RELGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton
Virgin with Child, St. John the Baptist, and Mary Magdalene (about 1530-40) by Parmigianino (Italian, 1503-1540)
This week, the works of old masters dominated the art news (See bottom of page), and especially, The Getty's planned acquisition of Parmigianino's Virgin with Child, St. John the Baptist, and Mary Magdalene. After last week's radical expressionism by Tom Torluemke, what struck us about this elegant and sophisticated version of Mannerist style is the "blue" of the Virgin Mary's dress. Old masters used blue coverings to represent Mary's humanity clothed by the divine. It's not a rule enforced by the church, but it is a convention adopted broadly by many Renaissance artists.
Ernest Disney-Britton stands in his study next to "Divine Blue" by Romero Britto and wearing one of his dozens of blue shirts.
People often ask why Ernest wears only blue shirts, and he typically cuts it short with: "I like blue," but there is more to his story. "Blue is the color of Heaven, and of the Virgin Mary. That is why Alpha Omega Arts is blue too," says Ernest. "Some people wear a Cross tucked away, but Blue is my visible symbol of Heaven." That brings us back to Parmigianino (1503 – 1540), whose "Virgin with Child" wearing blue will soon be at home in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Her inner garment is light "red" (the color of mankind) covered by an outer garment of light "blue" for Heaven or the divine.

For other NEWS OF WEEK from across the USA, and around the world, see below:
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The Museo del Prado Extends "Bosch: The 5th Centenary" Exhibition
Hans Memling Show Is More Than the Sum of Its Divine Parts
A Rarely Seen Rembrandt Is Coming to the Frick
“Lot and His Daughters,” an early 17th-century oil work by Peter Paul Rubens, sold for $58 million