The Baroque Art Accessibility Consortium

Author: Brian

  • Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

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    Brian
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    Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As St. Patrick’s day celebrations were started by Irish emigrants as a way to remember the homeland, you won’t find any Baroque paintings of the saint. Instead, we will take a look at Simon Vouet’s amazing take on the popular Fortune Teller theme. The left half of the painting is similar…

  • International Women’s Day

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    Brian
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    Today is International Women’s day. During the 1600s women, generally speaking, were regarded as the pillars of society; but, they still had to conform their expected roles and the arts were definitely not encouraged. Women who did study art were not allowed to study nude models and many of them focused on still life paintings.…

  • St. John of God

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    On March 8th , the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. John of God. St. John dedicated his life to helping the sick. He opened a hospital in Granada, Spain and welcomed in anyone who needed help. When the Royal Hospital was on fire, St. John ran inside and saved many patients and…

  • Saint Casimir

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    Brian
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    March 4th is the feast day of Saint Casimir, a 15th century prince of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Known for his piety, devotion to God, and generosity towards the sick and poor, Casimir led a life of humility and virtue despite his royal status. He died at age 25…

  • Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle

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    Brian
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    February 22nd is the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle. In St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, in the Apse (behind the main altar) is Bernini’s Cathedra Petri (1647). This reliquary holds what is traditionally believed to be the chair of St. Peter. Four doctors of the church are holding down the…

  • St. Rita Cascia

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    Brian
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    In the Basilica di Sant’Agostino in Rome, in the third chapel on the right, you can find The Ecstasy of Blessed Rita da Cascia (1674) by Giacinto Brandi. St. Rita was born in 1381 into a family with strong Christian values. She married Paolo di Ferdinando, and after he was murdered, she prayed constantly so…

  • St. Cecilia

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    Brian
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    In St. Luigi’s church in Rome, the second chapel of the right aisle, is St. Cecilia’s Chapel. On the altar there is a painting of St. Cecilia by Guido Reni. This is a copy of Raphael’s famous painting that is hung in Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna. St. Cecilia is known as the patron saint of music…

  • Happy Valentine’s Day

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    Brian
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    Happy Valentine’s Day from the BAAC! St. Valentine receiving a rosary from the Virgin Mary” (1677) by David Teniers III. Seems Teniers is most famous for being the grandson of Jan Brueghel the Elder and the godson of Helena Fourment (Peter Paul Rueben’s second wife). February 14th is Valentine’s Day and St Valentine was a…

  • St-Germain-des-Pres

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    Brian
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    Called by many the most classically Parisian neighborhood, St-Germain-des-Pres gets its name from the oldest church in Paris, which has been a place of worship for over 1500 years. Just down the road is “Eglise St-Sulpice” whose grounds have been a place of worship for nearly 800 years. Both of these churches feature some Baroque…

  • Our Lady of Lourdes

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    Brian
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    “The Annunciation”(1608) by Caravaggio at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nancy. Another strict adherence to pictorial tradition in Caravaggio’s late oeuvre. It is wild to think that Caravaggio painted this for a church in France while he was in Messina and on the run after escaping imprisonment by the Knights of Malta. The painting itself…