Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

Winter Landscapes

12/11/2021

4 Comments

 
Substantial snowfalls are rare in northwestern Hungary, which is why I welcomed the twenty or so centimetres of the white stuff that blanketed this region on Thursday.

​Most adults I know hate snow. Children, on the other hand, can't seem to get enough of it. Me? Well, I've always found snowy landscapes to be enchanting - I still do today.  
Picture
The Magpie - Claude Monet - 1869
Picture
Winter - Ivan Shishkin - 1890
Picture
Winter Landscape - Johann Jungblut - 1885
Picture
Winter Landscape - László Mednyánszky - circa 1890
4 Comments
CRC
12/12/2021 04:39:29

Most adults are apparently fools, who fear and can find no beauty in austerity, who dislike strong contrasts and abhor definition and extremity. They like bright, abstract, mild, bland, tepid unstimulating unchallenging things.

Their preferences define the "Post Vatican II Novus Ordo" aesthetic, for example. Witness how they usually tend to flood every corner of every "worship space" with direct white LED track lighting, where every surface is painted light tan or egg shell white. No shadow, color or any other sensory contrasts are allowed to trespass their senses, minds or souls.

That's why they flee the north, and during summer blast air conditioning : they coddle themselves, and will not bear any sort of asceticism or discomfort at all.

The winter brings mystery, simplicity, silence and inner clarity with its suffering. It teaches you the beauty of cold, and the true meaning (the art and means) of being warm in opposition to it. The tomb of winter is also bound by the death of fall and is followed by the rebirth of spring, and that I suppose reminds them in profound ways of their true natural and supernatural condition in ways that they would rather ignore..

I love the winter. I too always find consolation in the snow.

Reply
Francis Berger
12/12/2021 09:26:06

@ CRC - Great comment.

Reply
Mike Bryant
12/12/2021 13:02:15

I was watching a programme last night on the middle ages they apparently believed that if you were dying of leprosy that your suffering would help you work off the sins you had accrued in your life and the suffering was therefore not all bad whereas now all suffering is bad and must be fought at all costs. Oh boy are we different from our ancesters.

Reply
NLR
12/13/2021 03:37:46

Great paintings

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Blog and Comments

    Blog posts tend to be spontaneous, unpolished, first draft entries ranging from the insightful and periodically profound to the poorly-argued and occasionally disparaging.
     

    Comments are moderated. Anonymous comments are never published (please use your name or a pseudonym). 

    Emails welcome:

    f er en c ber g er (at) h otm   ail (dot) co m
    Blogs/Sites I Read
    Bruce Charlton's Notions
    Meeting the Masters
    From The Narrow Desert
    Synlogos ✞ Aggregator
    New World Island  
    New World Island YouTube
    ​Steeple Tea
    Berdyaev.com
    Adam Piggott
    Fourth Gospel Blog
    The Orthosphere
    Junior Ganymede

    Archives

    June 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Picture
    A free PDF is also available in My Work. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.