Tea at Trianon: The Sacred Made Real

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, December 21, 2009

The Sacred Made Real

There is a superb exhibit of seventeenth century Spanish painting and sculpture at the National Gallery in London. I have heard that it is worth the nine pounds. According to The Telegraph:

Apart from royal and aristocratic portraiture, the imagery in most Spanish painting and sculpture during the Counter Reformation is religious. It is therefore not 'art’ in the modern sense because it was made neither for visual delight or aesthetic contemplation but as an aid to devotion.

Stimulated by the 'Spiritual Exercises’ of St Ignatius Loyola, the faithful sought in prayer to form mental images of Christ, the Virgin and Saints. The painter or sculptor’s aim was to make the figure so realistic that it is as though the person to whom the prayer is addressed is standing there before our very eyes.

Stephanie A. Mann said...: There is also a great exhibition of sacred art in Indianapolis--works from churches and museums in Spain. The exhibit closes before Lent next year so the works can be in place in their churches before the penitential season begins. The catalog and dvd for the London exhibit also look great! Wish I could be there now!; December 21, 2009 at 9:39:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Both exhibits sound wonderful!; December 21, 2009 at 9:41:00 AM EST
Anonymous said...: I hope there is a large selection of Goya in the exhibition. His works are very prayerfully meditative, to me.

love,
Gette

PS.Still haven't read the book yet...waiting till after the holidays! The reviews sound marvelous :); December 21, 2009 at 11:33:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I don't think they have Goya but there it lots of my personal favorite, Velazquez.

I can't wait to hear your impressions about the book, Gette!; December 21, 2009 at 11:43:00 AM EST