Achieving great things often means passing great tests. Our tests frequently deal with overcoming some type of hardship, and some of our greatest hardships are those in which our character is tempted. The “Temptation of Sir Percival,” a work by English painter Arthur Hacker, depicts a moment of temptation from the book “Le Morte d’Arthur”…
A Gentle Reminder to Think Righteously: ‘Temptation of Sir Percival’
A 500-Year Debate: Giorgione’s ‘The Tempest’
In Mark Helprin’s novel “A Soldier of the Great War,” we meet Alessandro Giuliani, a young Italian studying philosophy and aesthetics. The Great War—World War I—upends his plans for a career as a professor contemplating art and beauty, and we follow him through battles, imprisonment and near execution by his own army, and capture by…
Did Michelangelo Destroy His Sculpture ‘The Deposition’?
It’s the middle of the 16th century. Sparks fly every which way as Michelangelo, at around 75 years old, furiously carves Christ, Nicodemus, the Virgin Mary, and St. Mary Magdalene into a piece of marble over 7 feet tall. Michelangelo rendered Christ as he had just fallen from the cross. There’s a palpable dynamic energy…
Raphael and the Dialogue Between Faith and Reason
In the halcyon days before the pandemic, every day tens of thousands of visitors piled into the Vatican Museums to admire the extraordinary Renaissance art contained therein. Their long shuffle through vast halls would deposit them in the crowded apartments of Pope Julius II, where Raphael Sanzio frescoed the walls from 1509 to 1514. There,…
Confronting Our Vanities: ‘Savonarola Preaching Against Prodigality’
With the advent of mass media, more and more of us feel like we need material possessions in order to feel worthy. Others put their self-worth into their politics, and others into their religion. Quite often, however, many of us use these things to condemn others who don’t have what we have or think like…
Divine Art and the Heritage of Beauty to be Discussed in Chicago Conference
The late philosopher and writer Sir Roger Scruton famously said: “I want to persuade you that beauty matters; that it is not just a subjective thing, but a universal need of human beings. If we ignore this need we find ourselves in a spiritual desert.” The award-winning classically-trained painter Kathleen Carr founded the Chicago-based non-profit…
A Master Carver’s Journey from Soviet Repression to America’s Freedom
For as far back as he can remember, Russian Alexander A. Grabovetskiy has found woodcarving fascinating. Around the age of 5, he marveled over the handmade wooden toys—carved bears and other small animals—in his local gift shop. He remembers asking himself, “How in the world is it possible to make them?” Little did he realize…
Former Vietnam War Combat Artist Finds Renewed Passion for Painting
October 6, 2021
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Edward Bowen carried a .45-caliber pistol, pencils, a sketchpad, Kodak Instamatic camera, and compact Bible into Vietnam in January 1969 for an unusual mission—documenting the war as a combat artist. A 24-year-old art teacher at Villa Park High School, Bowen was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he would spend 10 weeks at basic training…
A Portal Into an Ever-Present Spiritual Realm: Chin Lin Nunnery and the Nian Lin Garden
The 1998 construction of the Chin Lin Nunnery and the Nian Lin Garden of Hong Kong are remarkable representations of China’s ancient culture, which sought to bring harmony between Heaven and Earth. Grand Tang Dynasty temples stand overlooking broad courtyards that seemingly float upon lotus ponds and open to the heavens. Pavilions rise above the…
Holding on to Eternal Virtues: ‘Farewell’
Change is a fact of life. Sometimes we hurt ourselves by trying to keep things the same forever. We hurt ourselves when we cannot let go of and accept the inevitability of change. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things that don’t change; some things are eternal. In 1913, the English painter Arthur Hacker…
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