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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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
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...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 26, 20214 min read
The Good (After) Life: More Roman Sarcophagi
Ancient Roman sarcophagi were for the wealthy, and were created in workshops which concentrated on particular themes: demonstrating the...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 25, 20216 min read
Rome's Metaphoric Others: Barbarians and Amazons
Images of barbarians were created to support a narrative of Roman superiority, and to justify military aggression as a defense of...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 21, 20214 min read
The Patio of the Lions
The lion fountain in the Alhambra may be one of my all-time favorite works of medieval art. I'll tell you why in this post. (For Part 1...
353 views3 comments
Carolyn Whitson
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...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 18, 20215 min read
Pre-Romanesque Churches in Asturias
Few 9th century churches survive anywhere in Europe, but in Northern Spain are a few precious remaining examples. Santa Cristina de Lena...
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Carolyn Whitson
Feb 15, 20218 min read
Early Christian Churches in Rome, Part 2
Here, I continue to point out some features of church architecture, generally before 1100. Please see Part 1 post for more on this...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20212 min read
Notre Dame de Paris' Tympanum
This image features the fate of the damned--stretching from their judgment by Saint Michael (upper-left), across to punishments for...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20214 min read
San Juan de La Pena, Service and Miracles
Up in the remote hills in northern Spain, the monastery of San Juan de la Pena contains the ruins of a tiny cloister, with magnificent...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20216 min read
Rome and Barbarians--Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus
The barbarians here are not a journalistic representation of a specific battle, just as the image of the decedent at the center of the...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20213 min read
Remembering the Notre Dame de Paris Interior, Part 1
Notre Dame de Paris was engulfed in a terrible fire in 2019. Here, I include some of my photos of the interior, taken in 2018. I don't...
765 views1 comment
Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20215 min read
Remembering the Notre Dame de Paris Interior, Part 2
This entry continues an analysis of the thirteenth century choir screen of Notre Dame de Paris, with photos taken in 2018, before the...
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Carolyn Whitson
Jan 22, 20213 min read
Chartres Cathedral--another temple to Mary the Queen
Chartres isn't very far from Paris, by modern standards, and its veneration of Mary is an occasion for comparisons to Notre Dame de Paris....
911 views3 comments
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