Author: A Scholarly Skater
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Late Afternoon, New York, Winter (December 4th)
Frederick Childe Hassam, Late Afternoon, New York, Winter, 1900. Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 62.68. I think we’ve already established how much I love paintings of New York City in the snow, since I’ve written two previous posts on the topic (Snow falls softly on the city: the paintings of Guy C. Wiggins and Snow in…
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Santa Claus according to Thomas Nast (December 2nd)
The image of Santa Claus is pretty much omnipresent in the month of December, but how many people actually know where it comes from? Santa has his origins in numerous characters from the myths, legends, and stories of many different cultures; Saint Nicholas is his best-known but not only antecedent. As such, Santa Claus takes many diverse forms and personalities…
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Christ in the House of His Parents (December 1st)
The first installment of an art historical advent calendar – features Pre-Raphaelite painting Christ in the House of His Parents by John Everett Millais.
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Grotesques of the Old Philadelphia Fire Department Headquarters
A fire house is one of the last places I would expect to see gargoyles, or even not-quite-three-dimensional grotesque carvings, but a set of six firefighter grotesques can be found on the old Race Street Firehouse in Philadelphia. These droll little figures wear old-fashioned fire hats and carry hoses. I believe that the numbers on the hats refer to…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of the University of Chicago
I’ve talked about the University of Chicago’s gargoyles before, in a post about collegiate gargoyles. However, I really had no idea at the time how prominent a role these gargoyles play in the school’s culture. Not only is the university’s IT system nicknamed “gargoyle”, but the University of Chicago gargoyle also has his own blog, and the…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Borobudur Temple, Java
Borobudur Temple is a massive Buddhist temple in Java, Indonesia. Built in the ninth century, Borobudur has a complex, tiered design and is richly decorated with hundreds of Buddha statues and thousands of relief-carved scenes depicting important Buddhist stories. It also has stupas and other sculpted imagery including gargoyles. Finding gargoyles, particularly functional gargoyles as these seem to be (rather than purely-decorative grotesques),…
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Gargoyles and Grotesques of Casa de las Conchas, Salamanca, Spain
This little winged fellow looks like he’s absolutely thrilled with his view from the roofline of the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca, Spain. This late-fifteenth and early sixteenth-century building is named for its numerous shell-shaped decorations (concha is the Spanish word for shell) – symbols of the Spanish chivalric Order of Santiago de Compostela…
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The Office of the Dead – Day 31
The Office of the Dead was a section of funerary prayers in the book of hours. It could be accompanied by some pretty spooky and fantastic images.
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Apocalypse Manuscripts – Day 30
Apocalypse manuscripts concern the Book of Revelation. All this apocalyptic subject matter provided plenty of opportunities for vivid illustrations.
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Alchemical Manuscripts – Day 29
Alchemy may be pretty dead today, but in the Middle Ages, it was synonymous with science. Find out about illuminated manuscripts related to alchemy.
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Where to Enjoy Manuscripts Online – Day 28
In this post, you’ll discover some places to browse medieval illuminated manuscripts online, including fully-digitized manuscripts from around the world.
