Saint Joan of Arc

Saint Joan of Arc
June 3rd 2012
Watercolor and Ink

"When the Lord God of hosts gave you the victory,
You drove out the foreigner and had the king crowned.
Joan, your name became renowned in history.
Our greatest conquerors paled before you.

But that was only a fleeting glory.
Your name needed a Saint's halo.
So the Beloved offered you His bitter cup,
And, like Him, you were spurned by men.

At the bottom of a black dungeon, laden with heavy chains,
The cruel foreigner filled you with grief.
Not one of your friends took part in your pain.
Not one came forward to wipe your tears.

Joan, in your dark prison you seem to me
More radiant, more beautiful than at your King's coronation.
This heavenly reflection of eternal glory,
Who then brought it upon you? It was betrayal.

Ah! If the God of love in this valley of tears
Had not come to seek betrayal and death,
Suffering would hold no attraction for us.
Now we love it; it is our treasure."
~ "TO JOAN OF ARC " by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux



I just finished this yesterday. I had been working to get it finished all last week, but I've been feeling really rather lousy, so I didn't get much done. Anyway, thank you ~Juniperfern for being so patient, here is your Joan of Arc picture, as requested.

I'm afraid I am not terribly happy with it, just because painting it rather frustrated me and the paper was being crappy and I made several stupid sloppy mistakes and just in general I feel like I'm losing my touch. In any case, it's done, though I'm not happy with it, and it certainly doesn't do dear Joan any kind of justice at all.

As for little symbolism here and there; on her halo I drew 19 fleur-de-lis to represent the 19 years of her life. Saints Michael, Margaret and Catherine are above her. Joan is crowned with lilies (representing virginity and purity) and roses (representing love and martyrdom). The palm branch represents her triumph as a victorious martyr, as does the small wooden cross held in the crook of her arm. Obviously I went to town on the whole general fleur-de-lis theme. The border with the three shields on it are (respectively): 1.) the royal coat of arms of France, 2.) Joan's own coat of arms, and 3.) the cross of Lorraine.

Saint Joan of Arc is too famous to need too much introduction, but I will give a brief outline of her life. She was born on January 6th, 1412 in Domrémy to Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée. At the age of 12, she saw visions of Saint Michael, Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine, who at first told her to be a good child, but later told her to save France. She traveled to Vaucouleurs where she asked Count Robert de Baudricourt for an escort to Chinon, where the Dauphin (the heir to the French throne) Charles VII was. She convinced the Dauphin to let her lead the French army and raised the siege of Orléans by May 8th, 1429. Afterwards she enjoyed a series of extraordinary military successes in the Loire valley against the English and their Burgundian allies. Eventually though, she was captured by the Burgundians at Compiègne May 23rd, 1430. She was sold to the English and a fraudulent, politically-motivated trial was set up to discredit her and the legitimacy of King Charles VII that began on January 9th, 1431 at Rouen. Despite the overwhelming injustices of the trial, she put up such a spirited defense that the judges were forced to close the trial to the public. Eventually, she was found "guilty" of heresy, and was burnt at the stake on May 30th, 1431. After the Hundred Years War ended, Pope Callixtus III opened a posthumorous retrial which cleared all charges against her on July 7th, 1456. Joan of Arc was officially canonizaed and declared a saint by Pope Benedict XV on May 16th, 1920, 489 years after her death.

This page has a fairly good biography about her life: [link]



"Joan, you are our only hope.
From high in the Heavens, deign to hear our voices.
Come down to us, come convert France.
Come save her a second time.

Our hope
Rests in you,
Saint Joan of France,
Pray, pray for us!"

~ from "CANTICLE TO OBTAIN THE CANONIZATION OF THE VENERABLE JOAN OF ARC" by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

The Feast of Saint Joan of Arc is May 30th

Saint Jeanne d'Arc, beloved of God, pray for us, and pray for France!