by Cedric | Jan 12, 2023 | Art, General
Holman Hunt worked on this between 1870 and 1873, on his second trip to the Holy Land. It shows Jesus as a young man, taking a break from his carpenter work, which he is doing with his mother, Mary. This painting is replete with details, as I have come to expect from my probable favourite artist (sorry Henriëtte Ronner-Knip). See the painting below.
Mary is kneeling, fetching something from a box. The eagle-eyed among you will spot the Magi’s gifts in this box, which she has kept from the birth of Jesus. We have just celebrated Epiphany within the Church, a feast where we celebrate the Magi came to Jesus and offered him gifts of frankincense gold and myrrh. The first to celebrate his divinity, the second to celebrate his kingship and the third foreshadowing his death. To emphasise this, the painting casts a shadow onto the rack of tools behind our Lord, giving the distinct impression his shadow is being crucified. This is an electrifying painting. We do not know much of the hidden years of Christ’s life. Several of the Gospels do not mention his childhood, and Luke’s Gospel stops at the finding of Jesus in the temple, which I covered in another post. This is a rare insight or impression of what Christ might have been up to in the years leading up to his ministry, which he began aged thirty.
The level of detail is astonishing. From the fabrics, to the skin tones, to the discarded red bandana signifying the crown of thorns Christ was to wear – all of these and more than I have the bandwidth to write about at the moment. John Everett Millais did a similar painting called Christ in the House of his Parents, which I shall cover in a separate post, because it is beautiful.
This painting was criticised as theatrical by some while it was first exhibited, but I think it is a masterpiece. It is grand and somehow reverent, pensive and remarkably detailed. Our Lord’s death and resurrection is at the very centre of our faith. It was foretold in the old testament and indeed by the wise men during their visit. To see it foreshadowed in such vivid detail here, is quite moving to me. I hope it is as moving to you.
by Cedric | Jan 9, 2023 | General
Firstly I should like to apologise sincerely for my lack of posting ere these last four weeks. My life has become rather hectic with a combination of wedding planning, Christmas holiday, bereavement and changes at work. I have not had the time which I would have liked to have to dedicate to this blog. However, I shall make an effort to return to normal scheduled programming.
The album cover of the month is Gentleman by Fela Kuti. I have mentioned this before in Five Favourites, but it struck me today as uniquely funny. The track Gentleman is about a local in Nigeria going to the west, becoming Westernised (the opposite experience which Fela had) and coming back home. This man has come back and is dressing inappropriately for the climate, in western gear, sweating and making a fool of himself in order to appear cultured. Fela ridicules this idea. The cover explains his views far better than any explanation can. This is why it is the album cover of the month!
by Cedric | Dec 13, 2022 | Art, General
Jaroslav Čermák (1831 – 1878), a Czech born painter, produced this beautiful painting of Saint Nicholas. This Saint’s feast day was celebrated on December 6th. He was the bishop of Myra, a city in modern day Turkey, in the 4th Century AD. Interestingly, he is one of the foremost Saints in the Russian Orthodox Church. He is the patron Saint of children, but not for the reasons which advertisements would have you believe…
Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of children because during a grizzly famine in Myra, three local children were killed and pickled in order to be sold as ‘ham’. Saint Nicholas intervened, by working a miracle, and brought them back to life! There is a painting by Gentile da Fabriano depicting this scene.
He is also the patron Saint of unmarried people, fishermen, pawnbrokers, and the falsely accused.
This is very far indeed from the usual depiction of this Saint, astride some garish sleigh and pulled along by an assortment of ill-paid reindeer. I think the painting evokes the kindness and bravery of this Saint in splendour.
by Cedric | Dec 10, 2022 | Food and Drink
Picture the scene, you are a Catholic, recently engaged, and through no fault of your own, date night has fallen on a Friday, which means no meat. Further, every nice sushi restaurant in a half mile radius is fully booked. This was precisely the situation Charlotte and I found ourselves in yesterday. Luckily, Gabriel’s came to the rescue. This is one of our go to eateries in Harborne. We would go there frequently when Charlotte lived in Harborne.
I ordered the haddock and chips, while Charlotte went for the cod and chips. Usually we would order mushy peas but did not feel like it on this occasion. The below is a much better image of what you can expect at Gabriels. than any we have taken.
Charlotte has in her possession a particularly unflattering photograph of me standing behind a table filled with condiments awaiting consumption of this delicious meal, but I will not subject you to seeing this.
The portions are excellent, and the taste of the fish is quite superb. Haddock boasts a mildly sweet taste with lean white flesh and medium flakes with a texture which is firm yet tender once battered. Haddock have a finer flake then cod, and a more tender texture with a slightly sweeter flavour. It is said the flavour of haddock is closer to halibut than to cod. However, both are quite delicious, which I never expect this far inland. The chips, also, are cooked beautifully and require minimal salt and vinegar.
Do go here, but order early on a Friday as they sell out quickly.
by Cedric | Dec 5, 2022 | General
Hello and welcome back to three favourites. My apologies for a slight hiatus. I have been very busy with wedding planning and qualifying as a solicitor (next Spring, God willing) and have not had as much time to dedicate to the blog. PI’m afraid I am going to have to move from 3 to 1 favourite going forward. Please see this below.
J J Cale – Troubadour (1976)
This is a fantastic cover. I particularly enjoy the guitar and guitar shaped clouds, as though Mr Cale is imagining guitars in his dreams, which, I suppose, is most likely the case. The treble clef on the head of the acoustic guitar is quite clever. I do not know whether Mr Cale intended to differentiate this from the French clef, or indeed the difference between the two (Nick’s territory). This is a sweet cover, with calm overtones, which match the calm competency of this fabulous artist. I encourage you to listen to this album if you have time.
