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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...
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Carolyn Whitson
Aug 16, 20225 min read
Time Travel through the French Monuments Museum in Paris
I love when a museum makes learning fun. The French Monuments Museum (FMM, for brevity here) in Paris gives a presentation that is...
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Carolyn Whitson
Apr 7, 20228 min read
The Gods of Industry
The Fidelity Mutual Life Insurance Company headquarters was designed by and constructed for people with big ambitions. They saw...
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Carolyn Whitson
Dec 26, 20216 min read
What Child is *This*?
Medieval artists had a standard repertoire of scenes from the life of Jesus to reproduce in churches and personal religious items. ...
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Carolyn Whitson
Sep 22, 20217 min read
"The Past is Never Dead": The George Floyd Memorial
Like many white residents of the Twin Cities, for over a year I had avoided the site where George Floyd was murdered by police. On the...
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Carolyn Whitson
Sep 5, 20217 min read
Crypt of the Original Sin
Caves evoke mystery to a modern person. We're so used to having all the light we want, wherever and whenever we go. Our interiors are...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jul 14, 20219 min read
The Lion King, Part 3
Let's look at some less-well-known uses of lions in medieval art, including art from outside the Christian tradition. Sanctuary Knocker,...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jul 10, 20214 min read
The Lion King, Part 2
The use of lions in medieval religious and political art hews closely to the traditions inherited from around the Mediterranean. Lions...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jun 21, 20214 min read
The Lion King, Part 1
If you're looking at prestige art and architecture, it's likely that you're going to find lions in its decoration. I wouldn't be...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jun 5, 20219 min read
The River God(father)
Baptism changed both in its practice and its artistic representation from its introduction in the Gospels to its depictions across...
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Carolyn Whitson
May 19, 20219 min read
Chasing a Ghost Along the Pilgrimage Trail
When I began to study medieval art in graduate school, I found myself often puzzling over murky, low-contrast images in black-and-white,...
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Carolyn Whitson
Apr 30, 20216 min read
"A Present of Things Past . . . A Present of Things to Come"
In this post, a few thoughts on why medieval churches cover themselves in stories. There are three times: a present of things past, a...
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Carolyn Whitson
Apr 22, 20215 min read
What Lies Beneath, Part 2
For such a small patch of excavated floor, the mosaic pavement in the abbey at Bobbio (under the current basilica) has a number of...
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Carolyn Whitson
Apr 16, 20216 min read
What Lies Beneath, Part 1
The lovely town of Bobbio has always been small and out of the way, but in the early 600s, this was exactly what the Irish abbot St....
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Carolyn Whitson
Apr 9, 20217 min read
Fabulous Fakes
Many's the time I've gotten excited by the prospect of visiting a medieval church, only to find that "medieval" mostly referred to the...
1521
Carolyn Whitson
Apr 2, 202110 min read
They Gave at the Office: Sacrifice, Gifts, and Public Relations in Ravenna mosaics
In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximian wanted to take back the body (land) and soul (religion) of Ravenna, which for...
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Carolyn Whitson
Mar 26, 20217 min read
Medusssssssssa!
Modern representations of the snake-haired woman depict her as a dangerous beauty, but the Ancient Greek and Roman images show her as...
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Carolyn Whitson
Mar 19, 20217 min read
Why photographing sculpture rocks
You could reasonably ask, "If you like photographing sculptures of people so much, why not be a portraiture photographer? Aren't living...
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Carolyn Whitson
Mar 9, 20218 min read
Medieval Synagogues of Toledo & Cordoba
Jews were expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492; all synagogues were shut down and repurposed. Two medieval synagogue buildings...
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Carolyn Whitson
Mar 5, 20219 min read
Apocalypse Wow--The Sainte-Chapelle Rose Window
The stained glass in Sainte Chapelle (building completed in 1248) represents the highest achievement of the form. When you enter the...
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