Something Beautiful

HM 48

It's been a long time since I posted a link to an ''ordinary" book of hours.  Here's one of my favorites, at the wonderful Digital Scriptorium -- HM 48.   Strongly recommend you try the Medium or, better yet, Large images.  

Book of Kells online!

Trinity College, Dublin, owns the massive, marvelous Book of Kells.   After years of being notably stingy with its images, Trinity has at long last placed every single page of the Book online.  

Start here and feast your eyes.   (Note: if these early "canon tables" don't strike your fancy, just stick with it and your patience will be rewarded.)  

One of the most colorful pages is the portrait of St. Matthew, at the beginning of the Gospel attributed to him. There are two pages (here and here) where an anonymous colorist started to add decoration to the pages but left them incomplete.

Mourning Mary Magdalene

This portrait of a grieving Mary Magdalene  is unusual for the close attention paid to her face and expression.   The detail and sumptuousness of her clothing are also remarkable.   This painting was done by Colijn de Coter c. 1500.  It hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary.  

Two paintings in green

For some reason I have long found these two works in green very appealing:  
*  The Artist's Wife
*  The Green House

Mary Cassatt: Mothers (and Children)

Here is a feast for the eyes on Mother's Day: 25 works by Mary Cassatt (at Google Art Project).  

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, perhaps a quilt?   This one has a very nice feel to it, and is for some reason called George Washington's Cherry Tree Quilt.   It was made before 1852.