On April 25, 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey. Their mission was to capture the Dardanelles, a strait in the northwest of the country, from the Ottomans, who were Germany’s allies. For over eight months, soldiers on both sides suffered greatly: 87,000 Ottoman Turks and 44,000…
A Neoclassical Gem for a Grieving Nation: Auckland War Memorial Museum in New Zealand
The Woes of Revenge: ‘Orestes Pursued by the Furies’
We sometimes come across people in our lives who cause us pain. It can be tempting to want to make them pay for the pain they cause us, but William-Adolphe Bouguereau’s painting “Orestes Pursued by the Furies” may provide visual insight as to why it’s better to forgive. The Vengeance of Orestes In Greek legend,…
Trompe L’oeil: The Delightful Art of Deception
Japanese painter Kazuo Torigoe creates incredible oil paintings on copper that make you wonder what in the painting is real. On Torigoe’s website, lilies and hydrangeas seem to outgrow their frames. Luscious plums, apples, and two halves of a ripe fig look so appetizing that they make your mouth water. Some of his paintings contain…
The Crazy Horse Memorial: It’s the Largest Sculptural Project in History, but Will It Ever Be Finished?
In the Black Hills of South Dakota, less than a half-hour drive down the road from Mount Rushmore, just 17 miles away, another colossal mountain sculpture—the largest sculptural project in history—is taking shape. The Crazy Horse Memorial officially began taking shape in 1948. No one is predicting when it will be completed. Yet while it…
The Enduring Architecture of Kyoto, Japan’s Ancient Capital
Between the 8th and 19th centuries, Kyoto, in western Japan, was the country’s capital. Built in 794, Kyoto was modeled on Chang’an, China’s Tang Dynasty capital, now known as Xi’an. China also influenced Japan’s art and architecture. UNESCO has listed no less than 17 of Kyoto’s monuments that together express the general historical development of…
Divine Guidance to True Freedom: The ‘Liberation of Saint Peter’
The Renaissance painter Raphael Sanzio was born on April 6, 1483; he would die on his birthday, April 6, 1520. In 37 short years, Raphael created some of the greatest paintings known to the Western world. Approximately 500 years after his death, we celebrate and interpret one of his great paintings. Raphael is well-known for…
The Genius of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’
Some paintings almost everyone in the Western world knows: Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa,” Piero Della Francesca’s “The Baptism of Christ,” and “The Night Watch” by Rembrandt van Rijn. They are part of the West’s visual vernacular. These are the images we see on tea-towels, t-shirts, cellphone covers and fridge-magnets. The name Rembrandt has become a synonym for greatness. There are Rembrandt restaurants,…
Just Divine: A Florentine Wedding and a Renaissance Ceramic
A few years ago, I flew to Florence, Italy, for a friend’s wedding. Not only was I fortunate in seeing my dear friend marry in one of the city’s oldest churches, but I experienced a whole host of hearty Italian wedding traditions, hospitality, and more. You’ll have to wait for an article on Italian wedding…
Taking You There: Love Amid Catastrophe With ‘Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii’
Several years ago, I commissioned a fine artist to paint my girlfriend’s favorite photo of her two teenage daughters. They were at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, one with her arm extended, tossing a coin into a large water bowl. When the painting was completed, I was surprised that the artist had replaced the…
Reflecting the Divine: Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, France
The sun’s rays entering the nearly 27,000 square feet of stained glass windows of Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral create thousands of colored shards that bathe the interior in ethereal beauty. But beyond this earthly splendor, every one of the more than 175 glorious stained glass windows inspire and encourage worshipers to venerate the Virgin Mary and look…
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