Dürer’s Small Passion
Small Passion: 23.Christ Being Nailed to the Cross, by Albrecht Dürer. As noted yesterday, there are typically 14 Stations of the Cross in the modern church, and they have become formalized into a specific order (which tends to meander a bit from the Gospel texts). That was not always the case. Albrecht Dürer produced three print …
The Way of the Cross
Carrying the Cross, from St. Thomas’ Stations of the Cross, now up for Lent. A friend who is a parishioner at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Rochester sent me this clipping from their parish newsletter: The Way of the Cross (also known as Stations of the Cross) is a traditional devotion during the season of …
Observing Lent through the arts
Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1661–1669, was used for a devotional on Luke 6:37-38 and Luke 23:34. The liturgical church has two seasons of preparation: Advent, which leads to Christmas, and Lent, which leads to Easter. Advent is an unabashedly joyous time, in the arts as well as in life. …
Taking chances, redux
I can’t decide whether to call it The heavens declare the glory of God or This Little Light of Mine. It’s a terrible photo, but it’s difficult to shoot a dark painting when it’s still wet and glossy. Photographs exaggerate the chroma and contrast of the Northern Lights; they are more ephemeral in reality. They also …
Taking chances
Winter Lambing, 48X36, oil on canvas, by little ol’ me. Critiquing a painting this week, I focused on the concrete: there isn’t any texture in the background, the yellows are too cool, the vase is too busy. A few hours later, my student looked at my Winter Lambing and said, “I’m playing it too safe, …