Women in the Sistine chapel

Posted on 20. Apr, 2017 in Art, Christian Values, Community, Feminism/Women in the Church, Gospel Values, Vatican

  Continuing on our series looking at women in Church art, we draw our attention today to the Sistine Chapel, in particular the ceiling, painted by Michelangelo. The ceiling has 300 figures and took over four years to execute. One of the things artist Eve Parnell, notes about the ceiling is the large number of […]

Women in Church Art

Posted on 30. Mar, 2017 in Art, Feminism/Women in the Church, Gospel Values, Religious patronage, Saints

In the cross vault of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City there are four niches, each one containing a very impressive statue. One in particular which stands out – Saint Veronica by Francesco Mochi. His active and passionate depiction of her is at odds with the decorum of the Basilica – the statue shows […]

Beyond Caravaggio

Posted on 23. Feb, 2017 in Art

Caravaggio is widely acknowledged as bringing a revolution to painting during the Baroque period with his dramatic use of light and uncompromising realism. The National Gallery of Ireland is currently running an exhibition that is bringing together over 40 major works which will show the ways in which a large number of artists adopted Caravaggio’s […]

Dance, Music and Faith

Posted on 05. Jan, 2017 in Art, Caring for Children, Christian Values, Church Teachings, Community, Music Therapy, Young people

Natalya Pakshyna is a Russian dancer who has been bringing her dancing passion to Ireland. Based in a studio in the Malahide Industrial Estate, she has a particular interest in working with students who have special emotional or physical needs. She believes dance and music to be a way to heal the person and allow them to […]

Art and Soul

Posted on 29. Sep, 2016 in Art, Christian Values, Community, Feminism/Women in the Church, Gospel Values

Surrender – one of Doris Klein’s works Doris Klein is a member of the Congregation of Sisters of Agnes. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and ministers as a spiritual director, artist and graphic designer. She says she never considered herself to be an artist until one day she found that her drawings and watercolours were inspiring other. People saw […]

The Church and Art

Posted on 19. May, 2016 in Art, Church Teachings, Nature

At the recent Soul Waves Radio AGM Brendan Staunton SJ gave a talk on the Church and Art talking about how the Church has used Art to communicate its message. He also looked at how art had to adapt itself with the advent of photography. He says the Church could learn from modern and contemporary art […]

The Spirituality of Virginia Woolf

Posted on 10. Mar, 2016 in Art, Book Reviews, Christian Values, Spirituality, War / Civil Unrest

Well-known author Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) may have been an atheist, but she nonetheless had a rich and deep spirituality, according to Professor Stephanie Paulsell of the Harvard Divinity School. She spoke in Milltown Park on March 8, at the invitation of SpIRE, the Spirituality Institute for Research and Education. Professor Paulsell described Woolf’s family ties […]

A Renaissance Man

Posted on 19. Nov, 2015 in Achievement, Art, Death, Education

Michael Paul Gallagher, a Jesuit and Renaissance man who was a renowned author and academic recently passed away. Last week we played a piece from the archives on his work on imagination and belief and this week we hear form Brendan Stauntan SJ who was a friend and colleague. He begins by talking about how […]

The Soul in Art Part 2

Posted on 29. Oct, 2015 in Art, Nature

Last week we spoke with Eve Parnell about her Italian collection of art work from her exhibition Postcard to Ireland in the RDS library. This week we look at her exhibition from German and Finland. Here she draws on the themes of compassion and the universality of our human natures. In her German exhibition she […]

The Soul in Art

Posted on 22. Oct, 2015 in Art, Christian Values, Church Teachings

Having just exhibited her work throughout Europe, Eve Parnell brings her current exhibition, A Postcard to Ireland, to the RDS.

 Characterised by a sense of wonder at the world along with the people, nature and objects that lie within it, A Postcard to Ireland also taps into Eve’s appreciation of her faith and of religious […]