Chauvet Cave Paintings

And now for something completely different...  today's feature are the mystically beautiful cave paintings from Chauvet, France.

These paintings are in the neighborhood of 35,000 years old and represent the earliest surviving art made by any human being.  What on earth does this have to do with faith?

Well, the first human civilizations we see with any evidence of a religious or spiritual belief (burial of the dead, etc) are also the first people we see making art.  It has been suggested that a better name for us than homo sapiens (wise man) would be homo spiritualis (spiritual man).  All I can say is that the dawn of spiritual man also seems to be the dawn of artistic man.

Requiem Aeternam

More music today, this time the Introit for the Mass for the Dead (funeral Mass), Requiem Aeternam.

This is the proper Gregorian chant from the Roman Gradual which begins funeral Masses.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
Et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem
Exaudi orationem meam
Ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.



Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord
And let perpetual light shine upon them
A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Zion
And a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem
Hear my prayer
All flesh shall come before you
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord
And let perpetual light shine upon them

The Baptism of Christ

"The Baptism of Christ" by Leonardo da Vinci (1475).

Ash Wednesday

Today something beautiful and liturgical!  This setting of Psalm 51 for the Ash Wednesday liturgy from Chabanel Psalms.

Ash Wednesday (ABC) • Free Responsorial Psalms • Organist Score from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

Prodigal Son

In honor of the penitential season of Lent which begins tomorrow, today we feature this detail from "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Rembrandt (1662).
(And if you are not familiar with that parable, see Lk 15:11-32)

The Little Flower

A modern artist today - this time a portrait of St. Therese of Lisieux by Leonard Porter.

O Virgin Pure

More music today.  "O Virgin Pure," chanted in Byzantine style.

St. Valentine

I love medieval woodcuts.  They tend to be at the same time simple and full of detail, and always conjure images in my mind of that great Age of Faith.  So today, a woodcut of St. Valentine healing epileptics.

Infant Jesus Asleep

'The Infant Jesus Asleep" by Charles le Brun (1619-1690).

Shhhh - the little children are sleeping.

Cover them with warm blankets and hold them close.

Feed and house them, protect them from harm.

Those who love the Lord, love the least among us.

Those who love the children, love the Child Jesus.

Japanese Madonna and Child

Truth can be expressed in beauty in any culture.  Today, a Japanese madonna and child (unknown artist) in honor of yesterday's feast of St. Paul Miki and Companions (the Nagasaki Martyrs).

Palestrina: Agnus Dei

Today something different...  we dive into the realm of music with Palestrina's "Agnus Dei."  For those who are not liturgically minded, the Agnus Dei is one of the ordinary chants of the Mass.  Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.  Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.  Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.  "Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.  Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.  Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace."

Presentation of the Lord

Day 3:  Today, in honor of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, we view this artwork by Italian painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti, "Presentation at the Temple" from 1342.

More about this particular work here.

Pieta

Day 2: Michelangelo's "Pieta"

The Annunciation

Welcome to my new blog, which I have entitled "Truth in Beauty" after a favorite Keats quotation of mine from his 1819 poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn."

Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.


This line has always reminded me that beauty is God's shadow on the universe.  It also witnesses to the fact that  the most beautiful art created by mankind has been inspired by religious truth.

Every day, I hope to post a single example of beauty which has been been inspired by faith.  I invite people to leave any comments they desire (so long as they are posted in a spirit of charity).  I will not be making lengthy commentary in my posts, to allow the work of art to stand on its own.

If anyone would like to suggest a work of art which would be an example of beauty inspired by atheism please let me know and I will be glad to post it as a counter-example.

One further note, I am a lay ecclesial minister of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte, serving primarily as the Catholic Campus Minister at Western Carolina University and also as the regional faith formation coordinator for the Smoky Mountain Vicariate.  This blog, however, is not in any way an official media of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte and should not be taken as such.  It is my own personal project.

That basic introduction being said, I would like to inaugurate this blog with an image in honor of our student chapel here at WCU, named in honor of Our Lady of the Annunciation.  Our first work of art is "The Annunciation," painted by Fra Angelico, Italian painter who lived from 1395-1455.