Good evening. Saint Jerome, the patron saint of librarians and by extension of all those who love books, was born in what is now Slovenia in 347 as Eusebius Hieronymous. First a hermit, then a secretary to a pope, he finally went to Palestine and devoted himself to studying and writing. He translated Hebrew and Greek texts and is the scholar behind the translation of the Vulgate, the Latin version of the Bible. He also had a lion as a loyal friend since he removed a thorn from its paw, like Androcles.
Domenico Ghirlandaio, the Florentine painter and master of the fresco technique ( Michelangelo was among his disciples) , the artist who painted the young woman I'm using as an avatar , also painted Jerome in his study ( not bad for a hermit) in 1480, a fresco that can be admired at the church of Ognissanti, in Florence.
The bookish month has come to an end, but reading and reviewing will go on, although I think it's better to go back to weeks, and I already have a few wicked ideas...
I received a message from a regular participant who asks if I can post the optional theme for Art Sunday on Fridays, in order to give people time for their research and preparation of their blogs. For about two years there was no theme, optional or other. Art Sunday started as fun and I never wanted it to become time consuming, the idea was to have participants share their favourite artists , works of art and museums , and we would all learn with one another's personal choices and interpretations. That's what I always do, I choose a painting, an artist, a sculpture, etc, that I have seen or at least that I am familiar with and explain my reasons in a few lines.
It takes only a few minutes, but I understand other people may need more time. The problem is the optional theme being my personal choice it pops up any time, I don't spend the week thinking about Art Sunday. If other bloggers want to join me, it's great, we can have different views and approaches, we'll compare them and it will become extremely interesting. But it's still something I do spontaneously. Anyway I'll try to post it on Fridays, if it can be of help.
I've just thought of a good one for this week, inspired by St. Jerome who in the 4th century travelled from Slovenia to Rome to Palestine. What do you think of Travellers?
Have fun with Art Sunday, and remember it's always time to post art, not just once a week. I'd like to ask you to go back to the original spirit of the theme day too, no need to spend too much time working on it, just share your favourites and tell us why you have chosen them, guide us through a gallery of your own, in your own words. Leave your links here, have lots of fun.
