© 2019 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
So many people have written about the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City that the world may not need one more review, but I promise to keep it short. It’s great. I love it! They … Continue reading
© 2016 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
A few people who work in the manuscripts department at The Getty have been posting pictures from medieval manuscripts on Twitter and Tumblr and asking the public to give them a caption. They did this for a year, and, well, … Continue reading
Mihrab (prayer niche), Iran, Isfahan, Ilkhanid period (1206–1353), mosaic of polychrome–glazed cut tiles on stonepaste body; set into mortar; 135 1/16 x 113 11/16 in., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Photo via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Mihrab (noun) A mihrab is a niche in an Islamic mosque that indicates the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca toward which all Muslims should face when they pray.
German Aquamanile in the Form of a Dragon, c. 1200, copper alloy, 8 3/8 x 4 3/8 x 7 3/16 in., The Cloisters Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Photo via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
An aquamanile is a vessel that holds water used for washing hands in both religious and secular contexts. Typically, the vessel is animal-shaped and has religious symbolism. During the Middle Ages, priests often used them to wash their hands before Mass. This aquamanile … Continue reading
Wikipedia-edit-a-thon
The activist group Art+Feminism will host its second annual “Wikipedia-edit-a-thon” at the Museum of Modern Art on Saturday, March 7th from 11:00am to 5:00pm. The purpose of the event is to revise and add information to better represent female artists and feminism on Wikipedia, … Continue reading
Sainte-Chapelle, 1241-1248, Île de la Cité, Paris, Photo by Didier B, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic via Wikipedia.
Built by French King Louis IX, a.k.a. St. Louis, in the mid-13th century, Sainte-Chapelle almost itself is a reliquary rather than a chapel to house reliquaries. The space is connected to the Royal Palace so that the royal family could simply walk into … Continue reading
An Angel Unlocking the Door of Hell, Winchester Psalter (Psalter of Henry of Blois), between1121-1161, 12.6” x 8.8”, British Library, London, Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication License, Wikimedia Commons.
The lavishly illustrated Winchester Psalter likely was created for Henry of Blois, brother of Stephen, King of England, in the 12th century. This manuscript from the Romanesque era has 80 unusual and innovative illustrations, including the frightening scene of an … Continue reading
Punitavati, Shiva Saint, c. 1050, bronze, 19 5/8” x 8 7/8”, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Photo by Jacquelyn Mata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
Jacquelyn Mata, a student at Southwestern University in Georgetown, TX, wrote this post. This beautiful yet haunting bronze sculpture portrays Punitavati, a Shiva Saint and a member of the Shaiva Nayanars, or “slaves of lord.” Hindus believe priests summoned deities … Continue reading
Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket, first quarter of the 12th century, Champlevé copper, engraved, chased, enameled and gilt, Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris, Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen via Wikimedia Common, Artwork in the Public Domain.
Champlevé (noun) A technique in enameling in which an artist creates hollows in a metal surface and fills it with enamel. The artist who crafted the champlevé enamel scene on the Reliquary of St. Thomas Becket carved it into copper before … Continue reading
© 2014 Sally Whitman Coleman, PhD. All rights reserved.
Deësis (noun) The representation of Jesus enthroned between the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist, often seen in Byzantine mosaics in Last Judgment scenes. The image underscores the roles of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist as intercessors … Continue reading
Plate with Kufic Border, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, 9th-10th cen., 14.75
Calligraphy is prevalent in Islamic Art because the Muslim religion is revealed though sacred scriptures, the Quran, which is believed to be the word of God brought to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Kufic script, named for Kufa, a city … Continue reading
Interior of San Vitale, 526-547 CE, Ravenna, Italy, Photo by sjmcdonoughvia Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 ShareAlike License. 2
San Vitale is one of the first examples of Byzantine art and architecture in Western civilization. In the 6th century, under the reign of Justinian, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) became the political and religious center of the Christian Byzantine Empire and … Continue reading