It seems to be a good idea to start New Year with a page from a calendar; let’s take a look at a certain interesting motif which appeared in medieval calendar pages dedicated to January. Medieval books of prayers, psalters and books of hours, started with calendar, which included a list…
Adoration of the Magi, also called “the Three Kings”, is one of the most popular subjects in the Christian art, but it is actually not very well documented in the Bible. It is based only on one fragment of the Gospel of Matthew (2:1-12): In the time of King Herod, after…
As we are now enjoying the carnival time, it seems a good idea to have a look at the painting that shows people having fun. It is a party with a lot of food and alcohol; the title is “The Bean King”, and it was created by a Flemish painter…
The famous painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder entitled “The Fight Between Carnival and Lent” is signed and dated (1559). It probably belonged to the collection of the Emperor Rudolf II, and in the 18th century it was moved from Vienna treasury to the gallery – today it is kept…
In Europe, the Carnival is associated mainly with Venice, and the Venetian carnival associates with the masks. As we are now in the meddle of the carnival, we might look into this issue. It is not entirely clear what the source of the word “carnival” is. It might come from…