I inherited many books from my older brothers—esoteric books from the 1970s on running and weightlifting, and Pietro di Donato’s classic novel Christ in Concrete, about an Italian immigrant family of laborers shattered by the death of their patriarch. But my favorite is Letters to a Young Poet, by Rainer Maria Rilke. It is a […]
Art
Posted inNews
Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ gets cleanup as tide of visitors to Sistine Chapel grows
A thin, white film caused by decades of rising visitor numbers has dulled the dramatic contrasts of Michelangelo’s ‘Last Judgment’ in the Sistine Chapel.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Frank Gehry’s religious imagination—and a little Los Angeles chapel
Frank Gehry’s creations have charmed and sometimes puzzled the world—but what would a cathedral designed by him look like?
Posted inNews
Vatican completes official mosaic portrait of Pope Leo XIV for papal basilica
Pope Leo blessed artists Jan. 14, smiling at the sight of his own image, even as he battled a cold.
Posted inArt
Man Ray and the spiritual power of surrealist art
By engaging with art imaginatively, we can encounter that deeper reality that the Surrealists have always sought in their artwork.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Rob Reiner’s gift: Finding humanity—both on and off the screen
The Reiners, so many agreed, were not the type of couple who would sit down. They used their influence and voices to make a difference and had a multigenerational impact.
Posted inFaith in Focus
Mary’s death in Christian art: Remembering her as more than a mother
When we honor Mary the mother, the moon who shines by the light of her son, we should also remember that her soul shone with its own light, too.
Posted inNews
Bible described as the ‘Mona Lisa of illuminated manuscripts’ goes on display in Rome
A 15th-century Bible which is considered one of the most spectacular examples of Renaissance illuminated manuscripts went on display in Rome on Thursday as part of the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations.
Posted inArt
To see as Mary sees: Marian art in an age of distraction
Marian art shows that distractability is itself a form of attention, one that is essential to living a Christian life.
Posted inArt
A new exhibition celebrates the most cherished book of the Bible: the Psalms
“Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Medieval Art and Life” is on display through Jan. 4, 2026, at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.