Category: Location

  • International Women’s Day

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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

    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…

  • Our Lady of Lourdes

    “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…

  • St. Agatha

    St. Agatha tended by St. Peter and an Angel in Prison (c.1640) by Alessandro Turchihouse at The Walters Museum in Baltimore. This beautiful piece is oil on slate instead of canvas, which makes the piece more durable and lends itself to tenebrism technique employed by Turchi. February 5th is St Agath’s Feast Day. St. Agatha…

  • St. Blaise

    February 3rd is the feast day of St. Blaise. He was a 4th-century bishop and martyr, is best known for his miraculous healing abilities, particularly in curing throat ailments. According to tradition, he was imprisoned and tortured for his faith but continued to perform miracles, even curing a child choking on a fish bone. The…