Adam Pynacker and Jacopo Bassano - The Annunciation to the Shepherds, Highlights from Handel's Messiah, Tomorrow (Manana) by Lope De Vega (translated by William Wordsworth)

This is the end of December so we'll start with a new artist next week. I'm planning to feature the Renaissance painter, Raphael for January-March.  You can check out my Web Album of Paintings by Raphael.  If you are printing them you may want to note that one of the pictures is of a wall in the Vatican, you can print it or not as you please, it is not a painting itself but rather for reference on the blog when we study the paintings from that room.

I got a note from an artist friend this week commenting on the paintings on the blog last week.  She noted the sleeping shepherds in the painting and said, "I am always disturbed at the ones who are asleep, and want to pray for those asleep around me."  Powerful thought!  I had completely missed the sleepers.... I had to look back through all the December paintings looking for sleepers..... 

The two paintings for this week both have angels reaching down from the heavens.  It's interesting to study the clouds and light, too.  Both pictures have a cow.  Jacopo Bassano's angel's wings are dark.  Adam Pynacker's angel wings are gray, but look light (perhaps even white) just grayed by the shadows.  I like to note the responses of the shepherds to seeing an angel and hearing the news as depicted in each painting. 

Adam Pynacker - The Annunciation to the Shepherds

Jacopo Bassano - The Annunciation to the Shepherds

Highlights from Handel's Messiah this week.  This music video has some beautiful paintings and of course the music is wonderful!!  Is some of it becoming familiar?  We've played it quite a few times as background music this month.  

The entry for December 31st in The One Year Book of Poetry compiled and written by Philip Comfort and Daniel Partner is Tomorrow (Manana) by Lope De Vega (translated by William Wordsworth).

                          Tomorrow (Manana)

Lord, what am I, that, with unceasing care,
   Thou didst seek after me, that thou didst wait,
   Wet with unhealthy dews, before my gate,
   And pass the gloomy nights of winter there?
Oh, strange delusion, that I did not greet
   Thy blest approach! and oh, to Heaven how lost,
   If my ingratitude's unkindly frost
   Has chilled the bleeding wouunds upon thy feet!
How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
   "Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
   How he persists to knock and wait for thee!"
And, oh! how often to that voice of sorrow,
   "To-morrow we will open," I replied,
    And when the morrow came I answered still,
     "To-morrow."