Sir Stanley Spencer, a controversial artist in love with Jesus
Sir Stanley Spencer wanted to dedicate a painting to each day Christ spent in the wilderness, with the intention of exhibiting one every day of Lent, but he was unable to realise this unique project. He was a controversial artist, but animated by great faith, despite the many shadows that darkened his life. His Jesus in the wilderness is animated by a very popular, almost "naïve" and very carnal physicality.
- THE RECIPE: ETON MESS
The palliative society
The welfare state is evolving and giving way to a “palliative society”, which even promises to banish pain, including psychological pain. Abortion, unnatural tendencies, suicide... are anaesthetised. The palliative society can be authoritarian with the consent of citizens. We’ve already had the dress rehearsal with Covid. And now with bioengineering we risk transhumanism.
The Baptism of Jesus according to van Scorel
Called to Rome by his compatriot Pope Adrian VI, the Dutchman Jan van Scorel is known, among other things, for the Lokhorst Triptych. Also of interest is his The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, in which the influence of artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael is evident.
Perugino, the rise and fall of a genius who became outdated
Perugino's artistic parabola is not enough to obscure his genius and the magnificence of his works, which still enchant us today, half a millennium later, and will continue to do so for generations to come. For instance, the Baptism of Christ, the beginning of Jesus' public life frescoed in the Vatican.
The adolescent Jesus in the work of a converted artist
John Rogers Herbert, raised as an Anglican, converted to Catholicism at the age of 30. From then on his art became more profound, the result of his desire to transmit faith through his work. His work influenced the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
The Child Jesus rejected by Dickens
Christ in the House of His Parents is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais that has attracted a lot of negative criticism, the most virulent being that written by Charles Dickens, who accused the artist of having depicted Jesus too obviously as a Jew and Mary as a drunkard. This is the story of an artist who founded the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
Simone Martini’s Christ Discovered in the Temple
The Gospels give us very little information about the hidden years of Jesus. Among them is the mystery of the Discovery with the doctors in the temple and his subsequent return home with Mary and Joseph. An episode that Simone Martini painted in an original way.
