
