Pieter de Hooch at the National Gallery

I’m a huge fan of Pieter de Hooch’s genre paintings.

In this blog post, I wanted to share 2 outstanding paintings at London’s NG. 

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The Courtyard of a House in Delft by Pieter de Hooch (1658)

I love this painting. I always make a beeline to see it in room 16.

It has an intensity (an assiduousness) that is captivating as well as charming.

It’s in my favourite 10 paintings of the National Gallery.

Pieter de Hooch was a master painter of the Dutch Golden Age. He moved to Amsterdam in 1660 and art history explains a shift from his earlier Delft art - genre paintings focused on the ordinary people in their homes and courtyards.

The little girl is the centre of the painting, and the source of the painting’s warmth and charm. A statement about a well-ordered & healthy home? Perhaps. But interesting that he paints the other lady with her back to us.

De Hooch’s power in the use of light is not only masterful (e.g. soft shadows in the archway for depth) but powerful in its interaction with luminous flowers and foliage. To me, it seems to recreate that afternoon sunny effect in which flowers & plants appear to glow with a beautiful intensity. 

As for the brickworks, my goodness. To me, it seems he treats the brickworks like nature itself. He treats it as a subject worthy of delicacy and meticulousness. I discovered on wikipedia that his father, Hendrick Hendricksz de Hooch, was a bricklayer. So that explains that. De Hooch paints every single brick with mortar between them and expertly weaves them together to stunning open-mouthed effect.

 

The texture of the wood, the brickwork colours, the almost glistening flowers.

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A Woman and her Maid in a Courtyard by Pieter de Hooch (1660)

A bit of mystery here.

There is a sense of unease or tension in the relationship between the woman and her maid.

The maid seems to be cooking some food. Perhaps a stew, a cooking pot in front of her (black) on a little fire of sorts. Next to a waterpump to cook with? Broom to sweep (same broom as the The Courtyard of a House above).

The woman in the courtyard looks like the woman of the house. Seemingly wealthy (finer clothing), she seems to be looking at the maid closely with hands outstretched (as if to say “well?”). It’s a bit of an unease - like she’s keeping an eye on her. It could be a snapshot of daily life. Though, the girl/maid on floor seems to have a frown and eyes are looking downwards. It’s interesting that De Hooch doesn’t show us the woman’s face - perhaps to depersonalise her? Make us aware of her function in the everyday daily life - but no more? Because we empathise with the maid. But, who knows if this is supposed to have moral overtones? 

The bricks - warm reddish coloured walls are beautiful against the yellow-ey floor. A detailed analysis of how light and shadow play across the brickworks. Here they’re slightly uneven and slightly worn. Fascinating golden cloth/tapestry - it could be a visual enhancement (adding a contrasting colour) or simply a visual detail familiar to the original patrons.

Outstanding.

 

The roof and architecture are incredibly detailed,

capturing the texture of wood, and the roughened weathered look.

The Bayeux Tapestry returning to the British Museum

I’m posting about this because the Bayeux Tapestry are returning to the British Museum.

Very exciting.

As Alastair Sooke writes in “The Bayeux Tapestry is coming home – this is a huge moment in our cultural history” (Telegraph)

Some works of art are so famous that they’re seared in the collective imagination, as familiar to us as our parents’ faces. One such piece is that 224ft-long embroidered strip of linen known as the Bayeux Tapestry, which, as almost every British schoolchild could tell you, memorialises the Battle of Hastings, as well as the events leading up to it, and the Norman Conquest of 1066.

For centuries, it has been a cornerstone of European culture – much parodied (including by The Simpsons) and still a source of inspiration for contemporary artists such as David Hockney, whose current retrospective in Paris includes a homage to it set, appropriately, within the grounds of his half-timbered Normandy property. Prior to today’s announcement that, in a reciprocal deal with the French, it will be lent to Britain – in exchange for the British Museum’s Lewis chessmen and Anglo-Saxon treasures from Sutton Hoo – it was still generating headlines as recently as this spring, when a debate broke out among medieval historians regarding the number of penises depicted within it. The jury’s still out on whether there are 93 (88 of them equine) or 94.

Although the wall hanging, which consists of nine conjoined panels, was almost certainly produced in England (probably, according to stylistic evidence, towards the end of the 11th century), it is housed, today, in Normandy’s purpose-built Bayeux Museum. (There’s also a full-size replica in Reading.) The prospect of its imminent display in Britain provides an opportunity to remove the encrustation of familiarity that, in a sense, obscures it.

For, while the tapestry has long been considered an important primary source for English history, and a sort of visual glossary documenting life in early medieval Europe (teeming with depictions of astonishingly diverse objects, including harrows and hunting horns, biers, barrels, wagons and spades), what sometimes gets forgotten is that it’s also a superb example of secular Romanesque art. It was likely commissioned by the Norman nobleman, and King William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux (in the accounts of whose church, Bayeux Cathedral, it was first mentioned, during the 15th century).

Whoever designed the tapestry was an artist of considerable imaginative power, capable of summoning a remarkably consistent and lively extended narrative. The tumultuous, topsy-turvy battle scenes, in particular – with their chainmail-clad warriors and upended horses, and, of course, Harold, identified (like the work’s other figures) by an inscription, possibly tugging at an arrow that may be protruding from his eye – are unforgettably dynamic.

The action, though, is rarely illegible, in part because the background isn’t embroidered with coloured woollen yarns (technically, the Bayeux Tapestry, a few scenes of which are lost, is an embroidery), so that the graphic immediacy of the design within this broad central section is not diluted; text, mostly in square capitals, helps to clarify and drive the narrative, too. Everything is represented using a palette of only 10 shades of dye derived from plants including madder and woad. At one point, Halley’s Comet makes a cameo.

The middle zone, where the cut-and-thrust of the story (itself, divided into discrete scenes) takes place, is mostly flanked, at top and bottom, by decorative borders or bands. Sometimes, these borders serve a simple ornamental purpose, or represent tales from, say, Aesop’s fables. But they can also interact with, and even foreshadow, aspects of the principal story, in a manner that attests to the sophistication of the tapestry’s maker and its audience.

This, as much as the surprising fact of its survival, imbues it with a miraculous aura. That something so fundamental to our national story is, as it were, coming home – possibly after more than nine centuries! – is a massive moment for this country.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre (c. 200 BC)

The Winged Victory of Samothrace was discovered on the Greek island of Samothrace.

This is a very famous Greek original sculpture that was buried for centuries.

What a dynamic powerful pose. I saw this at the Louvre.

The Greek sculptor captured the goddess of victory landing on the prow of a war ship.

Incredible drapery and feathered wings. 

The Gaza aid crisis

The Gaza aid situation is v. serious. While no famine yet, we may be approaching it quite quickly. The prolonged and uneven distribution of aid is going to give rise to severe malnutrition - esp. among the most vulnerable in the Gazan population.

As Emanuel Fabian writes in the ToI, the problem is distribution. There are almost 1,000 aid trucks sitting at the Gaza-side of Kerem Shalom crossing of the border. They are not getting distributed - either by the GHF or UN.

As a bit of a recap, there are two means of delivering aid to Gaza:

1. Directly to the population in Israeli-secured distribution centers - The IDF simply cannot distribute the aid. That would mean putting soldiers into a v. confrontational situation. They would be surrounded by thousands of Gazans; inevitably leading to clashes and attacks. This is why the GHF was created. In an earlier blog post, I thought this might actually be a solution. But, it’s main problem is not nearly enough distribution points (with only 4 centers). You’d need a safe and secure location close enough to the local population. Then, you need the soldiers, security contractors, equipment and engineering to build & secure the sites. Those distribution centers need to be controlled, managed and defended as Hamas is doing everything to undermine them. They’re being disrupted by gunfire and deaths, and involve long lines. An aid station needs to take in thousands of people per hour, and you can’t search them all. Nevertheless, the GHF have been delivering millions of meals per day (which is why there is no famine).

2. Into Hamas controlled territory - The delivery to areas controlled by Hamas is not what GHF does, but others do it. Previously, if the UN sends their drivers, then part of it gets looted on the way and the remainder goes to Hamas. Hamas uses it for their fighters or selling it to Gazan population at exorbitant prices (thereby gaining recruitment money to get more fighters) or plain recruitment-for-food. Earlier in this war, the UN told Israel that it had to secure the convoys of aid going into Gaza. However, when the IDF did that, Hamas combatants (in civilian clothing) mingled with the civilians coming for the aid; then started shooting at the IDF soldiers. The soldiers shoot back. The narrative became: “Israel is shooting civilians coming for aid.” So then, Israel stopped securing the convoys. The problem now is that the UN and aid organizations don’t want to distribute aid into Gaza without the security of the IDF for fear of Hamas. But, when Israel does secure the aid, they can’t protect it from Hamas because of those civilians. And whose fault is that? You guessed it .... Israel!! Not the fault of Hamas.

The waiting aid convoys are supposed to be taken by various aid groups & UN for delivery; and, as the ToI article makes quite clear, it’s about Hamas:

The official said that the UN has made requests that COGAT cannot agree to concerning the deliveries, such as demanding that Hamas police escort the convoys, or that they be allowed to bring in communication devices that Israel fears could end up in the terror group’s hands.

This is not about starving people. This is a power struggle opposing Israeli measures to stop the aid being used to implicitly strengthen Hamas. Hamas’s remaining power and danger is directly related to its control over the aid delivery. Hamas needs to make getting aid from people other than them dangerous, so they can maintain their monopoly and thus power. As Ben Farmer, Melanie Swan and Iona Cleave writing in “How Gaza’s aid crisis broke Hamas and starved the Strip“ (Telegraph) have explained the new GHF aid program has seriously debilitated Hamas:

It has also caused Hamas’s worst financial crisis in decades, Israeli officials report. The terror group has been unable to pay its fighters or repair its network of tunnels and hideouts beneath the Strip. Cash shortages have also left Hamas reportedly unable to pay salaries for police or ministry employees. Money reserves amassed before, or during the early stages of, the war have run short, while Israeli strikes have devastated the leadership and fractured its grip on the besieged territory. Hamas for years received large sums from Iran, Qatar and others, and was also able to tax cross-border commerce. Israel has long alleged that Hamas also made money by seizing and selling international aid entering Gaza, though this has been denied by the United Nations and aid agencies. That income ended, officials say, when Israel imposed a blockade in March, and then began using the GHF, set up jointly by the US and Israel, to run aid hubs and bypass UN-run distributions.

Perhaps the next stage would be a humanitarian city, like Rafah, in allowing much easier delivery since Hamas is not there.

France’s virtue signaling on Palestinian statehood

French President Macron said yesterday that his nation will recognize an independent state of Palestine in September at the UN. According to President Macron (X):

Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine. I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September. 

The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population. Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. We must also ensure the demilitarization of Hamas, secure and rebuild Gaza. And finally, we must build the State of Palestine, guarantee its viability, and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region. There is no alternative. 

In light of the commitments made to me by the President of the Palestinian Authority, I have written to him to express my determination to move forward.

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France’s position means absolutely nothing, for five reasons.

◉ Firstly, the acceptance of the French President’s conditions (which I’ve highlighted in blue) were made by the PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. Mahmoud Abbas is an election-cancelling dictator of the Westbank. He doesn’t have the hostages and he doesn’t control that part of Palestine. And yet, he has apparently pledged to release the hostages. People have forgotten the kind of violence committed by Hamas against other Palestinians, especially members of Fatah. Even if Abbas were installed to run the strip, can he really control Hamas & Islamic Jihad and have them release the hostages? What a joke. Hamas probably loathe him as much as Israel - esp. given the barbaric horrors inflicted by Hamas to his political party members when they took control of the strip in 2007. It’s also v. unclear whether Fatah can command sufficient public support in the Westbank itself, let alone in Gaza. To a considerable proportion of his voter base, his increasingly aggressive rhetoric just isn’t extreme enough.

◉ Secondly, how does the French President propose kicking Hamas out of Gaza? Is he going to send troops to install Abbas instead? Hamas will never demilitarise, and they will never - ever - recognise the state of Israel. So how do we get there?

◉ Thirdly, Israel would be completely willing to recognise a Palestinian state under the conditions Macron listed. The problem here isn’t Israel. Macron is trying to effect a two-state solution from on high without addressing what the Palestinians think about these topics? Polling has consistently showed that the Palestinians (even more so in the Westbank) support what Hamas did on Oct-7. Additionally, people polled have overwhelming stood against “disarmament of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in order to stop the war on the Gaza Strip”. How many times have they rejected a two-state solution because they want Israel gone. Nothing will really change until the surrounding Arab nation states acknowledge the right of Israel to exist. This declaration by the French President cannot undo the brainwashing of children to hate Jews, or religious delusions about “armed struggle”. There just isn’t the political will for a two-state resolution - neither at Camp David nor today.

◉ Fourthly, the recognition of a State of Palestine following the events of Oct-7 only reinforce the terrorist factions, and not the people advocating for peace. Sinwar would be smiling in his grave. If you’re a moderate Palestinian, you’re now more likely to support Hamas over the PA. They get you the statehood results you want.

◉ Fifthly, France is not a player in the Middle East. This needs to managed by the the US and neighbouring Arab states. 

Hedda Sterne abstract expressionism - 1940s New York paintings - What do you think?

Hedda Sterne was an accomplished Romanian artist who worked in surrealism and then emigrated to New York. I think she was Jewish and had to escape Nazi persecution. She then subsequently morphed into the abstract expressionism movement of New York, and became a successful female artist in that world.

I saw this painting in the Tate. It’s part of the series on New York which she painted as an emigree when she arrived. I imagine its urban architecture must have been a shock to her.

To me, there is a disorienting/discomforting sense to the morass of lines and planes. The eye naturally wishes to find a “path” to finding some home (or refuge) but there doesn’t seem to be one. Up and down, and across. There are no trees, no humans, and it feels like the "structure" might collapse at any moment.

It’s interesting. 

What do you all think?

Picture within a picture

I walked past this beautiful mirror on the way to the museum of modern art in Rome.

The Epstein “client list” is a conspiracy theory

The whole Epstein “client list” is turning into a conspiracy theory cult. Almost a McCarty-like religious mania. 

Without such a list, the worldview of MAGA would crumble. Therefore, surely, the answer must rely on yet another cover up ... or so the logic goes, and hence, the DoJ and FBI are said to be lying. 

If you consider for a moment; why in the world would the President have ever mentioned them in public if he was in the files. After all, he knows who he gave his money to, or with whom he did business. He simply mentioned the “files” to whip his base into a frenzy.

We already know that they broke-off relations in 2003/4 following some sordid affair by Epstein at one of Trump’s resorts. We already know that they were friends and met at parties and events. It seems everyone (even Steven Pinker) met Jeffery Epstein. He was everywhere, and he was able to get close to so many famous and well-connected people. Trouble is that we already knew all of this information. But the hunt persists for hidden secret “lists”! Our next course is to unseal court transcripts. Maybe it’s under his bed?

What is stunning is how this cult now seems to populate among the higher echelons our government and the media. Are we really going to grab Ms Ghislaine Maxwell to testify publicly in some prison-like conference before the media? It needs to stop.

We all know that the so-called Epstein files would have already been released by the Biden administration for being too juicy a story long ago. Either way, a secret as big as the alleged “Epstein files” or “client list” would be truly impossible to keep to a small number of people. Ergo, it’s classic wishful thinking. Unfortunately, the longer this conspiracy goes on, the greater our collective slide into a post-truth world.

Brendan O’Neill writing in “At last, the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracy theory is falling apart” (Spiked) talks about its threat to democracy and why people indulge it:

The bigger question, though, is why so many people just can’t let go of the Epstein tale. No amount of the sunlight of disinfectant, no amount of hyper-clarified jail footage, can wake them from their Paedo Island stupor. And it’s because this conspiracy theory makes them feel good. It gives their lives meaning. It lets them circumvent the tough task of thinking seriously about power and democracy in the 21st century, and instead just say: ‘Everything is beyond our control.’ Like all conspiracy theorists – from 9/11 truthers to ‘anti-Zionist’ fruitcakes – they find strange comfort in the powerlessness bestowed on them by their own theories. Their frenzied belief in distant cabals absolves them of the far harder democratic duties of thought and discussion and change.

The lunacy is bipartisan now. Witness how well the Epstein tale lends itself to both right and left. For years it was held up by right-wing cranks as proof of the depravity of Clintonites and their Hollywood luvvies; now it is wielded to the end of damning Trumpists and ‘populists’ and what they have to hide. I don’t give a damn about Jeffrey Epstein. I don’t much care for the powerful people he mingled with either, though of course I think all are owed the presumption of innocence. I do care about democracy, though. And right now, there are few threats to democracy as insidious and toxic as the tragically fashionable belief that we are ruled by devils and there is nothing we can do about it.

There aren’t any new or meaningful files. There is no “list”. The wider conspiracy theories (incl. Epstein’s death) just aren’t true.

MAGA may have gone nuts, but the rest of us don’t have to.

Tucker Carlson’s cretinous antisemitism

Tucker Carlson has become an antisemitic crank. 

Whenever he pops up in a story, he exhibits an embarrassing decline in intellect alongside an outlandish propensity for conspiracy theories (invariably with an antisemitic bent).

For example, why describe the podcaster (i.e. non-historian) Darryl Cooper as “the best and most honest popular historian in the United states” giving him platform for his revisionist history that Winston Churchill was the “chief villain of the Second World War”; and, not Hitler. 

Recently on the Epstein debacle and the so-called “client list”, he said in a speech that Epstein was “working on behalf” of Israel:

... Where did all the money come from? And no one has ever gotten to the bottom of that because no one has ever tried. And moreover, it’s extremely obvious to anyone who watches that this guy had direct connections to a foreign government. Now, no one’s allowed to say that that foreign government is Israel because we have been somehow cowed into thinking that that’s naughty. There is nothing wrong with saying that. There is nothing hateful about saying that. There’s nothing anti-Semitic about saying. There’s nothing even anti-Israel about saying that ... You have the former Israeli prime minister living in your house. You have had all this contact with the foreign government. Were you working on behalf of Mossad? Were you running a blackmail operation on behalf of foreign government? ... (Excerpted)

And, of course, all of this from his intellectual safe house of “… just asking questions ...” - the unmistakable refuge of the demagogue.

As we know, eventually, all such conspiracy theories devolve to some Jewish angle. 

The Epstein conspiracy is no different and it seems it won’t be easily killed.

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The reasons why the Mossad-Epstein conspiracy is ridiculous:

• It doesn’t make any sense for Israeli intelligence to connect itself to Epstein. Israeli intelligence is one of the few places on Earth in which idiots aren’t running things. He was investigated in 2005 and convicted in 2008. Why would Mossad be concerned with Mr Epstein’s island? What spy-trade skills did he possess? And who would Mossad be hoping to honey-trap - Mahmoud Abbas? It's ridiculous and would unnecessarily implicates Israel in his (by then) known pedophilia and sex scandals.
• Following the Jonathan Pollard espionage fiasco, Mossad & Israel must be aware of the serious repercussions involved in underhanded activities to US-Israeli relations.
• Former Israeli PM Ehud Barak met with Jeffrey Epstein “dozens of times, flew on private plane about 30 times in 2013-2017, including 2014 private flight in Florida” — and so what? Epstein met Clinton, did that make him a CIA spy? Also met Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York? And what does that prove?

Arched view of the Colosseum’s Arena

I snapped this photo which I love.

Rome’s Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art

This museum’s architecture evokes the classical.

I am going to be uploading the highlights in the coming days. 👍

Post-holiday blues

I had a fabulous holiday in Rome.

But now I’m going through photos and organising my albums and whatnot. And of course people ask me about stuff.

The problem is that I start feeling a bit depressed and sad that the trip is over.

I am thinking about the next trip in September (perhaps Turkey, Hagia Sophia? or Madrid’s Prado? or just about anything else involving sunshine and ice-cream).

But all I want to do is go back to Rome and do it all again.

We also spent a fortune with weeks of travel, art, food and beaches ... so we have to plan for low cost trip somewhere.

So how do you get over the post holiday blues? 😣

The Palazzo Barberini Square Staircase by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (ca. 1630)

Arch of Constantine

I took this photo of the Arch of Constantine from the Colosseum.

Smarthistory has a great breakdown to the Emperor.

The Triumph of Divine Providence ceiling fresco by Pietro da Cortona

This is the mindblowing ceiling masterpiece at the Barberini Palace.

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Detail:

Painted by Pietro da Cortona between 1632 and 1639.

Divine Providence is a personified lady. An allegorical figure.

She sits in the centre enthroned on heavenly clouds.

Golden light radiating out of her.

Vestments flapping in the wind, and just about holding on.

Holding the royal scepter.

Also, obviously, a symbol of Barberini power.

 

Divine Providence surrounded by allegorical figures - Justice, Piety, Truth, and Beauty. 

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My YouTube video upload:

The Barberini Palace - Highlights from the collection

I managed to visit the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. It is an absolute must for art lovers with a special focus on the Renaissance and Baroque.

I couldn’t get tickets to the Caravaggio exhibition which had sold out months in advance. But, still pleased to see Raphael, Titian, Artemisia Gentileschi ... I was pleased to come across Giovanni Lanfranco and Mattia Preti.

It was also a quiet refuge from the hussle-and-bussle of Rome.

I have uploaded a selection on the most interesting paintings/artists.

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The Annunciation by Fra Filippo Lippi

I absolutely love Fra Filippo Lippi.

Probably my favourite of the Italian early Renaissance.

I think he manages wonderfully infuse tenderness and humanism (with a certain wistfulness) whilst also preserves the elegance and dignity of a subject in the devotional art. Here, the Madonna is regal. 

His use of perspective is innovative for its time. It’s as if we’re walking into a humble devotional abode.

The detailed decorative style is striking.

The curly hair, the laurel headpiece, the crinkles in the arm’s garment.

The golds in the robes, the gradations of the peacock-like angel wings,

The ornate/red bedspreads and so on ...

The Swiss Alps from plane window

I’m not sure what this mountain range is, but it must be the Alps? From UK to Italy?

Am I right?

Back in England again. 

The Post Office scandal

In England, we’ve had an inquiry into the worst miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

They’ve just produced the first volume of their report.

Two points from the news report:

(1) It’s incredible to me that people are still waiting for their compensation. Or, if they’re been compensated, they’ve been short-changed by the state through an adversarial process. No respect or decency.

(2) The software company needs to be held accountable for their folly. Somebody somewhere made some seriously bad decisions and they need to be held accountable. A software bug should have been fixed years ago.

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For people outside the UK, there is a gripping TV show drama about this miscarriage called “Mr Bates vs The Post Office”

The Texas floods

God. How horrific and tragic. 

Those poor little campers didn’t have a chance.

I’ve seen videos of rivers swelling well over 15-20 feet in a few mins.

Hard to wrap your head around.

My deepest condolences to all of the affected families.

Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo

Another busy day.

We had a walk around the Piazza del Popolo and went into the Basilica to see the Caravaggio paintings.

Unfortunately, I didn't realise how many other treasures were there (thanks to wikipedia) so I didn't look around too much. 

Will have to return one day.

Enjoy the photos.

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The gate entry to the Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo means “Peoples’ Square”.

It is the “northern gate in the Aurelian Walls” (wiki).

I loved the grand and imposing facade.

The name of the square (in the distance) comes from the Church inside it, Santa Maria del Popolo.

I snapped a photo of this lady, ahead of me.

I thought it was a beautiful moment.

Her swaying & flapping dress reminded me of the Louvre’s “Winged Victory of Samothrace” in her momentary solitude.

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The Piazza del Popolo

An exquisite square.

It reminded me of St. Peter’s Square.

An Egyptian obelisk of Ramesses II at the centre of the Piazza.

Twin Churches in the background. Didn’t go in them. Next time.

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The façade of the basilica

A rather unadorned facade. Rubbish photo, I know ... 

Neighbouring the Museum of Leonardo da Vinci. 

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The nave

The Byzantine icon of The Madonna del Popolo.

Apparently painted by St. Luke himself.

Moved there by Pope Gregory IX from the Lateran.

While doing some research, I came across an interesting journal article by Shannon E. Kuziow in “Pope Sixtus IV at Santa Maria del Popolo: Marian Devotion and the Papal Agenda”. Unfortunately, it isn’t freely available. But the abstract says:

Throughout much of his career in the Catholic Church, Pope Sixtus IV was actively involved in promoting the cult of the Virgin Mary. He directly sponsored the construction or renovation of several Marian sites in Rome, including the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, which houses a miraculous icon of the Madonna. Inside the church, Sixtus performed weekly devotions and regularly held ceremonies bolstering and celebrating the major political events of his pontificate. Through an analysis of the papal rituals that unfolded before the icon, this article demonstrates that Sixtus’s dedication to the Madonna served as a vehicle of expression for advancing the interconnected theological, devotional, and political aspects of his papal agenda. It further argues that the pope’s support of the Marian cult played a crucial role in his perceived ability to harness divine aid in the larger temporal issues plaguing the universal Church.

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The Crucifixion of Saint Peter by Caravaggio

This is the martyrdom of Saint Peter. He apparently requested to be crucified upside down - unworthy of dying in the manner of Christ.

Caravaggio captures the physical laboriousness of the execution. It all seems rather mundane. We only see Saint Peter and he doesn’t seem to be the visage of quiet resignation and acceptance. In fact, it’s unnerving and horrifying. It’s a dear old man getting tortured. It’s a sick painting. I also feel sorry for the executioners. It looks like a gruelling task. One can see the power of his chiaroscuro in storytelling.

I also wonder if the partially-illuminated man is a self-portrait? I especially love the shadow of the rope over the executioner’s back.

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The Conversion of Saint Paul by Caravaggio

An iconic painting.

I have seen this painting so many times in books, and it has always fascinated and horrified me.

Before being “Saint Peter”, he was the Roman/Jewish Saul of Tarsus. A persecutor of Christian for breaching the law of Moses. On the way to Damascus, he was (apparently) struck down by Holy light and heard the voice of Christ.

It’s a very intimate and psychological painting.

Saul is at the extremity of vulnerability — blinded by God, Christ speaking to him, with a powerful horse’s hindquarters raised and its hoof positioned to deliver a deadly kick to his exposed chest.

Caravaggio’s play on light is so effective. It looks like a single light bulb above the painting. Illuminating from the heavens and onto the singularity of Saul’s abdomen. 

This painting is gripping today - I can’t imagine its effect with parishioners in Rome. 

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The Assumption of the Virgin Mary by Annibale Carracci

Rubbish photo quality.

This is a great contrast to Caravaggio. More idealised, less chiarscuro, more balanced/dynamic painting with the viewer's eyes directed to Mary.

The Cerasi Chapel.

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The mosaic monument of Princess Maria Eleonora Borghese

Beautiful sky in Rome

Looked up one evening and was amazed.

Porta San Paolo in Rome

Hi Bloggers

I’m sharing a few photos of Porta San Paolo in Rome.

I was looking for a post office to send my family some postcards, and I walked by this ancient gate.

According to wikipedia, it “is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy.”

Gate was originally named “Porta Ostiensis” (Latinate).

The road out of Rome went through this gate to Ostia (the beach town I spent some time at). 

Later, it was renamed “Porta san Paolo”, because it led to St Paul Basilica outside the walls.

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This is an ancient Roman pyramid - which I’d never previously heard of!

This is the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. His tomb.

Built around 18-12BC, so incredibly well preserved.

A lot more information on wikipedia, for example:

A 18th century etching of the pyramid.

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Grafiti.

So much of this trash on Roman buildings. 😡

The Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome

Hi Bloggers,

Just a few photos of us walking by The Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II bridge to get some lunch. 

This was a few days ago.

The Castel Sant’Angelo.

A museum which used to be a fortress and castle.

Didn’t go in ... we were just too tired at this point.

Maybe next time.

Beautiful sight. 

Ducks and birds on the Tiber.

Picturesque.

These are the “winged victories” bronze statues on large columns on the bridge.

We crossed the bridge to the other side and walked a bit...

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The, came to a square.

I stood at this very spot on Google Maps.

This is the basilica of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini.

Beautiful building.

 

We then had lunch.

The Pasta In Corso restaurant.

My dish was = prawns, tomatoes and pistachios. Yes, I know!!

I thought this was a great photo shot.

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Roman buses.

They’re so cute.