Stickney in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Living Lord
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 26, 2024
1. The Living Lord Marker
Weighing over six thousand pounds the marble sculpture measures 8 feet 6 inches tall and 4 feet 6 inches wide by 12 inches thick. The marble was selected from Carrara some 60 miles northeast of Florence, Italy. This is the same quarry area used by Michaelangelo and traces its history to Roman Caesar Augustus.
Called "The Living Lord Panel", its unusual feature besides the face of Christ in reverse relief is the creation of an illusion in which the face, especially the eyes, appear to follow in the direction as one moves while in front of the panel.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is October 25, 1991.
Location. 41° 48.957′ N, 87° 47.316′ W. Marker is in Stickney, Illinois, in Cook County. It can be reached from South Oak Park Avenue 0.3 miles south of 41st Street. The marker is in Mount Auburn Cemetery, about Ό-mile east-southeast
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Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Northwest Territory.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 9/11 Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); 09.11.2001 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Stickney Veterans Memorial (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named 09.11.2001 (approx. 0.7 miles away); Cruising the Strip (approx. 0.8 miles away); Cigars and Stripes (approx. 0.8 miles away); Eating on the Run (approx. 0.9 miles away); Automobile Love Affair (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 26, 2024
2. The Living Lord Marker
The marker sits in front of the sign for the Graceland Gardens section of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Stickney, a southwest suburb about 10 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. The marble described in the marker is off camera, about 40 yards to the right.
More about this marker. The marble panel carved with the face of Jesus, with the words "The Eyes of the Lord Are Upon Thee," is about 40 yards east of the location of this plaque describing it.
Regarding The Living Lord. One of the other similar marble carvings of Jesus was located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at a museum of life-size scenes depicting the life of Jesus called Christus Gardens, which opened in 1960. According to a 1989 article in the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal, that museum's marble Jesus was described as "the most-photographed single object in Gatlinburg." The museum, later renamed Christ in the Smokies, was torn down in 2022; an article about its demise said that many artifacts from the museum were transported from the site before its demolition, so that once-famous marble is likely still in existence somewhere. It could not be determined where the other two Carrara marble panels were or are locatedor, for that matter, if any potential others were erected in the years after this one was dedicated in 1991 about 10 miles southwest of Chicago.
Also see . . . Things to Know about the White Marble Quarries of Carrara.
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 26, 2024
3. "The Eyes of the Lord Are Upon Thee"
Coins and a rosary left by visitors were visible on the "Living Lord" panel when visited in May 2024.
Excerpt: "Michelangelo... personally wanted to choose the best blocks to sculpt his most famous artworks. For example, he made the Pietΰ, kept in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, with a marble block from Carrara."(Submitted on May 27, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean Flynn, May 26, 2024
4. "The Living Lord"
The marble is about 40 yards east of the historical marker describing it. It sits among gravesites in the northeast portion of Mount Auburn Cemetery.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 173 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 26, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 27, 2024, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
