January Culture Roundup: Iconography & Shakespeare

Here in the Nation's capital we're lucky to have such a plethora of arts & culture locally. While it can be argued that DC isn't exactly the foremost location for theatre and music, the museums and traveling gems we have are wonderful-with regularity. The icons exhibit currently hosted at the National Gallery of Art is a prime example. It also features books, jewelry, mosaics, ceramics, and manuscripts, most never before on loan to the US. It's only in town through March 2-get there if you can. Then it heads to LA for a few months before returning to Europe. Read more about the exhibit here.

Icon by Andreas Ritzos, from the Byzantine & Christian Museum in Athens. One of my favorites after recently visiting the exhibit.

An additional bonus, which I wasn't expecting, is The Dying Gaul from The Capitoline Museum in Rome, which is also in display in the National Gallery rotunda through early March. 

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Recently I've found myself 'rediscovering' much of Shakespeare. I always enjoyed the plays in school, but they just get richer with age. We're lucky to live in a time that is producing some absolutely marvelous new adaptations for stage and screen, that are more accessible to the public than ever. First it was Hamlet and Macbeth from PBS, starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. One of the best things to come out of 2012 was The Hollow Crown, a stunning film production of the four history plays that form Shakespeare's second tetralogy- Richard II, Henry IV (2 parts), and Henry V. Since I was exposed almost exclusively to the tragedies and comedies on school, this introduction to the histories was a real treat for me. The acting is just brilliant, featuring recognizable faces like Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, David Suchet, Patrick Stewart, Ben Whishaw, and Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery (though it is a shame that her character seems mainly to exist for the purpose of making out with Hotspur). The whole tetralogy makes for a bit of a long haul (8+ hours for all four plays), but you won't be looking at your watch at all. Watch a preview below (more video from the BCC here).

                        

PBS has also produced a nice little series that showcases the actors' experiences preparing for Shakespearian roles, which aired last year. Watch Shakespeare Uncovered here.

And, as if Tom Hiddleston in The Hollow Crown weren't enough, he's also starring in the National Theater production of Coriolanus, which is going to be broadcast live in movie theaters around the world on January 30, with encores to follow in the weeks afterword. I am beside myself in excitement for this. Go here to find a screening near you!

Pope Benedict's Dream Job

So late last week we got a taste of what the Holy Father would really prefer to be doing. Forget fostering Christian unity and writing encyclicals. The man just wants to be a librarian.

And Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, Librarian of the Apostolic Library and Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives, had this to say of the role of the library for the Church: "It must be like the keel of the ship, which is not seen. In fact, few people are able to see it. So it is with the library: there are few, apart from specialists...who understand the amount of work that takes place in the Library and Archives.

"It is really theses institutions that allow the barque of the Church to stay afloat and move forward...If it were not for the keel, the ship would be subjected to doctrinal winds of any nature or fashions. It is this keel which gives depth to the catechetical work of the Church and her teaching."

St. Lawrence Day!

Tomorrow, August 10th, is the feast of St. Lawrence of Rome, deacon, really stellar martyr, and patron of, amongst other things, librarians. When once asked to produce the treasures of the Church, St. Lawrence  is said (by St. Ambrose, no less) to have gathered all the poor together and presented them as the true riches to be sought. 

Sixtus ordains St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence was brutally martyred by being roasted alive. Legend has it that he possessed so much fortitude and good humor that, after being thoroughly toasted on one side, he alerted his executioners: "I am done on this side-you can turn me over now!" I have a feeling he did not want his martyrdom to be 'over-easy'.

This makes me wary of the possibility that I may share this fate with a patron of my profession. St. Lawrence's patronage of cooking and comedy is sensible, but it is at least a little ironic that a man who was burned alive now serves as a patron for a profession for which fire is highly dreaded. Perhaps a divinely guided pre-meditation to the cautionary tone of Fahrenheit 451? 

In addition to St. Lawrence, Sts. Jerome and Catherine of Alexandria have been claimed as patron saints of libraries and archives. Triple the opportunities to celebrate. Let's hope that nobody calls for a roasting of librarians anytime soon.

Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, Valentin de Boulogne

Lux in Arcana

In case you need an excuse to finally go on pilgrimage, or (if you don't happen to be religious) visit the Eternal City, this exhibit is your ticket. Lux in Arcana (Latin for "light on the secrets") is a spectacular showcase of 100 documents from the Vatican Secret Archives, never before shown to the public. The exhibition opened March 1st and runs through September 2012, at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

Some of the items featured include Galileo's conviction, the letter instrumental to the Anglican schism begun by the affairs of Henry VIII, the document proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and the bull of Martin Luther's excommunication, among many other very cool things. If you can't make it to Rome, or simply want to whet your appetite for the real experience to come, the exhibition's well-produced website features a selection of the items, which you can browse here. You can also buy the exhibition catalog here.

I should have mentioned in the last post that the Vatican's reputation for clunkiness in web design also extends to the Vatican Museums (whose site seems to be stuck in the '90s), and to a lesser degree, the Vatican Library (which recently underwent a massive renovation a few years ago). The Vatican Secret Archives, on the other hand, has got itself a little more with the times with its very sleek website.

I dearly hope that I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit this exhibition sometime in the coming months. 

Links:

Lux in Arcana

Vatican Secret Archives

Vatican Library

Vatican Museums