Altarpiece: Saint Sebastian Interceding for the Plague Stricken
St. Sebastian was a Roman military officer martyred about AD 300 by being shot full of arrows and then clubbed to death. He was prayed to for protection against the plague. This painting depicts one instance of his intercession. According to legend, this event occurred long after the saint’s death, during an outbreak of the […]
Objects from the Center of the Ancient World, Chang’an (Modern Xi’an)
Chang’an (present-day Xi’an), located in northwestern China, was the ancient capital of China, which at its peak reached two million inhabitants, on the site of present-day Xi’an. It became the capital of more than ten dynasties in the history of China. During its heyday with the Western Han, Chang’an was one of the great metropolises […]
Norman Rockwell, The Painter of the Feeling of American life, at Christmas
Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of the country’s culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly […]
James Webb Telescope Reveals More Clearly the Structure of the Universe
The James Webb Space Telescope launched on December 25, 2021, begins to reveal more clearly the structure of the universe. Not a universe full of stars but of galaxies forms the relevant part of the information provided. This has been made clear by employing gravitational lensing, to review certain of the universe. […]