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Churches


"Church" and "Synagogue" in Religious Art
Once early Christianity became the dominant religion in Western Europe, the Eastern story of a Jewish messiah in a culture under Roman...
circe927 chezcirce@gmail.com
Feb 2610 min read
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Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
In my previous two posts , I discussed medieval symbolic animals which derived from real-life creatures, and then the Monstrous Races,...
Carolyn Whitson
Dec 29, 20248 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Nov 20, 202410 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 7, 202411 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 3, 20245 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Dec 28, 20239 min read
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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. ...
Carolyn Whitson
Nov 27, 202310 min read
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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,...
Carolyn Whitson
Oct 16, 20236 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Aug 10, 20239 min read
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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,...
Carolyn Whitson
Jul 18, 20237 min read
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Crypt of the Original Sin
Caves evoke mystery to a modern person. We're so used to having all the light we want, wherever and whenever we go. Our interiors are...
Carolyn Whitson
Sep 5, 20217 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Jul 10, 20214 min read
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The River God(father)
Baptism changed both in its practice and its artistic representation from its introduction in the Gospels to its depictions across...
Carolyn Whitson
Jun 5, 20219 min read
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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,...
Carolyn Whitson
May 19, 20219 min read
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"A Present of Things Past . . . A Present of Things to Come"
In this post, a few thoughts on why medieval churches cover themselves in stories. There are three times: a present of things past, a...
Carolyn Whitson
Apr 30, 20216 min read
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What Lies Beneath, Part 1
The lovely town of Bobbio has always been small and out of the way, but in the early 600s, this was exactly what the Irish abbot St....
Carolyn Whitson
Apr 16, 20216 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Apr 9, 20217 min read
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They Gave at the Office: Sacrifice, Gifts, and Public Relations in Ravenna mosaics
In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximian wanted to take back the body (land) and soul (religion) of Ravenna, which for...
Carolyn Whitson
Apr 2, 202110 min read
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Apocalypse Wow--The Sainte-Chapelle Rose Window
The stained glass in Sainte Chapelle (building completed in 1248) represents the highest achievement of the form. When you enter the...
Carolyn Whitson
Mar 5, 20219 min read
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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...
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 18, 20215 min read
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