Feast of Santa Caterina Labouré

Santa Caterina Labouré, ora pro nobis

November 28th is the Feast of St. Catherine Labouré, Virgin, Marian Visionary, Messenger of Grace, and Sister of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. She is the patron saint of the elderly and infirm people. In 1830 Our Lady manifested herself to St. Catherine and entrusted her to have a medal struck modeled on the vision. As promised by Our Lady, all who wear with confidence the Miraculous Medal, as it would soon be called, will receive great graces. In celebration, I’m posting a prayer to St. Catherine Labouré. Pictured is my makeshift shrine. Evviva Santa Caterina Labouré!

Prayer to St. Catherine Labouré

Saint Catherine Labouré, thou wast the chosen confidant of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She revealed to thee her desire that her children wear the Miraculous Medal as a mark of their love for her and in honor of her Immaculate Conception.

Intercede for us, that we may follow our heavenly mother's desires. Ask that we may receive those special graces which flow from her motherly hands like rays of light. Amen.

Photo of the Week: Wayside Shrine Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Naples

Photo by Andrew Giordano

A Prayer for the Victims of the Deadly Landslide that Devastated the Island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples

San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce,
ora pro nobis

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and families of the deadly landslide that devastated the Island of Ischia on Saturday, November 26. We are deeply saddened and mourn for their loss. May San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce, San Giovanni Battista, San Giorgio, Santa Restituta, Santa Maria Maddalena, and Sant’Anna protect and watch over you.

A Prayer for the Victims

Lord our God, you are always faithful and quick to show mercy. Our brothers and sisters were suddenly taken from us. Come swiftly to their aid, have mercy on them, and comfort their family and friends by the power and protection of the Cross. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Long Overdue Visit to the Met (Part 3)

The reconstructed Riace Warriors sizing each other up

Having not done any research before my visit, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that reproductions of the famed Riace Warriors were part of the Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color exhibit currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York City. Representing the two lifelike Classical Greek statues chanced upon by a vacationing diver off the southern coast of Provincia di Reggio Calabria on August 16, 1972, the reconstructed nude figures were colored and adorned with hypothetical armor and weaponry that may have once embellished the ancient statuary.

While not the same as viewing the originals, it was still fascinating to see what the heroic warriors, known as Riace A and Riace B, may have looked like in the 5th century BC. Unlike many Classical marble or terracotta figures, which still have visible traces of pigment on them, I was excited to learn that the Ancient Greeks and Romans painted their bronze statues as well. Aside from some unsightly graffiti on public monuments, I don’t recall ever seeing polychrome metallic statues before. I just assumed different metals, textures and inlaid materials were used to enliven the works.

The Riace replicas (Gallery 156), along with the other reconstructed antiquities, are interspersed throughout the Museum’s world-class Greek and Roman Art Galleries on the first floor. Other notable highlights include the reconstructions of a marble finial in the form of a sphinx (Gallery 154), the so-called Small Herculaneum Woman (Gallery 153), the marble archer in the costume of a horseman of the peoples to the north and east of Greece (Gallery 160), the marble statue of the goddess Artemis from Pompeii (Gallery 162), and the bronze statues of the Terme Boxer and the Terme Ruler (Gallery 162). The exhibit will run to March 26, 2023. 

Just to be clear, the actual Riace Bronzes are not at the Met, they are in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria.

[See Part 1] [See Part 2]

Also see: Discovering the Riace Warriors

An artificial bronze patina was used to indicate skin color

Riace B wears a fox-skin skullcap (alopekis) and his dark brown hair was given a reddish hue. Riace A wears a gilded Corinthian helmet and, for variety, his Stygian locks were tinged with blue. The Warrior's eyes featured inlaid stone, lips and nipples were copper, and the teeth were formed from a sheet of silver 

Analysis showed that Riace A held a lance in his right hand and a heavy round shield with his left. Riace B held a light shield (pelta) and a bow & arrow in his left hand, and a downward pointing weapon, possibly an axe, with his right

Riace B's fox-skin skullcap (alopekis) was modeled
on examples found on the Parthenon Frieze in Athens

While the true identities of the figures are unknown, Riace B is believed to represent the Thracian King Eumolpos as he encounters and is murdered by Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, in the so-called Eleusinian War

Addendum: I'm including pictures of the reconstruction of a marble statue of a woman wrapping herself in a mantle (the so-called Small Herculaneum Woman) to give the reader an idea of how detailed and vibrant the colors on the statues can be. 

Notice how the greenish fabric of the mantle was painted
to look sheer at the elbow, right thigh, and stomach area

Help Fund the New Statue of the Madonna della Fontana

Madonna della Fontana, ora pro nobis

For immediate release

A new GoFundMe campaign was recently launched by the Società Madonna Della Fontana and Spilingese Social Club in Newark, New Jersey to help raise money for the creation of a new processional statue of the Madonna della Fontana. Devotees will carry the statue during the Annual Feast of the Madonna della Fontana and San Michele Arcangelo, celebrated on the third Sunday in May, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Ironbound Section of Newark.

The new statue will be handcrafted in Lindenwood by Ferdinand Stufflesser artisans from Ortisei, Bolzano. It will be scaled to the exact measurements of the original statue in Spilinga, Calabria and is scheduled to be completed before the feast day on May 21, 2023.

Funds that exceed the goal ($15,000) will be put toward crowns from Serpone, Naples

Please help spread the word and keep the tradition alive!

 Donate Now 

Donations can also be mailed to:
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church
259 Oliver Street
Newark, NJ 07105
Attn. Eric Lavin

A Long Overdue Visit to the Met (Part 2)

A Village on Ischia (Fontana?), ca. 1828, oil on paper,
laid down on cardboard by Lèon Fleury (1804-1858)

Pictured are a handful of paintings depicting Southern Italy by Northern European artists dating from the 18th- and early 19th-century currently on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s European Paintings collection.

[See Part 1] [See Part 3]

The Palace of Donn'Anna, Naples, 1843. oil on paper,
laid down on canvas by Jules Coignet (1798-1860)

Ravine at Sorrento, 1821 or later, oil on paper mounted
on board by Édouard Bertin (1797-1871)

Virgil's Tomb by Moonlight, with Silius Italicus Declaiming, 1779,
Oil on Canvas by Joseph Wright, Wright of Derby (1734-1797)

Sunset, Sorrento, 1834, oil on paper, laid down on card
by Thomas Fearnley (1802-1842)

Virgil's Tomb, Naples, ca. 1818, oil on paper, laid down
on canvas by Franz Ludwig Catel (1778-1856)

View of Monte Sant'Angelo from the Villa Auriemma near Sorrento,
1832, oil on paper, laid down on canvas by August Lucas (1803-1863)

Lake Fucino and the Abruzzi Mountains, ca. 1789, oil on paper,
laid down on canvas by Joseph Bidauld (1758-1846)

The Grotto of Posillipo, Naples, 1820, oil on paper,
laid down on masonite by Gustaf Söderberg (1799-1875)

A Long Overdue Visit to the Met (Part 1)

On my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I paused for a moment to say a prayer for the fallen by the One Hundred Seventh Infantry Memorial by Karl Illava (1896-1954) in Central Park along Fifth Avenue at 67th Street

The great artists of the past were aware that human life is full of chaos and suffering. But they had a remedy for this. And the name of that remedy was ‘beauty’. The beautiful work of art brings consolation in sorrow and affirmation in joy. It shows human life to be worthwhile. ~ Sir Roger Scruton

Taking a much-needed day off, I decided to treat myself with a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York City. I have not been to the museum since the draconian Covid lockdowns, so I was really looking forward to returning. Outside of reading and friendly or familial gatherings, my tranquil ambles through its stately halls and galleries have always been one of my more pleasurable leisurely pursuits.

With the noted exceptions of Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color and The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England, I'm not overly enthused by the current temporary exhibitions. However, the Met’s enviable permanent collection is more than enough to bring me back time and time again. One can never behold the museum’s countless treasures of a bygone world too many times.

For those thinking of visiting New York City, the Met, along with the Morgan Library & Museum, the Frick Collection, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, among others, are world-class institutions and well worth a visit, even with their extortionate admissions. 

Nevertheless, be warned, the city is not as safe as our corrupt (and well-guarded) politicians and their shills would have us believe. The city’s harrowing state is impossible to hide, especially if one is commuting by subway. A sobering experience to say the least, it is inconceivable that we belong to the same civilization as the one that produced many of the great masterpieces housed in the Met.

That said, I am still looking forward to coming back later in the month for the Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche installation in the Medieval Sculpture Hall. One of my favorite Christmas traditions, I am loath to give it or any other beloved custom up so easily. 

[See Part 2] [See Part 3]

(L) Pygmalion and Galatea, ca. 1890, oil on canvas by Jean-Léon
Gérôme (1824-1904). (R) Brigand and His Wife in Prayer,
1824, oil on canvas by Léopold Robert (1794-1835)

(L) Orpheus and Eurydice, modeled ca. 1887, carved 1893
by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). Final Study for the Monument
to Balzac, modeled 1897, cast 1972 by Auguste Rodin

(Front) Silver reliquary bust of St. Yrieix with rock crystals, gems and glass, French, 1220-40. (Back) Walnut bust of St. Yrieix, French, 1220-40

(L) The Death of Harmonia, ca. 1740-41, oil on canvas by Jean-Baptiste
Marie Pierre (1714-1789). (R) The Companions of Rinaldo,
ca. 1663, oil on canvas by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)

(L) Philip IV, King of Spain (1605-1665), probably 1624, oil on canvas by
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660). (R) Admiral De Tourville
(1642-1701), terracotta, 1816, by Joseph-Charles Marin (1759-1834)

María Teresa, Infanta of Spain (1638-1683), oil on canvas, 1651-54,
by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599-1660)

(L) María Teresa, Infanta of Spain (1638-1683) ca. 1645, oil on canvas
by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (ca. 1612-1667). (R) Queen
Henrietta Maria, 1636, oil on canvas by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641)

(L) Bust of the Comte du Muy (d.1775), marble signed and dated 1776 by Jean-Jacques Caffiéri (1725-1792). (R) Louis of France, the Grand Dauphin (1661-1711) bronze late 17th century by François Giardon (1628-1715)

(L) The Penitent Magdalen, ca. 1640, oil on canvas by Georges de la Tour
(1593-1652). (R) The Tears of St. Peter, ca. 1612-13, oil on canvas
by Jusepe de Ribera, called Lo Spagnoletto (1591-1652)

(L) Galatea, 1906, cast silver and marble by Max Klinger (1857-1920).
(R) Winter, 1787, bronze by Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)

(L) Julius Caesar, ca. 1512-14, marble by Andrea Ferrucci (1465-1526).
(R) Spinario, ca. 1507-9, bronze attributed to Antonello Gagini (1478-1536) 

(L) Santa Giuliana de' Banzi, ca. 1470-75, terracotta, traces of later polychrome by Niccolò Dell'Arca (ca. 1435-1494). (R) Reliquary Bust of a Female Saint, early 16th century, painted and gilded wood, South Netherlandish

(L) Apostle or Saint, ca. 1520s, polychrome and gilded wood by Alonso
Berruguette (1488-1561). (R) St. John the Baptist, early 17th century,
painted and gilded wood by Juan Martínez Montañés (1568-1649)

(L) Reconstruction of a marble statue of the goddess Artemis from Pompeii, ca. 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D. (R) Reconstruction of a marble statue of an archer in the costume of a horseman from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphalia. They're part of the Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color exhibit on view in the Greek & Roman Art galleries from July 5, 2022 to March 26, 2023

(L) Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, Greek, ca. 530 B.C.
(R) Imagined reconstruction currently on view

(L) Boxer at Rest, bronze Hellenistic sculpture (323-32 B.C.) was on view at the Met back in 2013. (R) The imagined reconstruction currently on view

Detail of the reconstructed statue of the Boxer at Rest (or Terme Boxer)

St. Thomas More (1478-1535), 1527, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98-1543). It is part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit (October 10, 2022-January 8, 2023)

(L) Henri VIII (1491-1547), oil on panel (ca. 1537) by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98-1543). (R) The Sieve Portrait of Elizabeth I (1533-1603), 1583, oil on canvas by Quentin Metsys the Younger (1543-1589). They are part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit

(L) Henri VIII, ca. 1540, workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger. (R) Armor Garniture of George Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland (1558-1605), made in 1586 under the direction of master armorer Jacob Halder (active 1576-1608). They are part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit (October 10, 2022-January 8, 2023)

(L) Armor Garniture, probably of Henry VIII of England, dated 1527, various artists. (R) Field Armor of Henry VIII of England, ca.1544, Milan or Brescia. They are part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit (October 10, 2022-January 8, 2023)

Henry VII Cope, velvet cloth-of-gold, brocaded with loops of silver-gilt and silver; embroidery on tabby linen in silver-gilt thread and silk, 1499-1505, Florence or Lucca. It is part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit (October 10, 2022-January 8, 2023)

Henry VII Cope, velvet cloth-of-gold, brocaded with loops of silver-gilt and silver; embroidery on tabby linen in silver-gilt thread and silk, 1499-1505, Florence or Lucca. It is part of the ongoing The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England exhibit (October 10, 2022-January 8, 2023)

Preparations are underway for the Annual Angel Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche installation in the Medieval Sculpture Hall

Feast of Beato Salvatore Lilli e Compagni

Beato Salvatore Lilli e Compagni,
orate pro nobis

November 22nd is the Feast of Blessed Salvatore Lilli, Franciscan Priest, Missionary and Martyr. Born on June 19, 1853 in Cappadocia, Abruzzo, Salvator Lilli assumed the Franciscan habit in June 1870, made his religious profession in August 1871, and was ordained a priest in Jerusalem on April 6, 1878. 

Two years later he was transferred to Armenia where he did his utmost to help the sick and poor for nearly 15 years. 

In 1895 he was captured and tortured by the Turks. Refusing to convert to Islam, Blessed Salvatore and seven companions were put to death. 

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to Blessed Salvatore Lilli and Companions. Evviva Beato Salvatore Lilli e Compagni!

Prayer to Blessed Salvatore Lilli and Companions

We humbly beseech the mercy of your majesty, almighty and merciful God, that, as you have poured the knowledge of your Only Begotten Son into the hearts of the peoples by the preaching of the blessed Martyr Salvatore Lelli and Companions, so, through their intercession, we may be made steadfast in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Photo of the Week: Marble Lion, Colonnade of the Basilica Reale Pontificia San Francesco da Paola, Piazza del Plebiscito, Naples

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Ponderable Quotes from ’The Peace’ by Ernst Jünger

For Veterans Day I unearthed and reread my old copy of The Peace (1943) by Ernst Jünger.* A short book, at a mere 77 pages it can be read in a single sitting. As relevant today as it was when written, the author lays out his lofty ideas for a just peace and Christian imperium following the Second World War. If interested, the essay was recently republished by Rogue Scholar Press in August, 2022.

"Liberty, on the other hand, dominates in diversity—wherever nations and men differ. That applies to their history, their speech and race, to their customs and habits, their art and their religion. Here there cannot be too many colors on the palette.

"Thus the European constitution must skillfully distinguish the cultural plane from that of material civilization, forming them into picture and frame so as to unite their benefits for the human race. It must create territorial and political unity while preserving historical diversity. That implies at the same time distinguishing between the technical and the organic world. The state as supreme symbol of technical achievement takes the nations in its toils, yet they live in freedom under its protection. Then history will take a hand and give new contents to old forms. Europe can become a fatherland, yet many homelands will remain within its territories." (p.61)

* * * 

"Thus each one of us is like a light which as it grows overcomes the surrounding gloom. A little light is greater, has more power than thick darkness.

"That is true also of those who are destined to fall. They pass in goodly fellowship through lofty portals into eternity. The real struggle in which we are involved is more and more clearly that between the powers of destruction and the powers of life. In that fight the fighters for justice stand shoulder to shoulder like the chivalry of old.

"The more fully this finds expression the more enduring will be the peace." (p.77)

* The Peace by Ernst Juenger, translated from the German by Stuart O. Hood, 1984, Henry Regency Company

Photo of the Week: Monumento ai Caduti in Guerra, Salerno

Monument to the Fallen in Salerno