"ASECLUDEDPLACE"

Hans Süss von Kulmbach | The Ascension of Christ | The Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1513. This week many Christians will be reflecting on Acts 1:6-11 and the story of Jesus’ ascension. This is the subject of Han Suss von Kulmbach’s painting which was adapted from a woodcut created by his teacher Albrecht Durer. I’m really sorry but isn’t there something slightly comic about this painting? Jesus is disappearing out of the frame and all that is left are his dangling feet. Pai

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.” (Matthew 9:9) The Calling of Saint Matthew | Caravaggio | Oil on canvas | San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome In the quiet, shadowed corners of our lives, we often find ourselves "counting." Like Matthew in his customs house, we count our obligations, our failures, our safe reserves, and the minutes left in a day. We exist in

The Ambassadors | Hans Holbein the Younger 1497/8-1543 | Date painted 1533 | Oil on wood | The National Gallery We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5: 20) I wonder how may trips diplomats and ambassadors are making right now as wars continue to rage and cease-fires barely live up to the name. The men and women who represent national powers but also seek

There are places in the world where the air itself feels heavy with emotion. Choeung Ek, the most well known of Cambodia’s former killing fields and now a memorial site near Phnom Penh, is one of them. Walking among the quiet trees and shallow depressions of the earth, you sense that the ground remembers what humanity tried to forget. And then, suddenly, you see her: a mother carved in stone, cradling her child. A gesture so ordinary, so universal, placed in a landscape of ex

The Starry Night | Vincent van Gogh, 1889, Oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York Just before Christmas I read a very good reflection which mentioned the life of Vincent van Gogh. It intrigued me and I decided that I wanted to learn more about this enigmatic painter. So I Googled a good biography, and was amazed when my local library found it and put in on reservation for me. When I arrived to pick it up I was staggered – literally – to discover it came in at a whoppin

On the Road to Emmaus is a watercolour painting by Mina Roller which was uploaded on July 6th, 2019. It depicts a scene from Luke 24 of Jesus accompanying a couple of his disciples after his resurrection. Unfortunately, Fine Art America has not read its Bible: the online blurb reads that the scene shows: a tender, reflective style, capturing the moment of revelation on their journey . Let’s all chorus together: they recognised him when he took bread, blessed it, broke it and

It is interesting, and initially surprising, that Matisse described La Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence as the crowning achievement of his entire career. Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) was 82 when the chapel which he designed was inaugurated. He had been an established and respected artist for over 50 years; a post-impressionist who in his early years had developed a reputation, and some artistic notoriety, for the intense use of colour in his paintings. However, in his 70’s surger

Among the unsung artists of our very visual age are the anonymous designers of book covers. The troubling image on the cover of one book has stayed with me through the years and has hit home again as Holy Week approaches. At college we had a buddy system. New students would be linked with others in the second or third year to provide some (hopefully) wise counsel. One of those I was buddied with was not in need of any counsel from me, wise or otherwise. He sailed through coll

White Cup and Saucer Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) 1864 Oil on Canvas 19.4 x 28.9 cm no.1016 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot (Psalm 16:5) What could be more simple than a cup and saucer? My day is full of little rituals. One of them is opening my kitchen cupboard in the morning to pick out my favourite cup. Mine is a colourful mug designed by the artist Pete McKee and a world away from this very simple white cup and saucer painted by Fantin-Latour

Barbara Hepworth’s Garden at St Ives, showing Hepworth’s sculptures, Two Forms (Divided Circle) 1969, Four-Square (Walk Through) 1966, and River Form 1965. After six hours travelling deep into darkest Cornwall, my train rattled along the track and I approached St Erth [pronounced Earth], where you change for St. Ives. The branch line to St. Ives is glorious. The train clings to the cliffside high above the sandy beaches, and glimmering sea. Having completed my undulating trek

Judas’s Remorse | José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899) | Museu Nacional de Belas Arte, Rio di Janeiro In Judas’s Remorse by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850–1899) displayed in the Museu Nacional de Belas Arte, Rio di Janeiro, Judas is painted in a red outer robe. If the accusation in John’s Gospel that Judas was a thief is true, then Judas could have afforded a red-dyed fabric but it is far more likely that this is a symbolic dressing by the artist. Almeida is not th

Anyone journeying on the A1M through Gateshead will have seen Anthony Gormley’s iconic weather resistant Cor-ten steel structure, The Angel of the North . With its wide encompassing, almost embracing arms (wings) it is a striking structure one cannot fail to be astonished by. When our girls were young children, The Angel of the North was a landmark that punctuated our journey north to memorable family holidays in Northumberland. We would keep the girls distracted from their

Cain and Abel (after Durer) by Matthew Weir 2022 Sheffield Museums Trust Genesis 4: 1-16 If you saw this picture in an art gallery I wonder if you’d pay it any attention? Would you treat it like a hundred other, rather dull, historical prints and walk on by. It’s a new acquisition for Sheffield Museums and many people do just that. Now, what if I told you that the artist Matthew Weir copied a Durer print but used his own blood to paint it. Would it pull you in or repulse you,