The Grand Inquisitor

Gerrit van Honthorst "Christ before the High Priest"

This past summer I unintentionally spent two months in Italy and had a lot of free time on my hands.  I have been wanting to read The Brothers Karamazov since college, when one of my favorite pastors said it was his favorite book.  

I struggled through it, to be frank.  But I finished it.  Hopefully I'll give it another read in my lifetime.  

However, my absolute favorite section in the book blew my mind.  It is called "The Grand Inquisitor" and you can get it for free for a Kindle (or Kindle app) on Amazon - here.  It's quite short and well worth the read.  The painting above reminds me of it.

Laurent de la Hyre Allegories of the Seven Liberal Arts

Allegory of Rhetoric (sorry I can't find a better copy)

Allegory of Astronomy

Allegory of Music

Allegory of Grammar

Allegory of Arithmetic 

Allegory of Geometry

I am missing Logic.  Anybody want to do me a favor and find it?

Find out more about Laurent de la Hyre.

How exciting that J and I get to curate our kids' childhood images!

Unknown Flemish Artist "Cognoscenti in a room hung with pictures" (1620) "cognoscenti" = connoisseurs

Aelbert Cuyp "Ubbergen Castle" - Adventure!

Valentin de Boulogne "The Four Ages of Man" (1629)

For the Kitchen and Living Spaces

Peder Balke "The Tempest" - What it doesn't show here is that in the gallery the frame doubles the size of the painting which is about four inches square!

Van Gogh "Long Grass with Butterflies"

Cezanne "The Avenue at the Jas de Bouffan".  This reminds me of  Virginia Water Park, south west of London, where Jono took me the day after I arrived back in London.  

Gauguin - "A Vase of Flowers" 1896

From a visit to the National Gallery with Mondo and friends

How to make your gloves able to use touch-screens

The rest of the post here: Instructables - "Making a Glove Work with a Touch Screen"

Love (III)

BY GEORGE HERBERT

Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,

               Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack

               From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning

               If I lack'd any thing.

"A guest," I answer'd, "worthy to be here";

               Love said, "You shall be he."

"I, the unkind, ungrateful? ah my dear,

               I cannot look on thee."

Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,

               "Who made the eyes but I?"

"Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame

               Go where it doth deserve."

"And know you not," says Love, "who bore the blame?"

               "My dear, then I will serve."

"You must sit down," says Love, "and taste my meat."

               So I did sit and eat.

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I just finished Tim Keller's The Meaning of Marriage (which rocked) and he mentioned this poem in the book.  

New Goal in Life: to go to the Jardin Des Tuileries in Paris

...It's where all the photos of the fashionable people with the white chalky powder on their shoes come from.

(the sartorialist)