Altar cards display prayers that are recited by a priest who celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass. This set of altar cards has the appropriate prayers for a Requiem Mass.
When making the original drawings in ink on paper, I imitated the style of printed books from the 15th century, and from the 19th century Arts and Crafts movement. The central card includes an image of Jesus Christ being pierced by a lance, with the centurions, the good and bad thieves, the sponge-bearer, and the soldiers gambling for His garments. The Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Apostle stand in niches in the border. In the bas-de-page are Adam and Eve, rising from their tombs on the last day, and emblems of the theological virtues: faith and hope, written in orthogonal letters, and charity, with an emblem of the Sacred Heart.
King David and the Eritrean Sibyl stand in niches in the borders of the other two cards; this refers to the words of the Dies Iræ sequence sung at Requiem Masses; David and the Sibyl are prophets of the Last Judgment. Each of these cards has emblems of orthogonal letters spelling REQUIEM ETERNAM and AMEN.
I was somewhat adventurous in my choice of decorative plants and animals; the borders include poison ivy, columbine, hemlock, venus flytraps, dandelions, morel mushrooms, spider webs, tree frogs, roman snails, swallowtail butterflies and caterpillars.
The spelling and punctuation of the text follow the typical edition of the 1962 Roman Missal. For the printed cards, I set the text in Benedict, a typeface that I designed myself. It is intended to match well with artwork in a medieval style, yet be legible to modern eyes that are not used to blackletter.
Medium: Drawing, black and red ink on paper
Dimensions: 20" × 16" (central card), 9" × 12" (other cards)
Year: 2021
The original drawings were made on private commission.
These altar cards are available as open-edition giclée prints on Lexjet Archival Matte paper. The set of three cards costs $250. You may use the button below to pay via PayPal, debit card or credit card. Be sure to confirm the shipping address.
For the printed altar cards (shown above) I substituted the typeset text for the handwritten, as it is easier to read.
See this page for additional ordering instructions and general information. If you want to pay via a check or money order, please e-mail me at danielmitsui@danielmitsui.com.
