San Xavier Moonrise
| Artist | Fritz Kaeser (American, 1919–1990) |
|---|---|
| Title | San Xavier Moonrise |
| Series | Portfolio Mission |
| Date | 1952 |
| Medium | Gelatin silver print |
| Dimensions | Image: 8 7/8 x 11 15/16 in. (22.5 x 30.3 cm) Sheet: 14 x 18 in. (35.6 x 45.7 cm) |
| Credit Line | Gift of Mrs. Fritz Kaeser, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 93.54 |
| This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request. | |
The moon is visible over a stucco church in the background of the image. A cemetery with cross-shaped grave markers is dimly lit in the foreground.
Fritz Kaeser presents a long view of the Franciscan church of San Xavier del Bac. Recalling Ansel Adams's famous Moonrise Hernandez, New Mexico (1941), the mission nestles in the landscape. Like Adams,with whom he studied at the San Francisco Fine Arts Center in 1946, Kaeser explored the dramatic possibilities of combining God's presence as embedied in nature with his symbolic church on earth. This spiritual quality is heightened by the strong tonal contrast of the glowing white of the church, cross, and tombstones against the vast blackness of the mountain range. Many other photographers, including Adams, depicted the interior and exterior of this striking building, but few captured more beautifully the "White Dove of the Desert."
| Series Title | Portfolio Mission |
|---|
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"San Xavier Moonrise | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=93.54