🎨 MARUSKA GALLERY

Welcome to the Maruska Gallery, a space dedicated to sacred art that becomes mission. Here you can admire some of the most significant works of Sister Maruska Ruttar, an artist who knew how to put her talent at the service of faith and the Comboni mission.

Maruska Ruttar was born in Slovenia in 1903. Her passion for art led her to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, where she refined her painting technique. But her heart had other plans: she felt the call to religious and missionary life.

She entered the congregation of the Pious Mothers of Nigritia, the future Comboni Missionary Sisters, bringing with her a precious gift: the ability to translate into images the beauty of the Gospel and the missionary spirit of Saint Daniel Comboni.

Sister Maruska understood that art could become a universal language to speak about God. Her paintings are not simple decorations, but true visual catechesis.

In her works you can observe how the influence of Byzantine iconography merges with African elements, reflecting the missionary vocation of the congregation. Every brushstroke tells the story of a love that crosses cultures and continents.

The decorative panels you see represent biblical scenes with simple yet profound figurative language. Sister Maruska had the ability to make the mysteries of faith accessible through colors and forms that speak to the heart.

Observe the icon of Christ the King and the other paintings on display. In each of them shines through that Comboni spirituality centered on the pierced heart of Jesus, the source of the missionary longing that pushed Comboni toward Africa.

Sister Maruska Ruttar died in Verona in 1996, leaving an artistic heritage that continues to speak to generations of visitors. Her works remind us that beauty is a gift from God and that art, when authentic, becomes a bridge between heaven and earth.

Before leaving this gallery, take a moment to contemplate these paintings not only with your eyes, but with your heart. Let them speak to you of that love that knows no boundaries and that always pushes toward new horizons of hope.

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