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L.S. Lowry, Faith and Art
Lowry observed those with ragged clothes, worn shoes and dirty labouring faces. He saw the cruelty, laughter, darkness and beauty in working class lives. He painted the story of those forgotten by society: the mill workers, terraced streets and industrial towns. Raised in a Christian household, he went to Sunday School...
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Stock Market Crash – The Everything Bubble, Tulip Mania and the Second Great Depression
Money was unlimited, everyone was getting rich and valuations for investors always went up. The greatest asset of them all was the tulip and everyone was gambling with them. You could buy a tulip for the equivalent of a few dollars and sell it later for the price of a house! This was the Netherlands in the seventeenth century.
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Was Vincent van Gogh a Christian? Christianity and Art Explored
Did Van Gogh experience a spiritual awakening? Vincent’s early years certainly developed in an atmosphere of faith in Christ. Born in 1853, in the Netherlands, his father and grandfather were Dutch Reformed ministers. They committed themselves to help the poor and to become Christ’s hands and feet to provide aid to those in need. Inspired by the hope of Christianity, Vincent committed himself to train as a preacher. After failing his…
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Post-Impressionism: Christian Belief and Art Explored
“Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31) We live in an unrelenting world of pressure; our calendars are full, schedules are overloaded and stress levels reach new highs. In our busy lives, we can forget to chart something important to God – come aside and rest. Be at peace, be still! We must not allow ourselves to become indefinitely busy, that we cannot hear the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.
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Christianity and Art: The Royal Collection & the Faith of Queen Elizabeth II
Before the printing press and education made the Bible available to all, believers used their eyes and imagination to attempt to understand God. There was a danger of idolatry, which the Reformation sought to address, yet some paintings read like the pages of a book. On the 13 September 1940, a German bombing raid hit the Private Chapel at Buckingham Palace, London. From the charred remains, the Duke of Edinburgh decided to convert the Chapel into an art gallery and display elements of the Royal Collection. I have been privileged to view the Queen’s masterpieces in several exhibitions in the Queen’s Gallery, and at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and at…
