Saint Sebastian

I am currently enjoying a DVD course from The Great Courses entitled World's Greatest Paintings by Professor William Kloss. Professor Kloss is superb and I am learning so much from his passionate lectures.

by Ter Brugghen

Today's lecture included three artists, including a painting by Ter Brugghen of St Sebastian titled St Sebastian Tended by Irene. As a Protestant, I am not familiar with the stories of many of the saints and see that many works of art are based on their lives. So, I am trying to become more familiar with their stories. I read several articles about St Sebastian, but the most interesting piece I found was at Tom Reeder's Blog, which is both informative and humorous.

by Boticelli

St Sebastian lived in Rome during the third century. He was a bodyguard for the Emperor, Diocletian. (Side note: Diocletian appointed 3 other co-emperors and each of them ended up ruling 1/4th of Roman Empire as Tetrarchs.)
Diocletian persecuted Christians and Sebastian was visiting them in prison. He was also converting other sodiers to Christianity. When Diocletian found out, he ordered that Sebastian be tied to a post and executed by archers.

by Il Sodoma

However, Sebastian did not die from his wounds, according to the stories. He was nursed back to health by a lady later known as St Irene. After he was healed, Sebastian confronted Diocletian and, this time, Diocletian made sure that Sebastian was killed by clubbing.

by Andrea Mantegna

Sebastian became a saint and was later called upon during several plagues, including the Plague of Justinian. This Plague started in about AD 540 and ended in AD 590 after killing 25 to 100 million people -  possibly half the population of Europe. It was said that "the random nature of infection with the Black Death caused people to liken the plague to their villages being shot by an army of nature’s archers. In desperation, they prayed for the intercession of a saint associated with archers, and Saint Sebastian became associated with the plague." (quote from link from fisheaters site titled Symbols of the Saints in Art.)

Kimbell Art Museum

Yesterday, we went with my mom to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. We were specifically there to see a special exhibit, but we also looked through the permanent exhibits.

(All photos are from the Kimbell site)

Ganesh
Alex's favorite piece of art was of Ganesh, an Indian god. Alex has a new friend and I spent some time with her mom a few weeks ago. She was in India during a festival for Ganesh, a festival that Alex & her friend also learned about in school this year. This Hindu festival takes place around August or September and lasts for 10 days. Statues of the god are made, sold, decorated & worshipped. Then, the statues are led in a procession through the streets and "immersed in a river or the sea symbolizing a ritual see-off." (from Wikipedia)

Cherubs vs Putti
In the Great Course lectures I've been watching, the lecture (Kloss) refers to putti. I wasn't sure what the difference between cherub & putti were and we came across both terms at the Kimbell. The image above (a close up of putti from Poussin's Venus & Adonis) called the cute winged babies 'putti'. Well, after doing research at home I came across this terrific blog post at Many Shades of Shabby. Basically, if the painting is religious & the babies are 'innocent', they are cherubs (like the cherubim angels of the Bible). If the painting is secular, usually mythological, and the babies are not innocent looking, they are putti.

The Sacrament of Ordination by Poussin
This painting is one of a series of 7 paintings by Poussin in the mid to late 1630's covering the 7 sacrements. Since I am not Catholic, I had to do a little reading to find out about the 7 sacraments. The Kimbell site actually gives a pretty good explanation:
1. Ordination - the taking of holy orders to become a priest, deacon or bishop - shown here as Christ giving the keys of heaven & earth to Peter.
2. Confirmation
3. The Eucharist (communion)
4. Extreme Unction (the last rites)
5. Marriage
6. Penance (confession) - this painting was destroyed in a fire
7. Baptism - which is in the National Gallery of Art in DC & we hope to see it in March.

The Torment of St Anthony by Michelangelo
This amazing painting was done by Michelangelo and is believed to be his earliest painting...at the age of only 12 or 13!!! This is the first Michelangelo to be in an American collection. And, St Anthony is one of the saints I've been reading about lately as I learn about art history. Basically, Saint Anthony became a religious hermit and was said to have been tormented by Satan. Artists have portrayed these temptations and torments with all kinds of scary, make-believe beasts.

Saint Sebastian Tended by Irene attributed to Georges de La Tour
I loved this painting of Irene tending to Saint Sebastian, another saint I've been reading about lately. Saint Sebastian was a Roman soldier under Diocletian. Diocletian ordered him executed by a firing squad of archers after Sebastian had been converting soldiers to Christianity. Irene took care of him and he miraculously lived. Though, after his recovery, he confronted Diocletian who ordered him executed...again. This time, Sebastian died. I love the gentleness of Irene in this painting.

P.S. I loved this post over at Family Ramblings that tells about a lot of the other fun things to do in Fort Worth. I'm going to have to try more of them!

Hippo caption WINNER!!!

Sorry I didn't post the winner sooner, but my internet went down! I called today and (cheer!) I'm back online!!

I went ahead and held a random drawing and my winner is...

Sebastian!!!

So, Sebastian, email me at schoolforus @ sbcglobal . net, and I'll get your prize to you!

Thanks to all who participated! I enjoyed it, and hope you did, too! :-)

Visiting the Louvre

Last week we returned from our big European trip! I have over 2,500 photos. Gulp! But, I'm ready to make my first post... our trip to the world famous art museum, the Louvre.

Alex & me in front of the Louvre & I.M. Pei's pyramid

After traveling "all day and all night", we arrived at our hotel by the Louvre about 10:30 a.m. Paris time. Even though we'd only slept about 3-4 hours, we decided to skip a nap and try to stay up until 7 p.m. We walked the few blocks to the Louvre and got lunch at a food court. I had a pizza and Alex had McDonald's - which was very easy as they had a computer you could order from in English!

My brother, who has visited Paris several times before, was able to help us find the 'other' entrance into the Louvre and skip the long lines. Our entry led us through the base of the old medieval fortress. The Louvre was started in 1190 when King Phillipe Auguste built this massive fortress as protection against invaders. Since that time, it has been added to many times, in many styles, to become the Louvre that is known around the world today.

During our visit, we mapped out a few of our "must sees"... those works of art the Louvre is particularly famous for, including Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue.

Besides some incredibly famous works of art, I think what sets the Louvre apart is the architecture. Built over centuries, different wings and rooms have different styles. The ceilings, walls, and floors are often as exciting to look at as the art.

Saint Peter Martry - I unfortunately didn't get the name of this work of art & artist

I have enjoyed learning about Saints in art this year, including Saint Denis, who survived decapitation, and Saint Sebastian, who survived being shot by multiple arrors. At the Louvre, I encountered Saint Peter Martyr who had converted from the beliefs of the Cathers to become a Catholic under Pope Innocent III. The Pope appointed him, under an Inquisition, to uncover those who were Cathers, not Catholics. The Cathers were punished with jail or even by being burned at the stake. Two of the men that Peter Martyr hired assassins who attacked him with an axe, wounding him in the head and chest. In the artwork, as above, you can recognize Saint Peter Martyr by an ever-present knife or axe in his head.

Mona Lisa, from behind the crowd

And, of course, we had to see the Mona Lisa! (Even though it isn't one of my favorite works of art.) The crowd around it was amazing! Even when you wait and push your way to the front, there is still a barrier around her and thick glass protecting her. We spent just a few seconds at the front before pushing our way back to the open space. It was pretty funny! But, I suppose everyone who goes to the Louvre has to see Mona Lisa!

We got back to the hotel later than expected, took showers, and went to bed. Alex and I both woke up about 2 a.m..... wide awake and hungry! We took a snack into the bathroom and set on the side of the tub and looked out the window. Even in the middle of the night, it wasn't really dark out! We watched the street below us, and listened as a few noisy groups went by. We had a wonderful time! After about 2 hours, we went back to bed. I think I got up at about 9, but Alex slept until noon! Thankfully, my mom & brother had already been in Europe for about 10 days and were adjusted to the time. They went out and brought us back breakfast.

10 Trivia Facts You Probably Used to Know

I came across an article by Caroline Taggart titled "Ten Trivia Facts You Probably Used to Know."  I thought I'd use her list, which covers a variety of subjects, to see how many of the 10 I have taught Alex. Here is her list and my reponses:

1. Language Arts What is the difference between a phrase and a clause? We covered this last year in Classical Conversations as part of our memory work.

2. Biology: What is photosynthesis? If we've covered this, it has only been in picture books and briefly. But, Alex is taking a Botany class at our co-op this semester using Exploring Creation with Botany. So, I'm pretty sure she'll cover this!

3. History: What was the War of 1812? We learned a history song about it in Classical Conversations last year. And, we also read the Mackinac Island trilogy by Gloria Whelan (great books) which were set during this time and talk about the war.

4. Literature: Where does the expression "It just growed?" come from? First of all, I don't recgonize that expression. But, it came from the character Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin!  So, we haven't studied it, but we are becoming familiar with Uncle Tom's Cabin.

5. Math: Who was Pythagoras? We've read What's Your Angle, Pythagoras?

6. Geography: What were the original 13 colonies? We've talked about them, but haven't memorized them.

7. Chemistry: What's the Periodic Table of the Elements? We've talked about this quite a few times and really enjoy our poster by Theodore Gray.

8. Physics: What are conduction, convection, and raditaion? No, we haven't covered these!

9. Art: Who was Jackson Pollock? We studied him this year and Alex has recognized his artwork at various musuems we've been to.

10. Music: Why should I care about Johann Sebastian Bach? We haven't studied Bach, but I play some of his pieces on the piano and Alex recognizes them. I would like to study him, though!

So, how are we doing? Overall, I'm pretty happy with what we've covered. I know this is only 10 questions, but it shows that we are covering quite a varietly of subjects. I think it shows me that I do need to concentrate more on science, which I've been telling friends for quite a while. And, although I don't think it is of utmost importance, I would like to cover more about music and composers.

How about you? How many of the 10 have you covered?

Hippo Captions

I was in such a hurry to post the winner of my hippo caption contest, that I didn't post the captions! So, here is the hippo photo and the captions that were posted.

• "Hippoflatamus" by Barb
• "Just pooped" by Tiffany B.
• "Not * one * more * step!" by Robin
• "Momma Hippo collapses after a long day of homeschooling her little ones." by Shanna
• "Yoga pose 17, the Wallowing Warrior" by Sebastian (drawing winner)
• "Hippo-cratic Oath Syndrome!" by masterpiecemom
• ""Dislocated Hipp" by Mommy
• "No hipp-hipp-hurray here." by Holly
• "I've fallen and I can't get up!" by Shannon
• "When did they drain this pool? I hate belly flops." by Paula
• "Fatty, the bored hippopatamus" by JoJo
• "Meltdown" by Cindee
  

What a creative bunch! Again, thanks for playing along! I enjoyed it, and hope you did, too.