THE SAINTS: STORIES, IMAGES, MEDITATIONS

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TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 7 febbraio 2007 08:03
THE FRA ANGELICO ANNUNCIATIONS
Taking up where we left off on the previous page-
If Leonardo had two Annunciations, Fra Angelico painted six of them. That is why perhaps
he is the artist most associated with the Annunciation as an icon.

A brief note on who he was, from the Wikipedia entry:
The Blessed Fra Angelico, (c. 1395 - February 18, 1455) was an Early Italian Renaissance
painter, referred to in Vasari's Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent".

Known in Italy as il Beato Angelico and in the English-speaking world as Fra Angelico,
he was known to his contemporaries as Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Friar or Father John
from Fiesole), a Dominican. In Giorgio Vasari’s book, written prior to 1555, he is
already known as Fra Giovanni Angelico (Father Giovanni the Angelic One).

Within his lifetime or shortly thereafter he was also called "Il Beato" (the Blessed),
in reference to his skills in painting religious subjects.

In 1982 Pope John Paul II conferred beatification, thereby making this title official...
He is listed in the Roman Martyrologyas "Beatus Ioannes Faesulanus, cognomento
Angelicus" - "Blessed Giovanni of Fiesole, nicknamed Angelico".

------------------------------------------------------------

And now, the paintings.
It almost appears as if the artist progressively 'simplified' his depiction of this singular event
over the years, from his first Annunciation in 1420 to the final one in San Marco more than 20
years later. Here they are, in reverse chronology. The second one in the Convent of San Marco
in Florence and the altarpiece found at the Prado in Madrid are probably the best-known.


Fra Angelico. Annunciation. c. 1441. Fresco, 176 x 148. Museo di San Marco, Cell 3, Florence, Italy



Fra Angelico. Annunciation. c. 1437. Fresco, 230 x 297. Museo di San Marco, Corridor, Florence, Italy



Fra Angelico. Perugia Triptych: Angel of the Annunciation. 1437. Tempera on panel.
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia, Italy.



Fra Angelico. Perugia Triptych: The Virgin from the Annunciation. 1437. Tempera on panel.
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria





Fra Angelico. Annunciation. c.1432-1434. Tempera on panel. 175 x 180. Museo Diocesano, Cortona, Italy
Here, as in the earlier painting below, the artist paints in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden in the background.



Fra Angelico. Altarpiece of the Annunciation. c. 1430-1432. Tempera on panel. 194 x 194. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
This one was unusual because it depicted Adam and Eve leaving Eden, thus recalling the Original Sin that is the reason for the Incarnation.




The Annunciation and the Adoration of the Magi, c. 1420. Tempera and gold on panel,
33 1/8 x 19 3/4 in (84 x 50 cm), Museo di San Marco, Florence


And this truly wondrous detail from the Adoration, where we can see how Fra Angelico
influenced the pre-Raphaelites like Burne-Jones. I am hoping I can find a similar detail
or at least a larger version of the Annunciation in the panel.



P.S. Getting the pictures together took some time, so I have not been able to search
for the appropriate catalog notes. I'll add them in as I find them.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/02/2007 1.07]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 7 febbraio 2007 09:51
THE ANNUNCIATION, Simone Martini (1333), Uffizi
Since we have that really magnificent reproduction that Wulfrune posted in the previous page
(to start ofF our 'Annunciation' cycle} of the 'detail' from Martini's grand masterpiece, I thought
I would post what the entire work looks like, which makes us even better appreciate the excellence
of Wulfrune's detail. And to imagine the altar piece in its actual size of about 7 feet across and 6 feet high.


The Annunciation and Two Saints, 1333, Tempera on wood,
184 x 210 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Catalog note:
The altarpiece was executed between 1329 and 1333 for the chapel of Sant'Ansano of the Cathedral
in Siena by Simone Martini and his brother-in-law Lippo Memmi, to whom are attributed the two lateral
figures: Saint Ansano - patron of Siena - and Saint Giulitta. On the gold background the figures of
the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin enhances the Gothic line, without narrative details: just the central pot with lilies, symbolizing Mary's purity, and the
olive branch. The golden relief inscription starting from the Angel's mouth (discernible in the photo
below and in Wulfrune's photo
) contains the beginning words of the Annunciation in Latin.

Unfortunately, this color reproduction leaves much to be desired.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/02/2007 1.03]

maryjos
00mercoledì 7 febbraio 2007 23:48
Saint Paul Miki and Companions

February 6th: Feast of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs [companions not shown].
He was Japanese; a Jesuit priest. Fifty years after Saint Francis Xavier landed in Japan and left about 2,000 Christian converts, the Japanese emperor embarked on a persecution. Those martyred included Paul Miki and his companions.
|lily|
00giovedì 8 febbraio 2007 03:58
What a feast for the eyes! As much as I love how da Vinci paints angels (they really look supernatural to me!) I agree that no one conveys the solemnity and intimacy of the Annunciation like Fra Angelico. My favourite is the 1437 version. The angel seems about to genuflect while humbly and reverently crossing his arms across his chest. And he's got the most fabulous wings!
I hope to post some Northern versions of the same theme soon.
Wulfrune
00giovedì 8 febbraio 2007 11:27


The Annunciation, 1898, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (Philadelphia Museum of Art).

H. O. Tanner was an African-American artist from Pennsylvania. Many of his paintings were of religious subjects. In this painting of the Annunciation, he represented the Angel Gabriel as a column of light. The poverty and simplicity of Our Lady is emphasised.

Incidentally, it is interesting that paintings of the Annunciation tend to show an interior scene. The Protoevangelion of James (c 140 AD) which isn't regarded as divinely inspired does have some interesting things (and it's early evidence for the Christian belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary). The annunciation story is as follows, and differs from the usual story in that the angel appears first outside, then again indoors to finish the message (sorry the translation is a bit Victorian!)

XL 1 And she took the pitcher and went forth to fill it with water: and lo a voice saying: Hail, thou that art highly favoured; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And she looked about her upon the right hand and upon the left, to see whence this voice should be: and being filled with trembling she~ went to her house and set down the pitcher, and took the purple and sat down upon her seat and drew out the thread.

2 And behold an angel of the Lord stood before her saying: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace before the Lord of all things, and thou shalt conceive of his word. And she, when she heard it, questioned in herself, saying: Shall I verily conceive of the living God, and bring forth after the manner of all women? And the angel of the Lord said: Not so, Mary, for a power of the Lord shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of the Highest. And thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord is before him: be it unto me according to thy word.


[if the image should not appear, it may be viewed here

[Modificato da Wulfrune 08/02/2007 18.22]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 8 febbraio 2007 17:09
Clare, thanks for that very instructive post.

The painting is actually the first modern interpretation I have seen of the Annunciation, and is very powerful
and inspired. The pillar of light cannot not be the immediate focus of one's attention! It makes me curious
about Mr. Tanner's other paintings. I'm still trying to read for myself the expression on his Mary's face.

I like the non-canonic version of the Annunciation, too. And I don't mind the language at all. In fact, I still prefer
when citing (the rare times I do) or translating well-known Biblical quotations to use the familiar St. James English
versions, rather than the often strange (and sometimes too pedestrian) translation of the New American Bible.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/02/2007 1.10]

Crotchet
00giovedì 8 febbraio 2007 17:55
The Tanner
Clare, I can't open the image of your Tanner. [SM=g27829] Just a small red cross. It sounds so interesting.
Wulfrune
00giovedì 8 febbraio 2007 18:19
Ecce Ancilla Domini


Ecce Ancilla Domini [Behold the handmaid of the Lord] by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, oil on canvas, 1849-50. Tate Gallery, London.

Here, the angel appears without wings but there seems to be a hint of flame around his feet. The shades of white no doubt symbolise purity and innocence, but for me there is something slightly banal about the overall effect.
TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 00:10
A BIT MORE OF RUBENS'S RELIGIOUS ART
First about the Rossetti 'Ancilla Domini' - Except for the way the angel's face is portrayed (and that funny hairdo like an old-fashioned woman's),
the Rossetti works for me, Clare. I like the girlishness of his Mary.

Lily's post of a Rubens Madonna earlier prompted me to look for his Annunciation, which I vaguely remembered from Vienna and here it is:


Pieter Pauwel Rubens, Annunciation, 1609-10
Oil on canvas, 224 x 200 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna


And discovered he did a second Annunciation in 1628:

Rubens, Annunciation, c. 1628
Oil on canvas, Rubens House, Antwerp


I like it that he includes the Holy Spirit in both portrayals. I've always thought the Incarnation was the most stunning action
of the Holy Spirit, and when I pray the first Joyful Mystery, I always start with the prayer to Him because in my mind, I picture
the Annunciation as a radiant flood of Divine Grace (ie., the Holy Spirit) that condenses into that tiny seed that was to grow in Mary's womb.

I also found a bit more information about the Madonna posted by Lily, here in a slightly larger format and with a different color tone,
which, I think, simply depends on the online reproduction used.


Rubens, Madonna on Floral Wreath, c. 1620
Oil on oak, 185 x 209.8 cm, Alte Pinakothek, Munich


Rubens is another one of those prolific and prodigious arists who did not hesitate to paint huge canvases
(both these paintings are larger than lifesize) because his style and mastery of detail are up the challenge of size.

However, a similar Madonna in a wreath painted by him one year later, is half the size (even though
it does not look so in this reproduction (as obviously these are not to scale) - 7 ft high by 5-1/2 ft wide
is still huge as most paintings go!


Rubens, The Virgin and Child in a Garland of Flowers, 1621
Oil on canvas, 83.5 x 65 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris


Irresistible putti, flowers one could pluck from the canvas, and an ethereal Madonna and Child -
these have all the evocative sentimentality of late Victorian religious imagery, the kind of image-cards
I loved to collect and keep till I was 15 or thereabouts.

Rubens's output of religious and Biblical pictures deserves a book by itself, of course.


Wulfrune
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 01:13
Wow Teresa, this is a big change from Fra Angelico.

I'm more of a quattrocento girl myself, but I had a long look at the Rubens canvasses and found them fascinating. Really not my preferred art, but powerful nevertheless.

The top picture has dramatic use of colour and seems like an exercise in textures - the skin tones and the fabrics, the heavy velvet(?) cloak over the finer robe, and the angel's heavier satins... the hair and feathers.... the Spirit is the source of light, giving a glow to the whole picture.

I preferred the one beneath it - the angel looks very like those representations of the Archangel Michael tackling the devil - virile, steadfast... Mary turns from her book in surprise - it all looks so 'noisy' and boisterous, but the little tabby cat sleeps through it all, so really this scene is only witnessed by her (and us). I liked the cat.

The third and fourth ones are more stylised. The third is a bit disturbing to me - all that moist, soft flesh of the putti, the very physicality of them. Compared with the living flesh of the figures, the flowers look static, they could be dried flowers, and have little life, although they are exquisitely painted. There's a lot of movement in these pictures, they seem to invite the onlooker to participate rather than just passively look on.

On reflection, I agree with you Teresa about the Rossetti. The weak aspect is the rather wimpy angel - there's too much of the modern 'new man' about him, and not enough of the awesome messenger of God. However, the expression on the Virgin's face is wonderfully done.

These are just my thoughts - I love looking at paintings. What do others think?
TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 02:15
Clare, I join you in asking everyone 'Please tell us what you think about these pictures.' Any way you wish. And to post any example of religious art that you like, with or without comment.

No one expects art commentary here - that's not the reason we started to include religious art in this thread - but if it is given, it is most certainly welcome. My personal comments are hardly ever from an 'art appreciation' point of view. Indeed, I have to like the image first, in my gut, before I would choose to post it. Fortunately, the religious art we are likely to find here will always be 'realistic', ie, not abstract, so what we see does not need to be explained. Hoowever, if somebody else finds additional information that would help in appreciating a picture better, then that is, of course, most welcome.

I think Crotchet said in an earlier post that she may not be able to post images because she does not have a scanner. I don't either, but after we started this exercise, I found that going to any online entry about an artist can usually lead you to online reproductions of his works, at least, the major ones. The Wikipedia entries on major artists almost always include some reproductions that can be clicked on for a larger view.

Clare, about the fleshiness of those Rubens putti: Wasn't an adjective - Rubenesque - coined to describe the women of his 'secular' paintings, who were always very fleshy and physical? Obviously, he couldn't treat the holy women in his paintings the same way, so he displaced it all on the putti - is how I look at it! His Baby Jesus isn't as fleshy as the putti (except for the Rubenesque thighs and legs in the first one).

Anyway, to a putti freak like me, a putto is a putto, and the fleshier, the cuddlier. And I love Baroque art almost as much as I do the Renaissance - that is one of the reasons Rome is such a congenial place for me, because it has so much of both, plus all the classical past as well!

I'm glad you mentioned the cat in that second Annunciation. Somewhere, there must be a note about why Rubens decided to put in a cat - other than to show that Mary was just another girl in an ordinary domestic setting when she learns she has been singled out by God.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/02/2007 2.17]

benefan
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 04:56
Edith Stein's Conversion Was No Coincidence

It Started Before Reading St. Teresa of Avila

ROME, FEB. 8, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A new compilation of Edith Stein's completed works presents evidence that her conversion was influenced by more than just her reading of St. Teresa of Avila's autobiography.

Stein (1891-1942) was a Jewish philosopher and convert to Catholicism, who became a Carmelite and was later martyred at Auschwitz.

The story of her conversion up till now had been attributed to mere happenstance as she unwittingly stumbled upon the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila. Devouring the book overnight, she decided to convert to Catholicism when she finished it at dawn.

During the presentation of the complete works of Stein at the Pontifical Lateran University of Rome, Father Ulrich Dobhan, a German Carmelite and expert on Stein who supervised the German edition of her works, presented his own findings about Stein's conversion. From his research, he believes that Stein already knew of the existence of St. Teresa of Avila's book and sought it out.

"During the summer semester of 1918, during Husserl's lectures at the University of Freiberg on the subject of Rudolf Otto's book, 'Das Heilige,' Edith probably read Teresa of Avila's name because it's mentioned in that book," Father Dobhan explained to ZENIT.

Later, on May 24 or 25, 1921, at the house of Anne Reinach and her sister-in-law Pauline, in Goettingen, Germany, Stein chose the autobiographical volume: "Life of St. Teresa of Avila" from their library.

The reading of St. Teresa's book was decisive in tipping Stein toward Catholicism instead of Protestantism, but Father Dobhan wants to clarify that "here we are not talking about the step from atheism to Christianity."

"The exclamation of 'This is the Truth!' that is generally put in the mouth of Stein upon reading the autobiography of the saint, does not correspond to what she said, nor does it reflect Stein's spiritual process," Father Dobhan clarified.

Stein's inquiry into Christianity had been maturing over time. As a philosopher, she was profoundly influenced by the work of Max Scheler during his Catholic period and the heroic witness of Anne Reinach, widow of fellow philosopher Adolf Reinach, who fell in the war in November 1917.

While not the sole source of her conversion, the book did lead to her decision to become a Carmelite, where upon entering she took the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was canonized by Pope John Paul II in October 1998, and made a co-patroness of Europe in October 1999.






I did not realize it was so hard to find Edith Stein's photo on the web, and I did so want to post it with Benefan's article. I first found the smaller one, which is supposed to be a passport photograph taken of her in 1938 before she fled to Holland. It's the one we most often see. I have it in a size twice as large as this, which I found at the time I first joined the forum and decided that I would use the Italian form of her Carmelite name as my nick. There's a site that uses it in a prayer card but the images are on Adobe Flash and I don't think I can copy them to regular IMG files. And then I found the larger, earlier one - taken when she was in Goettingen - on a site with photos for phenomenologists (as she was a disciple of Husserl). - Teresa

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/02/2007 3.06]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/02/2007 3.21]

benefan
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 05:10
/

"Carracci's "Pietà" from 1599, updates Michelangelo's unforgettable Vatican version. Instead of placing Mary high on a bench, the mother and son are arranged on the ground, bringing them closer to the viewer. Exploiting his mastery of color, Carracci removes red tones from the scene, cloaking Mary in a deep blue so that the lifeless pallor of the body of Christ becomes all the more accentuated." Elizabeth Lev (Zenit News)

[Modificato da benefan 09/02/2007 5.20]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 10:03
CARAVAGGIO AGAIN
I thought I remembered a Caravaggio Deposition in the Vatican Museums (it being the only Caravaggio there, I think), but I went to
check a Caravaggio catalog just now, and it is an Entombment, not a Deposition (the taking down from the Cross, which usually leads to
or shows the Pieta scene, with the grieving mother receiving her dead Son's body). The Entombment is a later scene, obviously.
But here's a chance to compare the two contemporaries, rivals in a way, on almost the same subject.

I find the Carracci hauntingly melancholic, sweet and fanciful (with putti, even!), while the Caravaggio is powerfully realistic,
and the way he composed all the characters together is masterful - it produces the effect of a sculptural block. Consider, too,
that the painting is almost 12 feet high by almost 7 feet wide.


Caravaggio's Mary looks much older (too old perhaps?) than Carracci's, who looks too young to be the mother of a 33-year-old
(even if she gave birth at - what, 15, 16?).


Caravaggio, The Entombment,1602-03
Oil on canvas, 300 x 203 cm, Pinacoteca, Vatican



And this Annunciation I just 'discovered'. I haven't been to Nancy but I do not remember seeing it in picture books, either.
Is the angel in mid-air an innovation or did someone else do it before him?


Caravaggio, The Annunciation, 1608-09
Oil on canvas, 285 x 205 cm, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy


[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/02/2007 15.14]

|lily|
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 17:41
Jeepers! I'm away from the computer for one day and you start getting into all sorts of interesting things!
It's funny that Wulfrune posted that Annunciation by Rossetti because, after seeing the the one by Tanner, it immediately sprang to mind, for some reason. (The only other 'modern' Annunciation I've seen maybe?) Anyway, I agree that the angel is suffering from a bad hair day, and is none too virile. But then I suppose he/she isn't supposed to be? What impresses me is Mary's face. She seems to be asking herself, 'Can I do this?'
But on to Rubens! I'm so glad you were interested enough to look him up Teresa. I've been in love with him for many years, not just because of his art, but also because, in Sister Wendy's words, "he himself seems to be a sort of exemplar of what human beings are meant to be: balanced and generous and good." Yes, I know that sometimes his works can appear 'over the top' to modern eyes, but one must always keep in mind the context in which they were meant to be seen. A painting for a high altar in one of those huge Gothic chuches in Flanders could certainly only be seen from a great distance by the laity. Gestures and expressions had to be rendered very clearly therefore in order to be read from afar. (That also explains to a certain extent the huge size of some of his works.)
You're not impressed by the putti Wulfrune? I love their plumpness and the fact that they interact with each other. You mention the 'physicality' of them. Rubens had an interesting way of countering that aspect of them in one of his works. The painting (done for the Chiesa Nuova in Rome)includes a depiction of a 'miraculous' image, framed. A putto is leaning against the frame and his arm goes right through it, from back to front as if to underscore his insubstantiality. (Well, I thought it was clever... [SM=g27817] )
Anyway, his two Annunciations are okay but aren't my favourite works by him. Since we seem to be sticking (somewhat) to that theme for now I'll hold off posting other ones by him till later.
TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 18:08
Lily, I know I detoured into Rubens, but only because since you had posted one of his Madonnas, I had to check on his Annunciation, etc, etc....

I love the Baroque unabashedly, precisely for its being 'over the top', as others might say, but I would rather consider it as being, among other things, a fastidious eye for detail and a corresponding mastery and fearless indulgence of it, which to me, does not detract from but enhances its aesthetic...

But isn't it great how on the topic of religious art alone, we all have a virtually inexhaustible source of material to draw from?

I love your one-line interpretation of the look on Rossetti's Mary!
Crotchet
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 21:04
THIS THREAD!!
Ladies, you have a hit-thread here. Hugs to all the contributors thus far. Much beauty, very instructive.

I don't know which of these artists or paintings are my favourites..... Fra Angelico always held a special place in my heart. Has anyone here seen his work in the Florence monastery (forgot the name!)? Is it worth it to stop over in Florence just for this, if time is limited? I may have the opportunity later this year. Please give an indication, if you can.

I've seen some Caravaggios in Italy (years ago) and the images on this thread are very moving and bring back lovely memories. And Rubens will always be impressive. I have no problem with his putti. Two decades ago I had to conduct a choral concert in Antwerp, facing a massive Rubens piece in the cathedral. But to my total shame and frustration I can't remember WHICH church it was and which Rubens!! I remember the big space of the cathedral and that it was fully packed with concert goers. I also remember that I thought to myself, "They must be here because of the Rubens." The next day we were taken to the Rubens house in Antwerp.

It was fashionable for a while to try and show the parallels between the visual arts and music of the different style periods in Western civilization. I always thought it was a bit forced in some respects. If you think that Rubens died in 1640, forty five years before JS Bach's birth, comparisons and facile parallels die on your lips. True - for me, there are certain similarities between the two artists. Something like the Sanctus from Bach's B minor Mass has the same grandeur that is a hallmark of many Rubens pieces. But Rubens is more of a contemporary of Monteverdi, a late-Renaissance and early-Baroque composer. And it is much harder to see and hear similarities in style and aesthetics - albeit within totally dissimilar mediums - between these two early Baroque giants. Or do the labels in the two mediums have different time lines in the sense that they do not synchronise with each other?

Anyhow, just a few thoughts that came up when I went through this thread. Congratulations with the high standard and the fine quality of the images you post here. [SM=g27811]
Wulfrune
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 21:33
Crotchet - it's the Museo di San Marco, and definitely worth a visit. I went about 15 years ago, and I still remember it. It's also good to see art in situ, rather than in an art gallery. So much religious art is no longer in context - as Lily said, it's as well to remember where it was supposed to be.

Very good point about music and art. The style of Rubens and Caravaggio was no doubt intended to invoke the senses, to involve the viewer, and the pictures have high drama, movement, an almost theatrical quality. I wonder if this is connected to the Counter-Reformation and an attempt to meet head on the iconoclasm of the puritans who wanted no embellishment in their places of worship. The medieval church used drama to teach, and this art is perhaps really one continuation of that.

Loved the Caracci pieta. Very moving.

Crotchet, I've put a link to the Tanner in my original post, so if the image still hasn't come up, you can at least visit the site where I lifted it.
benefan
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 22:23

RELIGIOUS ART SITES

In scrounging around for some interesting copies of paintings for this thread, I came across a website apparently created by a priest at a parish in Washington state some years ago. He provides a very interesting commentary and numerous church teachings on the value of religious art, plus links to sites that contain all sorts of famous and not-so-famous religious images. His site is very detailed and fascinating. The link to the site is:
landru.i-link-2.net/shnyves/Catholic_Tradition_art.html
Wulfrune
00venerdì 9 febbraio 2007 22:23

Sandro Botticelli, Annunciation, 1489-90, Met. Museum of Art, New York.

The Renaissance is happening in Italy!! the attention to perspective, the realism of the figures, and the angel's robe - which looks to be rather more high fashion than a shapeless tunic. The picture was intended for a simple church with not a lot of architectural detail, so here the architecture is minimal.


Lorenzo Monaco, Annunciation, c.1425, Sta Trinita Church, Florence

Here, Teresa, is another flying angel for you!!


Piero della Francesca, Annunciation, 1452-66, San Francesco, Arezzo

Piero worked on a series of frescos for this church, taking over ten years to complete. I haven't been there but imagine the entire effect must be wonderful. The Annunciation is only a detail from the whole 'Legend of the True Cross'.

Of these three 15th century paintings, the Monaco is the oldest and the Botticelli the youngest, and you can see how the Renaissance ideals were to develop. The Monaco is still very medieval in feel, in the 'gothic' style, while the later two are more definitely Italian. The landscape through the window in the Botticelli no longer has the expulsion from Eden (thanks Teresa for that point, I hadn't realised this before!!) but a tranquil scene with a fine city - City of God? or 'good government'?

[Modificato da Wulfrune 09/02/2007 22.26]

maryjos
00sabato 10 febbraio 2007 00:59
Lovely paintings!
The Botticelli Annunciation is my favourite, because it's so beautifully composed and "balanced" - I could look at it for hours.

Yes, I think those heavy, detailed Baroque paintings must have been associated with the Counter Reformation - showing the Puritans that Catholic art was ad maiorem Dei gloriam!!!!!!!
TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 10 febbraio 2007 01:04
Dear Clare...You intuited perfectly the reason for Rubens's religious art as a conscious tool for the Counter-Reformation.
The first time I ever went to a major museum, I learned from a good guidebook the very valuable exercise of having a cultural-
historical timeline in mind when looking at an artwork so one could consider it in the context of what was happening in the
world at the time it as produced....In the case of Rubens, the context was both the Counter-Reformation and the fact that at
the time, the Low Countries were still under Spanish rule...I tried to go quickly to the first few Rubens biographies online
just now and found this specific reference, in fact, in one of them:

"A devout Roman Catholic, he imbued his many religious paintings with the emotional tenor of the Counter-Reformation.
This aggressively religious stance, along with his deep involvement in public affairs, lent Rubens's work a conservative
and public cast that contrasts sharply with the more private and secular paintings of his great Dutch contemporary, Rembrandt.
But if his roots lay in Italian classical art and in Roman Catholic dogma, Rubens avoided sterile repetition of academic forms
by injecting into his works a lusty exuberance and almost frenetic energy...."

I think it encapsulates much of what so attracts me to his work, including the secular paintings. The contrast with
the 'austere' Rembrandt couldn't be more marked....But that's what makes the visual arts and music so satisfying - there's
room for every taste and style, and one is free to enjoy everything generically or to develop preferences that allow for
the most extreme contrasts...

Crotchet, you touched on the possible relationship between the music and the visual arts during certain periods...I may be
wrong but compared to the visual arts, the development of Western music came relatively late. Nonetheless, I would be
interested, Crotchet, if you could - as an a pleasant exercise - name a piece of music that you think might 'go' with
any of the art works that have already been posted on this thread.

Benefan, I will now go explore your link!....

P.S. I have been to your link, Benefan...Very good background material on sacred images, and a link to icons that made me
realize that, of course, that is yet another whole universe of imagery to explore!...

Clare, just a few remarks on the precious trio of early Annunciations that you posted....The Botticelli Mary is the perfect
visual expression of "Fiat voluntas tua!" - her entire being is a a yielding!...The Monaco is exquisite: Love the medieval feel
(after a century it's still close to the Martini Annunciation); I'm a sucker for the Byzantine use of gold in imagery;
his way with fabrics is delightful; the angel is caught at the moment of arrival before he has 'landed' and one can almost feel
the wind that announced his touchdown; and Monaco does not forget the bird!...Interesting that Della Francesca shows both
God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which makes this Annunciation an interesting conundrum of the Trinity in which
the Second Person is as yet only the Word!

P.S. And guess who also had both the First and Third Persons present in his Annunciation? Raphael, about whom I wanted to
start organizing a Madonna file towards the day when we get around to the Madonna cycle!


Raffaele Sanzio, The Annunciation (Oddi altar, predella), 1502-03
Oil on canvas, 27 x 50 cm, Pinacoteca, Vatican

He was 19-20 when he painted this, and it is one of his earliest surviving works (the earliest being a St. Sebastian
painted in 1501-1502). His color scheme is surprising - flame and sepia predominate, and the angels wings are virtually black.
The space he creates is unusual as Annunciations go, not just between the Virgin and the angel, but with the perspective in
depth receding towards what appears like dawn coming up on the city...

I was intrigued by the similarity with the Botticelli painted in 1489 - same flame color for the angel robe and floor tile
(though to less dramatic effect in Botticelli), identical floor pattern, and similar landscape in the background
(although this was a Renaissance convention). Might Raphael in Urbino have seen something painted less than 15 years earlier
in Florence? Unlikely! And he did not go to Florence till 1504, and Botticelli never left Florence until he went to Rome
to contribute to the Sistine Chapel 'decoration.'

And it is taking us far afield but the Annunciation must be seen with the other paintings
that Raphael did for the Oddi Altar, all of them familiar. The Annuciation was one of 3 panels
painted as a predella for the main altarpiece which was this:


The Crowning of the Virgin (Oddi altar),1502-03
Oil on canvas, 267 x 163 cm, Pinacoteca, Vatican


The other 2 panels of the predella (the row of smaller pictures at the base of the main altarpiece) are the Adoration of the Magi
[with an oddly Carnivalesque retinue} and the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.


The Adoration of the Magi (Oddi altar),1502-03
Oil on canvas, 27 x 150 cm, Pinacoteca, Vatican



The Presentation in the Temple (Oddi altar, predella),1502-03
Oil on canvas, 27 x 50 cm, Pinacoteca, Vatican


I will limit my comments to this:
In a series of otherwise crowded canvases of variegated color, the Annunciation really stands out
with its unusual color palette and its 'space.' Then, there's the contrast between the Biblical
garments in the main piece and Annunciation, versus the Renaissance finery of the two other paintings.

And really, what can one say about a 19-20 year-old boy who simply emerged full-blown as an artist!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/02/2007 16.20]

|lily|
00sabato 10 febbraio 2007 06:36
OOOOOOhhhhhhhhh! So many paintings to comment on!!! Where does one start?
Melancholic and sweet, Teresa called the Carracci and i think that sums it up pretty well. As has been mentioned, art was used as a tool for inspiring faith and devotion during the Counter Reformation. Artists attempted to draw the viewer into the scene depicted - similar to the way Ignatius Loyola encouraged the faithful to enter into events from the life of Christ through the imagination in his Spiritual Exercises. Carracci does it through the distraught look of the Virgin and the beautiful but limp body of Christ stretching diagonally across the foreground. I do find his Christ quite beautiful.
Caravaggio likewise has Christ's lifeless body highlighted in the foreground. (Rubens did a copy of this work while he was in Rome. It is the one Rubens that is on Canadian soil (in Ottawa)). The Caravaggio is a little dramatic (more so than the Rubens version, surprisingly enough!), but I still find it a very moving work.
The Caravaggio Annunciation doesn't quite work for me. His angel is not convincing at all (and what exactly is his bony finger pointing at?) His Virgin is lovely, but by highlighting the sheet his angel is draped in, he draws attention away from her.
I'd like to introduce another Annunciation, this one from, well, they think the workshop of the Master of Flemalle from around 1426. It is part of the Merode Altarpiece which is today found in the Cloisters, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.(I was fortunate enough to see it on a trip to the Big Apple. The Cloisters is certainly worth the visit!)



The Master of Flemalle, now believed to be Robert Campin, is ofter credited with this work although recent scholarship attributes it to his workshop. The scene depicts a northern, bourgeois interior (in contrast to that Tanner version). The perspective is interesting, but what I really like is the way the artist(s) depict light, something at which northern artists often excelled. Also, I find it interesting that, flying through the air on a beam of light, already carrying His Cross, is a little baby Christ-Child on His way to His mother's womb. The Virgin is a proper middle class lady, well dressed and reading a book (probably a prayer book), but she is humble, since she sits not on the bench but in front of it. The wind from the angel's sudden arrival flutters the pages of the book on the table and snuffs out the candle.
TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 10 febbraio 2007 15:58
But that little baby Jesus with the Cross is the most astounding detail - as tiny as it is, it was the first thing that caught my attention!
It may be a bit too literal but since religious art was intended as a religious instruction tool, why not? ... His Mary seems so engrossed
in her reading she has not yet taken note of the Angel's arrival (despite the wind!) and the Angel looks as if he is trying not to startle her.

If the Master of Flemalle is thought to be the first great master of the Northern school, then this is also a template for that solidity and
specificity of bourgeois life with which the Flemish excelled at conveying a sense of assurance.

I found the reproduction of the entire Merode altarpiece but you will have to tell us who the characters in the wings are.


Master of Flemalle, Mérode Altarpiece, c. 1427
Oil on wood, 64,1 x 117,8 cm:
64,1 x 63,2 cm (central), 64,5 x 27,3 cm (each wing)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York



I was going to say, if this was Mary's house, then St. Joachim would be the man in the right wing, and St. Anne the kneeling lady in the left wing,
but why would she be kneeling, and who is the young 'monk' with her? Joseph? Portrayed for once as a young man? I see flowers beside him -
could that be an allusion to the legend that he won Mary's hand because his staff bloomed among all the suitors vying for her?

==============================================================

2/14/07
Lily, of course, subsequently cleared up my far-afield speculation about the wings to the panel, but thanks to a wonderful article
indicated by Wulfrune today, I found this article that explains the hidden symbolism in the Merode altarpiece:


Lions, Lilies and Mousetraps:
Hidden symbolism of an annunciation

By A. Dean McKenzie

Since the beginning of Christianity, symbols and metaphors have been broadly used and understood by believers. Throughout the
Middle Ages, everyday objects were interpreted in religious terms. A cluster of grapes could stand for the Eucharistic wine and the blood
of Jesus; the cross or almost anything cruciform could symbolize the Crucifixion of Christ and the promise of salvation; palm branches
symbolized martyrdom; a dove, the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps the most innovative and beautiful example of the use of this disguised symbolism is the so-called Merode Altarpiece painted around
1425 and named for a former owner. The painting is a triptych with folding wings. The central panel (25 by 25 inches) depicts the Annunciation;
the side panels (25 by 10 inches each) show the patrons who commissioned the work (left) and Joseph working in his workshop (right).

Although the artist was long identified only as the Master of Flemalle (after the abbey of Flemalle, which owned one of his paintings),
most scholars today agree that this is the work of Robert Campin (d. 1444), who served as dean of the painter’s guild in Tournai (in modern
Belgium). Today, the painting hangs in the Cloisters, a simulated medieval monastery (and a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art)
containing five painstakingly reconstructed French cloisters overlooking the Hudson River in Upper Manhattan. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.,
was responsible for financing this medieval jewel.

In the Cloisters’ hushed dark halls, the painting’s rich colors seem to glow — thanks to Campin’s innovative use of translucent glazes
over thin layers of opaque oil paint (instead of traditional egg-white-based tempera paint).

As with many of the Annunciation paintings discussed in the preceding article, Mary is interrupted by Gabriel while she is reading
Hebrew scriptures, supposedly the passage in which Isaiah prophesies that a virgin would bear a child. The event takes place in
Joseph’s house. The setting is depicted with great realism; it looks like an ordinary, 15th-century, middle-class living room, well furnished
with decorative and utilitarian items.

This is the first time the scene was depicted in such a setting. A brass basin hangs in a niche in the back wall. A white cloth or prayer
shawl hangs on a rack nearby. The central, polygonal table supports a candle in a candle holder, a porcelain pitcher holding lilies,
and an open volume of the Hebrew scriptures.

On the right, in front of the fireplace, stands a wooden bench with a movable backrest that could be easily changed to face the opposite
direction. (Such convertible benches were invented in the Netherlands in the early 15th century.) The wooden bench is decorated
with Gothic trefoil arches and, at the top corners, four small carved lions.

Around the fireplace are candleholders, marble carved figures and a fire screen. The light coming from the two circular windows
in the upper left wall creates realistic double shadows behind the objects. But despite the naturalism with which these objects
are rendered, nearly every detail in the painting has some hidden symbolic meaning.

It’s no coincidence, for example, that Mary is sitting on the footrest of the bench. This symbolizes her humility. The light reflections
on Mary’s bright gold-trimmed red robe form a star — probably referring to the Star of Bethlehem and possibly also to a cross combined
with the greek letter Chi (the first initial of Christ’s title), a combination that was popular from early Christian times.

The lions on the bench undoubtedly refer in an abbreviated form to the elaborate Throne of Solomon with its 14 lions, as described in
1 Kings 10:19–20. In religious and profane literature of the period, Mary was referred to allegorically as the living Throne of the
New Solomon, that is, Jesus Christ. (In countless medieval and Renaissance portraits of the Virgin and Child, Jesus sits on Mary’s
very solid-looking lap as if on a throne; he often holds a scepter and orb.)

The copper ewer with water symbolizes Mary as the “vessel most clean” or the “well of living waters” — both common descriptions
of Mary’s purity. White lilies like those in the pitcher were also commonly used to symbolize Mary’s purity in Annunciation paintings
(such as Fra Filippo Lippi’s). The spotless prayer shawl could again symbolize the holy and pure nature of the virgin.

The cryptic inscription on the side of the pitcher may be a reference to the artist of this otherwise unsigned work. One scholar has
suggested that the letters are a combination of Greek and Hebrew that, when transliterated, spell DVPAYMKN, which when unscrambled
could be read as du Kampyn or van der Kampyn (modern Campin).

The symbolism of the candle appears to be borrowed from an encyclopedic treatise of canon law written in the 13th-century by a
jurist named William Durandus. Durandus stated that the wax of a candle produced by virginal bees represents the humanity or the flesh
of Jesus, that the wick represents his soul and that the light of the candle represents his divinity. Why then has the candle just gone
out? (It’s still smoking.) Because Jesus has just appeared in the room in human (rather than divine) form: If you look closely
you will see a tiny infant Christ, carrying a cross, descending on seven golden rays (representing seven gifts of the Holy Spirit)
through one of the circular windows on the left. Or perhaps, as some suggest, the candle was snuffed out because all natural lights
succumbed to the divine radiance of the babe — a theory made popular by the 14th-century Swedish mystic St. Bridget.

The most intriguing (and controversial) symbolism is found in the right-hand panel of the altarpiece, where we see Joseph at work
in his carpentry shop. Never before had Joseph received such prominent treatment in an Annunciation picture; his presence here
reflects the growing importance of his figure during the 15th century.

On Joseph’s work bench is a wooden contraption, a duplicate of which has been placed on the ledge outside his window. It is, in fact,
a mousetrap — seemingly a rather mundane object to require Joseph’s expertise in carpentry (not to mention Campin’s artistic
skills).

In Campin’s time, there was a well-known doctrine (based on the writings of Augustine) called the muscipula diaboli, which stated
that the marriage of Mary to Joseph and the Incarnation of Jesus were devised by Providence to fool the devil — just as mice
are fooled by bait. It also states that “the cross of the Lord is the Devil’s mousetrap and Christ the bait to catch the Devil.”

The other tools scattered about in a haphazard manner on the bench and floor may refer to Isaiah 10:15: “Shall the ax vaunt itself
over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if
a staff should lift him who is not wood!” All the tools mentioned by the prophet appear in the painting.

Joseph’s current project, however — carefully drilling rows of parallel holes in a square board — has puzzled many art historians,
who have proposed a variety of interpretations. It has been suggested that Joseph is making a footwarmer or spiked blocks —
a torture device shown hanging from Jesus’ waist in many Flemish depictions of Jesus carrying the cross.

It has also been suggested that Joseph is working on a fire screen similar to the one in the central panel; thus, the protective
screen might symbolize his purity and his ability to distance himself from the fire of lust with the burning love for God.

But one art historian, after observing winemaking procedures on an Italian farm, noticed that the strainer for extracting the juice
from grapes was very similar to Joseph’s wooden square with regular rows of drilled holes; so Joseph could be making a grape
strainer used to produce wine — specifically, wine of the Eucharist, the blood of Jesus that was shed for the salvation of mankind.

As farfetched as such an interpretation may seem, the theme of Christ in the Wine Press (drawing on Isaiah 63:1–3, “I have trodden
the wine press alone”) does crop up elsewhere in art (specifically, German woodcuts from the same period as the Merode Altarpiece).

Is this type of detective work legitimate? Can we be at all certain that our modern interpretations are correct or even probable?

Yes and no. I am certain there is meaning hidden in this painting. In the Merode Altarpiece, commonplace objects become,
as Thomas Aquinas put it, “corporeal metaphors of things spiritual.”

Some of the symbols are harder to interpret than others, and some have multiple layers of meanings that continue to challenge
modern scholars. The most legitimate approach must consider the familiarity of the symbolic interpretation in contemporary customs
and/or literature. The religious traditions of the period have significant bearing on possible symbolic meanings. We have discussed
the most pertinent and controversial symbols in one of the great Flemish paintings of the period. In all probability even more symbolic
interpretations of the Merode Altarpiece will be discovered in the future.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/02/2007 0.29]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/02/2007 2.46]

|lily|
00sabato 10 febbraio 2007 21:05
Teresa, the figures in the left panel are the donors. Their family coats-of-arms can be seen in the window behind Mary. They are kneeling in an enclosed garden, which is a symbol of the Virgin. The man lurking in the background is, apparently, a bailiff with the coat-of-arms of Mechelen on his chest. (At least, that is what art historian Dirk de Vos says about him!) What he is doing there is a very good question...
The man in the right hand panel is St. Joseph, at his carpenter's bench. In front of him is a mouse trap, which was a symbol of the Incarnation. (The Incarnation being a trap set by God to trick and catch the devil.)The depiction of St. Joseph on the right panel is unusual - normally, another Biblical scene would appear. Perhaps he was the patron saint of the donor? Another theory is that the painting represents a sort of rebus illustrating the name of the wife, Schrinmechers, which is similar to the Dutch word for carpenter.
benefan
00domenica 11 febbraio 2007 04:13



Leonardo da Vinci. The Annunciation. Detail. c. 1472-1475. Oil and tempera on wood. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy.

[Modificato da benefan 11/02/2007 4.16]

maryjos
00domenica 11 febbraio 2007 07:45
Saint Scholastica, February 10th


Death of Saint Scholastica. Jean Restout..1730

As it was the Feast of Saint Scholastica, Saint Benedict's sister, yesterday, I thought I'd look her up. I had never seen this painting before. I don't particularly like it, but it's relevant to the day.

[Modificato da maryjos 11/02/2007 7.46]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 11 febbraio 2007 07:46

Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation, 1472-75
Tempera on wood, 98 x 217 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence]


I finally found the other Leonardo Annunciation (below), so now we can compare it to its older, more famous sibling (above).
(I am sorry I had to cut it up in two because to post it with its full 19 inches across would have skewed this whole page. The reproduction
is almost as big as the real thing, while the available thumbnail is so small it is barely comprehensible.)





Leonardo da Vinci, Annunciation, 1478-82. Oil on panel, 16 x 60 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris

It was painted as a predella for a painting by Lorenzo Di Credi from which it has since become separated. And I have not yet found out
which Lorenzo painting it was. (Lorenzo had his own Annunciation, which I've posted below.) The later Annunciation
by Leonardo is much smaller - it is only 6 inches high by 2 feet wide (the other one is about 3-1/4 ft high by 7 feet wide).

I went back to the citation I made when I first posted the earlier Annunciation, which said: "In the smaller picture Mary averts her eyes and folds her hands in a gesture that symbolised submission to God’s will. In the larger picture, however, Mary is not in the least submissive. The beautiful girl, interrupted in her reading by this unexpected messenger, puts a finger in her bible to mark the place and raises her hand in greeting. This calm young woman accepts her role as the Mother of God not with resignation but with confidence."

I prefer to think that the first painting represented Mary before she heard the words that she was going to be the Mother of God. And this was certainly a very self-possessed and calm girl, and that's a very girlish face despite the womanly figure. In the second picture, she has learned her transcendental destiny and now says her Fiat, which is far from being resignation, but total trusting submission to God. And the Mary who says it is no longer a girl but a woman now cloaked with the knowledge and mystery of her unique unrepeatable mission.

I would title the first Annunciation "Hail, Mary full of grace", where the angel is the active protagonist, and the second one "Be it done unto me according to Thy word" which this Mary embodies beautifully.


And we might as well look at Lorenzo di Credi's Annunciation, which hangs in the Uffizzi. Di Credi and Leonardo, along with
Botticelli and Perugino, were the most famous of the Florentine painters who apprenticed with Andrea del Verrocchio.

Lorenzo di Credi, Annunciation,1480-85. Oil on panel, 88 x 71 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Lorenzo has the story of the creation and the fall of man in 3 embossed panels below the painting.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 13/02/2007 4.58]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 11 febbraio 2007 08:26
Thanks for the St. Scholastica post, Mary. I actually like that painting,
although I saw it on a much smaller scale earlier today, when I was looking
for some material about her. Here's what I did find from a site called saintbenedict.org.



SAINT SCHOLASTICA

Born in Nursia (Nurcia), Italy, c. 480 (?); died near Monte Cassino, Italy, c. 543.
Almost everything we know about Saint Scholastica comes from the Dialogues of
Saint Gregory the Great.

Saint Scholastica, twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia who founded of the
Benedictine order, was consecrated to God at a very early age but probably
continued to live in her parents' home. It is said that she was as devoted to Jesus
as she was to her brother. So, when Benedict established his monastery at Monte
Cassino, Scholastica founded a convent in nearby Plombariola, about five miles
south of Monte Cassino. The convent is said to have been under the direction of
her brother, thus she is regarded as the first Benedictine nun.

The siblings were quite close. The respective rules of their houses proscribed either
entering the other's monastery. According to Saint Gregory, they met once a year
at a house near Monte Cassino monastery to confer on spiritual matters, and were
eventually buried together, probably in the same grave. Saint Gregory says, "so
death did not separate the bodies of these two, whose minds had ever been united
in the Lord."



Saint Gregory tells the charming story of the last meeting of the two saints on
earth. Scholastica and Benedict had spent the day in the "mutual comfort of
heavenly talk" and with nightfall approaching, Benedict prepared to leave.
Scholastica, having a presentiment that it would be their last opportunity to see
each other alive, asked him to spend the evening in conversation. Benedict sternly
refused because he did not wish to break his own rule by spending a night away
from Monte Cassino. Thereupon, Scholastica cried openly, laid her head upon the
table, and prayed that God would intercede for her. As she did so, a sudden storm
arose. The violent rain and hail came in such a torrential downpour that Benedict
and his companions were unable to depart.

"May Almighty God forgive you, sister" said Benedict, "for what you have done."

"I asked a favor of you," Scholastica replied simply, "and you refused it. I asked it
of God, and He has granted it!"

Just after his return to Monte Cassino, Benedict saw a vision of Scholastica's soul
departing her body, ascending to heaven in the form of a dove. She died three
days after their last meeting. He placed her body in the tomb he had prepared for
himself, and arranged for his own to be placed there after his death. Her relics
were alleged by the monk Adrevald to have been translated (July 11) to a rich
silver shrine in Saint Peter's Church in Le Mans, France, which may have been
when Benedict's were moved to Fleury. In 1562, this shrine was preserved from
the Huguenots' plundering.

Some say that we should only petition God for momentously important matters.
God's love, however, is so great that we wishes to give us every good thing. He is
ever ready to hear our prayers: our prayers of praise and thanksgiving, and our
prayers of petition, repentance, and intercession. Nothing is too great or too trivial
to share with our Father. The dependent soul learns that everything we are and
have is from His bountiful goodness; when we finally learn that lesson we turn to
Him with all our hopes and dreams and needs. Saint Scholastica is obviously one
of those who learned the lesson of her own helplessness.

Saint Scholastica is usually depicted in art as a habited nun, holding a crozier and
crucifix, with her brother. Sometimes she may be shown (1) with Saint Justina of
Padua, with whom she is confused though Justina was never a nun; (2) receiving
her veil from Saint Benedict; (3) her soul departing her body like a dove; (4) with a
dove at her feet or bosom; or kneeling before Saint Benedict's cell.

She is the patroness of Monte Cassino and all Cassinese communities.
She is invoked against storms.

Prayer: O God, to show us where innocence leads, you made the soul of your virgin
Saint Scholastica soar to heaven like a dove in flight. Grant through her merits
and her prayers that we may so live in innocence as to attain to joys everlasting.
This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.




To read the chapters about St. Scholastica written by Gregory the Great, go to
saintbenedict.org/stscholastica.htm

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/02/2007 21.56]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 11 febbraio 2007 16:47
OUR LADY OF LOURDES
Today, the Church commemorates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes,
marking the day she first appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in southern France.


The grotto at Massabielle today, with the image of Our Lady who identified herself
to Bernadette saying "I am the Immaculate Conception," written in Pyrenean dialect
at the base of the statue.



Bernadette Soubirous at the time of the apparitions.
Her body has been thrice exhumed and shown to be incorrupt
.


In 1858, in the grotto of Massabielle, near Lourdes in southern France,
Our Lady appeared 18 times to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peasant girl.

She revealed herself as the Immaculate Conception, asked that a chapel
be built on the site of the vision, and told the girl to drink from a
fountain in the grotto.

No fountain was to be seen, but when Bernadette dug at a spot designated
by the apparition, a spring began to flow. The water from this still flowing
spring has shown remarkable healing power, though it contains no curative
property that science can identify.

Lourdes has become the most famous modern shrine of Our Lady.

The shrine is preparing now for the 150th anniversary of the apparitions
next year.



The official site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is
www.lourdes-france.org/

===============================================================

Since there is a multitude of known saints, every day actually marks the feast day
of many of them. I found this site

www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/cal-ss.htm
which conveniently gives an alphabetical list of all the saints commemorated on any given day,
along with a short biography about each one. All you have to do is click on the calendar date.
It can be mind-boggling!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/02/2007 16.59]

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