Category: Traditional Culture

Morality, Politics, and Decline, Part 2: Freedom or Victimhood

Freedom of the will is something we all know; it’s obvious when we have acted freely, or when we have been under some sort of compulsion. At least, we can recognize freedom until we are so saturated in the streams of compulsion that we no longer see our own pitiable, enslaved state. In Part 1 of…


A Detectorist in a Royal English Court

A popular children’s pastime of hunting for buried treasure begins with dreams of unearthing pots of gold or a cache of jewels, but usually ends with potholes in a backyard revealing nothing more than sticks and stones. Those who continue to try their luck as adults use a better tool than a spade and shovel:…


Marie de’ Medici and the Continuation of the Medici Family Art Patronage

Of all the masterpieces in the Louvre, none has a more appropriate home than the 24 paintings glorifying the life and reign of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France. Painted by Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens, the series known as the “Marie de’ Medici Cycle” (1622–1625), are among the greatest artistic achievements of their age….


Motivation, Road-Blocks, and Self-Transformation

Self-help, personal development, self-improvement, learning and development, education—we have a million and one names for this process, but what they all boil down to is this age-old spiritual idea of self-transformation. While the concept of religion is far too big to address in an article such as this, one broad truism we might draw from…


Easter: An Ancient Story For a Modern World

Billions of Christians will celebrate Easter this weekend, but the message of Jesus is available to all. Even those who are not religious can learn from the life of Jesus Christ. In today’s culture, we often talk about whose lives matter, but the Easter story tells us that all lives matter to God. Jesus displays…


Luxury and Devotion: Hans Memling’s Portinari Portraits

From a pitch dark background emerge the faces of a man and a woman, facing each other with hands folded in prayer. Their countenances appear austere, their clothing plain and simple. In fact, if it weren’t for the lady’s luxuriously jeweled necklace, the otherwise monochromatic painting might just escape our attention, lost amidst the multifarious…


Pure Beauty: ‘Unmoved’ | NTD International Figure Painting Competition

Meet the young Vietnamese artist Loc Duong, who won the Humanity and Culture Award in the NTD International Figure Painting Competition. His first-ever oil painting “Unmoved” has been very popular and made many people feel at peace. He decided to take on the challenge of oil painting as he believes in the mission of NTD’s International…


Classical Sculpture and American Myth: Hiawatha

In the mid 19th-century, when the United States was still in search of its own artistic tradition, the sculptor Mary Edmonia Lewis (circa 1844–1907) traveled to the Old World and combined the unique American culture with the beauty of European classicism. Her passion for sculpture had been first ignited in Boston, where she saw a…


A Knight’s Tale: Ronald Lauder’s Arms and Amour

Long before the “Night at the Museum” movie franchise, The Metropolitan Museum of Art made a dynamic Hollywoodesque “knight at the museum” film entitled “A Visit to the Armor Galleries.” It was released in 1924 as part of a program to make their spectacular arms and armor collection come alive for the public’s education. Enchanting…


Feminist-Turned-Traditional Housewife Is Now a Warrior Against Wokeism and Progressivism: ‘It Was a Huge Wake-Up Call’

“Modern feminism is like a cult. If you don’t adhere to the cult mentality, if you are not 100 percent in, and if you question anything, you are banned. If you go against the cult, they will eat you alive,” says Rebecca Barrett, 33, a progressive-turned-traditional housewife from Florida. A mechanical engineering graduate, Barrett worked…