It is an glimpse of what England might still have been if it hadn't been for Henry VIII. And, an indication that despite everything, it might be again.
A Contemporary Mosaic of St Dominic in Chichester Cathedral
Here are some photos of recently mosaic of St Dominic, completed just a year ago. It was commissioned by the Anglican Bishop of Chichester, Right Reverend Dr Martin Warner. It was done by artist Jim Blackstone in a three month residency at the cathedral. During the residency, James worked alongside fellow liturgical artist Martin Earle within a custom-built studio. The project was developed with celebrated liturgical artist Aidan Hart.
Aidan, Martin and Jim who are Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican respectively have recently established a new studio and liturgical art school -The Chichester Workshop for Liturgical Arts- under the patronage of Bishop Warner.
Saint Richard (Bishop of Chichester, 1244–1253) was prepared for the priesthood by the Dominican Order in Orléans and St Dominic’s apostolic spirituality informed his ministry across the Diocese of Chichester.Read more about the commission on the Cathedral website here.
Listen to this beautiful recording of recently rediscovered Venezuelan classical music
An Artistic Feeding of the Five Thousand: The New Chichester Workshop for Liturgical Art
A 14th-Century Italo-Byzantine St Francis of Assisi And His Habit at the National Gallery, London
Four More Images of St Francis From the National Gallery London: Three Good and One Bad!
Baroque artists painted so that the pictures pops into focus when viewed from the distance of approximately 3 times the distance of the widest dimension. So this one is meant to be viewed from approximately 30 feet away. At this distance the viewer can see the whole painting without having to scan the eyes over different parts of the painting.
Buy The Shape of the Artistic Mind by Fr Bradley Elliot OP
The link for this wonderful book has now appeared on Amazon. You can buy it here.
Here is the review written by Margarita Mooney Clayton and posted recently.
A Contemporary Hiberno-Saxon Style Illumination of the Chi-Rho
Beautiful Sacred Art at SS Gregory and Augustine Parish Church in Oxford, England
What a small parish can achieve with good taste and the will to have a beautiful church, even with limited means. The art in the reredos is a variety of styles that blend. If I were to characterize them, I would say 17th-century style baroque, and Italian and Flemish style 15th century Renaissance style.
St Francis of Assisi: Illuminations by Matthew Paris
I wonder at the control that the 13th century artist had when working on such a small scale. He must have had exceptional eyesight to work without the aid of optical devices and modern lighting systems. I speak as one who at 61 years old, would struggle to match it with something twice the size even with the best reading and magnifying glasses and electric spot lamps!
