[This article is a sequel to the 9/19/21 email newsletter, "See the Unconquered Fortress of a Mighty Archangel".] Why does the Church venerate an invisible warrior? Because spiritual warfare is the lot of Christians on this earth. Pure and simple. The great Archangel, St. Michael, is known as the Prince of the Heavenly Host [...]
Harry Clarke was his name. He was an absolute master at creating wonder with bits of colored glass and light. Even surpassing Louis Comfort Tiffany, who I consider one of the best of our age, Clarke may hold the title for the greatest stained glass artist of all time. He certainly can lay claim [...]
His name was Verrocchio (sounds like Pinocchio). That’s the short answer to our title question. Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488) was a Florentine master of arts and the tutor to the young Leonardo da Vinci. The longer description of Verrocchio is quite engaging. He was a man who had an enormous influence on the world [...]
On a trip to New York City last year, I went with a friend to see the famed Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where the striking Starry Night of Vincent Van Gogh is displayed. I had always wanted to see it firsthand and was not disappointed when I finally laid eyes on it. But [...]
When I visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) with a friend of mine last year, the dramatic contrasts of modern art styles were most visible in the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh (Starry Night) and Pablo Picasso (Les Demoiselles D’Avignon) in adjoining galleries. The radiant Van Gogh welcomed sustained crowds of admirers while [...]
When my father was confronted by a menacing wasp in the shed at the back of our house, he experienced the creature as beautiful and later told me with some amazement about his unusual encounter that left both of the sparring partners with tremendous respect for each other. We noted that in order to [...]