CHAPTER ONE
The Eyes of Thérèse
THÉRÈSE AUX ROSES
When Céline Martin, a keen amateur photographer and an art student, entered the Carmel in Lisieux in 1894, she took with her a small 13cm x 18cm black box; it was her camera. Nineteenth-century France was then a pioneer in the newly developing industry of photography. Céline, Sœur Geneviève de la Sainte-Face, would capture her young sister Thérèse posing inside the cloister. With her artist’s eye and intimate knowledge of her sister’s soul, she retouched the photographs in her cell. Her floral and cosmetic additions were not meant as embellishments, but rather to bring to light Thérèse’s true appearance. 17
b. Seeing the Pandemic with Eyes of Faith.indd 17
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