From a pitch dark background emerge the faces of a man and a woman, facing each other with hands folded in prayer. Their countenances appear austere, their clothing plain and simple. In fact, if it weren’t for the lady’s luxuriously jeweled necklace, the otherwise monochromatic painting might just escape our attention, lost amidst the multifarious…

Years ago, I was one of those people you’d see rushing past the rows of old master portraits in a museum or art gallery on my way to see a more exciting genre such as history painting.  I admired the portrait artists’ skills yet, frankly, I found little joy in viewing important people long-dead and often…