Herons in shallow water

Herons in shallow water by Ohara Koson, 1934.

The Soul of the Rose, a.k.a. My Sweet Rose

John William Waterhouse, The Soul of the Rose, aka My Sweet Rose

Perfect for today when it is our sweet Rose's birthday!

Roosters

Ito Jakuchu, Roosters

There's just something about chicken paintings and this is glorious!

Bluethroat

 

Bluethroat, Remo Savisaar

As always, with Remo's exquisite photos, click the link to see this larger.

Noli Me Tangere (Don't Touch Me) — We do not always know Christ when we first meet him, and the recognition is always a powerful moment.

Noli Me Tangere, Lavinia Fontana, 1581
via Elizabeth Lev

Fontana’s version emphasized accuracy: Mary Magdalene mistakes Jesus for a gardener, and so she paints him in a broad-brimmed hat holding a shovel. Yet once she has emphasized the literal sense, Lavinia also evokes a beautiful scene. The atmosphere is permeated with warm golden light as a new age is dawning. A little flashback scene in the distance shows the women who have left the city arriving at the tomb where an angel tells them Christ is gone. Mary’s pose in the further scene shows her with the slumped shoulders of dejection, but in the foreground her face becomes radiant with hope. Christ puts out his hand, ostensibly to tell her not to touch Him, but also in a gesture of affectionate blessing. Mary’s gaze is directed toward the wound on his hand made visible for her, but she seems to look beyond it, trying to gaze at his face under the shadowy brim. Proof of his resurrection is not her primary concern as she sinks to her usual place by his feet. The light, setting, and positions evoke a love story, a compelling language that the Counter-Reformation will employ in its time.

Elizabeth Lev, Meeting the Resurrected Christ in the art of the Counter-Reformation

There's more where that came from. Click the link to read the whole piece. 

I love being shown beneath the surface of paintings for deeper meaning. Elizabeth Lev's piece discusses the goals of Counter-Reformation art and opens another piece up for our edification. Be sure to check it out.

Peach branches, Squirrel map

Peach branches, Squirrel map; Qian Xuan

This couldn't be said better and it captures the imagination in the way that today's quote does — by showing us a completely new point of view.

Opposition

Opposition, England, 1890
from the Library of Congress's Photochrom Travel Views collection

Inspiration Point

 

Inspiration Point, Bryce Canyon National Park

We're making summer vacation plans and Bryce Canyon is in my future! Exciting! Click the link to see the photo better.

I'm With Mary — Let's Punch the Devil in the Face

This post ran in ten years ago but I've never forgotten it. A Catholic friend of mine, who majored in art history, affirms that the medievals had plenty of art showing Mary punching the devil. Excellent! 

My original post is below. Enjoy!

The Blessed Virgin Mary punching the devil (13th century MS, British Library).
Via Gregory Wolfe and Catholic News Agency

I featured this artwork about a month ago. Today I got a complaint that it is not treating Mary reverently enough ... and also that it might be pop art.

For me this shows Mary as a powerful spiritual warrior, especially when I look at the expression on both faces. I'd like to think I could be like that.

I'll be fair. Mary could also be holding a seal of some sort with which she is marking the devil.

Looking around for a proper reference to prove it wasn't pop art I wound up at the Catholic News Agency. The bonus was this wonderful talk by Archbishop Chaput which used it as a springboard to exhort us to be like Mary.

“If we want to reclaim who we are as a Church, if we want to renew the Catholic imagination, we need to begin, in ourselves and in our local parishes, by unplugging our hearts from the assumptions of a culture that still seems familiar but is no longer really ‘ours,’” Archbishop Chaput said.

“This is why Mary – the young Jewish virgin, the loving mother, and the woman who punches the devil in the nose – was, is, and always will be the great defender of the Church,” he added.

Archbishop Chaput addressed the 2016 Bishops’ Symposium at the University of Notre Dame on Wednesday. He spoke on “Remembering Who We Are and the Story We Belong To.”

He began his talk referencing an illustration, reportedly from the Middle Ages, of the Blessed Virgin Mary punching the devil in the nose. “She doesn’t rebuke him. She doesn’t enter into a dialogue with him. She punches the devil in the nose,” he said.

Catholic News Agency

I love that guy. Read the whole thing. It's good medicine.

Hygieia

Hygieia, Great Hall ceiling of the Vienna University, Gustav Klimt

Just because it's so arresting.

Naples Sunrise

Naples Sunrise, taken by Valery at ucumari photography

Simply beautiful for the end of the work week.

Irises

Irises, John Henry Twachtman, 1896

One of my favorite flowers — the Iris.

Mantel Clock

Mantel Clock, about 1789, Clock case attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire,
clock movement by Charles-Guillaume Manière. The J. Paul Getty Museum

Tuna Assortment

Source

Early Spring-Bluebonnets and Mesquite

Julian Onderdonk, Early Spring—Bluebonnets and Mesquite

Welcome to Texas.

Leaping Carp

Ohara Koson
Completion Date: c.1910, Leaping Carp
Via Wikimedia

My Wife's Lovers

Carl Kahler, My Wife's Lovers

Ok, this is just hilarious.

Christ and St. Mary Magdalen at the Tomb

Rembrandt (1606–1669)
Christ and St Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
via Wikipedia

I really felt as if I'd featured enough religious art lately. But I just couldn't resist it for a couple of reasons.

Why did Mary Magdalene mistake Jesus for a gardener? The hat and trowel, of course! And the angels lounging around look like high schoolers on break. What a wonderful way to exercise one's imagination on both scriptural accounts and the actual historical event.

Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson

Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, via Traces of Texas

One of the pleasures of Facebook (and for me there are fairly few of those) is the Traces of Texas page which regularly delights with iconic photos and interesting information, such as this about Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson which appeared some time ago:

Joaquin was a legend. He appeared in movies, was good friends with Robert Duvall, was a model for Jeff Bridges' character in the excellent "Hell or High Water," and wrote a best-selling autobiography titled "One Ranger." He was 80 years old when he passed away after a short bout with cancer in Alpine, Texas, two years ago.

A McDonald's in Melbourne, Australia

A McDonald's in Melbourne, Australia; photo by Gary He

What other image should we admire today after reviewing McAtlas? This gives you a taste (haha) of the gorgeous photography.