Searching Graveyards for Art

As I drove past a neighborhood cemetary today, I was struck by the notion of people visiting cemetaries as places to find religious art. I did some Internet research and discovered that I'm not the first to make this connection. In 2008, Dr. Lori in the Ann Arbor News wrote, Grieving angels, classical muses and sleeping children all took their place in early 20th century gravestone art. Spilled flowers and broken columns were common symbols of a life ended too soon. In addition, subject matter such as opened books, broken tools or other images indicating work left incomplete was selected by grieving families." There's also a society in England which compiles background on religious symbols used in cemetaries. Maybe this is something to add to the Sacred Art Tours for Halloween.