Annunciation of the Lord

The Annunciation (1914) - John William Waterhouse

Millais PRB - Autumn Redux

Chill October (1870) - Sir John Everett Millais

Epiphany

Adoration of the Magi - Burne-Jones

Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia (1895) - John Waterhouse

Leighton, Bell, and Debussy

The Maid with the Golden Hair (1895) - Edward Lord Leighton

Prayer Request - Gil Bailie

The Woodsman's Daughter (1850-51) - Sir John Everett Millais

Please remember in your prayers today Gil Bailie who is undergoing surgery.

Value of Work

Work (1852-65) - Ford Madox Brown

When Matthew Crawford finished his doctorate in political philosophy at the University of Chicago, he took a job at a Washington think tank. "I was always tired," he writes, "and honestly could not see the rationale for my being paid at all." He quit after five months and started doing motorcycle repair in a decaying factory in Richmond, Va. This journey from philosopher manqué to philosopher-mechanic is the arc of his new book, Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work. It's appropriate that it arrives in May, the month when college seniors commence real life. Skip Dr. Seuss, or a tie from Vineyard Vines, and give them a copy for graduation.

The graduates won't even skim Shop Class, of course. But maybe, five years from now, when they can't understand why their high-paying jobs at Micron Consulting seem pointless and enervating, Crawford's writing will show them a way forward. It's not an insult to say that Shop Class is the best self-help book that I've ever read. Almost all works in the genre skip the "self" part and jump straight to the "help." Crawford rightly asks whether today's cubicle dweller even has a respectable self. Many of us work in jobs with no discernible products or measurable results. We manage brands and implement initiatives, all the while basing our self-esteem on the opinions of others.

Compare that with the motorcycle mechanic. Instead of the vague threat of a performance review, the mechanic faces the tactile problem of a bike that won't start. He tests various theories and deploys actual tools. The sign of success is a roaring engine ...

Read all of Heidegger and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Cowper - PRB

Saint Francis and the Heavenly Melody (1904) - Frank Cowper

For Brother Aramis and Lady Aramis - A blessed Triduum

Annunciation

Ecce Ancilla Domini! (The Annunciation) 1849-50 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Burne-Jones PRB

Charity - Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Burne-Jones PRB

Hope - Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Burne-Jones PRB

Faith - Sir Edward Burne-Jones

Collins - PRB

Convent Thoughts (1851) - Charles Allston Collins

According to Christopher Wood (The Pre Raphaelites), "Collins's picture is typical of the early, gothic phase of the movement, and the religious piety of these works led many critics to accuse the painters of being Roman Catholic sympathizers. The mood of this picture is generally similar to Rossetti's early works, but the flowers and garden reflect Millais's influence" (22).

But Clare Asquith relates something more telling in her tome, Shadowplay - The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare: "Unknown to Pericles, (Thaisa) retires to a convent - a common refuge for women exiled from England." (250, my emphasis)

Rossetti - PRB

Mary in the House of St John (1859) - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Rossetti - PRB

Mary Nazarene (1857) - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Our Lady as a gardener: awesome!

Maddox Brown - PRB

Carrying Corn - Ford Maddox Brown (1854/5)

Happy Easter

The Morning of the Resurrection [1882] - Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

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The whole bright world rejoices now, Hilariter, hilariter;
The birds do sing on every bough Alleluia, alleluia.

Then shout beneath the racing skies, Hilariter, hilariter;
To him who rose that we might rise, Alleluia, alleluia.

And all you living things make praise, Hilariter, hilariter;
He guideth you on all your ways, Alleluia, alleluia.

He, Father, son, and Holy Ghost - Hilariter, hilariter!
Our God most high, our joy and boast. Alleluia, alleluia!

William Holman Hunt - PRB

The Shadow of Death (1871) - William Holman Hunt

James Collison - PRB

The Holy Family by James Collinson, 1878

James Collinson (May 9, 1825 – January 24, 1881) was a Victorian painter who was a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood from 1848 to 1850.

Collinson was a devout Christian who was attracted to the devotional and high church aspects of Pre-Raphaelitism. A convert to Catholicism, Collinson reverted to high Anglicanism in order to marry Christina Rossetti, but his conscience forced his return to Catholicism and the break-up of the engagement. When Millais' painting Christ in the House of his Parents was accused of blasphemy, Collinson resigned from the Brotherhood in the belief that it was bringing the Christian religion into disrepute.

During his period as a Pre-Raphaelite, Collinson contributed a long devotional poem to The Germ and produced a number of religious works, most importantly The Renunciation of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1850) and The Holy Family (1878). After his resignation Collinson trained for the priesthood at a Jesuit college, but did not complete his studies.

In 1858 he married Eliza Wheeler, the sister in law of the painter John Rogers Herbert, one of the early influences on the Pre-Raphaelites. Returning to his artistic career he painted a number of secular genre paintings, the best-known of which are To Let and For Sale, both of which lightheartedly depict pretty women in situations that suggest moral temptation.
He was secretary of the Society of British Artists from 1861 to 1870. -- Wikipedia

Labor Day - Ford Madox Brown PRB

Work - 1852-65; Oil on canvas; City Art Gallery, Manchester, England

Ford Madox Brown (1821-93) was born at Calais and trained at Antwerp (under Wappers), in Paris, and at Rome, where he came into contact with the Nazarenes. Settling in England in 1846, he became a friend of the Pre-Raphaelites and--with his taste for literary subjects and meticulous handling--an influence on their work, though he was never a member of the Brotherhood. Rossetti studied briefly with him in 1848 and Brown's Chaucer at the Court of Edward III (Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1851) contains portraits of several of the Brotherhood.

His best-known picture, The Last of England (City Art Gallery, Birmingham, 1855) was inspired by the departure of Woolner, the Pre-Raphaelite sculptor, for Australia. The other famous anthology piece that Brown painted, Work, shows his dedicated craftsmanship and brilliant coloring, but is somewhat swamped by its social idealism. In 1861 Brown was a founder member of William Morris's company, for which he designed stained glass and furniture. The major work of the later part of his career is a cycle of paintings (1878-93) in Manchester Town Hall on the history of the city. Brown was an individualist and a man of prickly temperament; he opposed the Royal Academy and was a pioneer of the one-man show. -- Web Museum, Paris