Among the 42 parables of the Gospels, one of the most interesting is that of the unmerciful servant, because it tells us about two different ways of using power. On the one hand divine grace, on the other an ungrateful man. The scene of the servant throtting one of his small debtors is depicted in all its intensity in a painting by Domenico Fetti, known as ‘il Mantovano’.
When we speak of the Western world we mean the Christian civilisation that gave rise to it, with all the values that go with it: natural order, value of the person, sacredness of life. Self-hatred is represented by Third-Worldism, ecologism, indigenism, gender ideology, abortion. These are all disvalues promoted today by those who have usurped the title of the West. Which also suggests something about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The raising of the son of the widow of Nain is one of Jesus' most sensational miracles. There are several paintings depicting it, including the splendid altarpiece by Cranach the Younger, which emphasises the power and uniqueness of the Son of God.
One of the most impressive but least represented miracles of the Lord Jesus is the healing of the ten lepers. The fact, however, is splendidly depicted in an illuminated codex: the Golden Codex of Echternach, now in the German National Museum.
Francesco Boneri, known as Cecco del Caravaggio, was the master's apprentice, but also his servant and model. Few people know his name, but everyone knows his face. He is the Saint John the Baptist, the Saint Matthew, and the face of many other protagonists of the genius' paintings. But he was also a painter. With only one signed painting: an Expulsion of the Merchants from the Temple, which is worth a visit to Berlin.
Paolo Caliari, known as Veronese, is famous among other things for his illusionistic decorations and his portraits. But his most famous work remains The Wedding at Cana, a gigantic canvas – with a history of setbacks – in which he depicts the episode of the first miracle in the public life of Jesus.