aintings and Frescoes
Three large paintings in the Cathedral represent scenes from Christ's crucifixion and death. The Entombment, a painting in dark tones depicting the preparation of Jesus' body after his death, was painted by 19th century artist Theodule-Augustin Ribot. Two other paintings are The Crucifixion by Minnesota native Nicholas Richard Brewer and The Descent from the Cross (1867) by Karl-Ernest-Rodolphe-Heinrich-Salem Lehmann. More recent additions are two frescoes painted by Minnesota artist Mark Balma in the mid 1990s. One tells the story of Bishop Joseph Cretin's arriving at his newly created diocese in 1851. The other fresco depicts Archbishop Ireland leading a procession for the first Mass in the Cathedral of Saint Paul on Palm Sunday 1915.