Sister Wendy Beckett's New Art Books Open Doors to Christian Heritage

THE CATHOLIC REGISTER
By Michael Swan

Sr. Wendy Beckett is famous for explaining art history in the 1980s on the BBC

PUBLISHING---The first thing the Bible tells us about being human is that humans are an image. “Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.’ ” We are a picture of God made by God. Nothing has been more important or more argued over in the history of Christianity than pictures. Sr. Wendy Beckett, the British hermit and consecrated virgin who enjoyed a season of stardom in the 1990s explaining art history on the BBC, has made it her life’s work to teach Christians how to read a painting. These three thin, attractive, softcover books, out in time for Christmas, are Sister Wendy on the Art of Christmas, Sister Wendy on the Art of Mary and Sister Wendy on the Art of Saints. [link]

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Through a Novel, Author Oscar Hijuelo (RIP) Gave Us a Christmas Window to His Beliefs

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Samuel Freedman

PUBLISHING---Nearly 20 years ago, when he was three books into an acclaimed literary career, Oscar Hijuelos delivered the manuscript of his new novel to his editor. It was a Christmas tale filled with the joy Mr. Hijuelos had always taken in with the trappings of yuletide, from manger scenes to oratorios to evergreens strung with lights. From one who had already won the Pulitzer Prize..., it felt lacking. At least it did to Mr. Hijuelos’s editor at HarperCollins... He rejected the book. Mr. Hijuelos headed into his home office the next morning and started to work. Ultimately, however, he produced what is surely one of the most fully achieved novels about religion, “Mr. Ives’ Christmas.” It is, in distillate, the Book of Job transposed to Morningside Heights in the late 20th century. Mr. Hijuelos died in October at the age of 62. [link]

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National Museum of Korea Publishes Book of Central Asian Religious Paintings

BUDDHIST ART NEWS

KOREA---The National Museum of Korea (Director Kim Youngna) announces a new publication: Central Asian Religious Paintings in the National Museum of Korea. This is the first volume of a series of catalogues that presents the Central Asian collection of the NMK. Originating from Central Asia and currently in the NMK’s possession, the artifacts presented in the catalogue were among those collected from a Japanese expedition in the early 20th century led by a priest named Ōtani Kozui (1876−1948). [link]

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The Best Jewish Children’s Books of 2013: The Perfect Hanukkah Gifts

TABLET MAGAZINE
By Marjorie Ingall

"Hanukkah Bear" illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka

PUBLISHING---No kid wants underpants as a Hanukkah gift, and no one wants virtuous, boring books, either. So, this year’s quirky list of the best children’s books is focused on fun and engaging reads rather than good-for-you literature. Here are the top 18 (chai!) for 2013.[link]

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Jesus is Coming and He is Pissed in Exclusive “PRINCE OF PIECES” Art

FANGORIA
By Michael Gingold

PUBLISHING---“For two thousand years you’ve been eating his flesh and drinking his blood…now it’s His turn!” So goes the tagline for PRINCE OF PIECES, a graphic novel targeting an early-2014 release date. Read on for exclusive art samples and comments from its creator. Creator Sam Miserendino tells us that the comic “is a satirical horror story about the return of Jesus Christ. In PRINCE OF PIECES, the Son of God is mad as hell, and he disposes of sinners great and small with Biblical panache. Those He encounters suffer gruesome fates: Some are afflicted with leprosy and stigmata, while others are turned into pillars of salt. Since it would make the perfect basket stuffer, we want to make sure PRINCE OF PIECES is available in plenty of time for Easter.”[link]

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New Book: 'The Christmas Cat', and Imagine Jesus With First Pet

THE CHRISTIAN POST
By Sami K. Martin

PUBLISHING---Maryann Macdonald is the author of "The Christmas Cat," which arrives just in time for the holidays. The story tells the tale of a cat believed to have been present at the birth of Jesus the Christ, and Macdonald spoke with The Christian Post to explain why she wanted to tell this particular story and what she hopes readers will take away from it. [link]

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Finalists for National Book Awards Announced

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

PUBLISHING---The finalists for the National Book Awards were announced on Wednesday, one month before the winners will be named at a ceremony in Manhattan, according to The New York Times.  Only citizens of the United States are eligible for National Book Awards, which are administered by the National Book Foundation. The night before the Awards, each Finalist receives a prize of $1,000, a medal, and a citation from the panel at a private Medal Ceremony. The four Winners in Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature are announced the following evening at the National Book Awards Ceremony and Benefit Dinner, where each Winner receives $10,000 and a bronze sculpture.

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Discovery of an Unknown Painting by Titian Featured in "The Burlington Magazine"

BURLINGTON MAGAZINE

PUBLISHING---The Burlington Magazine is delighted to announce the publication, in its October issue, of "The Risen Christ", a previously unknown work by the great Venetian artist Titian. The painting (oil on canvas, 144 cm. high by 116.5 cm. wide) shows Christ in majesty, triumphing over death, standing on the tomb from which he has risen and silhouetted against a vivid, cloudy sky lit by the morning sun of the Easter day. Titian, who died at a great age, probably in his late eighties in 1576, was the outstanding Venetian painter of his time. [Subscribe]

BBC News - Titian identified as Risen Christ artist

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Must a Jewish history stress suffering? Marc Saperstein argues against excess fatalism

THE INDEPENDENT
By Marc Sapertein

'Stories of oppression': Expulsion of Jews from from Spain in 1492

UNITED KINGDOM---Upon first encountering, in 1988, Simon Schama's "The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age", I was in awe of the depth of scholarship, the integration of historical and fine-art analysis, the power of the elegantly crafted sentences. The following year, Schama's "Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution" revealed a similar mastery of a period 150 years later, with a totally different theme. It seemed astounding that a historian could produce two such diverse and impressive books in less than two years. "The Story of the Jews" presents even greater challenges. The 2500-year time-span in this first volume encompasses Jews living in four civilisations: the ancient Near East, the Hellenistic and Roman world, medieval Christianity, and Islam. In this age of specialisation, writing authoritatively about such diverse material is a daunting task rarely undertaken by scholars. [link]

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