Way of Beauty

by Gina Loehr Elizabeth filled with the holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41). So Luke tells us in his Gospel account of the Visitation. As her cousin Mary greets her, the elderly woman, who is nonetheless great with child, speaks through the power of…

The painting, Annunciazione di Cestello by Sandro Botticelli, or the Cestello Annunciation, has always struck me. I first saw it in 2014 at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy, as a sophomore in college spending my spring semester…

BY GINA LOEHR The joy of Christmas is best understood by children. Excused from the stress of planning, blissfully unaware of the expenses of gift-giving and the labor of holiday preparations, little ones are free to simply relish the glory…

BY DANIEL MITSUI In theology, a mystery is defined as a truth that exceeds the natural power of knowing. Nothing so profound can be explained fully in either words or pictures. But the Catholic response is not to give up talking about it or…

by Fr. Anthony Giambrone, OP For Maurice Denis (1870–1943), the vocation to create sacred art was clear from his youth. At the age of 15, with a sense of destined conviction, he wrote the following words in his journal: “I have to be a…

(ABOVE) Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), Fritz von Uhde (1848–1911)

by Fr. Anthony Giambrone, OP Around the turn of the 20th century, a burst of creative energy was transforming the artistic landscape of western civilization in revolutionary ways. In countries such as France and Poland, where both the…

BY GINA LOEHR “The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream” (Matthew 2:13) — for the second time! This striking depiction of The Dream of Joseph by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–1779) imagines Joseph receiving the divine commission to…

by Gina Loehr Paris, 1867. The World’s Fair, a gathering so full of character and culture that it attracted more than 9 million visitors during the course of the nine-month exposition. Among the exhibits at the fair was the work of the…

by Fr. Anthony Giambrone, OP Dutch genre and landscape painting is a wonderful, placid gift to the world. The humble serenity that perfumes these images of simple people and daily chores, of pleasant homes and peaceful homelands, breathes a…