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Arts & Tradition – XtremeCuztoms

Tag: Arts & Tradition

Athens of the South

The Rev. Philip Lindsley came to Nashville in 1824 to rescue the struggling Cumberland College (now University of Nashville). What he brought with him was a great vision: to create “a center of learning and civilization in the midst of the Old Southwest.” He pictured a group of academics, similar to those depicted in Raphael’s…


Unpacking Boxes From the Past

A museum’s interest in historic boxes does not depend on whether they still contain their original contents or are now emptied. Scholarly unpacking of these boxes shows the breadth and depth of their materiality, form, function, and beauty. Their exteriors stand on their own, continuing to delight viewers today. A highly prized material in medieval…


Sandro Botticelli: Beauty and Virtue Epitomized

Sandro Botticelli (circa 1445–1510) is by now an almost household name for those familiar with Western art. Yet one might be surprised to learn that in the few centuries after the Renaissance, artists largely disregarded him as primitive, medieval, and not on par with the perfection achieved by Raphael and Michelangelo. Indeed, it has only…


Fallingwater: Milestone Design in Remote Pennsylvania

While many of the country’s most impressive cathedrals, buildings, and houses reside in major metropolitan areas, one of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s (1867–1959) most notable works is in Mill Run, located in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands area, 75 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The Kaufmann family, who owned and operated Pittsburgh’s largest department store, commissioned Wright in…


Touching Photo of Father and Son Wins Father’s Day Photo Awards

Gan Jing World’s 2023 #GJWBestDad Hashtag Photo Awards recently announced the results of the Father’s Day “Best Dad” photo contest.  Suzi Anna’s winning submission of a father and son playing outdoors will receive a cash prize of $1,000.  Judges praised the photograph’s quality and depth of interpretation in its meaning and message. “The photo depicts…


Jan Six at Home: Amsterdam’s House of Six Collection

In the city of Amsterdam, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) continues to reign as its artistic sovereign. Many of his masterpieces hold court at the Rijksmuseum, the Dutch State Museum that contains the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings, offering a characteristic and wide-ranging overview of his works. The city is also home to the Rembrandt…


Germany’s Ludwigsburg Palace: The ‘Swabian Versailles’

Ludwigsburg Palace (Schloss Ludwigsburg), just north of Stuttgart, Germany, is one of Europe’s largest Baroque complexes. The palace estate bears many similarities to Versailles in terms of size, historical importance, and architectural styles, and is nicknamed the “Swabian Versailles” for its location in the southwestern region of Germany known as Swabia. Eberhard Ludwig, Duke of…


The Raphael of Flowers: Pierre-Joseph Redouté

Most of us have seen Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” putti and Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s roses, but maybe not in their original context. They’ve been commercialized—printed on bags, postcards, textiles and the like, so much that some of us may not know the works’ original intent or even who created them.  Raphael’s art needs no introduction, but Redouté’s…


Paul Bunyan or Poseidon? The Absence of American Mythology

Are there parallels between Paul Bunyan and Poseidon? First, and most importantly, they both sport impressive beard growth. They are both normally depicted with chiseled physiques. Both have blue animals associated with them (an ox and a dolphin, respectively). Both carry sharp implements (axe, trident). And both, of course, come striding to us out of…


John Donne’s ‘A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning’

As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go, Whilst some of their sad friends do say The breath goes now, and some say, No: So let us melt, and make no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move; ‘Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Moving of…