[St. Catherine of Alexandria]

[St. Catherine of Alexandria]

This print is oriented in the portrait view. In the foreground of the piece is a figure with peach colored skin and brown shoulder-length hair. The work is stylized so that it is unclear if the figure is male or female, but we can ascertain that it is meant to depict a woman given the title of the work: [St. Catherine of Alexandria] St. Catherine's features and body are elongated and her feet and hands are highly abstracted. She wears a cream diamond-shaped hat, an ankle-length white robe, and sandals. She stares out at the viewer, her lips pursed. Her left hand holds a book at her side, while her right arm is folded over her chest and holding a green, blade shaped object with triangular cutouts. Directly behind her, we see a brown, curving form that starts near her right shoulder, curves out to the left and then down to the right, terminating near the left of her left calf. Sharp looking triangular brown forms emanate from the left side of the form at intervals. The background of the piece is made up of four linear forms. The forms are composed of flat areas of color, which paper showing through in some parts of the printed areas, particularly near the bottom. The forms are separated by thin diagonal brown lines with a small border of unprinted paper surrounding each line. The form at the top is a dark mint green. It fills the top of the composition and terminates about a fourth of the way down the image, its bottom bounding edge set at a diagonal and running from top left to lower right. The form below it is light mint green in color and fills up a majority of the composition, its top edge running at a diagonal running from top left to lower right and its lower bounding edge running from lower left to top right. The form below it is of the same darker green as the top form in the background. Its top bounding edge runs from top right to lower left and its lower bounding box runs from top left to lower right, set at a less steep diagonal than those of the shapes above. The form takes up about a ¼ of the composition. The bottom most form is printed in the same pale mint green as mentioned earlier. It fills the bottom of the composition entirely and its top bounding line runs from top left to lower right, also at a shallower diagonal. The piece is signed in the lower left near the woman's feet.

Peter Lupori ( 1918- ), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, began his teaching career at the College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University) in 1950-51 as assistant professor of art. He soon became associate professor and finally professor and artist-in-residence, a position he held until his retirement in 1992. He not only taught at St. Kate’s but also, the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas, and even Schumann Elementary School in Long Lake Minnesota. All throughout his professional career as an educator, Lupori participated in annual exhibitions while receiving endless commissions. In April 1993 St. Catherine University hosted a retrospective exhibition of Lupori’s work at the Catherine G. Murphy Gallery. A catalogue, Peter Lupori Retrospective, accompanied the exhibition. Soon after a Peter Lupori scholarship was established in his name to help support outstanding Studio Art majors at St. Catherine University. Since the mid-1950’s, graduating students from St. Catherine University have received a contemporary medal of St. Catherine of Alexandria, designed by Lupori. In 1995 Lupori began designing brass ornaments as well as charms and pins for the St. Kate’s alumnae association. Also, since his retirement, he has completed a few large commissions, including a seven-foot bronze sculpture, Our Lady, installed in front of Our Lady of Victory Chapel on St. Catherine University campus. He is married to Catherine Pribyl Lupori; they have, two children, John & Maria.

1952

print

10.875 x 3.625 "

framed, matted, under glass

relief printing

2013.0.1342