I have often wondered about this group of exiles – I’m never entirely clear where they are supposed to be, or what they are doing there. They form no part of the narrative with which I am familiar, and so, from my point of view, they are open to interpretation. However, their identity is not.Continue reading “Lent 24”
Category Archives: Saints
Lent 10
I said yesterday that today I would start to tell the story – so – are you sitting comfortably? Good. However, I have to come clean and say that this isn’t a Lent painting at all. By the time ‘the story’ starts Lent is over by several days, and we are well into Holy WeekContinue reading “Lent 10”
121 – A golden girl goes missing
Duccio, The Virgin and Child with Saint Dominic and Saint Aurea, and Patriarchs and Prophets, about 1312-15 (?). National Gallery, London. First thing’s first – I’m giving my own talks! Rather than sheltering under the umbrella of another institution or organisation I’m doing my own thing. More of that after Duccio, but if you can’tContinue reading “121 – A golden girl goes missing”
118 – Epiphany in Ravenna
The Adoration of the Magi, c. 504/560 and later. Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna. It’s Epiphany – a moment of sudden and great revelation – and today celebrates the moment at which the wise men recognised Jesus as the Boy Born to be King, their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh usually interpreted as gifts suitable forContinue reading “118 – Epiphany in Ravenna”
117 – St Thomas Becket
St Thomas Becket, c. 1178-89. Monreale Cathedral, Sicily. Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered on 29 December 1170 – eight hundred and fifty years ago. I wanted to mark the occasion. I’m not going to talk much about him, or about his relationship with King Henry II, the man who has always been blamedContinue reading “117 – St Thomas Becket”
114 – Giotto in Assisi
Giotto, The Institution of the Crib at Greccio, 1297-1300, Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi. I’m thinking about Giotto again for a number of different reasons. The first is that Giotto is, quite simply, always worth thinking about. The second is that I am about to embark on a short course, a series of three lecturesContinue reading “114 – Giotto in Assisi”
112 …and so, ‘Farewell’…
Giotto, The Scrovegni Chapel, c. 1305, Padua. This is it, the very last ‘Scrovegni Saturday’. When I started out on this strand I had no idea what was coming, but I feel I understand Giotto’s decoration far better than I did before – and inevitably I also have far more questions about it than previously!Continue reading “112 …and so, ‘Farewell’…”
111 – Full circle
Giotto, Pentecost, c. 1305, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua. One last image for Scrovegni Saturday before a final summing up next week: Pentecost, in which God hands over responsibility to man, and Giotto remains entirely human, and entirely poetic. I have covered the story before – twice, in fact: on the day itself, with Plautilla Nelli’s littleContinue reading “111 – Full circle”
105 – Wash one another’s feet
Giotto, Christ washing the Feet of the Disciples, c. 1305, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua. After a socially distanced Jesus and Mary Magdalene, we arrive at the issue of washing our hands, something I know that, by now, we are all more than used to. Not that we didn’t do it before, of course. I imagine relativelyContinue reading “105 – Wash one another’s feet”
103 – The Last Supper
Giotto, The Last Supper, c. 1305, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua. I know, it’s supposed to be Scrovegni Saturday, not Scrovegni Sunday, but it’s been one of those weeks. Apart from anything else, this is the first thing I’m typing on a new laptop, the old one having gradually wound down throughout lockdown. I’ve spent the lastContinue reading “103 – The Last Supper”
dr richard stemp 