Cardinal Lavigerie and two White Fathers

Late 19th century French school
Cardinal Lavigerie and two white fathers
Oil on canvas
46 x 38 cm (57 x 64.5 cm with frame)
Unsigned
Beautiful carved wooden frame
Good condition

Portrait of the Archbishop of Algiers and future Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, who founded the Society of Missionaries of Africa, the "White Fathers", alongside two famous White Fathers from the early days of the Mission: on the right, Father Lonce Bridoux, who joined the community in 1873, and on the left, perhaps Alfred Louis Delattre, who was to become a great archaeologist. The two fathers who were to become famous were appointed in the 1870s by Monseigneur Lavigerie and found themselves on mission in Carthage.
From 1878, the former headed the Saint-Eugène apostolic school, the White Fathers' major seminary in Carthage. The latter was appointed chaplain of the Saint-Louis church in Carthage and became the great explorer of the Carthage archaeological site.
The clothing of the White Fathers is the same as that of the natives of North Africa: a gandoura and a white woollen burnous. They also wear a rosary around their necks.
To the left of the archbishop is a "negrillon", as they called him in those days. He wears a blue sash, showing that he has been consecrated to the Virgin. He was undoubtedly freed from slavery by Monseigneur Lavigerie, who was a great defender of the Church's position against slavery (Bayonne still has a monument with a sculpture in his honor).
In the lower left-hand corner of the painting, two children are eating in a squatting position. They are pointed out by the archbishop to the white fathers, whose first mission in Africa was to care for orphans.
A fine period painting with beautiful colors, fine portraits of religious and, at the same time, an interesting document of the history of the Catholic missions in North Africa.

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