Another Look: Sister Maurice Schnell

The Nun who loved God and Drawing

Here’s an updated essay of one of my most popular Histories of Reportage about Sister Maurice Schnell, with some fresh insights and newfound images.

Day School, 1872, pencil on paper, 7” x 8”.

There's a modesty to the drawings of Sister Maurice Schnell (1830-1902). She was a 19th C. nun who applied her creative talents with a deep love of place, to teach art and to honor God.

Sister Maurice was a member of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a religious order of Catholic Sisters located in Indiana. After immigrating from Germany with her parents, sister and brother in 1846, she traveled by horseback to Madison, where she entered the convent, when it was just a log cabin. She professed her vows in 1854 and taught art and science there for 50 years.

Between 1846 and 1889, Sister Maurice made intimate sketches of the Saint Mary's grounds. They display a steady hand and a calm demeanor. The lines are precise with elegant calligraphy that tell the story of her daily life and some significant events, that offer a glimpse into the life of a religious woman of the time.

Pic-nic near Potsville, 1874, pencil on paper, 7” x 8”.

The Old Workshop…, 1870, pencil on paper, 7” x 8”.

View of Ruins from the Novitiate Window, 1889, pencil on paper, 5” x 7”.

I wrote previously about her drawings, and while they may seem naive suggest a deep caring and love of place.

Sister Maurice Schnell: Nun and Artist

While she lead a cloistered life, she seems to communicate a desire to visit beyond the buildings on the property and experience life more fully. She draws the gutted building that was the novitiate for the Sisters, and some curious anecdotes about the workmen there.

The Spring in the woods where we got water…, 1873, pencil on paper, 7” x 8”

The toadstool family, 1875, pencil on paper, 7” x 8”.