Murillo’s Immaculate Conception or Assumption of the Virgin?
August 14th 2021
If you lived in 17th Century Seville, you might expect this to be an image of the Immaculate Conception rather than the Assumption. And perhaps it is. Murillo painted the Immaculate Conception again and again. The upward gaze of the
Bellini’s St Dominic in Denver
August 7th 2021
“St Dominic”,Giovanni Bellini, c.1501, Denver, private collection This painting by Giovanni Bellini of St Dominic is less well known than others. Saint Dominic is reading from the book he holds open in his hands. He is easily identified by
BELLINI’S TRANSFIGURATION IN NAPLES
July 31st 2021
Christ stands before us dressed in garments which are as bright as the band of white clouds on the horizon behind him. The cloth looks like it has been stiffened. But these are hardly the “dazzling robes” of the gospel
KITCHEN SCENE WITH CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF MARY AND MARTHA, VELÁZQUEZ
July 24th 2021
The young woman stares out at us from a kitchen. The meal of fish and eggs suggests that this might the season of Lent or a fast day. The older woman lays a finger on her sleeve. The young woman
Caravaggio’s Martha and Mary Magdalene
July 17th 2021
In Western art, Mary Magdalen has been conflated with Mary, the sister of Martha, and with the woman who washed Christ’s feet with her tears. She is often shown as a repentant sinner , sometimes clad in scarlet, sometimes nude,
Dürer’s Four Apostles
July 10th 2021
Although this pair of panels are usually known as “The Four Apostles”, in fact, the four men shown are, on the left, St John the Evangelist with St Peter behind him, and on the right, the Apostle St Paul with
MILLAIS’ CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF HIS PARENTS
July 3rd 2021
In today’s gospel passage from Mark, the people of Nazareth refer to Jesus as a carpenter. In Matthew, they refer to him as a carpenter’s son. In this painting, which was inspired by a sermon, Millais presents us with
JAN BRUEGHEL’S CHRIST IN STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE
June 19th 2021
Dark clouds advance across the sky and almost obscure the sun. In their shadow the disciples struggle to prevent their boat from sinking, as the waves come close to filling it. This picture includes several details mentioned in today’s gospel
JAN BRUEGEL’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT
June 12th 2021
Although the scene shown here is the Sermon on the Mount, I think it could have been named for a parable such as that of the mustard seed in today’s gospel reading, where great things come from tiny beginnings. The
TITIAN’S SUPPER AT EMMAUS AT THE WALKER GALLERY
June 5th 2021
You might consider the table cloth to be of little importance in the story of the Supper at Emmaus, but it dominates this painting. The white weave is strikingly set against the darker tones of evening. The table with its
