On a cold evening in late October in Granville, Ohio, I entered my accommodation, the Granville Inn, where the flames in the lobby fireplace greeted me and started to thaw me out, exorcising the chill from my body. With the northern half of the globe now ensconced in the winter season, I’m warmed by that memory. Amid all the snow and ice and freezing temperatures, one of the most welcome sights is a fire—well, a contained fire, such as in a fireplace, particularly a wood-burning fireplace, where you can become mesmerized by the dancing flames and the snap, crackle, and pop of the logs as they burn. Even without Christmas stockings that were hung there with care, fireplaces always provide a warm welcome. Read about the top five fireplaces >
Tag Archives: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hell on Earth
It’s as hot as hell. People from Arizona to Austin to Athens have all been saying it this summer. Again. Climate change has been setting our world on fire for years, and comparisons to that underworld of eternal heat and suffering are getting more and more realistic. But what of that actual place reserved, if you believe it, for unrepentant sinners? No one knows what it looks like (even if you visit Hell on Grand Cayman). But artists have imagined Hell in the most terrifying ways for centuries—and they’re enough to, well, scare the hell out of you while you’re still here on Earth. Read about the top five depictions of Hell >
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Passionate Art From a Passionate Man: Caravaggio’s Best Works
His art was as enthralling as his life. His paintings, always on canvas, were revolutionary. A master of chiaroscuro and realism, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio ushered in a dramatic new style of art in the late 1500s and early 1600s that mesmerized some and appalled others, but which established him as one of the leading Baroque artists of his era. How he found time to create such an impressive œuvre amazes me: Caravaggio spent much of his time brawling, carousing, and bouncing around the Mediterranean, from his hometown of Milan to Rome to Naples to Malta to Sicily and back to Italy, being imprisoned, fleeing from a death sentence and warrants for his arrest for manslaughter and assault, and being expelled from the Knights of Malta after a membership of only half a year. And he did all of that by the time he died under mysterious circumstances at age 38. He left behind an impressive canon that easily established himself as one of my favorite artists—but one who was nearly forgotten for centuries. Read about my top five works by Caravaggio >
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Let There Be Sight
On the Feast of St. Lucy, celebrated on December 13, followers of the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox faiths venerate the Christian martyr who died a virgin at age 21 in 304. Patron saint of the blind and visually impaired, Lucy’s fame spread around the world, from celebratory processionals in Scandinavia to Dante’s Divine Comedy to the naming of St. Lucia in the Caribbean. I had the good fortune to view the saint’s body, enshrined in a glass-front coffin, in the Church of Sts. Jeremiah and Lucy in Venice, Italy, in 2008, but before and after that, I’ve always been intrigued by how she’s treated in art. Read about the top five artistic depictions of St. Lucy >
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The World’s Best Depictions of Adam and Eve
In the Bible, the Book of Genesis describes how God created man on the sixth day. To keep him company in the Garden of Eden with all those plants and animals that he got to name, God granted him Eve, fashioning her from one of his ribs. They were free to frolic around Paradise without a care, as long as they didn’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Alas, the sly serpent proved too persuasive to Eve, who then dragged Adam down with her when she tempted him to partake as well. Things quickly went south: For disobeying God’s one command, an angel drove them out of Eden, stripped them of their athanasia, and forced Adam to work for a living and Eve to bear children in a spectacularly painful way. It’s quite a story, one of the most popular in the Bible, and it has been depicted in art for centuries. Read about the best of those renditions >
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Going Green Around the World
With spring almost at the doorstep for many of us, we begin to think of shedding extra layers of thick clothing and weatherproof boots, stowing away our rock salt and shovels, and not having to de-ice our cars every morning. Buds will soon appear, and gray will morph into green bursting all around us, bringing with it all signs of rebirth and new life. Of course, nature doesn’t hold a monopoly on green; there are plenty of nonliving objects that are green that you can see and fall in love with all year. Read about the world’s top five greens >
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The Best Depictions of the Real Meaning of Christmas
December 25 is rapidly approaching, and for 2.2 billion Christians around the world, the Christmas season is in full swing. Although the secular aspects of this important holiday increasingly garner all the attention and overshadow the real meaning of Christmas — the birth of Jesus Christ — all you have to do is look at a Nativity scene (or listen to Linus’ beautiful soliloquy in A Charlie Brown Christmas) to be reminded of what it’s all about. For centuries, artists have been depicting that day that changed the world in Nativities in every type of media imaginable. Some of these painters, sculptors, glaziers, woodworkers, and other talented experts broke the traditional mold of just showing the Holy Family in a stable with some hay, farm animals, a couple of shepherds, and the Three Wise Men. I found these works in particular to be the most imaginative, and most memorable. Read more about my top five Nativities in the world >
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The Greatest Story Ever Told on a Crucifix
If you celebrate Easter, then you most likely start your day by preparing a big holiday meal, tearing into a chocolate bunny, watching your children search your home for hidden colored eggs, or putting on your Sunday best — including the obligatory bonnet — for the Easter Mass. The most important day in the Christian calendar brings with it the most powerful image as well: Jesus on a cross. Although it’s His resurrection that Christians celebrate today, it’s this Good Friday image that solidifies what His life and teachings were all about. Since that pivotal day at Golgotha, the Crucifixion has been represented countless times in countless cultures in countless media — paintings, sculptures, stained-glass windows, and more. Read about the world’s top five crucifixes >
Stephen Travels 