Comments on: A Mormon Image: C.C.A. Christiansen

By: Greg

Greg — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks for the post, Nate. My eyes are immediately drawn to the brightly colored animals at the far right of the painting. My first impression (not being able to see very them very well) was that they are pigs encircling some other animal — a kind of visual metaphor for the mob. But looking closer they may be white dogs, which could represent both purity and faithfulness, which are in tumult and scattering as a result of the threatening mob. Could someone with a larger monitor, or someone who has seen this live, help me figure out the symbology of the painting?

By: Gordon

Gordon — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Greg, I had the same reaction. They are almost certainly pigs. What you may not be able to see clearly is the black pig right behind the foremost white pig. So, we have three white pigs with one black pig intermingled. It does not appear to me that the white pigs are encircling the black pig.

Is the man standing in the middle pointing at the pigs or at the Mormon leaders? And the mob — are they going after the leaders only, or also after the pigs? The mob members in the foreground seem to be headed for the pigs. Finally, the pigs are scattering. Could they represent the members of the Church? Nate, any thoughts on this?

By: Nate

Nate — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have no idea if there is any symbolism to this. However, C.C.A. frequently showed these paintings to old-timers who were actually present at the events he was depicting. They would say, “Actually it was such and such a way.” C.C.A. would then get out his paints and paint in the new details or correct the error. A person who was actually present at the arrest may have simply told him there were pigs there…

By: Matt Evans

Matt Evans — Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It’s hard for me to imagine that the pigs were painted as an afterthought, and even harder that they were painted because someone corrected the artist by saying he’d forgotten the three white pigs and one black pig on the opposite side of the trees.

Given the composition of the picture, especially with the clearing on the right side of the stand of trees, I suspect he incorporated the pigs from the beginning. There’s no other reason to have all of the people on the left half of the painting.

What symbolism he intended by white pigs, I don’t know.