Waldemar Januszczak Is Wrong About the Shroud of Turin

The other night I watched the popular, opinionated, and entertaining BBC art historian Waldemar Januszczak discuss Medieval and Renaissance art. Over the years he has presented many shows on various artists and artistic movements. His programs, while informative, are distinctly opinionated. That’s fine, there is no law saying that you can’t present your own opinions (the exception, of course, being social media). In one of his shows Mr. Januszczak briefly mentioned the Shroud of Turin. He said that the Shroud is a fake, a forgery, a bogus remnant of Medieval skullduggery. Yet, based on over fifty years of scientific research one … Continue reading Waldemar Januszczak Is Wrong About the Shroud of Turin

Catechesis and Naive Sacred Art: St. Peter – A Lesson Plan

One of my goals in painting the above image of St. Peter was to provide a catechist/observer with seven focus ideas within one image. This sacred image also presents some of the life events of the “Rock” on which Jesus Christ built His Church. I have painted this image with the approach of the Naive/Folk Art genre or “school.” I will discuss the Naive/Folk art approach in my next post. Below are my seven fundamental ideas that can be used as a lesson plan(s) for the above image: The image is based on Christ’s words and Peter’s actions within the New … Continue reading Catechesis and Naive Sacred Art: St. Peter – A Lesson Plan

Catechesis and Catholic Art

Sacred art, by its very nature, is catechetical. The purpose of this art was and continues to be a method of instruction. The Catholic Church, in its Latin and Greek Rites, and the twenty-six Catholic Rites that are in union with Rome, have all produced magnificent sacred calligraphy and art; non-Catholic faiths have done this, too. Two thousand years ago Christians hiding in Rome inscribed images of Christ, the Blessed Mother and with the Christ child, and other Scriptural images on the walls of the catacombs. That art contributed to the catechesis of the early Christians. Two millennia later, Pope … Continue reading Catechesis and Catholic Art