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Showing posts with the label art

Petit Palais in Avignon

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At the northern end of the large open space which begins with the Palais du Papes in Avignon, there is the Petit Palais which was extensively modified by Guiliano della Rovere who became Pope Julius II (known as Il Papa Terribile) who gave the dispensation for Henry VIII to marry Katherine of Aragon, and founded the Swiss Guard, among his other claims to fame. Here is the view from the door of the Little Palace: There are some more photos in the Flickr set but I was taken by this painting of St Peter by Taddeo di Bartolo of Siena (d.1422), with the apostle in a yellow toga: Giovanni Pagani of Monterubbiano in the Marches (d.1545) painted this unusual Vierge du Secours in which Our Lady illustrates the military maxim "Talk softly and carry a big stick." I am back now from Avignon and back into the parish schedule. If you are waiting for a reply to an email that might take a few days...
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Documentary on The Taking of Christ

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Rorate Caeli  has posted videos from YouTube which show in five sections a documentary on the life of Caravaggio, whose 400th anniversary was on 18 July. The programme focusses particularly on the painting The Taking of Christ which belongs to the Irish Jesuits and is currently housed in the National Gallery of Ireland. Programmes which are uploaded in ten minute segments are easier to view if they are in a playlist. You can then click on the playlist and the clips will automatically start up in sequence. I have made a playlist of these videos at my YouTube channel so if it is helpful do click on the link: The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece: the Taking of Christ .
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Virgin of the Rocks

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One of the great treasures of the National Gallery is Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks . The masterpiece has recently been cleaned, leading to the cautious conclusion of the curator that "it now seems possible that Leonardo painted all the picture himself". In a fascinating article for the Guardian: The Virgin of the Rocks: Da Vinci decoded , Jonathan Jones shares his enthusiasm for the painting itself: "Once you've seen it, everything else in this collection looks like flat daubs.") and the restoration: "Conservative this restoration may be in style, but its implications are revolutionary." Telegraph blogger, Harry Mount Harry Mount also has a warm appreciation of the restoration which overcame his "ingrained scepticism about over-cleaning". It is a great privilege to be within close reach of such treasures in London. I will be slogging through the transport network this evening on my way to Lichfield, but will not hav...
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Blessed Sacrament procession at Louviers c.1500

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This magnificent window at the Church of Notre Dame in Louviers, France, was made in 1490-1500 and depicts a Blessed Sacrament Procession accompanied by various candle-bearing tradesmen. Simon Cotton, an Anglican who is part of Forward in Faith , has a short article about the window in the June edition of New Directions (page 35). He ends with this quotation from the Curé of Ars: "When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our heart; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other." The issue also has an article by Joanna Bogle reflecting on a difficult year for Catholics and the hope offered by Anglicanorum Coetibus .
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Sistine Chapel virtual tour

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Thanks to John Thavis of CNS for new of an addition to the Vatican website: a Virtual Tour of the Sistine Chapel . this is a joint project of the Vatican and Villanova University. There is a copyright notice photoshopped into the pavement. However, I am reliably informed by the last surviving Knight Commander of the Noble Equestrian Order of Pope Zephyrinus that Michaelangelo in fact painted in a small notice under Adam's big toenail saying that he released the lot under a Creative Commons licence :-) Apologies for the frivolity. It really is a splendid project.
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Chant course at Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

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At the basilica of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, the tradition of Gregorian Chant has been kept alive over the past decades by the community of Benedictine nuns. There is now an initiative called " Cantantibus Organis " to help others to learn more about the chant. Each Sunday, from 9.30am, there will be a half-hour practice of the chants to be used in that day's Mass (ordinary form). After the Masses, during Advent, there will be the following lectures from 11.15am-12noon: 1) "The Introits of the Sundays in Advent" Luigi Pastoressa, choirmaster and organist at Santa Cecilia. 2) "The ‘sound’ of the Word: Gregorian chant in the liturgy." Dr Jordi-Augustí Pique OSB, from the monastery at Montserrat and director of the Escolania de Montserrat, the oldest surviving music school in Europe, is at Sant' Anselmo this term. He was the organist when Pope Benedict visited Montecassino on 24 May. 3) "Introduction to Liturgical Spirituality" Monsigno...
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Papa Professore on Cathedrals

Yesterday, at the General Audience address, the Holy Father moved from medieval theology to medieval cathedrals. Here's the YouTube video of the summary of his address for English speaking pilgrims. At the Vatican website, you can read the full text in Italian of the General Audience address. If you don't read Italian, Google translate is getting better all the time ...
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A painting to ponder

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Chris Gillibrand of Cathcon sent me a link to this picture which is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City since he thought it might be "useful." The masterpiece was painted about 1725-1729 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Venetian rococo artist, as part of a cycle of large canvases (this one is 411.5 x 376.9 cm) used to decorate a reception room in the Ca' Dolfin at Venice; it depicts the capture of Cathage by Scipio Aemilianus who razed the city to the ground, answering the constant demands of Cato the Elder. The Oxford Companion to Western Art says that in his work, Tiepolo consciously revives the artistic language of Veronese, not out of nostalgia but as a source of strength and renewal.
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Sacred art and chant for primary schools

The Association of Catholic Women have sent me notice of this event for Catholic primary school teachers. There was a similar event in February, at Coloma School in Croydon, which was a great success. ART & MUSIC IN R.E. TEACHING A Study Day for Teachers in Catholic Primary Schools Wednesday 24 June 2009 At Westminster Cathedral Choir School (by kind permission of the Headmaster) 12.30pm Sandwich Lunch 1.45pm Teaching Christ Through Art – illustrated presentation by Lionel Gracey Lionel Gracey studied medicine at Cambridge and Harvard. He was Consultant Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital, London, from 1966-91. Following his retirement, he studied theology at the Maryvale Institute, Birmingham, where he now lectures in Religious Art. 3.00pm Tea 3.15pm Enriching School Masses through Gregorian Chant - Workshop with Jeremy de Satgé. Jeremy de Satgé is a singer, composer, choral director and music publisher. He is a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London. Through his mu...
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"strange and alien teachings"

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On his blog Tidbits , Bishop Medroso from the Philippines has a thoughtful and interesting article called The People of God, the Liturgy and the Religious Artists . He looks at the question of modern architecture and its theological basis. He quotes H Reed Armstrong: If man already lives an "engraced" existence naturally, and the sacramental union with Christ is ontologically superfluous, a mere symbol of entrance into a "faith community," then the altar rail (iconostasis, the rood screen) that separates the natural world of the faithful and the supernatural world of the Divine mysteries must go. As Christ is already present in the community, the sacramental presence of Our Lord in the tabernacle is now superfluous and can therefore be removed from the sanctuary precinct. With the traditional concept of the Mystical Body obscured, the images of saints and holy mysteries, a tradition going back to the catacombs, are removed in favor of a single figure of the "Ri...
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Fr Lang on new sacred art programme

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Zenit has news of a new master's program in architecture, sacred arts and liturgy at the European University of Rome of which Fr Uwe Michael Lang is one of the directors. (Cf. Master's Program Aims to Halt Art Crisis ). Fr Lang commented on the crisis in sacred art: ... a crisis of the deepest roots, a crisis that has swept away, even before art, beauty itself, of which it should be the bearer. The very concept of 'fine arts,' of which the conciliar Constitution on Sacred Liturgy speaks, is debated. Following Hans Urs von Balthasar, he also stressed that Together with the loss of the beautiful, the good and the true have also been lost.
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Radiant Light lesson plan

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Radiant Light , the website for the devotional and instructional paintings by Elizabeth Wang, has produced a Lesson Plan for Teachers . This can be used in various areas of the curriculum and, of course, would be a valuable resource for homeschoolers. The lesson plan includes questions and activities. It is great to hear that the website will soon include a larger collection of about 600 free high quality pictures that can be downloaded freely for non-commercial use.
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Bevans family blog

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The Bevans family have started a new blog - called BevansInc. , it brings together a number of talented family members. Gary Bevans is the one who painted the reproduction of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Church of the English Martyrs in Goring-by-Sea
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More great line art

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Mike of in illo tempore has posted a link to his gallery of line art which is another excellent resource
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Catholic B/W image collection

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At NLM: Images for Liturgical use Jeffrey Tucker has posted a link to a flickr collection of " images for use in liturgy programs ". Most of the images are black and white which makes them useful for newsletters and booklets run off in the parish. If, like me, you have been stuck with some not very good sets on CDs and the occasional search on google images, these are a Godsend. I recognise several from old missals and breviaries which were so beautifully illustated. There are some that I had a mind to scan for myself so it is a great help to have them collected.
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Piranesi exhibition

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Matthew at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping has an excellent post on the 18th century Venetian engraver, Giambattista Piranesi. As a student in Rome, I often came across reproductions of Piranesi's engravings and will now see if my next visit to the eternal City can take in a visit to Santa Maria del Priorato. See the post The Genius of Piranesi which reviews an exhibition running until 20 January at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, entitled Piranesi as Designer .
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Popular posts from this blog

Saint Gabriel

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The angels call for our veneration and awe as part of God’s creation. Part of the destructive modernism of the 1970s included advice to Catholic school teachers that they should not talk to children about angels. This wrought lasting damage which continues to need rectifying. We should include in our prayers a heartfelt recourse to our own Guardian Angels. The Archangel Gabriel “God is my strength” would be terrifying were he to appear to any of us. Our Lady was “troubled” at the word of Saint Gabriel and wondered at the manner of the salutation. Immediately, according to his mission, the awesome messenger explained himself. Modern retelling of the event is often reduced to the jejune “Mary said Yes to God”. In fact, she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word”. This conveys more accurately the flawless faith and trust of the Immaculata. In the infinitely wise providence of the Father, we now know the structure of the event in even more detai...
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Our Easter Faith: Not a Pious Crème Fraiche

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In public life, some basically well-meaning figures have the graciousness to wish us well at Easter and to recognise the importance of the Christian feast day. Perhaps they might assure us that their thoughts are with us at this time. That is kind of them and in Christian charity we should thank them for their kindness, but Easter should be a great deal more than that for us. We must believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, in the flesh, and lives for eternity. We cannot treat Easter as a jolly holiday that heralds spring, or the remembrance of a significant event from the past. It must change us today and every day, change who we are and what we do. The Christian faith cannot be a mild custard or blancmange of religiosity. (I am showing my age. Nowadays, I should say that it cannot be reduced to a pious crème fraiche .) We bow down and adore the King of Kings, risen from the tomb, who, “[…] continues for ever,...
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Blessing of the New Painting of St Bede at Clapham Park

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This morning, the parish priest at Clapham Park, Fr Marcus Holden, blessed a new picture of the parish's patron, Saint Bede, painted by James Tildsley. It is sited over a recently installed side altar near the rear of the Church. The altar itself was acquired from Antique Church Furnishings . The website gives the information that the altar was built and carved by a nun in a convent near Liverpool. It is a beautiful piece of work and it is always a joy when such works of art find a suitable and dignified home. The inscription on the gradine is AMANS AMATUS AMOR. The sellers translate this as “Loving is the object of love” which is a reasonable stab at “dynamic equivalence”. Today the parish's relic of St Bede was exposed for veneration in its distinctive brightly-coloured reliquary. After the blessing, there was High Mass with Fr Holden as celebrant, Fr Littleton deacon, and myself subdeacon. That gave me the enjoyable task of chant...
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Plenary indulgences not impossible

Dilexit Prior in Letters from a Young Catholic asked some useful questions today about indulgences. I thought it would be best to do a post here especially to cover the controversial question of detachment from venial sin. But first the other questions: The conditions for gaining a plenary indulgence Pope Paul VI set down a number of norms relating to indulgences at the end of Indulgentiarum Doctrina . Norm 7 states: To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfil three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even to venial sin, be absent. If this disposition is in any way less than complete, or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be only partial, except for the provisions contained in n.11 for those who are “impeded.” It is worth reading the other norms bec...
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Portiuncula indulgence tomorrow (and indulgences generally)

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Tomorrow, 2 August, you can gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions ( see below ) by visiting a parish Church and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . This is called the Portiuncula indulgence and goes back to St Francis of Assisi. Fr Z has the details . Don't forget that you can also gain a plenary indulgence by visiting a Church on the day of the titular feast, and there reciting the Our Father and the Creed . I made a list of other indulgences: please see the post Plenary indulgences for particular days which has a link to the list. The post has some background information which you may find helpful since indulgences are not well understood today - which is not surprising since indulgences are not included in most Catholic education curricula, and most priests never preach about them. Therefore many Catholics are left with whatever silly, half-baked, ill-informed nonsense about indulgences happens to be current. If you want to understand the theology...
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