Welcome to the Peddlers Donkey Blog. The humble donkey has served mankind for thousands of years. This blog is a tribute to the much misunderstood ass.
Donkeys delight church audience service adds hoofprint to history
By Alistair Beaton
Published: 06/04/2009
THE Auld Kirk of Inverurie added a new hoofprint in church history during yesterday’s Palm Sunday service as a pair of donkeys joined in a procession down the aisle.
Donkeys Jane and Jill pricked up their ears at the sound of the opening 10am hymn, but stepped quietly through the doors of St Andrew’s Church to join the Rev Graeme Longmuir in front of the surprised – but still singing – congregation.
An image of Christ on a donkey had been projected on the wall above and candles shone in the 168-year-old church, as the young donkeys flanked the minister.
The 11-month-old pair barely flicked a tail before afterwards returning through the pews to the west door, the sound of their hooves muffled by carpet rather than Biblical palms.
Mr Longmuir reflected on the meaning and message of Palm Sunday, and church members joined in Hymn 366 – “come to where the crowds will be, see a strange and gentle king, on a donkey travelling”.
Jane and Jill were rewarded outside with a feed and drink, and loaded into a trailer for their journey home.
The donkeys had made their pilgrimage to the church from Braeriach, near Echt. Owner Netta Sangster said: “I thought the music might be worrying Jane and Jill to begin with, but they were no bother.
I did not start to blog through Lent and Holy week but I am glad I did. What I was going to do was just present the donkey art related to Palm Sunday and Lent. It grew into much more as I recalled works of art that met the moods of lent I was feeling. It was really a wonderful way to meditate on the whole passion of Christ. I also had a wonderful trip back in time and drew from my days at Edinboro University taking art history from George Pitluga. It was Pitluga who turned me onto the religious paintings of Dali. At that time the Dali Museum was located near Cleveland and we went over on a field trip and saw many of Salvador Dali's paintings. We also went to the Cleveland Art Museum. I don't think Dr. Pitluga was a religious man but he loved those religious works of Dali's and he always said. " I know I am not supposed to like these, the art critics all say they are bad but I love them anyway." I would like to dedicate this last week's blogging to the amazing man who brought art history alive for me in the 1970s. I recently found Dr Pitluga passed away a few years ago. I regret I never told him after college how much I appreciate the way he taught.
Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus Oil on canvas Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret born 1852 - died 1929
George Herbert - Easter Rise, heart, thy lord is risen. Sing his praise Without delays, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise With him may'st rise: That, as his death calcinèd thee to dust, His life may make thee gold, and, much more, just.
Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part With all thy art, The cross taught all wood to resound his name Who bore the same. His stretchèd sinews taught all strings what key Is best to celebrate this most high day.
Consort, both heart and lute, and twist a song Pleasant and long; Or, since all music is but three parts vied And multiplied Oh let thy blessèd Spirit bear a part, And make up our defects with his sweet art.
(The Deposition of Christ), a painting by Antonio Ciseri.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Antonio Ciseri (October 25, 1821 – March 8, 1891) was a Swiss artist.
Ciseri was born in Ronco sopra Ascona in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. In 1833 he moved with his father to Florence. He was admitted in 1834 to the Accademia di Belle Arti, where he trained under Niccola Benvenuti. His religious paintings are Raphaelesque in their compositional outlines and their polished surfaces, but are nearly photographic in effect. He fulfilled many important commissions from churches in Italy and Switzerland. Ciseri also painted a significant number of portraits. He died in Florence on March 8, 1891.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, `After three days I will rise again.' Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, `He has been raised from the dead,' and the last deception would be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can." So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
(G) The day that (G*)Jesus a(C)rrived in Jer(D*)usalem, The ad(G)venture almost (G*)over, the (C)night he hadn't (D)slept (G)Dreams and premo(G*)nitions made him (C)tired and e(D*)motional, (G)And that's why (C)Je(D)sus (G)wept.
He wasn't scared of dying, he'd made that commitment Fulfilling the old prophecy, his bargain he had kept He was due some satisfaction, but he was deeply troubled, And that's why Jesus wept.
Was this his true destiny, or could he still make changes, Someone else's nightmare into which he'd stepped? Damage limitation couldn't save the situation, And that's why Jesus wept.
In his dream he saw the crusade and all wars that would follow, Declared in his name when he thought he'd been direct Love thy neighbour, do not kill, and turn the other cheek, And that's why Jesus wept.
He (C)saw the inqui(G)sition and the (C)burning of the (G)saints, The con(C)version of the (G)innocents he (C*)swore he would pro(D)tect He (G)saw them bless the (G*)bomb that was (C)dropped on Hiro(D*)shima, And (G)that's why (C)Je(D)sus (G)wept.
Though Peter would betray him, he made him the rock On which he would build his church to sort of keep him in his debt A man about to die is allowed some confusion, And that's why Jesus wept.
He thought of his disciples, especially of Judas, The job that was ordained for him and the reward he'd collect He saw him in the tree with the silver coins around him, And that's why Jesus wept.
Then he thought about the good times when he turned the tables over, Chastised the money lenders and he earned the boy's respect He was proud of Godly anger, but ashamed of manly temper, And that's why Jesus wept.
Rumours started flying about water into wine, Sight to the blind and that he'd even raised the dead The biggest miracle was that anyone believed it, And that's why Jesus wept.
Then he mused on human nature, how fickle were the public, So ready to accept him, so quick now to reject Where were the five thousand he fed with loaves and fishes? And that's why Jesus wept.
In his dream he saw a garden with all his friends asleep, He walked away the hours until the morning crept He wondered would the nails hurt, would he be man enough? And that's why Jesus wept.
Was he supposed to bear it like a man or like a God, Would tears show a weakness or a strength by their effect? Would they be viewed as compassion or failure and self-pity? And that's why Jesus wept.
Then he saw his houses burning on both sides of a border, Saw the guiltless suffer with the guilty and the rest And when they called his name and he knew he couldn't help them, That's why Jesus wept.
Then he saw two armies marching and he heard their crucifixes Reduced to superstitious muted jangling round their necks And he heard his name intoned as they interred their companion, And that's why Jesus wept.
Then he thought about his mother and the stories she had told him, Who'd filled his dreams with angels, put voices in his head Then the scent of pine trees made him think of dear old Joseph, And that's why Jesus wept.
Am I a stone and not a sheep That I can stand, O Christ, beneath Thy Cross, To number drop by drop Thy Blood's slow loss, And yet not weep? Not so those women loved Who with exceeding grief lamented Thee; Not so fallen Peter weeping bitterly; Not so the thief was moved; Not so the Sun and Moon Which hid their faces in a starless sky, A horror of great darkness at broad noon— I, only I. Yet give not o'er, But seek Thy sheep, true Shepherd of the flock; Greater than Moses, turn and look once more And smite a rock.
Christ and Thorns Carl Heinrich Bloch (Born 23 May 1834- Died 22 February 1890) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Matthew 27: 29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Salvador Dali’s ‘Christ of St John of the Cross’ caused controversy and consternation when it was first purchased for the city of Glasgow, Scotland in 1951 by the then Director of Glasgow Museums, Dr. Tom Honeyman.
An art dealer with an open-minded approach to art appreciation, Honeyman saw the picture for sale at the Lefevre Gallery in London and was convinced that it was a picture that Glasgow must have.
Although the catalogue price was £12,000, Honeyman used his connections and undoubted charm and beat this down to £8,200, which just happened to be the last of the funds left from the profits in the 1901 Exhibition Fund.
In addition, he secured the copyright to the image from the artist, which was (and is) often difficult to do.
But instead of Honeyman being carried shoulder high in victory at his coup, there was an instant outcry from almost every quarter. The art establishment regarded Dali’s super-realism and uncharacteristic choice of subject as ephemeral, cynical and lacking any depth or meaning. Students at the Glasgow School of Art protested that the cash should have been spent on young local artists.
Even highly esteemed artists such as Augustus John deplored the ‘mad price’ being paid to a living painter.
Honeyman, however, was proved not only right but also spectacularly astute. The public flocked to see the painting.
Such is the polarized emotional response that visitors experience when viewing the painting that it has been attacked twice. However, Kelvingrove conservators expertly repaired the damage, and the non-professional eye would now find it hard to spot the wounds.
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, from the Trebon Altarpiece, circa 1380
he Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, sometimes called the Master of Wittingau, was a Bohemian painter active in Prague around 1380-1390. His name is derived from an altarpiece from the church of Saint Eligius at the Augustinian convent of Třeboň (known in German as "Wittingau"). The altarpiece, a triptych, depicts Christ on the Mount of Olives, The Tomb of Christ, and the Resurrection. It has been dated to around 1380, and is today held at the Convent of St. Agnes branch of the National Gallery in Prague.
Stylistically, the Master seems to have been aware of French painting; in addition, the influence of northern Italian art may be seen in his work. He created the so-called "beautiful style", a Bohemian variant of the International Gothic style in which figures are placed in deep settings and modeled with chiaroscuro; such intensity had never before been seen in Bohemian art, but would be prominent in the work of future generations of artists. In addition, his influence can be seen in the work of other European artists of the period, most especially the Master of the Bamberg Altar.
The Sacrament of the Last Supper, c.1955 National Gallery of Art, Washington DC by Salvador Dalí. (Spanish, 1904-1989)
Dali stated that this was an "arithmetic and philosophical cosmogony based on the paranoiac sublimity of the number twelve...the pentagon contains microcosmic man: Christ"
by Sir Joseph Noel Paton RSA (1821-1901) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joseph Noel Paton was a Scottish painter, born in Dunfermline, Scotland to a family of weavers. He studied at the Royal Academy, London, and became a painter of historical, fairy, allegorical and religious subjects, in a style close to that of the Pre-Raphaelites. He was appointed Queen's Limner for Scotland from 1866. He also published two volumes of poems.
36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me."
39Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. 41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
42He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
43When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"
I grew up in Chautauqua County, NY. I graduated from Edinboro University of Pennyslvania in 1981 with a BFA in Jewelry and Metalworking. I have been married 31 years. I currently run a small business with my husband. We both enjoy the outdoors and animals a great deal and live on a tiny farm in Western, NY.
May the frost never afflict your spuds, may the outside leaves of your cabbage always be free of worms, may the crows never pick your haystack, and may your donkey always be in foal
