Volume XIX, Issue I: Pieta, Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo's Masterpieces
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo Buonarroti was a painter, sculptor, architect and poet widely considered one of the most brilliant artists of the Italian Renaissance. At 25 he carved the magnificent Pieta as a commission for Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, completing the work in less than a year! This treasure of the Vatican was exhibited at the New York World’s Fair in 1964 at the Vatican Pavilion. Between 1501 and 1504, Michelangelo took over a commission for a statue of David, which two other sculptors had abandoned.
Although he was primarily a sculptor, Pope Julius II asked Michelangelo to switch from sculpting to painting to create a work for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, completed on October 31, 1512. The original plan called for 12 apostles but the painting ended up having 300 figures in it. Being a sculptor, Michelangelo created wax models to perfect his design and developed a special slow drying plaster. He had to design special scaffolding so the chapel could remain in use as he painted.
Michelangelo began the painting in 1508. He did not complete it until 1512. The work had to have been tedious. According to one story. Two of Michelangelo’s rival artists put Pope Julius up to commissioning him. The painter Raphael and the architect Bramante were certain that Michelangelo would fail at the task but he went on to produce one of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance! Contrary to legend, Michelangelo painted standing up on the scaffolding. The work was uncomfortable. The wet plaster grew mold and Michelangelo had to remove it and start again His assistant Jacopo I’Indaco developed a new formula that resisted mold and the work went on.
Although Michelangelo continued to sculpt and paint throughout his life, following the physical rigor of painting the Sistine Chapel he turned his focus toward architecture. He designed the tomb of Julius II. Michelangelo also designed the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian Library — located opposite the Basilica San Lorenzo in Florence — to house the Medici book collection. In 1546 he became the chief architect of the magnificent Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Painted by Michelangelo
David
David by Michelangelo, Florence, Galleria dell'Accademia, 1501-1504. Photo by Jörg Bittner Unna.
Panorama of St. Peter's Square. Photo by Andrew Magill [1.]
Evangelizing through Beauty
Bishop Robert Barron
Bishop Barron on Hans Urs von Balthasar
“No Safe Spaces”
By Dennis Prager
[click to read]
Historically, colleges and universities were places dedicated to open dialogue and a free exchange of ideas. Sadly, intolerance and censorship toward conservatism is on the rise. On this special broadcast, Dr. Dobson talks with popular radio host Dennis Prager about his new documentary No Safe Spaces. Hear how free speech is under attack on campuses across the nation. (read more)
War, Famine, Pestilence, Death
[click to read]
Four Months of Unprecedented Government Malfeasance
By Heather Mac Donald
Over the last four months, Americans have lived through what is arguably the most consequential period of government malfeasance in U.S. history. Public officials’ overreaction to the novel coronavirus put American cities into a coma; those same officials’ passivity in the face of widespread rioting threatens to deliver the coup de grâce. Together, these back-to-back governmental failures will transform the American polity and cripple urban life for decades. Before store windows started shattering in the name of racial justice, urban existence was already on life support, thanks to the coronavirus lockdowns. Small businesses—the restaurants and shops that are the lifeblood of cities—were shuttered, many for good, leaving desolate rows of “For Rent” signs on street after street in New York City and elsewhere. Americans huddled in their homes for months on end, believing that if they went outside, death awaited them. This panic was occasioned by epidemiological models predicting wildly unlikely fatalities from the coronavirus. (read more)
The Genius of Leonardo da Vinci
Virginia is for Science Lovers
Mural Proposal by the Kirchman Studio. The design features images of Katherine Johnson and Francis Collins. #StauntonMural
This is a proposal I worked up for a competition for a tourism mural in downtown Staunton. Although it was not selected for this location, I would love to find a home for this work honoring Francis Collins and Katherine Johnson. My wife, Pam, came up with a better name for this project than I had – “Virginia is for Science Lovers.”
Strength for the Storm
Photo by Bob Kirchman
For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.” – ISAIAH 25:4
IMAGO DEI Mural Concept.
Understanding IMAGO DEI
Change the conversation with #EachLifeMatters
I am a black man who is troubled by #BlackLivesMatter. A human being is a microcosm of humanity, yet as Father Zossima remarks in The Brothers Karamazov, “It is easy to love mankind, but much more difficult to love a single human being.” In the wake of the upsetting and seemingly racially-motivated string of incidents that has occurred across the United States, the widespread chant of #BlackLivesMatter has transformed into a movement. In contrast, the countercry of #AllLivesMatter has incurred the wrath of progressive voices for ostensibly invalidating the unique struggle of the contemporary African-American experience. While #AllLivesMatter insensitively suggests the colorblindness of such acts of violence clearly perpetrated against black bodies, #BlackLivesMatter co-opts such tragedies in order to renew the language of black victimization in America. What each side has lost is both a clear understanding of the nuance of contemporary racism in America, as well as any vision for the future.
Martin Luther King famously dreamt that his “four little children” would “one day live in a nation where they [would] not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” While we are indeed far from a post-racial society, its creation used to be an ideal rather than a taboo. Insisting that racism does not exist is flippant; however, the banner of black victimhood waved by more progressive voices does little more than perpetuate an anachronistic understanding of the contemporary American situation and delegitimize the laudable goal of a colorblind society of individuals. #BlackLivesMatter draws attention to a relevant problem, but it is offensive because it further divides without even seeking reunification. I offer the cry of “each life matters,” one that is both respectful of diversity and individuality while acknowledging our in-separateness from one another. The Buddha said, “In separateness lies the world’s great misery, in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” “Each life matters” is a compassionate call for justice that acknowledges we are not separate from one another, but we are indeed unique. Our political realities may temporarily be inequitable, but our existential reality is identical.
Andres Wilson
Northampton [1.]
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” – 2 PETER 3:9
(read more)
