Category: Arts & Letters

Lilies of the Virgin Mary: An Easter Reflection

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. —Luke 12:27 Lilies are a powerful symbol throughout the Christian Bible, and this becomes most apparent during Easter. In traditional European art, lilies are…


How We Learn To Draw

An Interview with New Masters Academy Founder Joshua Jacobo Many of us have been inspired to pick up a drawing pencil at some point in our lives. We may have been motivated to capture the beauty of a scene or depict a vision in our head, or perhaps, tempted by a row of instructional art…


The Eye of the Beholder: Reflecting on the Purpose of Beauty and Art

We’ve all heard the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but what does this mean and does it hold weight? In this series, we’ll take a casual look at the philosophical debates concerning our experiences with beauty and art. Through questions and reflection, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of beauty…


Sound and Light

The Associated Press posted an article in 2007 about an Italian musician, Giovanni Pala, who believes he found a piece of musical composition hidden within Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting “The Last Supper.” Pala, a composer and computer technician, raises the possibility that da Vinci may have left behind a somber composition intended to accompany…


The Pietà: An Image of Compassion

The pietà is a common theme throughout the history of Western art; it pertains to a work of art that depicts the Virgin Mary with her son Jesus Christ after Jesus’s death and descent from the cross. Depicting the mother’s love for her son after he endures great suffering, the word “pietà” roughly translates to…


The Perennial Beauty of Botticelli’s Paintings

Art of today possibly would not be what it is without the Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli. Around 600 years ago, in the thriving city of Florence, Italy, young Botticelli, originally named Alessandro di Mariano Filipepi, was born to a tanner of modest means. An astute boy, Botticelli received a good education but equally felt bored…


The Consolation of the Classics

Despite shutdowns that spread across the world last year and caused the performing arts industry to grind to a halt, finding a musician with idle hands remained as difficult a task as ever. “Some of my colleagues said, ‘Oh, I can finally play “Hammerklavier,”’ or, ‘In lockdown, I learned book one or two of “The…


‘The Phantom Toolbooth’

Norton Juster died in March 2021. He was an architect, as well as an author in his spare time. Despite an impressive career as an architect, he is best known as an author. “The Phantom Tollbooth” was Juster’s best-known book. It appeared in 1961 and has been in print ever since. Milo, a child, never…