Reliquary busts are one of my favourite objects of liturgical art where the altar is concerned. To my mind, they not only are beautiful 'houses' for the relics they contain, they also help to make these relics more 'incarnate' and tangible, reminding us of …
Four Polychromed Reliquary Busts from Eighteenth Century Como
Reliquary busts are one of my favourite objects of liturgical art where the altar is concerned. To my mind, they not only are beautiful 'houses' for the relics they contain, they also help to make these relics more 'incarnate' and tangible, reminding us of …
The Impressive, Ancient Eastern Roman Church of Panagia Ekatontapilian
The Church of Panagia Ekatontapiliani (Our Lady of the Hundred Gates) is a beautiful Byzantine era structure located in Parikia on the island of Paros in Greece. The origins of this ancient church are said to date back to the year 328, thus falling in the period of the rei…
Altarpieces of the Church of St. Oswald, Seefeld in Tyrol, Austria
Nestled within Austria are all sorts of treasures, sometimes treasures hiding in plain sight. From the outside the parish church of St. Oswald simply seems like a beautiful little church, but in the bigger scheme of the churches of Europe it doesn't particularly stand o…
Four Superb Seventeenth Century Chalice Veils From the Cathedral of Florence
Chalice veils do not typically get a lot of attention where liturgical vestments are concerned. But chalice veils often present opportunities for some of the most eye-catching designs. In great part this is simply due their square shape and the corresponding ability to crea…
Other Modern: The Basilica of Saint Rita of Cascia
It has been awhile since we've dipped our proverbial toes into the realm of the "Other Modern" and, because of that, let's once again briefly review what this concept means. Other Modern is a name that has been adopted to refer to contemporary styles of ar…
A Full Solemn Pontifical Mass Set From the Early Eighteenth Century
Full Solemn Pontifical Mass sets are generally a vestment aficionados dream come true for the simple reason that they not only include the most parts and pieces, they typically are made from the very best materials and highest quality embroideries, being amongst some of the…
Guest Article: The Aspiring New Architectural Practice of Daniel P. DeGreve, Architect
Guest article by Daniel P. DeGreve, Architect Daniel P. DeGreve, Architect is an architectural firm in the process of being launched an hour north of Columbus, Ohio, and will include full planning and design consultation services specializing in Catholic sacred architecture …
The Chasuble of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese from the Gesù in Rome
The Chasuble of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese is dated to circa 1575-1589 and is located within the famed church of the Gesù in Rome. (Do note that neither he, nor the chasuble, should not be confused with another, arguably more famous 'Farnese chasuble,' that of Card…
A Closer Look at the Mosaics of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna
Today I wanted to take a closer look at some of the exquisite mosaics found in the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, located in the old imperial city of Ravenna (formerly capital of the Western Roman Empire during the fifth century). The basilica itself was constr…
Further Historical Vestments Seen in Sacred Art
Our 'vestments in art' series is always rather popular with our readers, so I'm pleased to add yet another instalment to the series today. The first image is a painting of Saint Lifard, painted in the early 1500's, and while it would be easy to get distracte…
Before and After: St. Andrew’s Church in Tipton, Missouri
C onrad Schmitt Studios recently shared a beautiful 'before and after' project that they were involved with at St. Andrew’s Church in Tipton, Missouri. The project involved bringing the nineteenth century church back to life through the use of colour, gilding, stenci…
Returning to the Byzantine Church of Agioi Apostoloi (Holy Apostles) in the Agora of Ancient Athens
We have previously shown readers this church before, but recently some better photographs came to light, and one can rarely have too much of a good thing where this sort of thing is concerned, so I decided it was worth the revisit, particularly as I have attempted to show b…
The Romanesque Abbey of Sant’Andrea in Flumin
Today I thought we'd take a look at the Romanesque abbey of Sant'Andrea in Flumin, which is located near Ponzano Romano, a region located relatively near to Rome. In that regard, one can well expect to see a strong Roman influence and that is certainly in evidence h…
St. Michael's Abbey in Farnborough, England
St. Michael's Abbey is one of England's best kept secrets. Step back in time as you visit this gem tucked away in the English countryside. Be mesmerized by the time capsule experience. Here are entombed the mortal remains of Emperor Napoleon III, his wife the Empres…
Watts and Co.'s Stunning Spanish Requiem Set
W atts and Co. of London is well enough known to our readers. They are a maker of proprietary silk textiles, liturgical vestments and -- perhaps less well known to our readers -- other textile based products related to home decor and furnishing. In short, they are a company …
The Byzantine Era Church (and Balustrade) of Panagia Kapnikarea in Athens, Greece
Continuing on with our occasional considerations of Byzantine churches and some of the similarities we can find within them of the earlier churches of both East and West in the first millennium, today we turn to the Byzantine church of Panagia Kapnikarea (the name itself is…
Details of a Renaissance Spanish Cope from the 1500's
There is very little that needs to be said about this stunning cope, and indeed the historical details are somewhat sparse. We know that this cope is thought to have originated out of Spain sometime in the 1500's and certainly its design characteristics are consistent w…
The Late Medieval Minden Mitre (ca. 1425-1430)
Shown here is a medieval mitre originally found in the Treasury of Minden Cathedral ( Mindener Dom ), which is located in north-western Germany. This particular mitre is thought to have its origins in a workshop coming from this same region and is dated to circa 1425-1430.
From A.D. 683: The Earliest Extant Mosaic of the Roman Martyr, St. Sebastian
Located within the Roman Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli is one of the oldest extant mosaics of the third century Roman martyr, St. Sebastian. As the legend goes, St. Sebastian was a member of the Roman guard under the Emperor Diocletian and, his Christian faith being dis…
The Byzantine Church of PanagÃa GorgoepÃkoös
The Byzantine Church of PanagÃa GorgoepÃkoös in Athens, Greece, is a unique little structure. In terms of its size, it is quite tiny, likely to only hold a hundred worshippers at most, but what it lacks in size it certainly makes up for in charm. The dating of the church i…
Cardinal Richelieu's Extraordinary Tapestries of the Life of the Virgin
Tapestries are incredibly beautiful things -- especially those dating from the period of the 1500's and 1600's -- and one of the more beautiful sets I have come across in my years is a set called the Scènes de la vie de la Vierge which were completed in the year 165…
Guest Opinion: Iconography Without Veneration? Why Western Churches Need Western Art and How to Recover It
Guest Opinion by Joseph Bremer As Catholic parishes seek to reintroduce traditional art in the wake of the architectural relativism that characterized much of the late twentieth century, many have turned to Eastern iconography as a means of incorporating art that is meaningf…
The Newly Republished Breviarium Monasticum: An Interview with Dom Alcuin Reid, OSB
Recently it was announced that the Monastère Saint Benoît in Brignoles, France had undertaken the ambitious project of putting the Benedictine monastic breviary -- the Brevarium Monasticum -- back into print. Now new editions of traditional liturgical books are always worth…
The Reliquary of the True Cross of the Byzantine-Greek Cardinal, Ioannis Bessarion
The "Stauroteca" of Cardinal Bessarion is, at its simplest, a reliquary that was designed to hold two shards of the True Cross and also two pieces of the tunic of Christ. This is in fact what the word "stauroteca" refers to for it is a combination of two…
Vestments for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
With the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross being soon upon us, I thought I'd take this opportunity to quickly share a few historical vestments, chasubles specifically, that feature the use of a bold crucifixion scene within their respective designs. Most of the e…
Bernini's Alternate Designs for the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica
Perhaps one of the most famous and recognizable Catholic monuments in the world is the sculptural groups that forms the backdrop for the Altar of the Chair within St. Peter's Basilica. Today, of course, the historical altar itself has -- regrettably -- disappeared, but …
Rustic, Folk Embroidered Vestments of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
Over the years we have presented quite a number of artistic styles for your consideration. In the realm of sacred vestments, we have routinely presented elegant and sophisticated pieces coming from the age of the baroque; we have shown the refinement of the Renaissance age,…
Thoughts on Processional Cross Design
Processional crosses are one of the most neglected of objects of liturgical art in my opinion. One rarely sees them discussed, perhaps in part because they are often only focused on in very short bursts, specifically the few moments when they are carried to and fro in proce…
The Spectacular Mosaics of Agios Georgios, The Rotunda of Thessaloniki
The Rotunda of Thessaloniki is a monument with a long history. It began as a pagan Roman structure, erected by the Roman Emperor, Galerius, sometime around the year A.D. 305-311 What the structure was used for initially is a matter of some debate -- with some speculating i…
Late Gothic Altarpieces: The Hallstätter Marienaltar in Austria
We only recently approached a late gothic, Austrian, winged altarpiece, that of Pfarrkirche Gampern, so one might naturally wonder why we would already approach yet another. The answer is that there is a potential relationship between these two altars as it is thought that …
Opinion: The Alleged Attempt to Restore the Sarum Use
Guest Opinion by Liam Warner Now and again one hears at a cocktail party that when Pope Pius IX restored the English diocesan hierarchy in 1850, the bishops seriously considered adopting the missal and breviary of Sarum, which had been those used in England before the Reform…
A Belgian Needle-Painted Mitre from 1592
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) have a number of interesting objects of liturgical art in their collection, including this precious mitre dated to circa 1592. The V&A suggest the mitre was made in Flanders (Belgium) and it very much falls within the late medie…
