(We’re celebrating ten years of Our Rich History. You can browse and read any of the past columns,from the present all the way back to our start on May 6, 2015, at our newly updated database. Enjoy at nkytribune.com/our-rich-history)
By Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD
Special to NKyTribune
He was one of the first art teachers of Covington-born, noted American artist Frank Duveneck (1848–1919). His many ecclesiastical artworks grace churches throughout the United States, although a significant number have disappeared through neglect or demolition. His name was Johann Schmitt (1825–1898).
Born in Germany, Schmitt immigrated to the United States in 1848 (the same year of Duveneck’s birth), originally settling in New York. In 1862 he joined the Covington Altar Stock Building Company (CASBS), established by the Benedictine order of Latrobe, Pennsylvania and based at old St. Joseph Church in Covington (now demolished). The CASBC employed young immigrant men in learning the ecclesiastical arts, from mural painting to building altars (Annemarie Springer, “Schmitt, Johann,” and “Covington Altar Stock Building Company,” in Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool, The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2009).
Schmitt is known in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for his seven, extant paintings adorning the sanctuary of Holy Cross-Immaculata Church on Mt. Adams in Cincinnati, as well as his beautifully restored murals of the “Five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary” at Mother of God Church in Covington. Other existing paintings are at St. Joseph Church in Camp Springs and at St. Walburg Monastery in Villa Hills. Miraculously, his painting of “Mary’s Assumption” was one of the very few remaining items salvaged when a March 2012 tornado totally destroyed the historic frame church of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Morning View.
In 1863 Johann Schmitt (1825–1898) painted “Our Lady of Sorrows” for Mother of God (MOG) parish. The painting was probably located in the parish’s newly completed 1862 school.
Standing 4 by 8 feet, it is one of Schmitt’s earliest remaining works. Mary’s heart is punctured by a sword, but remains pure, as symbolized by the lilies and the roses. She stands on a snake representing Satan, and at her foot is the apple, a symbol of mankind’s fall. A dove (representing the Holy Spirit) and a crown of stars encircle her head. Cherubs surround Mary on both sides.
The painting was moved to the new parish school in 1906. Then, before demolition of that school in 1974, parish member John Johannemann securely removed “Our Lady of Sorrows,” which the pastor gifted him. Later, Johannemann gave the painting to Victor Canfield for safekeeping. In 2024 Canfield engaged the services of art restorer Terry Boyle of Cincinnati to return the painting to its original splendor. Canfield then gifted it to MOG in memory of Richard Sacksteder.
The painting will be placed in the church gallery. There, it joins another Johann Schmitt painting “Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth” (1885), donated to MOG by the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, IN in 2019. Schmitt also painted the five large “Joyful Mysteries” murals at MOG, as well as a “Madonna and Child” in the sacristy. With 8 Schmitt paintings, and many artworks by other artists, MOG remains committed to being a “cradle of the arts.”
The public is cordially invited to solemn Vespers and a rededication of the painting on Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. at Mother of God Church, 119 West 6th Street, Covington.
Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD is Editor of the “Our Rich History” weekly series and Professor of History at Northern Kentucky University (NKU). To browse ten years of past columns, see:
nkytribune.com/our-rich-history. Tenkotte also serves as Director of the ORVILLE Project (Ohio River Valley Innovation Library and Learning Engagement).