Welcome to Pilgrim to the Past!
This is a website dedicated to people who enjoy medieval and ancient art, and want to know more. Maenad, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC...
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Carolyn Whitson
Nov 2010 min read
Strangers from a Strange Land: "Monstrous Races" in Medieval Religious Art
Triton, ridden by Poseidon, backgammon game piece, walrus ivory, Louvre Museum, Norway or Cologne origin, late 12th c. Mythical...
1061
Carolyn Whitson
Nov 105 min read
The Oak Menagerie: Allegorical Animals in English Misericords
Tiny lion, Worcester Cathedral, 14th c. While much of the ornamentation in a medieval church was instructional or devotional, the...
1150
Carolyn Whitson
Sep 176 min read
A New Medium for the Mystery: The Chester Mystery Play Quilt
I've shown you Last Judgment art in painting, sculpture (in stone and wood), architecture, and more, but here's something extra cool...
820
Carolyn Whitson
Jul 714 min read
The Bronze Doors of San Zeno: Poisoned Beauty
Portals in medieval churches were often imbued with imagery of the contrast between sin and salvation, punishment and redemption. The...
2261
Carolyn Whitson
Jun 911 min read
"But I really want to do horses...": The Master Carvers of Fidenza
The sculptural program in Fidenza's San Donnino is an oft-overlooked set of masterpieces. Fidenza is a small town compared to the much...
931
Carolyn Whitson
Mar 1812 min read
Santa Sabina & The Complicated Past
Often, examining an object found in an old church is a lot like playing "Where's Waldo?" in reverse. You have your "Waldo," the special...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 711 min read
Welcome to the Working Week...Demons and their Jobs in Medieval Art
In my last post, I began the Herculean task of trying to give a general overview of demons in medieval art. I came away from writing...
5300
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 35 min read
Devil's Gonna Get You!
13th c. capital of a sinner being devoured, Saint Pierre, Chauvigny, France A nasty case of Covid pretty much bankrupted my energy for...
3360
Carolyn Whitson
Dec 28, 20239 min read
Angels We Have Seen On High
I thought I'd finish out our year with something light-hearted and ravishingly beautiful. The West Window of Worcester Cathedral was...
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Carolyn Whitson
Dec 10, 20238 min read
Art Nouveau Heaven--the Watts Cemetery Chapel Interior
Entry view, facing altar Stepping inside the Watts Cemetery Chapel is an altogether different experience from walking about its exterior....
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Carolyn Whitson
Nov 27, 202310 min read
Everything Old is New Again: The Watts Memorial Chapel
One of the bittersweet realities for lovers of Romanesque art is that the majority of it exists in a state of decay and dislocation. ...
1060
Carolyn Whitson
Oct 16, 20236 min read
The Anti-David: St. Bartholomew by Marco D'Adrate, 1562
A statue has been haunting me. I saw it inside the Duomo of Milan. In retrospect, I think it's the only thing I really saw in the Duomo,...
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Carolyn Whitson
Sep 26, 20234 min read
Victory for the Vase Painters!
Hydria, 470-460 BCE, from Puglia, Italy. Home museum is the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Last May, I had the pleasure of...
1000
Carolyn Whitson
Sep 5, 20235 min read
The "Three Living Meet Three Dead" Fresco by Buonamico Buffalmacco, 1336
Some art seems to have a life of its own, its own vitality and presence which can make it seem like a character in its own right. The...
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Carolyn Whitson
Aug 10, 20239 min read
What Becomes a Martyr Most? Part 3 of the di Balduccio Monument of Milan
di Balduccio monument for Saint Peter of Verona, 1339 After having examined the larger sculptures at the base of this monument, we arrive...
1030
Carolyn Whitson
Jul 18, 20237 min read
di Balduccio Monument--The Christian Virtues
Capturing the back of the sarcophagus of Saint Peter Martyr is much trickier than photographing the front. The apse is quite close by,...
900
Carolyn Whitson
Jul 9, 20236 min read
The di Balduccio Tomb--the Pagan Virtues
As much as I love medieval art that strikes me as bizarre, I really love it when I come across works which are marvels of symbolic...
1610
Carolyn Whitson
Mar 19, 20236 min read
Works and Days (a hymn, but not to Hesiod)
12th century mosaic, Bobbio, depicting the month of March, emphasizing wind (I think) By the time March arrives, the January 1st...
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Carolyn Whitson
Nov 6, 20222 min read
Origins of Sirens
On October 25th, 2022, I gave a lecture at Metropolitan State University on the Origins of Sirens. In the presentation, I trace how...
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