Saint Harley in Ecstasy 1955

Charles B. Johnston's etching, *Saint Harley in Ecstasy,* presents us with a curious collision of the sacred and the profane. Here, the iconic motorcycle is not merely depicted but transfigured, almost deified, amidst swirling lines suggesting movement and perhaps spiritual ascension. The title evokes parallels with religious ecstasy, reminiscent of Bernini's *Ecstasy of Saint Teresa*, where divine rapture is depicted through intense physical and emotional expression. Johnston ingeniously transfers this concept to the realm of modern machinery, suggesting that the motorcycle embodies a similar kind of transformative experience for its rider. Consider the wheel, repeated throughout the image. It appears in ancient mandalas representing cosmic unity, and echoes in the gears and cogs of modern machinery. Johnston is not simply depicting a motorcycle; he is tapping into our collective memory, our shared understanding of the machine as a symbol of power, freedom, and transformation. It speaks to our subconscious desires for transcendence, now sought through the roar of an engine.