#italy | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘#italy’

What I Learned from Michelangelo

Posted in WONDER, tagged #italy, art, art-history, Michelangelo, travel on September 15, 2024| 1 Comment »

One of the beauties of working in a Christian high school is that we start the day with devotions. Each teacher does this differently, which is an unpredictable benefit, as well, as each teacher brings faith into the classroom from their vantage point.

Last week, in an art class, the teacher began his devotions speaking of the art and poetry, of Michelangelo. Until then, I was unaware that this well known artist’s ‘other’ talent and was quite captivated by the following poem.

On the Brink of Death
Now hath my life across a stormy sea
Like a frail bark reached that wide port where all
Are bidden, ere the final reckoning fall
Of good and evil for eternity.
Now know I well how that fond phantasy
Which made my soul the worshipper and thrall
Of earthly art, is vain; how criminal
Is that which all men seek unwillingly.
Those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed,
What are they when the double death is nigh?
The one I know for sure, the other dread.
Painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest
My soul that turns to His great love on high,
Whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread.

Written in the later years of his life, On the Brink of Death, speaks to Michelangelo's awareness of his coming end, reprioritizing of what makes up his life and what is to come.

The lines that grabbed me were, 

"painting nor sculpture 
now can lull to rest 
my soul  ..."

Ahhh! That which, in this life calms (or lulls to rest) my soul ...

I think his words settled on my heart because, 

At the end of each summer school/work break ... 

a break from 'people' work ... 
a break when I immerse myself in 'hand' work ...

as I put away my paint brushes, my hammers, my power tools and caulking guns ...

I always sigh to myself, knowing that my hands-on creative season is over. I have to comfort myself with the belief that is was enough to carry me through the months ahead. 

But, I can also know and say (as that famous creative),

(my soul) "turns to His great love on high"

And in Him, in his love, my creative soul can find rest and purpose.

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Remember Your History

Posted in community, life, WONDER, tagged #architecturalbeauty, #architecturalhistory, #doorsandwindows, #italy, #rememberyourhistory, history on May 30, 2017| 3 Comments »

As I scanned my collection of Italian vacation photos, I came to a clear and obvious conclusion …

I have a thing for doors and windows.

Every location that I visited had images of doors, shutters and iron rails represented in the daily photo album.

But why?

Visual beauty, for certain, as they caught my eye long enough for a photo to be taken, but there was more.

As the doors and windows, shutters and iron gates caught my attention, I was unable to resist the next step. Oh yes, I frequently reached for my camera, but, more frequently, I simply reached out my hand.

I touched the grain of the wood, stone or iron. Often, I would close my eyes and imagine the hands that touched, as did my own, through dozens and hundreds of years. The years of history that went through these passageways might include warriors, the wealthy, the downtrodden, politicians, people famous in their field, and people who lived simple lives.

History can be felt, as it can be seen, or heard, or even smelled.

I live in a place in our world that lusts for what is new. Homes that age beyond fifty years, are viewed as dispensable, replaceable. Today’s home buyers are not looking for ‘pre-owned homes’, but new construction, with nothing from the past, nothing to do, but move in. Established, older homes are upgraded, updated and features such as doors replaced.

History is replaced, disposed of, never to be thought of again.

And so we turn our backs on historical architecture, but we also turn our backs on our history.

It has been said that if we forget our history, we are bound to repeat it.

In the movie Jackie (about Jackie Kennedy), Jackie said, in the movie, “objects and artifacts last far longer than people, and they represent important ideas, history, identity, beauty.”

History is not just the events that happened in the past, it is the people, places and all that surrounded the the events. History is in every nook and cranny of our world, and every thing tells a part of the story from beginning to end.

“Remember your history,
    your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—
    incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
    telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
    on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul,
    I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,’”
Isaiah 46:9-10