Allison Minto
/ Connecticut Public
You might say muralist and painter Paul Armesto is a throwback to the past. Rather than using modern means to create his mostly religious works, Armesto has steeped himself in the Classical style, adopting the techniques and even materials of the Renaissance masters, like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. For the last several months, Armesto has been working on a giant mural for the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury.
The basement of the Basilica is immense. Right now, it’s a construction site - in a few months the space will be the church’s new parish hall. Amid the stacks of drywall and scaffolding is a man gently brushing paint on the largest indoor mural I’ve ever seen. It’s a depiction of “The Wedding at Cana” and it takes up almost an entire wall. According to the Bible, it was here that Jesus performed his first miracle - changing water into wine. In the center of the mural is Jesus, behind him is his mother Mary. Surrounding Jesus is a host of characters - servants, followers of Jesus, friends and family of the bride and groom, as well as some hidden symbolism - Easter eggs if you will - placed there by the mural’s artist, Paul Armesto.