When the Rev. Aaron Watkins first arrived at the First Christian Church of Hematite in March 2013 to begin his duties as pastor there, he found a painting in the furnace room that a locally renowned artist, the late Ludwig Melzner, had created.
The almost life-size painting, which depicts Joseph and Mary in the stable appearing to look at the infant Jesus, is probably the only remaining gift of art Melzner had bestowed upon the church.
Melzner, born in 1876, was a well-known artist in Jefferson County, according to an article by Helen Uding included in the book, History of Hematite, Missouri, compiled by Jerry McKee.
“(Melzner’s) wife, Martha, maintained a farm on the Hematite-Hillsboro Road for many years and Mr. Melzner commuted from his job as a commercial artist with headquarters in Chicago,” Uding wrote.
Melzner painted portraits and still lifes, but his most beloved works were religious in nature, Uding said.
The artist, a longtime member of the Hematite church, which was first established in 1868, was baptized in the church.
Much later, when Melzner was 80-years old, he would surround the church’s baptistery with “one of his most inspiring paintings,” a depiction of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in a continuous scene made up of four sections on three walls. It was another one of his gifts to the church, Uding wrote.
“The life-size figures of Christ and John the Baptist, standing in the River Jordan with a dove overhead, dominates the scene. The figures in the background and the beauty of the scenery are hard to describe. One would almost have to see the painting to do it justice,” Uding wrote.
Unfortunately, the painting likely was destroyed when the church burned down in 1974, Watkins said.
It is not known whether the painting of the Nativity that is now stored at the new First Christian Church of Hematite used to hang in the church or whether it is one of two paintings that the Hematite Civic Club used every year for its Christmas display.
Smaller paintings of the Nativity and a painting of the Resurrection, both 4- by-6 feet, at one time were displayed at the former church, according to Uding.
When Watkins found the large painting of the nativity scene in the basement, the condition of the paint was “dim,” he said.
He enlisted the help of a local artist, Ann Douglas, to repaint the details and brighten the image. Melzner’s gift then started giving again as a display sometimes used in the church’s Christmas celebrations.
Some of Melzner’s other paintings included one depicting the Last Supper and portraits of several people in Jefferson County, including the late Hugh Gerber, a former state representative, Uding wrote.
How many of those paintings still survive is unknown.
Melzner’s wife died from cancer in 1960 at the age of 67. Ludwig Melzner died of a stroke in 1962 at the age of 86 at his niece’s home in Milwaukee. Both he and his wife are buried in the First Christian Church’s cemetery in Hematite.
