Giovanni Bellini’s First St Jerome in the Wilderness
September 26th 2020
St Jerome (c.347 – 420) is a Doctor of the Church and the author of the Latin translation of the bible known as the Vulgate. However, in this image Bellini shows him seated on rock in front of what must
CRUCIFIXION WITH THE VIRGIN AND SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST BY GIOVANNI BELLINI
September 12th 2020
In this small panel, the crucifixion is shown against a beautiful landscape near a bridge built where a river bends. It might well be somewhere in the Veneto. The bridge and the tracks made by people across the river plain
Giovanni Bellini’s St Jerome in a Landscape
August 29th 2020
As the Season of Creation begins this coming week, I thought this small painting by Giovanni Bellini might help us to ponder our place within the whole of God’s creation. The subject is St Jerome (347 – 420) who, as
Caravaggio’s Denial of St Peter
August 22nd 2020
“Denial of St Peter” 1601- 1607/10, Caravaggio, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. You can see this picture in higher resolution at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Denial_of_Saint_Peter_(Caravaggio)#/media/File:The_Denial_of_Saint_Peter-Caravaggio_(1610).jpg The story of St Peter’s denial of Jesus is told in all four gospels. Although the general
CARAVAGGIO’S DEATH OF THE VIRGIN
August 15th 2020
“Death of the Virgin”, 1601- 1605/06, Caravaggio, Louvre, Paris. You can see this picture in higher resolution but with some colour distortion at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_Virgin_(Caravaggio)#/media/File:Michelangelo_Caravaggio_069.jpg A soft light falls from high up on the left unto a scene of death. The
Rembrandt’s “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee”
August 8th 2020
This is Rembrandt’s first and only seascape. It was painted in 1633, which was early on in his career and shortly after his move from Leiden to Amsterdam. It is signed and dated but the details of the commission are
Matisse’s St Dominic at Vence
August 1st 2020
It fell to Fr Fergus to clothe me in the Dominican habit. It was 5th October 1992. There were two of us. I remember that he preached a very fine homily. He said what we were called to do was
CARAVAGGIO’S RAISING OF LAZARUS
July 25th 2020
On Wednesday, we celebrate the feast day of St Martha, who was the sister of Lazarus. The gospel for her feast day is John 11:19 -27, in which she professes faith in Jesus, before he raises Lazarus from the dead.
Bruegel’s Landscape with the Parable of the Sower
July 11th 2020
Imagine yourself coming over the brow of a hill, or emerging from the edge of a wood, and seeing this view before you. Perhaps the first thing you will notice is the man sowing seed just below you on the
Br Samuel preaches on the 14th Sunday of the Year
July 6th 2020
Mt 11:25-30 The verses that we have just read are, to my mind, both some of the most consoling and some of the most perplexing in the whole of scripture. They speak to the mystery of who can receive Christ’s
