Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill

Hiroshige, Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill, 1857

Rough Sea at Naruto

Hiroshige, Famous Views of the 60 Provinces: Rough Sea at Naruto in Awa Province
via Arts Everyday Living

I do love Hiroshige. Coincidentally just the other day I came across my book of 100 Famous Views of Edo which I'm now going to reread. I love the sense of motion in the sea above.

Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige)

Vincent van Gogh, Bridge in the rain (after Hiroshige), 1887
via Lines and Colors

I love Hiroshige and you can really see the resemblance to Van Gogh's homage. This makes me want to go back to look at more of Hiroshige's art.

Mariano's

In 1971, Mariano Martinez, Jr. adapted a Slurpee machine to create the world's first frozen margarita machine at Mariano's Hacienda restaurant in East Dallas, proving that not all heroes wear capes. Photo courtesy Mariano Martinez Jr. via D Magazine.

Traces of Texas

I remember being awed when my boyfriend (later husband) took me to Mariano's and pointed out the tribute plaque for being at the place of the invention of the frozen Margarita. The original machine is in the Smithsonian. Thank you Mariano! (Also for all the delicious Tex-Mex we've enjoyed over the years.)

Perhaps surprisingly, I slightly knew Mrs. Mariano once upon a time. They went to our church and when I ran into her at the vet, knowing only that she looked vaguely familiar, she said that she and Mariano sat behind us a lot. It was a real pleasure to tell her that we our wedding feast had been in the back room at the Old Town location (now long gone, though we go to the nearby replacement).

Medieval Honey Bees

Medieval illustration from beekeeping manuscript
Via Animalarium where there is an antique treasure chest of illustrations for anyone who clicks through the link!

Self-Portrait in the Studio

Francisco Goya, Self-portrait in the Studio, 1790-1795
via Wikipedia

I have a thing for self-portraits. Also I love Goya's hat. And his hair.

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