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The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary with the Child Jesus.<br/><br/> Considered a masterpiece, it was stolen by German forces as part of their 'Nazi Plunder' programme in 1944. It was recovered a year later by allied forces at the Altaussee salt mine in central Austria and returned safely to Bruges, where it remains today.
'Nazi plunder' refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, although most plunder was acquired during the war. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures.<br/><br/> Although most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA), affectionately referred to as the Monuments Men, on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war, many are still missing.
Oriental carpets more than two centuries old have rarely survived and are rarely represented in Islamic Art since Sunni Islam (and to a lesser extent Shia) eschews representational art in favour of precisely the repetetive geometric symbols and arabesques found, for example, in oriental carpets.<br/><br/> This means that most examples of 17th century and earlier oriental carpets, mainly produced in Muslim lands, are only to be found in paintings from Christian lands where rich oriental carpets were associated with wealth, power and taste.<br/><br/> Such carpets featured as an important decorative feature in paintings from the 14th century onwards, leading to the dichotomy that there are more depictions of oriental carpets produced before the 17th century in European paintings than there are actual oriental carpets surviving from the same period.<br/><br/> Because of this European paintings have proved an invaluable source of reference for the study of the history of carpetmaking and carpets.
The ao dai (Vietnamese: áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow-zye in the north and ow-yai in the south, and translates as 'long dress'. The name áo dài was originally applied to the dress worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s. The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, frowned upon as frivolous and borgeois in the North between 1952 and 1986, but is today increasingly popular nationwide, having become once again a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism and Vietnamese female beauty.
Paul Gauguin was born in Paris in 1848 and spent some of his childhood in Peru. He worked as a stockbroker with little success, and suffered from bouts of severe depression. He also painted. In 1891, Gauguin, frustrated by lack of recognition at home and financially destitute, sailed to the tropics to escape European civilization and 'everything that is artificial and conventional'. His time there, particularly in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands, was the subject of much interest both then and in modern times due to his alleged sexual exploits. He was known to have had trysts with several native girls, some of whom appear as subjects of his paintings. Gauguin died on 8 May 1903 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery (Cimetière Calvaire), Atuona, Hiva ‘Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
In this famous scene from the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Jesus Christ is crucified.<br/><br/> He is nailed to a cross inscribed with the initials ‘INRI’—Iesus Nazerenus, Rex Iudaeorum’, meaning ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’—signifying the Romans’ ridicule of Him.<br/><br/> Angels fly nearby, collecting Jesus’ blood in their goblets. At the foot of the cross, richly dressed and with a halo around her flowing golden hair, Mary Magdalene prays. She has brought a jar of ointment for Christ’s wounds. Behind her, the Virgin Mary, Christs’ mother, is comforted by the Apostle John. On the right, St. Veronica holds up the cloth she used to wipe the face of Jesus as he walked up to Calvary up the road to Golgotha. An imprint of his face remains. This is the famed Shroud of Turin. Other biblical scenes, such as Gethsemane, are portrayed in the background. In the distance stands Jerusalem.
Faltering under the weight of the cross, Jesus Christ falters and falls on the road to Golgotha where he is to be crucified. A Roman guard drags him while another whips him. The Virgin Mary is being comforted behind the chaotic crowd. Two naked prisoners who will face crucifixion alongside Christ walk ahead, their hands tied behind their backs. In the background stands Jerusalem.
Known originally as the ‘Spes Nostra’, meaning ‘Our Hope’, this painting depicts St. Augustine (354—430 CE), the Bishop of Hippo Regius (present-day Annaba, Algeria), a philosopher and theologian who converted to Christianity and was influential for spreading the word of Christ in North Africa.<br/><br/> Venerated in Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches, Augustine is patron of the Augustinian order, and is considered patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses.<br/><br/> In the center of the painting, sitting on the monastery’s courtyard wall, is the Virgin Mary. Elizabeth places a hand on Mary's belly to indicate that she is pregnant. Behind Mary, in the background, a young Jesus rides a hobby horse.<br/><br/> In front of the grave, an epitaph reads: 'If anyone passes here, let them see this and weep. I am where you will be; what you are I once was. I beg you: pray for me'.
According to Christianity, the Three Kings, or Three Wise Men, travelled from the East to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newly born Messiah, the son of God. Cradled in his mother the Virgin Mary’s hands, the baby Jesus holds up his hand in a blessing. Before him kneels King Melchior, offering a gift of gold. Joseph, Mary's husband, stands behind in red.
Known in the Christian Bible as the Adoration of the Magi, this vivid scene depicts the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, sitting in a ruined palace with the baby Jesus in her hands.<br/><br/> The Three Kings (the Magi) have come to Bethlehem to honour the child. They are dressed in their finest clothes. The kings , having removed their crowns, kneel and kiss the Christ's hand. Each bear's a gift, gold, frankincense and myrrh. Joseph stands in red in the background.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history. Its structure follows the story of human history as related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt, it appeared in 1493. It is one of the best-documented early printed books - an incunabulum (printed, not hand-written) - and one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history. Its structure follows the story of human history as related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt, it appeared in 1493. It is one of the best-documented early printed books. It is classified as an incunabulum – that is, a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed (not handwritten) before the year 1501 in Europe. It is also one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.<br/><br/> Latin scholars refer to it as Liber Chronicarum (Book of Chronicles) as this phrase appears in the index introduction of the Latin edition. English speakers have long referred to it as the Nuremberg Chronicle after the city in which it was published. German speakers refer to it as Die Schedelsche Weltchronik (Schedel's World History) in honour of its author. The illustrations in many copies were hand-coloured after printing.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history. Its structure follows the story of human history as related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt, it appeared in 1493. It is one of the best-documented early printed books. It is classified as an incunabulum – that is, a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed (not handwritten) before the year 1501 in Europe. It is also one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.<br/><br/> Latin scholars refer to it as Liber Chronicarum (Book of Chronicles) as this phrase appears in the index introduction of the Latin edition. English speakers have long referred to it as the Nuremberg Chronicle after the city in which it was published. German speakers refer to it as Die Schedelsche Weltchronik (Schedel's World History) in honour of its author. The illustrations in many copies were hand-coloured after printing.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history. Its structure follows the story of human history as related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt, it appeared in 1493. It is one of the best-documented early printed books. It is classified as an incunabulum – that is, a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed (not handwritten) before the year 1501 in Europe. It is also one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.<br/><br/> Latin scholars refer to it as Liber Chronicarum (Book of Chronicles) as this phrase appears in the index introduction of the Latin edition. English speakers have long referred to it as the Nuremberg Chronicle after the city in which it was published. German speakers refer to it as Die Schedelsche Weltchronik (Schedel's World History) in honour of its author. The illustrations in many copies were hand-coloured after printing.
Mary Magdalene (Greek Μαγδαληνή) was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of 'seven demons', [Luke 8:2] [Mark 16:9] conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses. She became most prominent during his last days, being present at the cross after the male disciples (excepting John the Beloved) had fled, and at his burial. She was the first person to see Jesus after his Resurrection, according to both John 20 and Mark 16:9.<br/><br/> Mary Magdalene is considered by the Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches to be a saint, with a feast day of July 22. The Eastern Orthodox churches also commemorate her on the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated world history. Its structure follows the story of human history as related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in German translation by Georg Alt, it appeared in 1493. It is one of the best-documented early printed books. It is classified as an incunabulum – that is, a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed (not handwritten) before the year 1501 in Europe. It is also one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text.<br/><br/> Latin scholars refer to it as Liber Chronicarum (Book of Chronicles) as this phrase appears in the index introduction of the Latin edition. English speakers have long referred to it as the Nuremberg Chronicle after the city in which it was published. German speakers refer to it as Die Schedelsche Weltchronik (Schedel's World History) in honour of its author. The illustrations in many copies were hand-coloured after printing.
The Pietà (1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The work depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion. The Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica (also known as the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and informally as Manila Cathedral was originally built in 1581. The eighth and current incarnation of the cathedral was completed in 1958 and was consecrated as a minor basilica in 1981 by Pope John Paul II.<br/><br/> Intramuros is the oldest district and historic core of Manila. Nicknamed the 'Walled City', the fortified Intramuros was the full extent of the City of Manila and the seat of government during the Spanish Colonial Period. Its name in Latin, intramuros, literally means 'within the walls'. Districts beyond the walls of Manila were referred to as extramuros, literally 'outside the walls.'<br/><br/> The city was located then along Manila Bay and south of the Pasig River entrance, before 20th-century reclamations obscured the city from the bay. Guarding the city is Fort Santiago, a citadel located at the mouth of the river. Construction of its thick defensive walls were started by the Spaniards in the late 16th century to protect the seat of the Spanish government from foreign invasions (most notably British and Dutch) and raiding Chinese sea pirates.
The present St. Paul Cathedral was built in 1641. There had been a more modest wood and thatched chapel built on the same site in 1574, but it twice suffered the ravages of earthquakes, first in 1619 and then just a few years later in 1627.<br/><br/> The City of Vigan is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur and located on the western coast of the island of Luzon.<br/><br/> Vigan is the only surviving historic city in the Philippines that dates back to the 15th century Spanish colonial period. The town was also an important trading post in pre-colonial times with a community of Chinese traders from Fujian settled in the area.<br/><br/> Today it has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status acknowledging that it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture.
The City of Vigan is the capital of the Province of Ilocos Sur and located on the western coast of the island of Luzon.<br/><br/> Vigan is the only surviving historic city in the Philippines that dates back to the 15th century Spanish colonial period. The town was also an important trading post in pre-colonial times with a community of Chinese traders from Fujian settled in the area.<br/><br/> Today it has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status acknowledging that it is one of the few Hispanic towns left in the Philippines, and is well-known for its cobblestone streets, and a unique architecture that fuses Philippine and Oriental building designs and construction, with colonial European architecture.