I took time recently to the pope's talk given to artists in the Sistine Chapel . It was very good, and a good effort by the pope to build bridges with artists. He said that beauty is " capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, and can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its eyes to the horizon (God), and to dream of a life worthy of its vocation. " That is some nice stuff! I really like Pope Benedict XVI's commitment to beauty and dignity in worship. It is evident not only in his writings, such as " The Spirit of the Liturgy ", but also in how he vests, how he conducts the liturgy, and the recent changes he made with things like the "Motu Proprio" and his overtures to Anglicans. Unfortunately the church is very often the enemy of beauty, and therefore the enemy of artists. This antagonism is manifest in the little thought or care clergy and people give to beauty in worship or in their churches. For example, when a pari...
American paintings in oil, egg tempera, and watercolor