Lunch was a simple steak and ale pie, with chips. When done properly, they are quite satisfying. I went to the Lamb and Flag for this one.
Who could ever tire of the National Gallery? A painting by Salvator Rosa I always enjoy. He is “Philosophy” and he is holding a tablet saying, in Latin, “Either shut up or say something better than silence would be.”
And then there is Turner’s great piece, once called the greatest painting in Britain. It is full of portent and meaning.
Here is a happy seeming group, except that the clock in the background also has a figure with a scythe, for the infant on the left would die before the painting was completed. However, here we have a goldfinch, the sort you see as the Christological Goldfinch, but in a different setting entirely.
I was delighted, when entering the room with the Van Gogh to find a newly acquired canvas by George Bellows, whom I really like. They must think highly of him to place him in this room.
Duccio.
Indian for supper.
Really spicy fried prawns.
Of course there’s more, but that’s what I’m posting.
I am pretty tired and I still am not over my crud. I am starting yet another round of antibiotics. I would appreciate your prayers. Now, for some tincture of sleeeeeeep.
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Sleep well, Padre – I pray you will soon recover. At least your appettite soon to be OK, good food will help. Good art – well, it’s worth a shot.
(as for the antibiotics: you know if it’s a virus rather than a bacteria that is pestering you, they won’t help one bit? For me, vitamin D will help prop up the immune system in those cases, but milage may vary, of course)
Father Z, as a lover of art, you should consider visiting the Chazen Museum in Madison. They currently have an exhibition of the St John’s Illuminated Bible ongoing until mid-March.
http://www.chazen.wisc.edu/visit/events-calendar/event/illuminating-the-word-the-saint-johns-bible/
You see the goldfinch, Father Z, but I have eyes only for the cat… (and can’t help but wonder if kitty got the opportunity to play with its feathered friend)
erratum: “seems to be OK”. Guess I need sleep too.
Get some rest Father. Praying for you!
I have loved Duccio since my college days, Fr. Z — I am so glad you were able to see those pieces. However one can’t help but be struck at how out of place in a museum or gallery type setting they are and how they even seem to pine to be re-situated and resting at a proper ad orientem altar as originally called and prepared by Duccio himself.
That painting of the warship appears in the great Bond movie SKYFALL. There’s also an escape tunnel for priests hidden behind a panel in the old Bond family manor.
Hubby, our three boys, and third-trimester pregnant me are all fighting off something icky too…so far we have avoided antibiotics and we’re getting through it naturally with Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, rest, hot soup & hot teas, etc. I try to avoid antibiotics if possible; they are great when necessary but they also kill good stuff too. Father Z, be sure to get yourself some probiotics to replace what the antibiotics are killing!
Zinc, Father Z. Easy to remember. Zinc for the Z Man.
Absolutely top-notch for restoring a beaten-down immune system, along with a good hefty dose of Vitamin E, if you can.
I got an advent calendar made out of the Triptych in the seventh picture ( http://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/products/altarpieces_advent_calendar/p_1032678 ) for some priests I know this year.
Ah Lord, but how I love pies. And did they serve mushy peas with the steak and ale pie, Faddah? Truly, an abomination of desolation. Looks from the photo as though you avoided them anyway.
Last time I was in the National Gallery they had a great exhibition of Canaletto works. Totally absorbing, and as it was a working day there was plenty of time to enjoy. So looking forward to going back next month, which I’ll combine with a quick trip around the corner to Maiden Lane. Thanks for the tip about that, I’d probably never have known otherwise.
“The Fighting Temeraire being tugged to her last berth to be broken up”. My favorite painting ever. The beautiful sailing ship already a ghost of her former self, being towed by its nemesis the utilitarian steam tug that represents what is replacing it. Could also symbolize the death of the old way of life in Britain (and elsewhere) being replaced by the industrial revolution.