NB! · Faith · Art · Moscow

Public Servants at the Palm Sunday Celebrations, Moscow, 1654

Public Servants at the Palm Sunday Celebrations, Moscow, 1654. Unknown artist

NB! · Archive · Faith · Art · Monarchies

Palm Sunday from the prayer book of Mary of Guelders, Queen of Scotland, who tormented King James II all her life, until he was killed by a fragment of a cannon that burst during a salute in honour of the ill-starred Mary

Ancient Roman mosaic of winged cupids fishing from two boats in front of a long villa building and trees.

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Heritage

Mosaic of Fishing Cupids at the Villa Casale in Sicily, Discovered in 1959

Another witty mosaic from the same villa in Sicily: cupids fishing. The Villa Cozele (Villa Casale), where this mosaic was uncovered in 1959, is one of the richest monuments of ancient Roman art in situ

Mosaic of young women in two-piece outfits: above they run and hold a disc and weights, below they play with a ball and hold palm branches and a crown.

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Humour

Mosaic from a fourth-century villa shows young women in bikinis at sport

A mosaic of girls in bikinis from a fourth-century villa. They run, lift weights and play ball. And judging by the tummies so carefully depicted, the aim of the exercise is weight loss. A girl in a toga presents a palm branch and a crown to the best of

NB! · Faith · Art

Fra Angelico's Annunciation from Cortona, with Golden Words Flying from the Archangel's Mouth

NB! · Faith · Art · Museums

Fra Angelico's Annunciation from San Domenico di Fiesole, with a Bashful Adam and Eve

Faith · Art · Madrid · Observations · People

Fra Angelico and his altarpiece Annunciations, the first now kept in the Prado

The Early Renaissance Italian painter Guido di Pietro, known as the "blessed angelic brother" Fra Angelico, has been canonised and is regarded as the patron saint of artists. He made his name through his altar paintings. Fra Angelico's most famous subject is the Annunciation to the

NB! · Faith · Art

The Holy Infant in Colour

A crowned figure in blue and gold robes stands under an arch inscribed Ecclesia, with a group of people under a smaller arch on each side.

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

Ecclesia with the clergy and the laity in a miniature beneath the image of Mother Nature

Right beneath the image of Mother Nature is Mother Church, Ecclesia, with the clergy on her right hand and the laity on her left. What more is there to say? Mother Nature and Mother Church are always side by side.

Archive · Faith · Art

Image of the goddess Tellus Mater in an 11th-century scroll of Easter chants

An eleventh-century scroll of Easter chants contains an image of the ancient Italic earth goddess Tellus Mater. In the Exultet manuscript she appears as Mother Nature, suckling a calf and a serpent at her breasts. The goddess was regarded not only as the creator of all that exists but

NB! · Archive · Faith · Art

A Drawing from an Eleventh-Century Scroll Containing the Paschal Chant Exultet iam angelica turba coelorum

NB! · Art · Observations