These faces of women I take to be Mary and her cousin Elizabeth intrigued me when we passed the stained glass panels in the Met last week. I wished I had noted the date, because the glass was really old and yet doesn't the drawing style look very modern? Even comic-bookish?
Looking at them today, though, I'm thinking about their veils. I mean - look at this Christian depiction of women, and tell me we aren't totally culturally myopic.
At qarrtsiluni, earlier this month, we published a wonderful poem by Kadijah Anderson, called "Islam for Americans." I was delighted when the poem was submitted, and even more so when I heard Kadijah herself read it. Please listen to her reading and you'll see the connection with this picture, as well as the title of the post.
I too often have that thought when I see some very early drawings. There is much that defies the broad schema of stylistic evolution, isn't there? Especially, I've grown more and more to see much rather stylised drawing down the ages as a conscious choice of the artist or his commissioners, rather than a reflection of supposed artistic limitations at the time. And I like this window a lot -very strong and evokative of other media.
Posted by: Jean | November 23, 2009 at 07:59 AM
Dated 1444 and there's a blurb about it here
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/08/euwc/ho_13.64.3ab.htm
Coming on to Advent it makes me think of how we need the affirmation we give each other of the life within.
And isn't "covering" aimed at protecting that inwardness? Perhaps we who do not physically "cover" spend a lot of energy guarding what is within us in other ways that take more energy.
Posted by: Vivian | November 23, 2009 at 08:44 AM
Beth, thanks for the link to Kadijah's poem which I had somehow missed.
Posted by: Pica | November 23, 2009 at 02:32 PM