Non-Tacky Statue of Our Lady of Lourdes

[beatitude]

I'm looking for a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. Unfortunately it has to be a tasteful, non-tacky statue that doesn't cost the earth, which narrows the selection down considerably. Does anyone know where I could get such a thing?

[DominicanHeart]

I have yet to see a tacky statue of Our Lady of Lourdes. The price would depend on the size. EWTN usually sells statues in various sizes so try looking there first.

[beatitude]

Now you have.

EWTN is quite pricey, and as I'm in the UK, the shipping would also cost a lot. Most of their statues are also a bit too garish for what I'm looking for. We have a barely used prayer room at the hospital where I work, and I think the reason it is barely used is that it's basically just an ordinary meeting room with a jumble of odd devotional objects from different religions on the windowsill (a Bible, a prayer mat, a Qur'an, an account of the apparitions at Knock, and a holding cross that is still in its box). It's not an inviting place for patients to come. I'm donating a few things to make it more prayerful, and I'd like an Our Lady of Lourdes as well, as she is the patron of the sick. However, I'm not inflicting a luminous Our Lady the colour of radioactive snot on the patients. They have enough to cope with as it is. It needs to be a statue that is nice to look at.

[Gabriela]

I've seen plenty of tacky ones. I think most Catholic devotional items are pretty tacky. I'm sure it's just because they want them to be cheap, but if you're looking for beauty, yeah, it comes at a serious cost.  

[darcy15]

http://www.holyart.co.uk/religious-items/statues/hand-painted-wooden-statues/our-lady-of-lourdes-30cm?rdeocl=1&rdetpl=productpage&rdebox=box1

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Our-Lady-of-Lourdes-Statue-Virgin-Mary-Statue-Catholic-Gift-Shop-LTD/262358690697?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D63a02436dfe843be903b95e7f8a7fa31%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D381043762719

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Our-Lady-Lourdes-Statue-Florentine/dp/B00ONRO9WQ?ie=UTF8&keywords=our%20lady%20of%20lourdes&qid=1460282239&ref_=sr_1_7&sr=8-7

Edited April 10, 2016 by darcy15

[NadaTeTurbe]

It's not really a Lourdes statue if it's not tacky  

(just kidding  )

http://www.articles-religieux-lourdes.com/produit-apparition-en-metal-adhesive-2028.html

All of the statue that I found are in the XIXth century tastes. However, you can find some nice image (even icons). 

[Beth McMullan]

http://www.cenacle.co.uk/religious-gifts/catholic-statues/statues-of-mary.html

 

I've bought from cenacle a number of times and have had no issues.

[Era Might]

Flannery O'Connor made the pilgrimage to Lourdes and found the whole thing tacky. She said she was the kind of Catholic who would sooner die for her faith than take a bath for it. But let's face it, tackiness and kitsch is authentic Catholicism. Hence, Flannery still made the pilgrimage, even if the sight of all the hopeless cripples was grotesque.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Era Might

[NadaTeTurbe]

25 minutes ago, Era Might said:

Flannery O'Connor made the pilgrimage to Lourdes and found the whole thing tacky. She said she was the kind of Catholic who would sooner die for her faith than take a bath for it. But let's face it, tackiness and kitsch is authentic Catholicism. Hence, Flannery still made the pilgrimage, even if the sight of all the hopeless cripples was grotesque.

You've missed something in the Bible if "hopeless cripples" are grotesque for you. "Hopeless cripples" are rejected by society, and Lourdes is one of the few place where they are not seen as "grotesque" but as beloved sons of God. 

[beatitude]

31 minutes ago, Era Might said:

Flannery O'Connor made the pilgrimage to Lourdes and found the whole thing tacky. She said she was the kind of Catholic who would sooner die for her faith than take a bath for it. But let's face it, tackiness and kitsch is authentic Catholicism. Hence, Flannery still made the pilgrimage, even if the sight of all the hopeless cripples was grotesque.

I know that tack and tat is part of the pilgrimage experience, but beautiful devotional art is also authentic Catholicism, and that is what I'm looking for here.

P.S. I am a 'cripple', as is Nada. I realise you were trying to make some kind of ironic commentary, but disability is not generally perceived as kitschy (thankfully - I'd glad not to be lumped in with glow-in-the-dark Marys and mantillas with the Lourdes sanctuary embroidered on the back, and I'd prefer if we kept it that way in this discussion).

[Era Might]

9 minutes ago, beatitude said:

I know that tack and tat is part of the pilgrimage experience, but beautiful devotional art is also authentic Catholicism, and that is what I'm looking for here.

P.S. I am a 'cripple', as is Nada. I realise you were trying to make some kind of ironic commentary, but disability is not generally perceived as kitschy (thankfully - I'd glad not to be lumped in with glow-in-the-dark Marys and mantillas with the Lourdes sanctuary embroidered on the back, and I'd prefer if we kept it that way in this discussion).

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be ironic at all, Flannery saw it all as grotesque because she herself was a cripple who could not relate to the whole experience. But anyway, it was just a comment, hope you find whatever statue you like.

14 minutes ago, NadaTeTurbe said:

You've missed something in the Bible if "hopeless cripples" are grotesque for you. "Hopeless cripples" are rejected by society, and Lourdes is one of the few place where they are not seen as "grotesque" but as beloved sons of God. 

Sorry, wasn't speaking literally. I just meant hopeless on the sense that St. Paul speaks of "hope against hope."

[Leslie]

https://www.leafletonline.com/vintage-our-lady-of-lourdes-statue

This is a pretty one.  They have some others, too.

Best Wishes!

Leslie A.

[Sponsa-Christi]

I'm wondering, could you make a tacky statue more classy by "whitewashing" it? As in, if you had a tacky multi-colored statue, it might look more elegant if you painted it all white or a monochrome neutral.

I studied fine art and art history for three years, so I completely understand and appreciate the desire for classy religious art. That being said, though, in the right context I do find Catholic tackiness to be sort of endearing. When I was in Rome, every Christmas I had great fun finding the tackiest Catholic gifts for my very Catholic parents! I think one of the favorites was a Swiss guard snow-globe. Fridge magnets of the Pope were also big hits.

[enitharmon]

This thread reminds me of Gerard Manley Hopkins' comment to his father about his conversion to the Catholicism:

"I am surprised you shd. say fancy and aesthetic tastes have led me to my present state of mind: these wd. be better satisfied in the Church of England, for bad taste is always meeting one in the accessories of Catholicism." (Letter to his father, 16 October 1866)
 

[He is Risen!]

Sponsa-Christi's idea is a good one.  I used to live somewhere with a big plastic statue in the yard of the Blessed Mother that was a brightly colored but faded and the color that was on there wasn't quite straight so it looked like she was wearing lipstick but missed her mouth a little.  I spray painted it matte white with a paint that had some texture to it and it classed it up 100%!  Wish I had a pic to share.  If you didn't touch it, it could have passed off for something pretty upscale.