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The New-born
2011-12-21 23:37:00
Georges de La Tour1593-1652Le Nouveau-né / The New-born1630 - 1640sOil on canvas 76 x 91 cmMusée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes One of the most famous works of the Baroque artist, Georges de La Tour, is undoubtedly Le Nouveau-né It is an ambiguous work. It is not stated if the subject is Mary and the Christ Child with St Anne. But there is more than a suggestion that it is It was seized in the Revolution in 1794 from the house of a Royalist émigré from Rennes. Hence the lack of definite knowledge as to what it is meant to portray, when it was painted and for whom It is a deeply tranquil work with the light being provided by an imaginary candle partly hidden by the figure of the servant or is it St Anne ? The artist is most celebrated for his mysterious candle-lit compositions and attracted many less able imitators. The light shines softly on the head of the infant child almost as if the baby were the source of the illumination It has been described as a Caravagesque work no doubt because of...

A Pastoral in Winter
2011-12-19 21:43:00
Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) (1515-1592)The Adoration of the ShepherdsOil on canvas1.26 m. x 1.00 mMusée national du château de Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) (1515-1592)The Adoration of the Shepherds1565-70 Oil on canvas 112,1 x 72,1 cmPrivate collection, loaned to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The depiction of shepherds in art and literature is central to the Art of the Pastoral Even before the Gospels were written, the motif of the shepherd and his sheep represented a simple uncomplicated life in sharp contrast to a more complicated and less ideal way of life The pastor and his sheep were and are still idealised. They represent innocence and purity in a corrupted world. In On Naïve and Sentimental Poetry, Friedrich Schiller wrote: "The naive way of thinking can accordingly never be a property of a corrupted man, but rather belongs only to children and childlike-minded men. These latter often act and think naively in the midst of the artif...
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Mantegna: The Nativity and the Incarnation
2011-12-18 13:22:00
Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)The Baby Jesus in a Manger1450Miniature on parchment27,3 cm x 28,3 cmMs. Lat. IX, 1 (3496), c. 133vBiblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)The Adoration of the Shepherdsc. 1455-1456Part of the polyptych of San Zeno of VeronaWood transposed onto canvas 40 cm x 55,6 cmThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)Madonna and Child with Seraphim and Cherubimca. 1460 Tempera and gold on wood Arched top, 17 3/8 x 11 1/4 in. (44.1 x 28.6 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)The Holy Family with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptistc. 1500 - 05Oil on canvas62,9 cm x 51,3 cmThe Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)THe Holy Family with the Family of St John the Baptistc. 1500Oil on canvas40 cm x 169 cmBasilica di Sant'Andrea, Mantua (Mantova) Andrea Mantegna (1431 - 1506)The Adoration of the Magic. 1495 - 1500 Oil on canvas54,6 cm x 70,7 cmThe J....

Nativity with Saints
2011-12-17 17:46:00
Pietro di Francesco Orioli (c 1458 ? 1496)The Nativity with Saints From The Nativity with Saints Altarpiecec. 1485 - 95Tempera on wood187.5 x 155 cmThe National Gallery, London I have written about Pietro Orioli before. Orioli was a pupil of Matteo di Giovanni, though he also worked with the multi-talented Francesco di Giorgio. He is thought to have been independently active from the 1480s; his first documented work The images above are from a work in The National Gallery in London which is only available for viewing once a week (Wednesday) The work comes from the little chapel of Cerreto Ciampoli, in the Val-d'Arbia part of the Province of Siena. It was part of an altarpiece In this Nativity scene we see the Virgin and Child with Saint Joseph, God the Father between two angels, John the Baptist, Saint Stephen and possibly a shepherd, Saints Jerome and Nicholas For the altarpiece see below THe original Siennese carpentry is still extant Orioli is known from documents to have been...

Blessed Hildegard of Bingen
2011-12-16 21:35:00
It is reported that Blessed Hildegard of Bingen (1097/8-1179) will be made a Saint and then a Doctor of the Church in October 2012, nearly 1000 years after her death One of the main reasons for the survival of the writings of Blessed Hildegard has been the The Wiesbaden Codex (?Riesencodex?: "giant codex", or ?chain codex?) now in the Landesbibliothek Wiesbaden in Wiesbaden, Germany It is a ?definitive edition? of Hildegard?s writings probably finished during her lifetime (i.e., before 1179) or shortly after, She had knowledge of the project and it involved five or six scribes in her monastery, Part of Manuscript of Scivias by Hildegard of Bingen in The Wiesbaden ("Giant") Codex c. 1175/1190 46 x 30 cmLandesbibliothek Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, Germany Shortly after this manuscript other manuscripts were produced including this one of Scivias in the University of Heidelberg dating from about 1190 -1220 (Cod. Sal. X,16, Hildegard von Bingen, Liber Scivias , Zwiefalten und Salem, Ende ...

The Seven Joys of Mary
2011-12-14 22:42:00
Hans Memling (1435-1494)The Seven Joys of Mary 1480Oil on oak wood panel81.3 x 189.2 cmAlte Pinakothek, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich There is some dispute about this picture. Not about the artist which is quite beyond doubt. It is about the title and what it is meant to depict. The old title was and is The Seven Joys of Mary. These "Joys" do not coincide with the Five Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary The seven joys are usually listed as: The Annunciation, The Nativity of Jesus, The Adoration of the Magi, The Resurrection of Christ, The Ascension of Christ to Heaven, The Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary, and The Coronation of the Virgin in Heaven. There are variants. It was a common theme in medieval devotional painting and literature The events depicted in Memling`s work all have a Marian joyful theme: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Visit of the Three Wise Men, the escape from the Massacre of the Innocents (and presumably The Flight ...

A Celebration of Poverty
2011-12-11 21:24:00
Guido Reni 1575 - 1642The Adoration of the ShepherdsAbout 1640Oil on canvas480 x 321 cmThe National Gallery, London This work was possibly commissioned by Prince Karl Eusebius of Lichtenstein (who died in 1684). The National Gallery acquired it from the Prince`s descendants in 1957. Before the acquisition, some of the Trustees went to Vaduz to see it. It was in a very dark room. It was decided to take the painting outside. Unfortunately the wind took hold of it and it smashed into a fencepost. The post left a huge hole in the painting next to the head of one of the shepherds. The National Gallery continued with the purchase no doubt on the well known retail concept of "If you break it, you own it" After it was repaired the huge work stayed in the same room in the Gallery for nearly fifty years before it went to be restored. It is back after a period of three years in the National Gallery`s "backshop". It is a late work of Reni`s and probably many of Reni`s assistants were involved...
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Science and Religion
2011-12-10 11:30:00
From Aristotle`s Ethics: Science , Art, Wisdom and Listening15th century Manuscript34.5 x 25 cmMusée Condé, Chantilly The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion is an interdisciplinary research enterprise based at St Edmund's College, Cambridge. In addition to academic research, the Institute engages in the public understanding of science and religion Amongst the fascinating lectures available in podcast form are those on Astronomy and Biblical events. Professor Sir Colin Humphreys is Director of Research in the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge and has delivered a number of lectures on the following topics: Astronomy and the date of the Crucifixion Science and the dating of the Easter week events They are interesting as the Professor demonstrates how Science can come to the aid of upholding the historicity of Jesus and events narrated in Scripture. There are also many lectures by John Charlton Polkinghorne KBE FRS (born 16 October 1...

Crivelli and the Madonna and Child
2011-12-09 00:10:00
Carlo Crivelli 1430/35 - 1495Virgin and Child c. 1480Tempera on panel, 49 x 34 cmVictoria and Albert Museum, London Carlo Crivelli 1430/35 - 1495Madonna and Childc. 1480Tempera and gold on wood, 37.8 x 25.4 cmThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Crivelli specialised in exquisite devotional paintings of the Madonna and Child Here are two examples: one in The Victoria and Albert Museum in London known as "The Jones Madonna" (after the donor of the work to the V and A), and the other in The Metropolitan Museum in New York. Both were meant probably as private devotional paintings. They are intricate works full of devotional symbolism which probably for the modern taste are perhaps slightly overbearing. With the pre-Raphelites, Crivelli`s reputation increased and then fell again. Now there is a recrudescence of interest in the artist. The apple is the symbol of Death which arose from the eating of the apple in the Garden of Eden. The gourd is the symbol of recovery and redemption, ...

A Treasure of San Silvestro
2011-12-07 22:01:00
Paolo Veronese (aka Paolo Caliari) 1528 - 1588The Adoration of the Kings1573Oil on canvas355.6 x 320 cmThe National Gallery, London Veronese painted this beautiful work in 1573 for the Church of San Silvestro in Venice. There it remained against a wall of the nave beside a chapel of the Confraternity of St Joseph until the middle of the nineteenth century. When the church was remodelled in the mid 19th century, this and some other works were sold. Purportedly because they were too large for the new setting. Probably simply to raise money for the refurbishment and to replace them with some nineteenth century works. First it was crated up and brought to Paris where it was to be offered to Baron James Rothschild. However he sold it on and The National Gallery acquired it in 1855 for the princely sum of £1,977 (now £135,000 using RPI to £1,180,000.00 using average earnings) plus £2 2s. 2d. for carriage from Paris The purchase of the painting did cause some controvery. Questions were ask...

A Daring Picture in The National Gallery
2011-12-06 23:36:00
Carlo Crivelli (about 1430/5 - about 1494)The Immaculate Conception1492Egg on wood194.3 x 93.3 cmSigned; Dated and inscribedThe National Gallery , London According to The National Gallery in London, while Columbus was discovering The New World, Crivelli was painting this depiction of The Immaculate Conception. According also to the Gallery, this painting may be the earliest dated picture of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. If any masterpiece should be exhibited in a Church (as Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor once suggested), it would surely be this one It was commissioned for the Franciscan church of San Francesco, Pergola in Central Italy. The setting of the Franciscan Church is significant. The Franciscan order was the great champion agaiinst the Dominicans of the Doctrine of The Immaculate Conception. In 1476 it was the Franciscan Pope, Sixtus IV, who issued the Decree in the post below which launched the Franciscan viewpoint on the Universal Church On the banner are ins...
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An Unusual Iconography
2011-12-05 23:25:00
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri : Il Guercino (1591 - 1666)The Immaculate Conceptionc. 1656Oil on canvas259 x 180 cmPinacoteca "F. Podesti", Ancona This is one of the artist's late works. He was a highly prestigious artist of religious works, celebrated as one of the greatest painters of his day In his late works, Il Guercino exhibited 'a mastery of tender and tranquil colour' (Ellis K. Waterhouse, Italian Baroque Painting, London, 1962, p. 115). It would appear that this was a work meant and commissioned for private devotion For a Baroque artist in the Counter-Reformation, it is noteworthy that the iconography used is different from the standard iconography of the time. There is no crown of stars. And God the Father is present. She does stand on the crescent moon, reminiscent of the Apocalypse but she does not crush the serpent. There is no serpent It is a meditation on two of the main Scriptural foundations for the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception: "And the angel being come in...

The Immaculate Conception
2011-12-04 21:30:00
Jean Bellegambe (c. 1470 - c. 1534)L`Immaculée Conception (part of Triptych)Exterior doors: St Anne and St JoachimIn Grisaille with touch of red in the facesInterior: The Church (Pope Sixtus IV and his advisers and the donors of the work (the family of Jean Poltier) in prayer1526Oil on wood333 x 113cmMusée de la Chartreuse, Douai Jean Bellegambe (c. 1470 - c. 1534)St Anne and the Conception of Mary1515-1520Oil on wood36 x 26 cmMusée de la Chartreuse, Douai Jean Bourdichon c 1457 - 1521The Meeting of St Anne and St Joachim at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem From The Breviary of King René II of Lorrainec. 1520Illuminated manuscript: miniatureMusée du Petit-Palais, Paris The Immaculate Conception, the conception of Mary free from original sin was not easily depicted in medieval art. By God's own choice, Mary was filled with deifying grace from the moment of her conception so she might be fittingly honoured as the all-holy Mother of the Incarnate Word. The above two images are examples w...

Saving the Lateran
2011-11-29 22:56:00
Initial A with Saint Dominic Saving the Church of Saint John LateranFrom a Dominican gradualMid-15th century ( Lombardy)Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment 4 5/16 x 3 11/16 in. (10.9 x 9.3 cm)The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Giotto di Bondone (1267 - 1337)Legend of St Francis: 6. The Dream of Innocent III1297-99Fresco270 x 230 cmUpper Church, San Francesco, Assisi There is a story that Pope Innocent III allowed the Dominicans to be established after he dreamed that Saint Dominic saved the Church of Saint John Lateran in Rome - the Pope`s own Church in Rome There is another story that Pope Innocent III dreamt of Saint Francis being the person who saved the Lateran and then approved the Order of St Francis In 1215 the year of the Fourth Lateran Council, Dominic and one of his followers, Foulques, went to Rome to secure the approval of the Pope, Innocent III, of their order. It is understood that Dominic did attend the Council himself as a spectator (as apparently did St Franc...

The Tax Collectors
2011-11-27 14:01:00
Marinus Van Reymerswaele (c.1493- c 1567)The Tax Collectorsc. 1540sOil on oak panel94.1 cm x 77 cmMusée du Louvre, Paris A nearly identical picture by Marinus Van Reymerswaele hangs in The National Gallery in London However it would appear that the picture in The Louvre is the earlier work Other simplified versions are in Antwerp and Warsaw. But the narrow range of themes which the artist painted were very popular. The existence of many old copies and studio repetitions is an indication of the popularity of his satirical critique of his subject matter. It would appear from the writing on the various Deeds that the picture depicts two tax gatherers in the town of Reymerswaele. In the fifteenth century Reymerswaele was the third most important town in Zeeland after Middelburg and Zierikzee. However disaster struck in 1530 with the Saint Felix Flood and Reymerswaele became a separate island. It was abandoned in 1631 and the town was submerged under the waters of the Ooster Schelde. O...

The Moneychanger and his Wife
2011-11-26 12:24:00
Marinus Claeszoon van Reymerswaele (c. 1490 ? c. 1546) The Moneychanger and his Wife 1539Oil on panel83 cm x 97 cmMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid Amongst the works of the Flemish-Dutch painters Quentin Matsys (1466?1529) and Marinus Claeszoon van Reymerswaele (c. 1490 ? c. 1546) are two themes: Money lenders (or Bankers and clients) and Tax gatherers. They were very popular themes. The theme of moneylending seems to have been first popularised by a lost half-length Banker and Client by Jan van Eyck of 1440, that was probably commissioned by Italian financiers working in Bruges Van Eyck's composition appears to have been adapted by Quinten Metsys in two works including The Banker and his Wife of 1514 in the Louvre, Paris It would appear that it was Metsys' work that was the source of the theme by Marinus van Reymerswaele. But there are major differences between the two works. Van Reymerswaele repeated the composition shown in the Prado many times. Seated at their table a rather a...

No more Walmart Churches
2011-11-21 23:00:00
The Vatican Insider has reported some good news. There is to be a new Vatican commission: "The Liturgical Art and Sacred Music Commission". It will be established shortly According to Andrea Tornielli the Commission "will not be just any office, but a true and proper team, whose task will be to collaborate with the commissions in charge of evaluating construction projects for churches of various dioceses." Further and perhaps more importantly "The team will also be responsible for the further study of music and singing that accompany the celebration of mass." Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Benedict XVI, consider this work as ?very urgent?. Tonielli comments: "The reality is staring everyone in the eyes: in recent decades, churches have been substituted by buildings that resemble multi purpose halls. Too often, architects, even the more famous ones, do not use the Catholic liturgy as a starting point and thus end up producing ...
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Saint Cecilia
2011-11-21 22:43:00
After Niccolò Circignani called "Il Pomarancio" (c. 1517/1524 - after 1596)Print made by Monogrammist MP (16th C. late - 17th C. early; fl)Church martyrs, with in the foreground St Cecilia standing in a cauldron of boiling waterAfter the fresco executed in San Stefano Rotondo by Niccolò CircignaniEngraving268 millimetres x 171 millimetresThe British Museum, London Nicola Circignani's cycle of the early Christian martyrs (1582) in the ambulatory of the Jesuit church of San Stefano Rotondo was one of the most celebrated of the numerous martyrdom cycles in Rome during the last twenty years of the sixteenth century. It consisted of thirty-one frescoes each depicting a scene of horrendous martyrdom within the early Church The cycles were part of the Catholic response to the Protestant martyrologies such as John Foxe's Acts and Monuments One of the main themes of the Pontificate of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) was an Early Christian revival which took shape in Rome. Early Christendom was r...

The Judgment of Solomon
2011-11-20 22:07:00
Giacomo Pacchiarotto 1474 - 1540The Judgment of SolomonOil on wood panel97 x 126 cmMusée du Petit Palais, Avignon The Wisdom of King Solomon was and is proverbial The Wisdom of Pacchiarotto was not. When he was young he worked in Pintoricchio's studio in Rome But he was rather restless, aggressive and ideological. He went back to Siena and became a member of a group of ideological reformers in Siena called the "Bardotti" He and his fellow members loved to theorise. They criticised and loved to put the world to rights. They were politicians and Pacchiarotto was one of the leaders He seemed to have been carried away with his eloquence and emotion. Unfortunately the society was bloodily suppressed and Pacchiarotto had to seek the assistance of the Observant Fathers who saved his life. They hid him with a corpse in a tomb until the hunt was called off. He spent the rest of his life hiding in exile In Browning`s poem Pacchiarotto, and how he worked in Distemper (1876), Browning has ...

Psalm 110
2011-11-19 14:02:00
Psalm 110 with the Trinity, in a Psalterc. 1210Illuminated manuscriptInk and pigments on vellum29.3 x 19 cmArundel MS 157, f.93rThe British Library, London This Psalter dates back to 1210. This page shows the beginning of Psalm 110 which begins: "Dixit Dominus Domino meo sede a dextris meis donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum" 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." The large historiated initial "D" shows the Trinity seated in heaven. Inspired by the first verses of the psalm, Jesus sits at the right of God the Father, both with demons under their feet. Another medieval treatment of Psalm 110 is in the St.-Omer Psalter which dates back to 1330 and is in The British Library in London Psalm 110The St.-Omer PsalterFrom 1330Ink and pigments on vellumIlluminated manuscriptYates Thompson MS 14; f.120rThe British Library, London The history of this Psalter is interesting. The British Library website states:...
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Old St Peters
2011-11-16 22:47:00
Print made by Pieter de Bailliu (1613 - 1660)After Pieter van Lint (1609 - 1690)Emperor Constantine the Great laying the foundations for the Basilica of St Peter in Rome1637Print309 millimetres x 240 millimetresThe British Museum, London The emperor is kneeling in front of a statue of St Peter in a niche, one of his soldier carrying a basket at right, another outlining the foundations of the basilica with an axe, and an architect is standing beyond at left and holding the plan The work on the construction for the Old Basilica probably began about AD 319 - 326 during the Pontificate of Sylvester. The work was essentially finished in AD 333 Pieter van Lint became a master in Antwerp in 1632. He then moved to Rome where his primary clients were a prominent family and a Roman Catholic cardinal. During this period he painted a series of frescoes and made chalk studies of antique and Renaissance drawings. Lint returned to Antwerp in 1640 http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/Uocy k

Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland
2011-11-13 13:08:00
After Carlo Dolci 1616 - 1686Print made by Domenico Marchetti 1780 - 1844St Margaret, Queen of Scotland 1810 -1844Engraving494 mm x 350 mmThe British Museum, London Print made by Alexander Runciman 1736 - 1785Marriage of King Malcolm and St Margaret1751-1785Print engraving227mm x 188 mmThe British Museum, London Genealogical roll of the kings of England England, S.; 1st quarter of the 14th century, before 1308 Detail from the roll: six roundels of Edmund II Ironside and his descendants: Edward Ætheling, Edgar, Saint Margaret, Edmund, and Christine. The British Library, London (Edmund Ironside or Edmund II (c. 988/993 ? 30 November 1016) was king of England from 23 April to 30 November 1016. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was given to him "because of his valour" in resisting the Danish invasion led by Cnut the Great.) This week is the Feast Day of Saint Margaret (c. 1045 ? 16 November 1093), also known as Margaret of Wessex and Queen Margaret of Scotland, was an Englis...

Psalm 119
2011-11-12 21:22:00
Gottfried HintzPsalm 119;37: Er kehre ab meine Augen daß sie nicht sehen 1693-1696PaintingMühlhausen (Kreis Preußisch Eylau) / Gwardejskoje The Russian town of Gwardeiskoje was originally part of East Prussia and called Mühlhausen (Kreis Preußisch Eylau) Originally founded by the Teutonic Knights, the town later became the home of one of the daughters of Martin Luther when she married The Church became Lutheran and had strong Lutheran connections The fresco above has as its theme Psalm 119 , v, 37: "37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way" Psalm 119 is one of the alphabetic acrostic poems in the Bible. Its 176 verses are divided into twenty-two stanzas, one stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet; within each stanza, each of the eight verses begins (in Hebrew) with that letter It is the longest Psalm and the longest Chapter in the Bible It celebrates God?s law and speaks of the wonders of the Torah (the Law of Moses) and helps worshipers to...

Envy
2011-11-07 22:58:00
Jacob de Backer (c. 1555 ? c. 1585)Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins1570-1575Oil on canvas1.180 m. x 1.560mMuseo Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples Théodore Géricault(1791 - 1824)La Monomane de l'envie, also called La Hyène de la Salpêtrière1819-1820Oil on canvas72 x. 58 cmMusée des Beaux-arts, Lyon Géricault`s painting is meant to be a scientific work, a work of the scientific Enlightenment. A depiction of an unfortunate lady in La Salpêtrière in Paris, the hospital for the insane. One of the main symptoms of her illness was Envy. Envy is etched on her face. It has eaten her away. That is what, prior to the age of photography, Géricault meant to convey. It was to be an exemplar of what doctors were to look for when diagnosing patients. In both paintings one sees Envy as an isolated, closed and frightened figure determined to do down others as if by damning others their own existence and superiority are secured. One often sees such examples (but on a much lesser scale) in the wo...

The Madonna of Humility
2011-11-05 11:08:00
Niccolò Semitecolo (Nicoletto) (Nicholeto Semitecholo da Venexia)(active 1353 - 1370)The Madonna of Humilityc. 1370Tempera on panelThe Basilica of St Anthony of Padua, Padova Lorenzo Veneziano (active 1357 - 1379)The Madonna of Humility with Saints Mark and John the Baptist About 1359/66Tempera on poplar panel31 x 57.5 cmThe National Gallery, London The depiction of the Virgin sitting on the ground was called The Madonna of Humility It was promoted by the Franciscan order who had a particular calling to the virtue of Humility through their founder The earliest known painting on this theme is 1346. The two paintings above therefore are early examples of the genre In Dante`s Purgatory, Purgatory is a steep and high mountain which Dante must ascend to reach Paradise which is at the summit. On the mountain at differing levels are seven terraces corresponding with the Seven Deadly Sins. On each Terrace, sinners are doing expiation for that particular sin The First Terrace is that of th...

The Martyrdom of Pope Saint Fabian
2011-01-18 22:57:00
The martyr Pope Fabian is mentioned in Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, (263 - 339). Fabian was a layman when elected Pope. Eusebius writes: "1. Gordianus succeeded Maximinus as Roman emperor and Pontianus, who had been bishop of the church at Rome for six years, was succeeded by Anteros. After he had held the office for a month, Fabianus succeeded him 2. They say that Fabianus having come, after the death of Anteros, with others from the country, was staying at Rome, and that while there he was chosen to the office through a most wonderful manifestation of divine and heavenly grace. 3. For when all the brethren had assembled to select by vote him who should succeed to the episcopate of the church, several renowned and honorable men were in the minds of many, but Fabianus, although present, was in the mind of none. But they relate that suddenly a dove flying down lighted on his head, resembling the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Saviour in the form of a dove. 4. Thereup...

Saints Sebastian and Fabian
2011-01-18 19:26:00
Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia (1403 ? 1482)Saints Fabian and Sebastian about 1475Egg tempera on wood84.5 x 54.5 cmThe National Gallery, London This week celebrates the Feasts of St Fabian, Pope and Martyr (Pope from January 10, 236 to January 20, 250) as well as St Sebastian, martyr.(died c. 288) They are linked in this Votive offering now in The National Gallery, London S.Fabian on the left holds a book, S.Sebastian on the right holds a dark green palm. At the foot of the panel are two smaller figures, brothers of the Misericordia, probably the donors or commissioners of the work. The Confraternity was a lay brotherhood which was devoted to the Seven Works of Mercy. The brothers, dressed in black with white veils, are holding what may be spoons used for collecting alms Saints Sebastian and Fabian are linked and seen in other works together. See the works in The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg However beyond sharing the same "birthday" in the Calendar, there would appear to be no other li...

Saint Anthony Abbot 3
2011-01-16 22:29:00
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez 1599 ? 1660San Antonio Abad y San Pablo, primer ermitaño Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Paul, the first Hermit1634Oil on canvas257 x 188 cmMuseo Nacional del Prado, Madrid Velázquez painted this work for the Hermitage of Saint Paul in the Gardens of the Palacio del Buen Retiro, Madrid The work is based on the life of Saint Paul the First Hermit as set out in The Golden Legend which itsef is based on the story narrated by St Jerome: "Here followeth, the Life of S. Paul the first Hermit. S. Paul which was the first hermit as S. Jerome writeth, was in the time of Decius and Valerianus, emperors, the year of the incarnation of our Lord two hundred and fifty-six. ... In this time S. Anthony was a hermit in another desert and was then ninety years of age. And on a time he thought in himself that in the world was none so good ne so great an hermit as he was himself. Hereupon came to him a revelation as he slept that, beneath all, low down in that deser...

St Anthony Abbot 2
2011-01-15 23:11:00
Sebastiano Luciani called Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547)St Anthony the Hermit Oil on wood1.37 m x 1.095mChâteau at Compiègne Venetian-born and trained, perhaps by Giorgione, Sebastiano moved in 1511 to Rome, where he became a major portraitist and painter of religious subjects. He was a protégé of Michelangelo, who significantly influenced his art. After Raphael's death, Sebastiano was the foremost painter in Rome and the first artist to return there after the 1527 Sack of Rome Sebastiano del Piombo was the name given to him when Pope Clement VII awarded him the lucrative papal office of keeper of the leaden seals in 1531 St Anthony`s biographer was Saint Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria. When Athanasius went into exile over the Arian dispute, St Anthony was one of his stoutest defenders St Anthony and Athanasius were good friends. On the death of St Anthony, Athanasius received as a legacy two sheepskins and a mantle Of St Anthony, Athanasius wrote: "The fact that his fam...

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
2011-01-15 22:12:00
Today in Westminster Cathedral in central London, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales said: ?Many ordinations have taken place in this cathedral during the 100 years of its history, but none quite like this? Former Anglican Bishops Andrew Burnham, John Broadhurst and Keith Newton were ordained Catholic priests The first "personal ordinariate" was born as a decree from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Holy Father's named as the ordinary Monsignor Newton The Catholic Herald  has the full story on these great and happy events See: Holy See press statement on establishment of ordinariate Cardinal William Levada?s message to ordinariate Archbishop Vincent Nichols?s homily at ordination of first ordinariate priests Priests ordained to the world?s first ordinariatehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/bl ogspot/Uocyk
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