Above is St. Francis in the Desert,by Giovanni Bellini. If you can’t see this (and many other works of art) in person, you should check them out at the new googleartproject.com. Last summer, I made a special trip from New Haven to New York to see Bellini’s painting at the Fricke Gallery. Now it’s at googleartproject.com, […]
Thomas Aquinas–the man who made it okay to think again. What made Thomas Aquinas one of the most important thinkers in Western history? Well, to understand that, you have to understand why the Middle Ages have often been known as “The Dark Ages,” or, as one historian put it, “A thousand years without a bath.” […]
When a friend offers to let you stay in her Brooklyn apartment for the weekend, you say “Yes.” I had made plans to travel to New York this weekend to see a painting (more on that later), and my friend Audrey, whose generosity is legendary, asked if I would like to stay in her apartment […]
We are all familiar with the image of St. Francis of Assisi, the benevolent, bearded man who speaks to animals and allows the birds to perch on his shoulders. However, the real Francis was a controversial figure who impelled many people to abandon their worldly lives and roam the country in poverty. Francis, pictured in […]
The pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales are traveling to the shrine of Thomas á Becket, whose tomb was one of the most important destinations for English Christians. But who was Thomas á Becket, and what made his shrine so revered among the people? It’s a pretty interesting story, actually. Thomas á Becket was born in […]