THE FRESCOES �OF THE�FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH�OF SAN RAFAEL, CA

As you enter the atrium to the First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael, please take a moment to appreciate the five exquisite frescoes adorning its walls.

These frescoes are the work of noted artist Lucienne Bioch and her husband Stephen Pope Dimitroff,

who did the technical fresco work.

THE CREATION

Let there be light, and there was light. And God

divided the light from the darkness.

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And God made the firmament, and divided the

waters which were under the firmament.

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Let the waters under the heaven be gathered

together unto one place and let the dry land

appear.

THE CREATION� DETAIL

Air, particles, atoms, cells dividing, protoplasm,

nebulae, life and death of the universe.

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On earth, herbs, roots, eggs and fossils.

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Chaos and order.

THE TREE OF LIFE

Genesis describes the Tree of Life as the source of eternal life in the

Garden of Eden.

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In Revelations, the Tree of Life is in the new garden of paradise

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The Tree of Life is also a symbol of the cross.

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Here, man stands in awe of the Creation.

THE TREE OF LIFE� DETAIL

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their

kinds, the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the

wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 

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God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the

ground according to their kinds. 

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And God saw that it was good.

THE EXODUS

Moses leads the Hebrews in the Sinai

Desert. In his right hand is the miracle

performing snake-entwined rod. In his

left hand he holds the tablets of the

Ten Commandments.

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The white background letters are the

Prayer, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy

God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul

and with all they might.”

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The black characters say “Hear, O Israel, The Lord Our God, the Lord is One.”

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In the background is Mt. Sinai with the

burning bush in the foreground.

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THE EXODUS� DETAIL

The Hebrews wandering in the wilderness of the Sinai desert.

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Manna miraculously descends from

Heaven to feed them.

THE EXODUS� DETAIL

This is the sculpted head of the Pharaoh Akhenaton, the only Pharaoh who believed, as did the Hebrews, that there was just one God.

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One of his poems reads, “Oh Thou only God,

there is no other God than Thou”.

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The inscription behind him reads “Yahweh.”

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Next to Akhenaton is his symbol for Aton,

his god, the sun with rays that terminate

in hands.

THE PROPHETS

The moons and suns symbolize the three

centuries of the age of the Prophets

(800 – 536 BC).

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Hands express fear, warning and despair.

THE PROPHETS� DETAIL

The earliest prophet, Elijah shown in an orange flame, rises

to heaven. This was interpreted by the Christians as a symbol

of the Resurrection.

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Next to him is Amos, the shepherd prophet.

THE PROPHETS� DETAIL

The prophetess Hulda gives the Book of Law (nucleus of

The Judeo-Christian teachings) to young King Josiah.

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Below her are the vessels in which the scrolls were kept.

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Jeremiah is seen chained in the dungeon for having dared

to foretell the inevitable destruction of Jerusalem.

THE PROPHETS� DETAIL

The fall of Jerusalem and the enslavement of the

Israelites.

COSMOS AND PEACE

The rays from the Creation fresco expand to this panel to show more

intimately our solar system.

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“The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims

his handiwork.”

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COSMOS AND PEACE�DETAIL

The earth is enlarged in proportion to the other

planets because we are concerned with it and

with its fragile blue-green atmosphere.

Mercury is shown on the right. It had been photographed

for the first time on the day this particular section of the

mural was painted.

COSMOS AND PEACE�DETAIL

At the bottom of this panel which is dedicated

to the children of the church, the lamb and the

lion lie together in peace.

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“…and a little child will lead them…”

� LUCIENNE BIOCH�

Lucienne Bioch (1909-1999) was a Swiss-born American artist.

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In 1929, she pioneered the design of glass sculpture for the Royal Leerdam Crystal Glass Factory

in the Netherlands. When Frank Lloyd Wright saw her glass works in New York, he invited her

to teach at his architectural school, Taliesin East.

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She was best known for her murals and for her association with the Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. A prolific photographer, Bloch contributed many photographs of

Rivera and Kahlo to biographical works about them and created five portfolios of photographs of

Rivera and Kahlo, including photos of their works in progress.

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Lucienne met her husband Stephen Pope Dimitroff while they were both assistants to Rivera,

with whom they studied the art and technique of fresco painting. In 1948 they moved to

California and settled in Mill Valley. Later they moved to Gualala, where they had a ranch and

studios.

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Their murals and mosaics are in numerous locations throughout Northern California and her work

is in many museums around the United States, including The National Gallery of Art and

The New York Public Library.

Photographs and slide show

Nancy Finston

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Historical Research

Sandra Fisk, Church Historian Emeritus

and

Pastor Cynthia Cochran-Carney

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Editors

David Wood and Sharon DeMills-Wood

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