The late gothic altarpieces of Central Europe have always been one of my favourite types of altarpiece. They are generally filled with colour and life, they are ornamental (rather like gingerbread tracery on Victorian era home) and in many ways these qualities remind me of …
The Late Gothic Altarpiece of the Master of Ravenden in Jakobskirche, Rabenden, Germany
The late gothic altarpieces of Central Europe have always been one of my favourite types of altarpiece. They are generally filled with colour and life, they are ornamental (rather like gingerbread tracery on Victorian era home) and in many ways these qualities remind me of …
A Solemn Set of Vestments in Rose from 1725-1750
For one reason or another, rose coloured vestments always have a great deal of interest surrounding them. These days, people tend to think of only limited shades of this colour, but in historical reality, there was quite a variety ranging from light pinks, orangey-pinks, co…
Contemporary Vestment Work: A Distinctive Set of Gothic Revival Vestments
I thought I would take a brief moment to share a set of vestments I have been intending to share for some while now, coming from Altarworthy , a proprietor of sacred vestments based out of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Altarworthy has a particular, but not excl…
Proposals for the Altar of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe
Recently on social media we shared some images of the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe located in Ravenna. The photos in question showed the high altar of the basilica both with and without a ciborium over the altar. These images spurred on a great deal of conversa…
The Chapel of the Crucifix in the Duomo of Monreale in Palermo, Sicily
The Duomo of Monreale is renowned for its beauty. In fact, one might even say it is overwhelming in its beauty. However, what one mainly thinks of when talking about this great cathedral is the Italo-Byzantine art of the main cathedral. However, there are other gems to be …
The Byzantine "Sakkos": It's History and Some Antique Examples
An element of Byzantine liturgical vesture that has always interested me is the "sakkos" which is effectively akin to a dalmatic in its shape, but not in its liturgical symbolism because of the fact that in the Byzantine East, it is used exclusively by bishops. In…
A French Vestment Exhibition in Honour of the Grand and Historical Eucharistic Procession of Angers
In 2011 an exhibition of vestments and other objects of sacred art was held in commemoration of the grand tradition of the Eucharistic procession of Angers, France, known as the "Grand Sacre d'Angers." This particular occasion was known, not just in Anjou, not…
Details From Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki
The church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki, Greece is a seventh century church that has seen and lived quite a bit of history. It has seen the pre-schism church, it was subject to the iconoclasm the eighth century, it has undergone conversion into a mosque under the Ottoman…
Polish Made Vestments by Vestum
The Polish tailor Vestum produces liturgical vestments, mitres, fabrics and other sewn items for the sacred liturgy. Vestum's portfolio is substantial, with many commissions from across the globe. Their custom creations come in many styles, including conical chasubles. …
Before and After: St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mason, Texas
Our friends over at Studio io informed us of a project they undertook (in collaboration also with Murals by Jericho ) at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mason, Texas. The church itself was actually quite old and quaint, as can be seen here in this photo below of the exterior,…
Glories of the Renaissance: A Set of Vestments from 1517-1526
Vestments from the Renaissance period are typically characterized by the richness of their materials, frequently employing ornate silks and velvets in bold patterns. In addition, figurative embroideries of Christ and the saints also tend to feature prominently. Today we are…
The Fading Art of Hand Embroidery
An unfortunate practical reality of our time is that hand embroidery, while not a lost art per se, is for all intents and purposes a rather unobtainable one. It is not that it is actually unobtainable, but hand embroidery on the scale of previous centuries is difficult to …
Medieval Remains: Stone and Mosaic Work of the Duomo di Salerno, Site of the Relics of St. Matthew
Polychrome stonework has to be one of the highlights of any church architecture for me, particularly when it is of the early medieval variety and attached to balustrades, ambone, paschal candlesticks and the like. These are typically today seen as architectural remnants, pr…
The Byzantine Monastery of Gelati in Georgia: Echoes of East and West
Today I wanted to take a brief stop at the Gelati Monastery, an early twelfth century structure which is located in a country that we've never had an occasion to feature before, Georgia -- specifically, Kutaisi, Georgia. This particular monastery complex was built unde…
The Newly Reprinted Missale Romano-Monasticum
One of our readers kindly brought to my attention the fact that the 1934, Pustet edition of the Missale Romano-Monasticum has been reprinted by the Benedictine monks of the Monastery of Norcia . The Missale Romano-Monasticum is the traditional liturgical book of the Benedict…
St. Charles Borromeo's Instructions on the Chasuble
It was during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, the estimable "Pope of the liturgy," that interest began to arise in the revival of chasuble shapes taken from the Renaissance age, this after he was seen using such shapes within some of his own papal liturgical…
Before and After: St. Matthew's Church in Shullsburg, Wisconsin
In yet another installment that, rather than "before and after" we might also very well call "why ornament, pattern and colour matters" we turn your attention today to the parish church of St. Matthew in Shullsburg, Wisconsin. This is yet another examp…
Passion Sunday in the Vatican Basilica: Statio Ad S. Petrum
In the Roman Missal the 5th Sunday of Lent, Passion Sunday has as its station Mass San Pietro in Vaticano, St. Peter's Basilica. On this day the canons of the Basilica's Vatican Chapter sing Vespers of Passion Sunday (now Second Vespers of the Fifth Sunday in Lent) …
A Rare Pre-Reformation English Vestment of Purple Italian Velvet
Recently I came across the following chasuble which came up for auction in 2014 (and sold for the shockingly low price of £2,250 GBP) which is thought to date from the end of the 1400's or early 1500's. The main body of the chasuble is made from a purple Italian ve…
A Reconstruction of the Lost Church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople
In the past we've discussed here the lost Eastern Roman church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. We have already detailed, albeit at a very high level, the general historical background of this particular church in a previous article , but the reason for this parti…
The Revival of Beuronese Imagery by Markell Studios (Stillwater, Minnesota)
There is an artist in Minnesota by the name of Nicholas Markell of Markell Studios who is reviving the cherished style of Beuronese art that originated at the Archabbey of Beuron in Germany. This school of art was born from German Benedictine monks in the nineteenth century…
