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
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...
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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...
155 views0 comments
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
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...
341 views3 comments
Carolyn Whitson
Feb 21, 20215 min read
The Otherworldly Alhambra
The mostly 13th century palace is a studied combination of science, statecraft, and mysticism. The Alhambra began its life on the ruins...
109 views2 comments
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, 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...
694 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, 20214 min read
Remembering the Notre Dame de Paris Interior, Part 3
One thing that revolutionized looking at medieval stained glass for me was using a serious zoom lens, and then spending time in...
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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....
871 views3 comments
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