Six Days of Advent: The Census at Bethlehem
The Census at Bethlehem, 1566, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. If this looks a little cold even for December in Antwerp, bear in mind that he was painting at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was …
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Six Days of Advent: The Annunciation to Joseph
The Dream of St. Joseph by Georges de La Tour. Most of us aren’t even aware that there was an Annunciation to Joseph. The Merode altarpiece, below, pretty much reflects our impression: we’re there (in the guise of the donors) listening as the Angel Gabriel drops his world-changing news, while Joseph whittles obliviously off to …
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Six Days of Advent: The Annunciation to Mary
The Annunciation Triptych, 1440, by Rogier van der Weyden, has the compressed version from the Gospel of Luke, almost in comic-book form—Zecheriah praying in his lonely temple, Gabriel surprising Mary while she reads Scripture, Mary meeting with Elizabeth, in whose womb the young John the Baptist leaps in recognition. The story of the Incarnation opens …
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When artists retire
“This was the first window I did,” said Gowing. “The window represents Holy Communion with grapes standing in for wine, and to my delight, John found glass that looked just like matzoh, the original communion bread. He painted in the air holes and edges. To date, John still hasn’t ever seen a matzoh in person, …
A New Status Quo
The Death of Marat, 1793, by Jacques-Louis David, is imbued with both emotional connection and revolutionary fervor. Jacques-Louis David was not merely a painter; he was, above all, a revolutionary. Moreover, he had perfect pitch for the sentiments of the age. In the 1780s, as French opinion stiffened against the Ancien Régime, David was painting severe …