My Sweetheart retired on March 31. Twelve days later we left for a celebratory month in Europe, including a 24- cruise. He’d been planning the trip for a year and it came off without a hitch. Just FABULOUS, Darling! It was every bit as exotic as it sounds, with a super-charged history course and a sense of how young our own nation is.
I was interested in art before the trip, but now I have a huge crush on Michelangelo. His paintings are thought provoking, but not as skilled as others. His women look like men with breasts. But his understanding of Bible events and the underlying doctrine was fascinating to me. In the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, one side depicts events from the life of Moses and the opposing wall depicts parallel events from the life of Christ. His point was to show how Moses was a type and shadow for the Messiah and by extension, how the law of Moses was an introductory law to the law of the Gospel. No pictures are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, so though we visited it twice, it must be appreciated through existing photos.
But as well known as his ceiling painting skills, his sculpture brought tears to my eyes. Of course ‘David’ standing in a museum in Florence is so convincingly detailed that if the finger of God were to give him breath, he could step off his plinth, fling the stone he holds in his right hand and run find himself some pants.
But the less known ‘Christus’ struck me with such power, it was actually a spiritual experience. The cross leans against his right shoulder, but his head looks downward, so that I could stand directly in his line of vision. He seems to contemplate on the human rescue that burdened him with the cross. His face shows resolve and peace. His body is lean and muscular. 
The chains on display in the Church where Michelangelo’s ‘Moses’ reposes are said to be the chains that bound St. Peter when he was about to be crucified.
Moses’ beard flows to his waist and his face shows traces of sadness for the hardhearted Israelites.
I have a new appreciation for Caravaggio, (also a Renaissance painter), for his style and realism. Only the images relevant to the expression of the idea emerge from the darkness. Bernini was a terrific sculptor and extremely prolific. Raphael’s paintings justifies his position as one of the ninja turtles.
Great art is something you feel and experience. It isn’t mere decoration, but a lesson and a comment on the human condition or the human heart.
Much more about current adventures to follow.
In the meantime, we sold our house while we toured Barcelona, Spain.
The day after we got home, grandbaby number 13, our 9th grandson entered the world, cute, happy and healthy.
Life don’t get much better dan dis!
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