The Last Supper Mocked

This is a painting of The Last Supper using models with Down syndrome. I love the treatment of the men; they are dignified and beautifuly posing, putting emphasis on the man portraying Christ. (click on photo to enlarge)

But the commentary below is far from dignified, it is titled "The Tard Supper".

Please go and leave a comment to enlighten this sick man
Here's the website of the artist.

See the original post here.

Be careful which museum you take your children to

Read this scary experience a father had in a Manhattan museum on MercatorNet.
"A writer complains in the New York Times about taking his twin boys, aged 7, to one of his favourite galleries and running into an exhibition with “graphic images”. The name, “And/Or”, provided no clue to the genitalia displayed; the warning sign at the entrance was in very small print. "
I had a similar experience in the Museums at Stony Brook which are allegedy about local history. On my birthday one hot summer day, I took all three girls to the museum to see a display of wedding gowns. The girls naturally enjoyed the gowns, replete with letters from the brides and photography. What we didn't anticipate was the gay marriage display at the end. When I complained to the curator, about the inappropriatness of the display, I got a lecture on political correctness. I will not be taking the girls back to this museum.
Maybe the art galleries at Woodstock Vermont are on the right track. In this post, I describe how we saw signs in the windows saying, "no children; dogs allowed".
We are seeing the inroads of the Culture of Death where people who want to protect the innocence of their children are being denied access to the arts.
Remember it was the Catholic Church who first developed fine arts. Now we have to filter what our children see, as those who would corrupt them use our tax dollars to fund pornography and blasphemy.

Illuminated Ink coloring contest

Illuminated Ink has one of their fabulous coloring contests, this one for the Year of the Priest.
It's a beautiful drawing of St John Vianney, I'm tempted to print one for me!
Go to this link and print your coloring picture and the contest rules.

New Year, and a new header

I finally worked up the courage to add a header to the blog, and I love it. Hope you don't mind scrolling down a bit more.

Here is the story of this exceptional painting, by Andrea Mantegna at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which depicts the Madonna and the Child Jesus with Down syndrome. The story is as beautiful as the painting which is on my desktop as a reminder of why I blog.

I have always been certain that Jesus has a special love for children like Christina, and I am sure He would appreciate being portrayed as one of our vulnerable little ones, the "least of these". They reflect Him so clearly in the world, yet, like Him, the world rejects them, aborting 90% of them.

All our children with Down syndrome are Christ figures, and we are like the Blessed Mother who cherish them, nurture them and see them hurt.

My latest discovery

This marvellous essay by Caitrin Nichol on Down syndrome and families by introduces this lovely Madonna and Child by Italian Rennaissance painter Andrea Mantegna, father of 14 children, one of whom may have had Trisomy 21.
A physician has diagnosed the Child Jesus with T21 as well, despite the protests of the curator of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
I agree with the doctor.
He's beautiful!



HT The New Atlantis
Here's another painting where people with T21 are included.

Catholic Illustrator's Guild

The Catholic Illustrator's Guild website has some lovely illustrations from Catholics.

Slideshow of our Jesse Tree Party Monday

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Midsummer's Night Dream the Cast and Crew

On a gentle spring afternoon on the front lawn of a stately Gold Coast mansion, my friends' children performed Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream". The following post is a montage of scenes from their performance, with ethereal costumes and original music composed and performed on the violin by Libby Derham.
Take a bow, everyone!

A Midsummer's Night Dream

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Pentecost Coloring Contest at Illuminated Ink

Print out this form.
Have your artists listen to Veni Creator Spiritus while they work.

Feast Day of Fra Angelico

The patron of Christian artists was born around 1400 in a village
overlooking Florence. He took up painting as a young boy and studied under the watchful eye of a local painting master. He joined the Dominicans at about age 20, taking the name Fra Giovanni. He eventually came to be known as Fra
Angelico, perhaps a tribute to his own angelic qualities or maybe the devotional
tone of his works.
He continued to study painting and perfect his own techniques, which included broad-brush strokes, vivid colors and generous, lifelike figures. Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: “One has to believe that this good monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models there.” Whatever his subject matter, Fra Angelico sought to generate feelings of religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his most famous works are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as well as frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence. He also served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one point Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence. Fra Angelico declined, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455. HT American Catholic

I was fortunate to have an Irish friend who worked at the Political Institute at San Domenico de Fiesole, teaching English to the political studies students. What a life he had, living in a cavernous 200 year old farmhouse (or was is it a barn?) driving to the cafe through the Tuscan countryside which looked like the background for a Da Vinci fresco, for a breakfast outdoors of Italian pastry with a breathtaking view of Florence, teaching English till noon, and having the rest of the day to explore the artistic treasures of Florence, a living Renaissance art museum, with a famous church around every corner. We went to a Bach concert in a baroque church one evening, walking the packed streets of Florence, where the lively social life happens outside in the shadow of amazing architecture, like the Piazza della Signorini, with its famous bell tower. Florence is intoxicating, and I couldn't bear to leave it for 2 weeks, even to accompany my Austrian friend to Pisa for a day trip. I fell in love with the churches, the people who are so easy to meet despite my poor Italian, and the art which never ends.

Fra Angelico's work is everywhere in this, his city. I was particularly enchanted by the monastery of San Marco, for he had painted a magnificent fresco in every cell(pictures here are all from San Marco). It had been inhabited by one of the powerful Medici family, thus explaining such opulence. My favorite was a painting of the Easter women peering into the Tomb of Christ, searching for his body, while He floated above them, beckoning them to look upwards.

Now being a talented artist didn't qualify him for sainthood, however, from his life story it seems that Fra. Angelico, the angelic friar resisted the temptations which abounded in Renaissance Florence, temptations to pride at his success, to wealth, and glory. To be recognized for greatness during your own lifetime has been the root of the spiritual downfall of many famous artists(Pablo Picasso, the famous misogynist springs to mind).

May the Lord always free me from the desire of having my work exalted, and receiving praise. Fra Angelico, pray for me.