Something Beautiful

One thing? Forty things?

Is this quote from Washington Gladden true? --   "It is better to say, 'This one thing I do' than to say, 'These forty things I dabble in.'"

I think it might be.   (The words "This one thing I do" are, of course, St. Paul's.) 

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

A tour of the Alte Pinakothek of Munich, Germany. To drool over.

European Architecture

Very nice sets of photos for teaching (or learning) --

  Renaissance, Baroque and Classical architecture. 

Jesus among the Doctors

Various treatments of the theme Jesus (sometimes Christ) among the Doctors,  --

Christ among the Doctors, 1304-06, by Giotto

Christ among the Doctors, 1310s, by Giotto

Christ among the Doctors, ca. 1495, by the Master of the Catholic Kings

Christ among the Doctors, 1506, by Albrecht Durer

Jesus among the Doctors, 1558, by Paolo Veronese

Jesus among the Doctors, 1587, by Frans Francken I (triptych)

A soldier's love

Only rarely do I read a paragraph in fiction that strikes me as so good that I must have it, that it rises to the level of poetry.   One such excerpt comes from A Soldier of the Great War, by the gifted Mark Helprin --

. . . for soldiers who have been blooded are soldiers forever. They never fit in. Even when they finally settle down, the settling is tenuous, for when they close their eyes they see their comrades who have fallen. That they cannot forget, that they do not forget, that they never allow themselves to heal completely, is their way of expressing their love for friends who have perished. And they will not change, because they have become what they have become to keep the fallen alive.

Persian manuscripts

Love and Yearning is the title of a recently-closed exhibition of Persian manuscripts at the Freer & Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian.  Although now closed, the exhibition fortunately lives on in the interactive material created for the website.  To find this online component, go about one-quarter of the way down this page to the section titled "Love and Yearning."  Then click on the link at the bottom of the description. 

Presentation in the Temple (Mantegna)

The "presentation in the temple" is a favorite theme of mine, and I think that this rendition, ca. 1460, by Andrea Mantegna, is a particularly fine example.

The similarity between Mantegna's work and this painting on the same theme by his brother-in-law Giovanni Bellini is certainly striking. 

Vienna (via Zoomify)

At this page, you can get very close to St. Charles Church.   Give it a minute or so to focus, though. 

Stained Glass Museum (Ely)

The Stained Glass Museum at Ely Cathedral has a new website.

Some windows that I particularly like --

Angel ("Ecce Virgo"), 1845. 

Arms of Henry VI, 1850.

Nativity, 1850.

Noli Me Tangere, 1852.

The Dance of Salome, 1856.

King Solomon supervises the building of the Temple, 1860.

The Ascension, 1861.

Moses returns from Mt. Sinai, 1863.

The Lost Silver, 1865.

Left panel and Right panel of "The Rich Man's Feast,"  1865.

Ministering to the sick and Suffer the little children, 1907.

The Finding of the Savior in the Temple, 1910.

I especially like depictions of angels and people playing musical instruments.  Here are a few such portrayals in glass -- 

The King's Musicians, 1857.

King David, 1875.

Te Deum, 1893.

Angel Musician (left) and Angel Musician (right), 1910-12.

And a few modern windows --

Everlasting Life, 1978.

Letter G and Letter J from the "Alphabet of Flowers," 1980. 

Finally, these windows came from buildings other than churches --

Reynard, 1870 (from a house).

Lancelot and Elaine, 1910 (from a house).

Cherub-scribe and Diana the huntress, 1920 (from a hospital).

A Medieval Miniature (with Zoom)

This miniature may not initially look like much, but its zoom version is quite the knock-out.