The Work of Cláudio Pastro in the Context of Sacred Art After the Second Vatican Council

Abstract

A fundamental aspect of the Second Vatican Council is the novelty of the literary genre of its documents and its configuration as an event of language, which demonstrates its profound affinity with symbolic and artistic language, even though the theme of art does not occupy many lines of its texts. From this perspective, the importance of the reception of Vatican II in subsequent artistic production becomes clear. This article focuses on the work of the Brazilian artist Cláudio Pastro (1948–2016). Subject of growing research over the last three decades, his work has been identified as a model of art for worship in line with Vatican II, capable of clearly and powerfully embodying its theological, ecclesiological, liturgical, and anthropological principles. In this article, we seek to consolidate these recent acquisitions in Brazilian academic production, highlighting the relationship between Pastro’s work and Vatican II and situating it within the scope of international research. To this end, we shall first outline certain aspects of his trajectory, his formation, and the sensibility that characterized him, and then present and comment on a few selected works within his extensive artistic output. Finally, we will address the reception of his work in the ecclesiastical, academic, and artistic spheres, highlighting it as a model for the reception of Vatican II and a space for its fruitful and creative assimilation in our communities today.