medieval art history| Pilgrim to the Past

To search posts for specific subjects, please go to topics.

Feb 20, 20213 min read

Welcome to Pilgrim to the Past!

This is a website dedicated to people who enjoy medieval and ancient art, and want to know more. Maenad, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC...

Strangers from a Strange Land: "Monstrous Races" in Medieval Religious Art

Carolyn Whitson

Nov 2010 min read

Strangers from a Strange Land: "Monstrous Races" in Medieval Religious Art

Triton, ridden by Poseidon, backgammon game piece, walrus ivory, Louvre Museum, Norway or Cologne origin, late 12th c. Mythical...

The Oak Menagerie: Allegorical Animals in English Misericords

Carolyn Whitson

Nov 105 min read

The Oak Menagerie: Allegorical Animals in English Misericords

Tiny lion, Worcester Cathedral, 14th c. While much of the ornamentation in a medieval church was instructional or devotional, the...

A New Medium for the Mystery: The Chester Mystery Play Quilt

Carolyn Whitson

Sep 176 min read

A New Medium for the Mystery: The Chester Mystery Play Quilt

I've shown you Last Judgment art in painting, sculpture (in stone and wood), architecture, and more, but here's something extra cool...

The Bronze Doors of San Zeno: Poisoned Beauty

Carolyn Whitson

Jul 714 min read

The Bronze Doors of San Zeno: Poisoned Beauty

Portals in medieval churches were often imbued with imagery of the contrast between sin and salvation, punishment and redemption. The...

"But I really want to do horses...": The Master Carvers of Fidenza

Carolyn Whitson

Jun 911 min read

"But I really want to do horses...": The Master Carvers of Fidenza

The sculptural program in Fidenza's San Donnino is an oft-overlooked set of masterpieces. Fidenza is a small town compared to the much...

Carolyn Whitson

Mar 1812 min read

Santa Sabina & The Complicated Past

Often, examining an object found in an old church is a lot like playing "Where's Waldo?" in reverse. You have your "Waldo," the special...

Welcome to the Working Week...Demons and their Jobs in Medieval Art

Carolyn Whitson

Feb 711 min read

Welcome to the Working Week...Demons and their Jobs in Medieval Art

In my last post, I began the Herculean task of trying to give a general overview of demons in medieval art. I came away from writing...

Carolyn Whitson

Feb 35 min read

Devil's Gonna Get You!

13th c. capital of a sinner being devoured, Saint Pierre, Chauvigny, France A nasty case of Covid pretty much bankrupted my energy for...

Carolyn Whitson

Dec 28, 20239 min read

Angels We Have Seen On High

I thought I'd finish out our year with something light-hearted and ravishingly beautiful. The West Window of Worcester Cathedral was...

Art Nouveau Heaven--the Watts Cemetery Chapel Interior

Carolyn Whitson

Dec 10, 20238 min read

Art Nouveau Heaven--the Watts Cemetery Chapel Interior

Entry view, facing altar Stepping inside the Watts Cemetery Chapel is an altogether different experience from walking about its exterior....

Everything Old is New Again: The Watts Memorial Chapel

Carolyn Whitson

Nov 27, 202310 min read

Everything Old is New Again: The Watts Memorial Chapel

One of the bittersweet realities for lovers of Romanesque art is that the majority of it exists in a state of decay and dislocation. ...

The Anti-David: St. Bartholomew by Marco D'Adrate, 1562

Carolyn Whitson

Oct 16, 20236 min read

The Anti-David: St. Bartholomew by Marco D'Adrate, 1562

A statue has been haunting me. I saw it inside the Duomo of Milan. In retrospect, I think it's the only thing I really saw in the Duomo,...

Carolyn Whitson

Sep 26, 20234 min read

Victory for the Vase Painters!

Hydria, 470-460 BCE, from Puglia, Italy. Home museum is the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. Last May, I had the pleasure of...

The "Three Living Meet Three Dead" Fresco by Buonamico Buffalmacco, 1336

Carolyn Whitson

Sep 5, 20235 min read

The "Three Living Meet Three Dead" Fresco by Buonamico Buffalmacco, 1336

Some art seems to have a life of its own, its own vitality and presence which can make it seem like a character in its own right. The...

What Becomes a Martyr Most? Part 3 of the di Balduccio Monument of Milan

Carolyn Whitson

Aug 10, 20239 min read

What Becomes a Martyr Most? Part 3 of the di Balduccio Monument of Milan

di Balduccio monument for Saint Peter of Verona, 1339 After having examined the larger sculptures at the base of this monument, we arrive...

di Balduccio Monument--The Christian Virtues

Carolyn Whitson

Jul 18, 20237 min read

di Balduccio Monument--The Christian Virtues

Capturing the back of the sarcophagus of Saint Peter Martyr is much trickier than photographing the front. The apse is quite close by,...

The di Balduccio Tomb--the Pagan Virtues

Carolyn Whitson

Jul 9, 20236 min read

The di Balduccio Tomb--the Pagan Virtues

As much as I love medieval art that strikes me as bizarre, I really love it when I come across works which are marvels of symbolic...

Works and Days (a hymn, but not to Hesiod)

Carolyn Whitson

Mar 19, 20236 min read

Works and Days (a hymn, but not to Hesiod)

12th century mosaic, Bobbio, depicting the month of March, emphasizing wind (I think) By the time March arrives, the January 1st...

Carolyn Whitson

Nov 6, 20222 min read

Origins of Sirens

On October 25th, 2022, I gave a lecture at Metropolitan State University on the Origins of Sirens. In the presentation, I trace how...

Pilgrim to the Past

Visits to Ancient & Medieval Art

To search posts for specific subjects, please go to topics.

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Visits to Ancient & Medieval Art

To search posts for specific subjects, please go to topics.