art

I wrote this essay back in 2016, in a fit of zeal after the Gilmore Girls revival A Year in the Life aired. I revised it lightly in 2018 and just this week. Introduction Enthralled as we currently are with nostalgia and the desire for more and more diverse representation of female characters, the strong (if not universal) negative reaction to the revival of the hit show Gilmore Girls deserves attention.

I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. - Psalm 26:8 Fashion has done more mischief than revolutions. It has cut to the quick - it has attacked the very bone and framework of the art. It has mangled, dislocated, killed the edifice - in its form as well as in its meaning - in its logic as well as in its beauty.

The happy day, by Joaquin Sorolla, 1892 The wedding march, Theodore Robinson, 1892 Civil wedding, by Albrecht Anker, 1887 The Departure of the Newlyweds, by Jehan Georges Vibert, 1873 The Spanish Wedding, by Marià Fortuny, c. 1870 Abruzzo wedding, by Pasquale Celommi, 19th century Before the wedding, by Bengt Nordenberg, 1870 The newlyweds, by Silvestro Lega, 1869 Abschied der Braut von den Eltern, or Farewell to the bride by the parents, by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller, 1863 Abschied der Braut or The Farewell of the Bride from Her Parents Home, by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller, 1860 Coming home after the wedding, the bride parting from her playmates, by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller Entrance of the newlyweds, by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller, 1859 Sailor’s wedding, by Richard Caton Woodville Sr.

The restoration of Notre Dame has been a triumphant vindication of medieval methods and materials.

“The Corpus Christi procession,” Arcadi Mas i Fondevila (1887) “A Catholic Procession,” Jehudo Epstein (1901) “La bénédiction des blés en Artois (The Blessing of the Wheat in Artois),” Jules Breton (1857) “Procession in The Old Catholic Church in The Hague,” Isaac Israels (1880-1881) Details, “Corpus Christi Procession,” Cuzco School (c. 1680) “Feast of Corpus Christi Procession, Piazza di San Marco,” Antonio Diziani (1758-63) “Procession for the Feast of the Redeemer,” Joseph Heintz the Younger (1648-50)