It’s the perfect fresco for Easter: Christ steps proudly from his tomb super hero-style in his bubblegum pink robe. Those poor dupes, the guards, are sleeping and miss the drama. The composition is symmetrical, and a perfect triangle from the top of Christ’s head to the bodies of the guards below. It was only once […]
It’s Good Friday and I’m thinking about the pilgrimage we made to see the Isenheim Altarpiece, the bizarre crucifixion by Matthias Grunewald in Colmar, France. This is a perfect example of an artwork I couldn’t comprehend until I saw it in person. The altarpiece was created in 1512-1515 for a hospital that treated patients suffering from skin diseases, […]
There’s a certain reaction I have, when looking though an art history book, an “Aha, there you are!” recognition that’s–let’s face it– a sense of entitlement. I study the reproduction of a building or artwork and say to myself with certainty, “I am going to go see that.” Without fail, I have always felt just that […]
As a budget travel addict, I frequently check dozens of websites. Here are a few of the most useful, that I find myself returning to again and again: TripIt Our travel itineraries are intense. We often visit smaller towns and sleep in a different place almost every night. We travel exclusively by public transportation and […]
It was the ultimate walk of shame. I stepped completely naked, except for my flip flops, out of the locker room, trying to cover as much as myself as possible with a sort of dish towel I was handed in the locker room. I was inside a hammam (Turkish bath) in Istanbul, with no clue […]
We walked to the peninsula that encloses the old town of Lübeck, in the far North of Germany, towards….hmmm, a giant cone bra??? Well, actually, it was the Holstentor: a fortified medieval gate and my introduction to brick Gothic. I’ve long been a drooling aficionado of Gothic architecture, especially it’s carved stone elements and sculpture. Bricks, though, […]
Every surface in the Cappella Palatina in Palermo (1140-70) is a pristine work of art. Study the ceiling, the floor, and of course, at the mosaics. Don’t be rushed. This is what happens when great cultures—Arab, Norman and Byzantine–combine synergistically to produce the finest art imaginable. It was created for Sicilian kings to worship in, with […]
19th century romantics must have gone wild with nostalgic indulgence at the ruins of Temple of Olympian Zeus, in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily. It has such a literal “feel small before the mighty ruins of past civilization” vibe about it. And to my 21st century eyes, the scale and ambition of […]
I adore religious art, and I travel to see it in person any chance I get. Most of my happiest days in Europe have been spent with HOB in and around cathedrals (and the occasional mosque and synagogue.) Of all music, I am most enthralled by masses and oratorios, and I’d much rather see art in a church […]
It’s not every day I can chow down on a can of tuna fish sitting in a theatre built in the 5th century BC, though as someone who has worked in and around theatres most of my adult life, I was thinking of mostly practical matters. For example: if this theatre sat 15,000 or more people, […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 