JAMES B. JANKNEGT Rich Fool, 2007, Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm; Courtesy of James B. Janknegt
For the 'Rich Fool', what remains worthy of preservation is the community found in the humble house painted by James B. Janknegt.
Take a closer look at our seventh Lenten station:
thevcs.org/rich-fool#th...
MON VAN GENECHTEN Suffering China, 1943, Ink and colour on silk, 200 x 310 cm, Town Hall, Geel, Belgium; Photo collection Stadsarchief Geel
Combining his own personal experience and observation in China with the theme of 'Christ carrying the Cross', Belgian missionary painter Mon van Genechten portrayed a community of suffering.
Find out more in today's Lenten commentary:
thevcs.org/suffering-se...
AUGUSTE RODIN The Burghers of Calais, 1884–95, Bronze, 219.5 x 266 x 211.5 cm, Place du Soldat Inconnu, Calais; Photo Provider Network / Alamy Stock Photo
The first verse of Psalm 133 is often translated ‘How good and pleasant it is when kindred dwell together in unity’.
In Rodin’s sculpture, no single figure is elevated or given more prominence than another.
Read our fifth Lenten commentary here:
thevcs.org/one#even-unity
DAVID BEST Temple, Derry/Londonderry, Ireland, 2015, Mixed media, Produced by Artichoke in Derry, Londonderry; Destroyed 2015, Photo by Matthew Andrews
David Best’s 'Temple' in Derry-Londonderry was sited on a contested piece of land in one of the areas most divided and damaged by Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’; all too familiar with flames.
Click here to read our fourth Lenten commentary on 'Community':
thevcs.org/samsons-annu...
AI WEIWEI Arch, from the series 'Good Fences Make Good Neighbors', 2017, Galvanized mild steel and mirror polished stainless steel, Washington Square Arch, Washington Square Park, Manhattan; © Ai Weiwei. Photo: Ed Rooney / Alamy Stock Photo
The immersive symbolism of Ai Weiwei’s ‘Good Fences Make Good Neighbors’ embodies the complexity of the hospitality inherent within the sanctuary practices of the cities of refuge.
Click here to read our third Lenten commentary on the theme of Community:
thevcs.org/cities-refug...
ALICE NEEL The Soyer Brothers, 1973, Oil on canvas, 152.2 x 117.3 cm, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from Arthur M. Bullowa, Sydney Duffy, Stewart R. Mott and Edward Rosenthal, 74.77, ©️ The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner, Digital image ©️ Whitney Museum of American Art / Licensed by Scala / Art Resource, NY
Like the reunion of Jacob and Esau in Genesis, Alice Neel’s portrayal of the Soyer Brothers reminds us that while familial relationships are often those that are most important to us, they can also be the most complicated relationships.
Read our second Lenten commentary:
thevcs.org/jacob-and-es...
VINCENT VAN GOGH The Potato Eaters, 1885, Oil on canvas, 82 x 114 cm, The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; s0005V1962, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Bridgeman Images
On #AshWednesday, we begin our Lenten look at 'Community' with Vincent van Gogh's Potato Eaters, in light of Genesis 3.
Ben Quash writes that the young couple on the left '... must live as Adam and Eve had to live when they lost the bounty of paradise.' Take a look here:
thevcs.org/adams-curse#...
Pieter de Hooch, Woman lacing her bodice beside a cradle (detail), c.1660–63, Oil on canvas, 92 x 100 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; No. 820b, Berlin State Museums, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt
For the season of #Lent commencing on Ash Wednesday, we will be sharing 14 artworks and commentaries on the theme of #Community, something as urgently needed as ever in a fractured world.
Subscribe to our Exhibition of the Week to receive our Lent emails twice a week:
thevcs.org/sign-vcs-ema...
UNKNOWN PERSIAN ARTIST Carpet, 18th century, Wool knotted pile on cotton warp and wool weft, 268 x 383.5 cm, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; T.10-1924, ©️ Victoria and Albert Museum, London
What does this 18th-century Persian carpet tell us about the book of Genesis?
Find out more in our exhibition of the week:
thevcs.org/garden-eden#...
HIERONYMOUS BOSCH The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych, 1490–1500, Oil on oak panel, Height: 185.8 cm; Width of the central panel: 172.5 cm; Width of the wing: 76.5 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid; Album / Art Resource, NY; Photo: ©️ Museo Nacional del Prado / Art Resource, NY
We continue our exploration of Genesis 2 with one of its most iconic and puzzling depictions.
Reading the famous triptych from left to right, Hieronymus Bosch depicts the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Earthly Delights, and finally Hell.
Click here to take a closer look:
thevcs.org/garden-eden#...
Pieter de Hooch, Woman lacing her bodice beside a cradle (detail), c.1660–63, Oil on canvas, 92 x 100 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; No. 820b, Berlin State Museums, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt
For the season of #Lent commencing on Ash Wednesday, we will be sharing 14 artworks and commentaries on the theme of #Community, something as urgently needed as ever in a fractured world.
Subscribe to our Exhibition of the Week to receive our Lent emails twice a week:
thevcs.org/sign-vcs-ema...
THOMAS COLE The Garden of Eden, 1828, Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 134 cm, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas
Thomas Cole was only 27 years old when he painted his Garden of Eden (1828). As one of the forefathers of the Hudson River School, he celebrated the majesty of the American landscape.
Take a closer look at Cole's Paradise in our exhibition on Genesis 2:9–17:
thevcs.org/garden-eden#...
"If gardens are fixed green monuments, then scriptures and carpets are portable gardens, nomadic objects that offer refuge from inhospitable neighbours and harsh surroundings."
This week's exhibition from @thevcs.bsky.social
thevcs.org/garden-eden
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GIOVANNI ANTONIO DA BRESCIA Christ before Pilate, 1500–05, Engraving on paper, 291 x 314 mm, The Art Institute of Chicago; Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr., 1956.984, The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY
Donato Loia writes: 'In the stillness of Christ’s figure—poised, silent, and unyielding—we see the embodiment of spiritual freedom: a refusal to submit to the logic of empire.'
Read about Giovanni Antonio da Brescia’s engraving in our exhibition of the week:
thevcs.org/sheep-among-...
UNKNOWN ARTIST Christ holding a Sword, by an Unknown artist, 14th century, Fresco, Sacred Monastery of the Ascension of Christ, Visoki Dečani, Kosovo; Godong / Alamy Stock Photo
The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus’s declaration: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword’.
This 14th-century fresco in the Visoki Dečani Monastery in Kosovo depicts Jesus holding a sword:
thevcs.org/sheep-among-...
SASSETTA Saint Francis renounces his Earthly Father, 1437–44, Egg tempera on wood, 87.5 x 52.4 cm, The National Gallery, London; Bought with contributions from the Art Fund, Benjamin Guinness and Lord Bearsted, 1934, NG4758, Courtesy National Gallery London
Matthew 10:16–36 presents the worldly authorities and the absolute authority of the Spirit as conflicting forces.
This idea finds a striking parallel in the story of St Francis and his father, as depicted in Sassetta’s painting. Click here to take a closer look:
thevcs.org/sheep-among-...
The book of the prophet Haggai is addressed to the ‘remnant’ of God’s people living in Jerusalem, some 20 years after those forcibly displaced in the Babylonian exile were allowed to return to the city.
Find out more in our exhibition 'The Command to Rebuild the Temple':
thevcs.org/command-rebu...
PHYLLIDA BARLOW untitled: slidingupturnedhouse, 2015, Plywood, cement, plaster, bonding plaster, scrim, PVA, paint, timber & sand, 93 x 140.6 cm, British Council Collection; P8636, ©️ Phyllida Barlow Estate Courtesy the Phyllida Barlow Estate and Hauser & Wirth; Photo: Alex Delfanne
In Haggai 1, much of the action revolves around precarious, unsettled, dwelling places.
On top of Phyllida Barlow's sculpture sits a precariously balanced wooden ‘house’ that looks as though it's about to fall off.
Take a closer look in this week's exhibition:
thevcs.org/command-rebu...
PAUL NEAGU Full Hand, 1970–71, Wood and copper wire, 2.8 x 22.5 x 32.5 cm, Tate; Purchased 2000, T07753, ©️ Paul Neagu / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: ©️ Tate, London / Art Resource, NY
PAUL NEAGU Empty Hand, 1970–71, Wood and metal, 28 x 225 x 325 cm, Tate; Purchased 2000, T07752, ©️ Paul Neagu / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: ©️ Tate, London / Art Resource, NY Image
Our Exhibition of the Week features not one, but two closely-related wooden sculptures by Paul Neagu.
Click on the link to find out what they have to say about Haggai 1:
thevcs.org/command-rebu...
SALVADOR DALÍ Christ of St John of the Cross, 1951, Oil on canvas, 238.5 x 148.8 cm, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; Purchased, 1952, 2964, ©️ CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection / Bridgeman Images
It explores the contrast between light and darkness as a metaphor for creation, time, and eternity. It uses the canvas to exploit the evangelist’s spatial language of ‘above’ and ‘below’.
Click here to find out more in our exhibition of the week:
thevcs.org/way-glory#yo...
SALVADOR DALÍ Christ of St John of the Cross, 1951, Oil on canvas, 238.5 x 148.8 cm, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; Purchased, 1952, 2964, ©️ CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection / Bridgeman Images
Dalí’s 'Christ of St John of the Cross' is Johannine in many ways.
It captures the mood of the prologue of John’s Gospel, which begins, ‘In the beginning’.
Excellent The VCS entry. I saw the statue this summer, and it is well worth the trip to go there. Cf. another The VCS entry on other images of James here: thevcs.org/you-may-be-m...
Wow I love this 🥰 I just had to do a reflection on why I read for my literary criticism class and I wrote a bit about the Bible and believing reading can be integral to seeking spiritual/ethical/emotionak inspiration...this painting captures that for me in an image
QUINTEN MASSYS Triptych with the Family of St Anne, 1509, Oil on oak, 224,5 x 219 cm (central panel), 220 x 92 cm (side panels), Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels; Acquired from the Church of Saint-Pierre in Leuven, 1880, Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo
Quinten Massys' monumental triptych in Brussels is the second work in this week's exhibition.
It takes its lead from the second-century Gospel of James, also known as the Protoevangelium, filling in more details of the story of Mary.
Click here to take a closer look:
thevcs.org/way-glory#ja...
MASTER MATEO St James, from the Portico of Glory (Portico di Gloria), c.1168–88, Granite, Santa Apostólica y Metropolitana Iglesia Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela; PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy Stock Photo
James the son of Zebedee is best known for being the patron saint of pilgrimage.
This statue of James can be found in Santiago de Compostela, a site closely associated with pilgrimage.
Take a closer look in this week's exhibition, 'The Way to Glory':
thevcs.org/way-glory#si...
Psalm 104 O Lord, How Manifold Are Thy Works! Commentaries by Wesley Vander Lugt
Psalm 104 presents the earth and everything in it as a theatre of God’s glory that incites the praise of God’s people. None of the characters or scenes in this creational theatre is insignificant.
Take a closer look at our exhibition of the week:
thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...
SANDRA BOWDEN He Established the Earth Upon Its Foundations, 1980, Collagraph, 45.7 x 35.6 cm, Private Collection; ©️ Sandra Bowden, courtesy of the artist
Sandra Bowden’s collagraph takes inspiration from the psalmist’s pronouncement that God has set the earth on an immovable foundation.
Click here to read about the third work in our exhibition on #Psalm 104:
thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...
VINCENT VAN GOGH Long Grass with Butterflies, 1890, Oil on canvas, 64.5 x 80.7 cm, The National Gallery, London; Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1926, NG4169, Courtesy National Gallery London
Van Gogh wrote that ‘all nature seems to speak … I do not understand why everyone does not see and feel it; nature or God does it for everyone who has eyes and ears and a heart to understand’.
Take a closer look at 'Long Grass with Butterflies' in this week's exhibition:
thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...
STEPHANIE ANN VANDER LUGT The World Spills, 2024, Mixed fibres, 91.4 x 91.4 cm, Private Collection; ©️ Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt
The title of this work, 'The World Spills', comes from an essay by philosopher Bayo Akomolafe who writes that ‘the world spills in excess of itself’.
Find out more in our exhibition on #Psalm 104, 'O Lord, How Manifold Are Thy Works!'
thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...
CRISTÓBAL DE VILLALPANDO Adoration of the Magi, 1683, Oil on canvas, Fordham University, New York; Used by permission of the Fordham University Art Collection
Cristobal de Villalpando, trained in Mexico City by Baltasar de Echave Rioja, son of one of the first Hispanic artists to emigrate to ‘New Spain’ (as Mexico was then known), was inspired by Rubens for his depiction of the Magi.
Take a closer look here:
thevcs.org/adoration-ma...
