Painting Holiness

NATALIE TSARKOVA is a short, attractive Russian woman; her shy manner conceals a gaze that is firm and deep, and reveals an intense world of inner beauty.



Born in Moscow in 1967, when Russia was still under Communism, Natalie is now a famous personality in the world of art.



“I studied a great deal to become an artist, but I never worked for fame, but simply because I love to paint – it is both a physical and a spiritual necessity for me. However, I could never have imagined that I’d become so successful,” thus Natalie begins her conversation with me in her Rome studio.



Despite her Russian Orthodox faith, Natalie has become the Vatican’s ‘official’ portrait painter. She has, in fact, made fine portraits of the last three pontiffs: John Paul I, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. The paintings are now in the Vatican museums.



Natalie is extraordinarily talented. Each of her paintings exhibits great technical skill, a perfect command of the science of perspective and of the colours and materials used. Her style is dynamic, original and full of symbolism, like the great Renaissance masters. Despite her young age, Natalie already has to her credit an impressive number of extraordinary paintings, and her place in the history of art is already assured.





The Holy See





How did your liaison with the Holy See start?



I started working for the Vatican with Pope John Paul II; this was in 1998. Numerous portraits had already been done of our late pope, but none of them satisfied him completely, so one day I was contacted by an official from the Holy See, asking me if I was interested in trying my hand at painting the pope.



I was rather taken aback by this request, yet the proposal excited me. I had great admiration for the Polish pope. In 1991 during a reward-trip to Rome with my classmates from the Academy we were received by Karol Wojtyla, and I was awestruck by the charismatic warmth of his personality. Now, however, it seemed that destiny had called me to a much closer encounter with him.



I became absorbed with the task, working day and night. I saw various footages of him from past documentaries; I attended general audiences where I could see him from close up; and I began to study his writings, his speeches and to read biographies on him to unravel the secrets of his spirituality, and then to translate my insights into his inner life and mission onto canvas.



I spent almost two years on that painting. In 2000 the painting was completed, and it was presented to him on the occasion of his 80th birthday. It is a large 120x180 cm canvas portraying the Head of the Church in all his papal attire; he is shown holding the pastoral with both hands, as was his custom to do, with the Basilica of St Peter in the background.





Have you ever met Pope John Paul II personally?



During the presentation of the painting I was granted a private audience with him. The pope was very pleased with the painting, and I explained to him some of the details. In my portraits I never simply paint the subject, but also add other particulars, such as objects, writings, symbols, etc, which highlight the subjects work and personality. In the painting, one of the doors in the façade of the Basilica of St Peter is illuminated: this is the Holy Door which was opened during the Great Jubilee Year of 2000. On the pastoral, in proximity to the pontiff’s heart, there is a reflected image of Our Lady with the Christ Child: this is to recall Wojtyla’s great devotion to the Virgin Mary. The Pope was delighted by all these particulars, and told me in Russian, “You’re on the right track. Long live Russian art!”





And how did you move from this to become the Holy See’s official painter?



The painting was also appreciated by many people in the Vatican, so I soon received other commissions, and this is how my career as a painter of popes and cardinals began.



The most important year in my career was 2004. In that year the Mayor of Rome set up a prestigious exhibition showing portraits of popes from the Renaissance right down to Pope John Paul II. The commission which had to choose the paintings decided to chose my portrait to represent Pope John Paul II. So all of a sudden I found my name placed alongside that of the great masters of the past: Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Bernini, Velàzquez, Mengs, Canova, etc.



Now, that exhibition was visited by experts and critics from all over the world, and in 2005 it was taken to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre in Washington, DC, where it remained until March of 2006, and was visited by over a million people.





Divine Providence





You have also painted Pope Benedict XVI. What can you tell us about this work?



I was asked to paint the portrait of Joseph Ratzinger soon after his election as Pope. A  great deal of work went into that painting, which is also replete with symbols.



Benedict is seated on the papal throne that had belonged to Pope Leo XIII, and which had been renovated at Benedict’s behest. Our Pope has a preference for the traditional dress codes of the pontiffs. Behind him the dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, illumines the head of the Theologian-Pope; finally, on the arms of the throne angels are seen. The colour red pervades the whole painting; this colour symbolises love (caritas), which Benedict sees as a very important subject. On the background various references to the Eternal City are contained. This painting was much appreciated by Pope Benedict, and is now in the Vatican Museums.



I have also painted Pope John Paul I, and along with him, a number of cardinals, such as Jeorge Mejia, Paul Poupard, and Jean Louis Tauran, to name just a few.





It is strange that a Russian Orthodox like yourself should be working so closely with people who represent the Roman Catholic Church.



Indeed it is. I had certainly never envisioned this future for myself, so a higher destiny, Divine Providence, must be working here.



All I can say is that since I started working for the Holy See I have made the acquaintance of many holy people who have shown me the spiritual life in its highest form. They have helped me to grow in faith and as a human being.





The Madonna of Light





Besides these works, have you painted anything else?



I have made five paintings of John Paul II altogether. Besides the one I mentioned, there is another one commissioned by the Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre in Washington, DC, and which can be admired in the Centre. A third painting was commissioned by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwicz, close friend and personal secretary to Pope John Paul II for many years. Cardinal Dziwicz has donated the painting to his titular see, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo here in Rome. The remaining two portraits are in the United States, and have been countersigned by Pope John Paul II.



For Karol Wojtyla I have also painted a large canvas dedicated to Our Lady. In 2002 the Pope added the Luminous Mysteries to the Rosary, so I decided to create for him a painting called ‘The Madonna of Light’ which shows a young and beautiful Virgin Mary with a peaceful expression holding the Baby Jesus in her arms, who is in turn holding a Rosary. The divine pair is surrounded by a series of young angels, each of whom has his own symbol. Wojtyla liked the painting so much that he kept it in his private library for a couple of weeks. It was later shown to the US Congress, and is now at the Primavera Fine Art Foundation in the US, which had commissioned it.



Another painting I like is ‘The Last Supper’. What is unique about this work of mine is that Jesus is seen from behind in the act of turning and looking with a worried gaze at the viewer. I painted it immediately after the 9/11 attacks in the States. This painting is not for sale; it is travelling around the world bringing a message of peace. Jesus’ worried glance is both warning and exhortation.





When did you discover your talent for painting?



It emerged gradually. I was born with this talent. My mother tells me that even at the age of 2 or 3, when I could not yet hold a pen in my hand, I used to draw whatever I saw.



I would draw on paper, on the floor, on my clothes, even on myself. The drawings were so well made that my parents understood that I had a particular gift for drawing, so they sent me to drawing classes.



This paid off when I gained admission to a high school for students interested in the fine arts. It was a turning point in my life. I later attended the prestigious Surikov Academy, where I was the only woman. I had to work hard to be recognised. Everyone expected more from me because the world of art is rather male dominated.





Bible inspiration





When did you decide to settle in Rome?



I never actually decided to live here. It came about gradually. In 1994 I went to see a friend in Trieste, in northern Italy. There I met some people who wanted to organise an exhibition of my paintings. So I returned to Moscow and send them the paintings. That exhibition turned out to be very successful, and I managed to make a fair amount of money.



In that same year I went to Rome for three months to study the Renaissance masters. On that occasion I made a portrait of Prince Massimo Lancellotti. That was the start of a string of commissons that eventually led me to where I am now.





How do you spend your days?



I am generally quite busy. Sometimes I work non stop for up to 20 hours. Last Sunday, for instance, I had to complete a painting in all haste. I got up early and, while still in my night gown, I came to this room. I looked at the painting, and it seemed to me that I had to make a minor correction. I took up the paintbrush and changed that detail, but at 10.00 in the evening I was still here, still in my nightgown with the paintbrush still in my hand! But by then I was absolutely exhausted.





Do you manage to recover your forces during sleep?



I sleep little and badly. Whenever I am working on a painting even sleep is work because often, when I am about to fall asleep, I find the solution and receive the most brilliant ideas, but when this happens my sleep is all but over, and at 3 or 4 in the night I am still awake!





You were born and raised under an atheistic Communist regime. Yet you are strongly attracted by religious themes. Did you discover religion when you started painting for the Vatican?



I was always religious, even as a child. My parents were also religious, though secretly, for fear of the Communist rulers. My grandmother transmitted to me her Faith and her knowledge of Scripture. She would sometimes even take me to church, though in secret.



My study of painting under the Communist regime also taught me a lot about religion. The most celebrated European painters have drawn inspiration from the Bible. So in my art school it was obligatory to study the Bible, and we had to know it really well so that we could then discuss and analyse the paintings.



But it was hard to find a Bible in Russia in those days. It was actually forbidden to own religious books. My mother had managed to find a person who had a Bible, but this person was so jealous of it that she never lent it to me. So I was obliged every day to go to this person’s house to study it. When you study you start thinking, you begin to ask yourself questions, your curiosity is stimulated, and you begin to form your own opinions. So I was able to know the Bible well despite being in a Communist country, and I formed strong religious convictions.