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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Sep 5
- 5 min
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
- 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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Jul 18
- 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,...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Jul 9
- 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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Nov 6, 2022
- 2 min
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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Carolyn Whitson
- Sep 5, 2021
- 7 min
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...
210 views0 comments
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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Jun 5, 2021
- 9 min
The River God(father)
Baptism changed both in its practice and its artistic representation from its introduction in the Gospels to its depictions across...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Apr 22, 2021
- 5 min
What Lies Beneath, Part 2
For such a small patch of excavated floor, the mosaic pavement in the abbey at Bobbio (under the current basilica) has a number of...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Apr 16, 2021
- 6 min
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....
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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...
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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...
198 views0 comments
Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 22, 2021
- 5 min
Christianizing Festivals: The Barabbata of Marta
The ancient town, on Lake Bolsena, north of Rome, has Etruscan origins. The festival has roots as a fertility rite, where the town gave...
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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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Feb 14, 2021
- 5 min
Early Christian Churches in Rome, Part 1
What follows here are some features of churches from roughly 350-1100 in Rome. Most of my photo studies are of Romanesque and Gothic,...
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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...
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Carolyn Whitson
- Jan 22, 2021
- 6 min
Rome and Barbarians--Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus
The barbarians here are not a journalistic representation of a specific battle, just as the image of the decedent at the center of the...
324 views1 comment
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