Sec. C Pg 22 Missoulian Centennial Carignano’s Work in Church
Carignano’s Work in Church
The many paintings, frescoes and mural decorations found in St. Francis Xavier Church in Missoula are the work of Brother J. Carignano, S.J.
The art works were commenced in 1901 and completed in 1902. The oil paintings representing the fourteen Stations of the Cross were also from his brush, and executed under peculiar and decidedly uninspiring circumstances for an artist.
He painted them in some four years time at Gonzaga University, Spokane, cooking at the same time for a community of over 100 persons. His studio was a little corner screened off from the rest of the kitchen and there over his canvasses he spent every shred of time he could snatch from pans and pots.
Brother Carignano also painted the frescoes in St. Ignatius Church, to which he devoted 14 months of unremittent study and arduous labor. Other works by him are found in churches, chapels, institutions, classrooms, and in private homes in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
His art was the result of native talent.