Jonas Rimša Andean Miserere, a. 1955

Sign.: LR J.Rimša

Reproduced in the book Nijolė Tumėnienė "Jonas Rimša. Returning Home" (Vilnius, 2015), p. 60

This monumental work is one of the most expressive examples of Jonas Rimša’s Bolivian period, blending Catholic liturgy with Andean mysticism. The religious procession depicted in a narrow colonial street becomes not so much a historical chronicle as a scene of profound emotional outpouring. Above the heads of the procession participants, the sky breaks into an expressive, magnetic vortex reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh’s style and symbolizing the spiritual power of prayer. The kneeling female figures with colorful mantillas and the solemn flag-bearers create a sacred rhythm that emphasizes humility and repentance. Here, Rimša has captured not an external ritual, but an internal, invisible tension of faith that connects earthly life with cosmic eternity. It is a vision of spiritual awakening and communal prayer, in which the individual seems to vanish into the mystery.