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Please Subscribe or Donate [https://sdcason.com/donate] to Help Keep This Site Free! Martin Schonaguer's series of the Passion of Christ was his largest set of engravings, made around 1480, and extensively copied across Europe. It consists of twelve prints detailing the suffering of Christ in the...
A donor portrait or votive portrait is a portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his, or (much more rarely) her, family. Donor portrait usually refers to the portrait or portraits of donors alone, as...
Athanasius Schneider (born Anton Schneider on 7 April 1961) is a Kazakh Roman Catholic bishop, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. He is known for championing the pre-Vatican II liturgical traditions and practices of the church...
In the Catholic Mass, the Word is “unsealed” for us through its preaching by the priest, or deacon, who wear a white garment because they are joined to the Lamb in a special way through Ordination. The Faithful then come before an altar superior to the first and sing “holy,...
Saint Jerome (about ad 347–420) translated biblical texts into Latin. Although he sometimes appears as a scholar in his study, Ribera represents him here as a penitent who withdrew to the desert, beating his chest with a stone to emulate Christ’s suffering and contemplating a skull symbolizing human...
This fountain, located within the Vatican City, is on the right of Piazza San Pietro is the work of Carlo Maderno (1613). Bernini, who designed the square, had it erected where it now stands, and for purposes of symmetry built the fountain on the left (1675). Free Downloads Below Hi-Res...
Saint Stephen traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity, was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, a deacon in the early Church at Jerusalem who angered members of various synagogues by his teachings. Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen] Pope Sixtus II was bishop...
During Jesus’s arrest on the night of the Last Supper, the apostle Peter denied knowing him. Although Christ forgave his betrayal, Peter was consumed by guilt. La Tour represents Peter as an old man, reflecting on his past actions in a state of perpetual repentance. The apostle’s red-rimmed...
Louisbourg, Nova Scotia was a colony with few priests. Though almost all the people were Catholic, the Church had neither abundant property nor independent wealth. The Récollet missionaries who provided spiritual care never got their parish church, and so the community worshipped in this military chapel. The patron above the...
Saint George’s legend was widespread throughout the Middle Ages. Warrior saints were particularly popular among the knightly class. Here Saint George is depicted as the consummate knight clad in gleaming plate armor as he slays the dragon, a symbol of evil. Such saints are frequently represented demonstrating their martial...
Ittenbach is considered one of the leading religious painters in 19th century Germany. A devout Roman Catholic, he traveled throughout Germany, painting altarpieces and artworks intended for church decoration. Popular among the German Catholic nobility, Ittenbach painted in a precise, realistic style influenced by Netherlandish and Italian Renaissance art, continuing...
1st Lt Raymond Siemet, Army Male Nurse, and the Mother Superior of the St. Elizabeths Orphanage, tour the site where a new dormitory for the children is being constructed. Members of the 3rd Field Hospital were supporting the Orphanage in the Village of Xom Moi, Gia Dinh section of Saigon....
This complex engraving depicts Christ's walk to Golgotha, the site of his Crucifixion. A crowd, depicted as violent and uncaring, moves across a rocky landscape. At the center of the procession, Christ has fallen under the weight of his huge cross. Martin Schongauer made Christ's gaze...
In 1754, King Louis XV of France sent the comte de Stainville (later duc de Choiseul) to Rome to secure a decision from Pope Benedict XIV about disputes concerning the authority of the French courts, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Jansenists, a Catholic sect. The result was an encyclical,...
Beer stein, or simply stein, is an English term for either traditional beer mugs made out of stoneware, or specifically ornamental beer mugs that are usually sold as souvenirs or collectibles. Such Steins may be made out of stoneware, pewter, porcelain, or even silver, wood or crystal glass; they may...
Jesus will come at the end of time to judge all human beings. This is called the parousia, His second coming (Acts 1:11). However, those who die before the parousia will be judged immediately at their deaths. This is known as the particular judgment (Hebrews 9:27). There are...
Isaac Lazarus Israëls (3 February 1865 – 7 October 1934) was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. The son of Jozef Israëls, one of the most respected painters of the Hague School, and Aleida Schaap, Isaac Israëls displayed precocious artistic talent from an early age. Between 1880 and...
Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni)...
God the Father is the life-giver, the authority, and powerful protector, often viewed as immense, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent with infinite power and charity that goes beyond human understanding. God the Father is not a separate God from God the Son (of whom Jesus is the incarnation) and the Holy Spirit....
This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for...
The Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica, informally known as Manila Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Manila, Philippines, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Principal Patroness of the Philippines. The cathedral serves as the see of the Archbishop of Manila. Located at...
The Apostle John was one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age and not be killed for his faith. It had been...
DID YOU KNOW? The crown worn by God in this painting resembles a papal tiara, last used by a Catholic pope in 1964. DESCRIPTION This vividly colored altarpiece was made in Antwerp, the center of religious learning in Catholic Flanders. In the mid-1500s when the Catholic Church mounted a defense...
Did you know today is my birthday?! Maybe not, but now you do! As a birthday gift to myself, I am hoping and praying that many many people–now and far into the future–will benefit spiritually from the images and descriptions I post here. You can help with my...
