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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Nov 27, 2023
- 10 min
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. ...
76 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Aug 10, 2023
- 9 min
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...
98 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Jul 18, 2023
- 7 min
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,...
74 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Jul 9, 2023
- 6 min
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...
132 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Aug 16, 2022
- 5 min
Time Travel through the French Monuments Museum in Paris
I love when a museum makes learning fun. The French Monuments Museum (FMM, for brevity here) in Paris gives a presentation that is...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Jul 10, 2021
- 4 min
The Lion King, Part 2
The use of lions in medieval religious and political art hews closely to the traditions inherited from around the Mediterranean. Lions...
102 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Jun 21, 2021
- 4 min
The Lion King, Part 1
If you're looking at prestige art and architecture, it's likely that you're going to find lions in its decoration. I wouldn't be...
70 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- May 19, 2021
- 9 min
Chasing a Ghost Along the Pilgrimage Trail
When I began to study medieval art in graduate school, I found myself often puzzling over murky, low-contrast images in black-and-white,...
111 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Apr 9, 2021
- 7 min
Fabulous Fakes
Many's the time I've gotten excited by the prospect of visiting a medieval church, only to find that "medieval" mostly referred to the...
134 views1 comment
Carolyn Whitson
- Mar 19, 2021
- 7 min
Why photographing sculpture rocks
You could reasonably ask, "If you like photographing sculptures of people so much, why not be a portraiture photographer? Aren't living...
114 views2 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 26, 2021
- 4 min
The Good (After) Life: More Roman Sarcophagi
Ancient Roman sarcophagi were for the wealthy, and were created in workshops which concentrated on particular themes: demonstrating the...
137 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 25, 2021
- 6 min
Rome's Metaphoric Others: Barbarians and Amazons
Images of barbarians were created to support a narrative of Roman superiority, and to justify military aggression as a defense of...
285 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 21, 2021
- 4 min
The Patio of the Lions
The lion fountain in the Alhambra may be one of my all-time favorite works of medieval art. I'll tell you why in this post. (For Part 1...
288 views3 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 21, 2021
- 5 min
The Otherworldly Alhambra
The mostly 13th century palace is a studied combination of science, statecraft, and mysticism. The Alhambra began its life on the ruins...
106 views2 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 20, 2021
- 3 min
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...
110 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 18, 2021
- 5 min
Pre-Romanesque Churches in Asturias
Few 9th century churches survive anywhere in Europe, but in Northern Spain are a few precious remaining examples. Santa Cristina de Lena...
67 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 15, 2021
- 8 min
Early Christian Churches in Rome, Part 2
Here, I continue to point out some features of church architecture, generally before 1100. Please see Part 1 post for more on this...
68 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 5, 2021
- 3 min
Treasures of the Villa Giulia Museum in Rome
The Villa Giulia houses a great collection of Etruscan art. This post provides you with a few of the highlights. Here is a close-up of...
270 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Jan 22, 2021
- 2 min
Notre Dame de Paris' Tympanum
This image features the fate of the damned--stretching from their judgment by Saint Michael (upper-left), across to punishments for...
367 views0 comments
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