Post for the Christmas Season, 2021
So, this year is not ending on the upbeat, carefree note we were all hoping for. Nevertheless, there is still beauty in the world to be thankful for. I would like to share several of my favorite art works and musical performances with you.
I’ve taken several art courses over the past year, and they’ve given me many precious images to contemplate. A course in the Harlem Renaissance served to remind me how many terrific African American artists deserve a closer look.
Jacob Lawrence:
Steel workers
This Is Harlem
Faith Ringgold:
We Came To America
Jazz Quilt
I was also introduced to some artists whose work was well worth getting to know.
Elizabeth Catlett:
Homage to Black Women Poets
Playmates
Kara Walker:
Black out Silhouettes Then and Now
In May of 2014, Kara Walker created a work of public art entitled A Subtlety, or the Marvelous Sugar Baby, an Homage to the unpaid and overworked Artisans who have refined our Sweet tastes from the cane fields to the Kitchens of the New World on the Occasion of the demolition of the Domino Sugar Refining Plant. It is so…well, I’ll let this video do the explaining:
I also took a class entitled “Gustav Klimt and the Viennese Secessionist Movement.” It was a revelation. All I knew about Klimt was the The Kiss:
and Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I, also known as The Woman in Gold or The Lady in Gold:
This painting was the subject of the famous legal battle that was fought between the Austrians, claiming that the work was rightfully theirs, and Maria Altmann, a niece of Adele’s husband Ferdinand. Maria, who was living in California at the time, claimed that the Nazis had stolen the painting during the war and that she was its rightful owner.
The story is told in the book The Lady in Gold by Anne-Marie O’Connor. There’s also a film, Woman in Gold, starring Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann. Worth watching, especially to see Helen Mirren doing her usual superb work:
Our instructor took us beyond Klimt’s so-called gold period, to his later work which consisted primarily of landscapes. These I found utterly enchanting:
Apple Tree One
Farm Garden with Sunflowers
Slope in a Forest on Atterslee Lake
Sebastian Smee is a journalist whose writing about art combines insight with a rare eloquence. He absolutely outdid himself in a recent article in the Washington Post in which he analyzes and rhapsodizes on the subject of a painting attributed to the great Jan van Eyck: Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata:
To read Smee’s article, click here.
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And now, for music and ballet.
This performance of Mozart’s final symphony, the Jupiter (No.41) knocked my proverbial socks off the first time I heard it. I shall always love it. For a new kid on the block – it was founded in 1992 – the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia has become a major player, especially under the baton of conductor Dima Slobodeniouk. This performance is a knockout. The final movement rises to a tremendous crescendo of pure joy. The audience went wild. I don’t blame them.
A performance of rare perfection: the Adagio from Spartacus by Aram Khatchaturian, danced by Anna Nikulina and Mikhail Lobukhin of the Bolshoi:
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, by Ralph Vaughan Williams. This performance takes place in Gloucester Cathedral. This is the same venue where the piece was first performed in 1903 and conducted by the composer. A writer who was present on that occasion had this to say:
The work is wonderful because it seems to lift one into some unknown region of musical thought and feeling…one is never sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new. The voices of the old church musicians are around one, and yet their music is enriched with all that modern art has done, since Debussy, too, is somewhere in the picture. It cannot be assigned to a time or a school, but it is full of visions.
I think many people feel that they could use a blessing at this time. (I know I do.) Here is an especially beautiful one, a Gaelic blessing entitled Deep Peace, written by John Rutter and sung by Libera:
At this Holiday Season, I wish everyone the best.
Christmas 2020, in Art and Music
Courtesy of the Smithsonian Associates streaming service, I recently had the great good fortune to attend via Zoom a webinar entitled ‘The Nativity in Art: Centuries of Storytelling.’ Our speaker was art historian Elaine Ruffolo.
Here are some of the images she shared with us:
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Taddeo Gaddi
Jacopo Tintoretto
Gentile da Fabriano
Lornzo Monaco
Federico Barocci
Hugo van der Goes (from the Portinari Altarpiece)
And my favorite of all these gorgeous works of art – I can’t say exactly why: Giorgione’s Adoration of the Shepherds:
Elaine Ruffolo was speaking to us live, in real time, from Florence, Italy, where she resides.
And now, some music:
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My Chicago family, at Thanksgiving. They’ve been a model of resourcefulness and buoyancy. Hopefully, I will be seeing them again, before too long. I am starved for hugs!
This has been a tough year for many of us. I believe that next year will be better. Love to all. And to my British friends: Hang in there, as you always have, with courage and resilience.
Happy Holidays to All!
I expect that many of you enjoyed a Christmas turkey or ham for dinner today. This is a wonderful tradition!
However, here at our house, we did something slightly different….
May I present the Christmas Frittata!
(Photography by Ron)
Further works of beauty, for Christmas
Little Garden of Paradise, Upper Rhenish Master
Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor, Jan Van Eyck
Rest on the Flight into Egypt, Gerard David
Virgin and Child, Stefan Lochner
Madonna of the Goldfinch, Raphaello Sanzio (Raphael)
Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci
Musical Interlude – and a Poetical Sentiment – at Christmas Time
A commenter issues a warning:
‘Monsieur le directeur: faites attention à votre pied.’
Another, in English, says much the same but adds: ‘History repeats itself.’ What history?
Well, it seems that Jean Baptiste Lully, composer of this irresistible ditty, was conducting in the same manner as Monsieur le directeur above, when he inadvertently stabbed himself in the foot with the long staff he was using. The wound became gangrenous. Lully refused to have the infected limb amputated and the infection spread, ultimately causing his death in 1687 at the age of 54.
Here’s an enthusiastic (if tongue-in-cheek) comment on this film clip:
‘Nice to see remaining film footage of this important historical event!’
And it is in point of fact an historical event. For a description of what actually occurred, read Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment, by James R. Gaines. Oh, and the piece being played was composed by Frederick himself, an accomplished musician.
Here are three more beautiful works in honor of Christmas:
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.The holly in the windy hedge
And round the Manor House the yew
Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge,
The altar, font and arch and pew,
So that the villagers can say
‘The church looks nice’ on Christmas Day.
Provincial Public Houses blaze,
Corporation tramcars clang,
On lighted tenements I gaze,
Where paper decorations hang,
And bunting in the red Town Hall
Says ‘Merry Christmas to you all’.
And London shops on Christmas Eve
Are strung with silver bells and flowers
As hurrying clerks the City leave
To pigeon-haunted classic towers,
And marbled clouds go scudding by
The many-steepled London sky.
And girls in slacks remember Dad,
And oafish louts remember Mum,
And sleepless children’s hearts are glad.
And Christmas-morning bells say ‘Come!’
Even to shining ones who dwell
Safe in the Dorchester Hotel.
And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?
And is it true ? For if it is,
No loving fingers tying strings
Around those tissued fripperies,
The sweet and silly Christmas things,
Bath salts and inexpensive scent
And hideous tie so kindly meant,
No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare –
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.
Holiday Wishes, 2018
My best holiday wishes to everyone.
I am deeply blessed and fortunate, and I wish the same for every one of you!
Wilton Diptych, left panel. Artist unknown
Wilton Diptych, Right panel. Artist unknown
Annunciation. Fra Angelico
Virgin of the Rocks. Leonardo Da Vinci
The Alba Madonna. Raphael
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FAMILY!!
My Aunt Patsy and Uncle Hal, enjoying life to the fullest, and always generously sharing that joy with friends and family. Forever in our hearts…
My parents, Lillian and Samuel ‘Ted’ Tedlow at the opera in Bayreuth, Germany. They exemplified class, elegance, and sophistication. I miss them.
Daughter-in-law Erica and Son Ben – Beautiful people in every way
Etta and Welles, growing by leaps and bounds, my love for them growing at the same dizzying speed
My husband Ron. His love, kindness, and companionship make my life worth living.
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Le Paradis, by Henri Maik
Sounds and images of the season
Christmas music to accompany your viewing:
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Annnunciation, Domenico Beccafumi
Ecce Ancilla Domini, Dante Gabriel Rosetti
Annunciation, Bartolome Esteban Perez Murillo
Annunciation, Sandro Botticelli
The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner
Madonna of the Magnificat, Botticelli
Adoration of the Shepherds, Giorgione
St. Joseph and the Christ Child, by Guido Reni
The Alba Madonna, Raphael
Kwanzaa
People Celebrating Kwanzaa
Child Lighting Hanukkah candles
Rabbi with a Torah, Marc Chagall
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa – Happy Everything, and Everyone.
On Christmas: a feast for the ears and eyes – and heart
First, the music:
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Then, the gift of great art:
Reflections on the Thames, by John Atkinson Grimshaw
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Coming from Church, by Samuel Palmer
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Holy Family with Lamb, by Raphael
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Supper at Emmaus. by Caravaggio
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Images of love, with the profoundest gratitude:
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And finally, the closing scene of A Christmas Carol, with Alistair Sim ‘s somewhat over-the-top portrayal of Scrooge, but in a great cause, in a film that channels Victorian London in a way that’s almost uncanny. The message could not be more profound: Redemption is always possible, but it’s best not to wait too long. Scrooge almost did. He was lucky.
I’m deeply fortunate to be blessed with so many loving friends and such a marvelous family. I wish all of you the Merriest Christmas possible!
Merry Christmas from Books to the Ceiling
First, music and dance (You’ll have to endure commercial messages at the start of some of these videos, but I think you’ll find it worth your while):
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(This is a musician’s loving tribute to her father. Watch on YouTube for more details.)
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Dance of the Mirlitons from the Nutcracker, performed by young Russian ballet students:
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I had not heard of the Huron Carol before encountering it in Louise Penny’s How the Light Gets In. Penny’s novel is a story of sin and redemption and the race to make things right, just before Christmas descends upon the magical, almost mythical, village of Three Pines, as it lies knee deep in the snows of Canada.
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Is it possible for something to be almost too beautiful? Listen…
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And finally, the exultant first cantata of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, led by one of the world’s great Bach specialists, Nikolaus Harnoncourt:
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Art inspired by the Christmas story:
Adoration of the Magi, by Diego Velasquez
Adoration of the Magi, by Gentile da Fabriano
Nativity, by Giotto di Bondone
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst
Adoration of the Magi, by Peter Paul Rubens
Adoration of the Magi, by Sebastiano Ricci
Adoration of the Magi, by Sandro Botticelli
Adoration of the Magi – Tapestry by William Morris & Co., designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones
Nativity with Burning Bush, by Albert Herbert (British, 1950s)
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For more delightful images inspired by the holiday season, go to one of my favorite sites, In So Many Words…
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I used to think that Dickens’s classic Christmas tale was a bit of lighthearted sentiment. Now I think it’s one of the most profound stories I know. Scrooge’s redemption shows us that it is never too late to change, from a bad person to a good one, from a good one to a better one. Best not to wait too long, though.
Christmas card
Click here for the concert that I was privileged to attend on Sunday the 9th, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine assembled before this magnificent Christmas tree, in the Medieval Sculpture Hall. (You can toggle back to the first screen and gaze upon the tree, while listening to the music.)
For more on this music, and on Christmas in New York, click here.
Books to the Ceiling 