The Daily Picture Theme is #Pale

I participate in a photography challenge on Spoutible, a social media site, A hashtagged theme is posted each day from the account of Daily Picture Theme which describes itself as “The Big Photo Album of Our Community.” The picture theme for April 14th is #Pale. I have chosen a photo of San Miguel Pale Pilsen as my featured photo for this theme. The bottle was a souvenir from the Philippines in the 1970s. I drank plenty of the stuff in Olongapo because I think it was the safest thing to consume.

A Pastel Palette

As readers know, I am a great fan of Hellebores. The colors of these wonderful flowers are subtle and interesting. The colors are not bright and saturated as one might see in a daffodil or tulip.

On This Day – April 14th (2018)

I used to look forward the the annual Souhegan Sustainability Fair held at the Wilton High School in New Hampshire. There were displays on alternative energy, arts and crafts, music, recycling information and even information about green burials. However the Fair hasn’t been held for the last couple of years. Covid was probably one of the reasons. However it took a lot of work to organize it. These are some photos from the 2018 fair.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Isabella was a devout Anglo Catholic and her collection included many artworks with a religious theme, this is another.

This large, finely carved relief is composed of two limestone blocks. The carving, with its hard-edged lines, elegantly detailed hair, feline eyes, and flowing drapery, is of very high quality and refinement. The Crucifixion dominates the composition; it is flanked on either side by four arches. Kneeling donors and their patron saints fill the two arches at the ends, while the intermediate arches are filled with scenes from the Passion. The scenes read from left to right: a donor with John the Baptist, the Kiss of Judas, the Flagellation, Christ Carrying the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Deposition, the Three Marys at the Tomb, a donor with Saint Catherine. Above these scenes is a row of trompe l’oeil windows with prophets holding scrolls (which may originally have had painted inscriptions) looking out.

The form of the altar is modeled on the retable at Bessey-lès-Cîteaux carved by Claus de Werve in the late fourteenth century. Its design is closer still to that in the chapel of Saint Barbara in Vignory (Haute-Marne). Even the donors — identified by their coats of arms — are the same Guillaume de Bouvenot and his spouse Gudelette.

Source: Deborah Kahn, "Retable: Scenes of the Passion," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong, et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 28.