‘Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death.’— Libera me, D There’s a certain note — not the pitch itself, but the tremor beneath it — that seems to belong only to men who’ve seen too much. It’s the sound of the baritone in Fauré’s Requiem, that grave, human register which stands between the innocence of … Continue reading The Baritone at the Gate: A Requiem for the Living
Author: Robert
A fifty-something, retired Celestial Travel Agent and Afterlife Preparation Specialist. Walked many paths; some good, lots bad. Meandering through a difficult past, plodding in the present, crawling toward the future. I've studied English Literature, and hold a BA (Hons) Hum. (History & Art History) & MA (Humanities with English Literature)
The Room in the Tower: A Dream with Teeth
For years I dreamt of a house that hated me. It wasn’t merely haunted — it was hostile. Its walls bowed with resentment, its staircase groaned in complaint, and the air inside was the colour of rot. Every visit was the same: I would wander through its ruined corridors, knowing instinctively that one door was … Continue reading The Room in the Tower: A Dream with Teeth
The Ugly Duchess: A Comedy of Flesh and Folly
The Ugly Duchess (c. 1513) by Quinten Matsys. The National Gallery, London. Public domain image. When I first looked at Matsys’ An Allegory of Folly (see previous post), I remember thinking that the jester’s cap was the most honest crown mankind ever designed. A fool’s bauble, yes — but at least it declared what kings … Continue reading The Ugly Duchess: A Comedy of Flesh and Folly
An Allegory of Folly
Quentin Matsys, An Allegory of Folly (c.1510–1520, Musée du Louvre, Paris). Public domain. Folly, that eternal fool in mankind’s court, is rarely so vividly dressed as in Quentin Matsys’ An Allegory of Folly. Painted in the early sixteenth century, when Europe was still shaking off the medieval habit of believing its own sermons, this grotesque … Continue reading An Allegory of Folly
The Devil in the Duomo: Reflections on the Monster of Florence
They say every paradise has a pit beneath it. Florence, for me, has always shimmered like a painted heaven — that impossible marriage between reason and rapture. As a child, I was bewitched by her domes and frescoes, the polished glow of Botticelli’s Venus, and the ghostly gaze of Savonarola who once tried to burn … Continue reading The Devil in the Duomo: Reflections on the Monster of Florence
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