Scenes from the Life of Esther

Queen Esther

by Andrea del Castagno (1421-1457)

The Feast of Esther

by Frans Francken II (1581-1642)

Esther before Ahasuerus
by Claude Vignon (1593-1670)

Haman Begging Esther of Mercy
by Rembrandt (1606-1669)

The Banquet of Esther

by Jan Victors (1619-1676)

Festival of Esther

by Edward Armitage (1817-1896)

Esther
by Sir John Everett Millais (1829-1896)

Esther
by Minerva Teichert (1888-1976)

Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word.

"The Annunciation"

by Fra Angelico (1395-1455)

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he had looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Luke 1:46b-55

"The Annunciation"

by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

"The Annunciation"

Woodcut
by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)

"The Annunciation"

by Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639)

I love the fabric folds in this one...

"The Annunciation"

by Anton Raphael Mengs 1728-1779

Sorry if little putti make you uncomfortable...

"Ecce Ancilla Domini"

by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

"The Annunciation"
by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)

"The Annunciation"

by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937)

Do you have a favorite? I was having a hard time finding any more recent "Annunctions". Know of any?

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Supper at Emmaus - Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

As much as I love Caravaggio, this last oil panting by Rembrandt is my favorite of the Supper at Emmaus.

Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee - Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

The Kiss of Judas - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

This painting is also known as The Taking of Christ.

Jesus and the Woman Taken in Adultery - John 7:53-8:11

We recently saw this in an art gallery at Canon Beach. I thought it was beautiful. I didn't get the artist's name and couldn't find it online, but I enjoyed their work. There was also a really neat painting incorporating all of the parables in a more medieval style. It was pretty neat.


They went each to his own house ¹but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
² Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.
³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" ⁶This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.
⁹But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
¹¹She said, "No one, Lord."
And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."

Peter and Andrew - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Modern Mediocrity in Christian Art

The arts (music, literature, and visual) are all amazing gifts from God.

We are made in His image.
We are made to create.


In history art has been largely dominated by believers. And that is certainly the way it should be.
Who are the Christian giants today?

I don't want to bash anyone, but it certainly seems like Christians have settled for mediocrity.

Christians should be setting the pace in art - plowing a head - showing an example to the world. Today we seem to either be following the non-Christians and becoming utterly indistinguishable or separating ourselves into whole different genres of rather mediocre fuzzy-feeling comfort art.

We, as Christians, can show truth through art.


Another attitude that I do not believe honors God (and I am sure it turns unbelievers off) is our refusal to recognize talent and hard work by non-Christians.
An unbeliever can be an amazing violinist or an outstanding painter, and we can enjoy his work. Yes, we need to be careful because a lot of non-Christian art has very non-Christian themes. That does not mean music, art, or writing is evil because it was created by a unsaved person. The truth will be known in everything. Often a non-Christian can not help showing the story no matter how hard they try to stay away from it.

We can not say..."such and such a persons creations are evil because he is a non-Christian". If they are evil, there should be a much better basis for arguing that point and you should use it. God uses sinners to create beauty. Every man on earth has his purpose. No matter how they may try to run from the Truth and from their Maker, they will be used to glorify Him.

We should recognize talent, non-Christian or Christian.
And
Christianity should be producing the most and the best musicians, artists, and writers.


I feel like these thoughts are incomplete, but I really wanted to write something on the subject. It is time for Christianity to reconquer the arts!

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

The Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt

The Flagelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ - William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Bouguereau didn't just paint pretty girls. :-) He really has a talent for facial expressions. I'll never get tired of Bouguereau's paintings.

Miss Pickwickian

The Sacrifice of Isaac - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

Christ Before the High Priest - Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656)

The Calling of St. Matthew - Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

"28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

What ever his personal faults, Caravaggio was one of the most amazing painters ever! We have a small print of this on our wall in our room. It is a good constant reminder of how we are called and what we are called from, besides being a beautiful painting.

Thanks for stopping by,

Miss Pickwickian