Art historian with an interest in visual messages
This post is a day late, but here are two beautiful full page miniatures by Simon Bening of his interpreation of the Adoration of the Kings on the Feast of the Epiphany. The first is from the da Costa Hours (MS M 399) now in the Morgan Library, New York. Adoration of the Kings. (folio… Continue reading The Adoration of the Kings
f157verso Ms M399 the da Costa Hours (c1515); Simon Bening (1483/4 - 1561). The Morgan Library, New York. Simon Bening has chosen to depict the moment the single angel visits the shepherds as told by St Luke and St Matthew in the New Testament and has set the announcement to these humble men in a… Continue reading And there were shepherds in the fields …
Hidden away in the Morgan Library in New York is this gem of a book of hours painted by the last of the male Flemish illuminators, the great Simon Bening. Folio 151verso is a full page illumination of the birth of the Christ Child. The Virgin kneels before naked newborn Christ, who is laid on… Continue reading The Nativity – By Simon Bening c 1515.
Parrots emerged as symbols of status in Europe after Alexander the Great brought them from India. Initially viewed as divine for their speech, their trade was primarily controlled by Arab merchants. Subsequent explorations expanded knowledge of various parrot species, including those from the New World, which became prized possessions among the elite.
Maundy Thursday marked the beginning of the most solemn part of the Easter festival for the Christian Church and is also the festival of Passover in the Judaic faith. Services would normally take place in churches and synagogues, but in these days of Covid-19 the sacred places remain shut in order to contain the spread… Continue reading The Events of Holy Thursday and Good Friday through the eyes of the Northern European Masters
Melanie V Taylor 