galleria – Canto

Mixed media photograph? A giant, free-standing dome straddles the beach, standing half on yellow sand, half on water. The waves rush in through a hole in its wall, while the sunlight streams into the dome from a hole in its roof. A figure stands in the surf, looking out to sea. — Facebook, via Tumblr.

Yunanistan…Griechenland…Greece ..

{x}

Common Raven (Corvus corax), 12623a, male, Jul

Museum prepared photograph of the full right wing of a Common Raven (Corvus corax), dorsal view. — “Common Raven, 12623a, male, Jul” (1991), Wing and Tail Image Collection.
Slater Museum of Natural History, University of Puget Sound.

{x}

Fine art painting. A knight carries a toddler, facing a green meadow. His back is to the viewer, his face hidden, and we see the polished dark gray plate and rivets of his armour, and the lavish brocade of his red tunic, the neckline peeking out from the armour. The red-cheeked, curly-haired toddler looks back toward the viewer: face touching the knight's, a hand on the knight's shoulder, a contented look on the face. A green meadow lies beyond them, dotted with bushes, a path winding through the grass. — “Knight Carrying Child”, from The Book of Old English Songs and Ballads.” By Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1872-1945).

Fine art painting. In a bedroom, a tiny baby lies swaddled and asleep in a wooden, rocking cradle. Bending over the child is an angel robed in a luxurious copper robe; her hair is rich brown; her feathered wings are iridescent blue, teal, and copper. She holds a gold-trimmed casket in her hands like an gift, and gazes at the baby serenely, perhaps thoughtfully. Behind the child, next to its cradle, is its parents' four-poster bed: the bedcovers are a colourful geometric pattern; green curtains surround it. On the other side of the bed is a woman in a dark blue dress and a white headscarf, making some sort of toy with her fingers. She doesn't seem to notice the angel's presence. — “The Gift That Is Better Than Rubies” (1899) by Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1872-1945).

Fine art painting of a mediaeval scene. A young girl kneels in a garden of flowers inside a castle. She is dressed like a royal princess -- a blue gown with long sleeves, a colourful sash, and a headdress fixed by a little tiara. An angel-child stands next to her, robed in white, blonde head surrounded by a halo. The angel is holding the princess-girl's hand, smiling serenely, while the princess looks upon the angel with surprise and wonder. In the background, two other girl children, robed in red and blue in similar styles as the princess, look on in hushed surprise. — From “The Story of St Elizabeth of Hungary”. By Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale (1872-1945).

“Maids of Elfen-Mere”, Dante Gabriel Rosetti

Engraving. Three maidens in plain white robes stand in a circle. Each holds in her left hand a spool of thread or hair; in her right hand the end of the thread attached to a spindle. A young man in a dark tunic sits at their feet: his face is turned away from them, his expression grim. Together, the three women chant some unheard incantation over the youth. — “Maids of Elfen-Mere”. By Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882); engraved by the Dalziel Brothers; published 1855.

Fine art painting. A corridor inside a church, seen through a gothic arch. Paintings, plaques, and statuary of Roman Catholic figures adorn the walls: the Virgin Mary, Jesus the child, various saints. Two archways are seen in this corridor, leading deeper into the shadowed interior, where a shadowy figure stands. To the right an unseen glow of light illuminates this corridor. A warm, soft, peaceful comfort permeates this view. — “Interior of a Church” (1859). Max Emanuel Ainmiller.

{x}

Fine art painting of a covered well, surrounded by walls of brick and stone. Stone steps surround the well and lead up a staircase to a door, ajar, in the wall. Above the well is a circular skylight, with foliaged roots of plants hanging down. Also hanging through the skylight are two buckets, suspended above the water. A cold winter light shines down on the well, and snow dusts the stone steps and the surface of the still water. — “Well of Daylight – The Snow” (1994). By Jean-Marie Pumeyrol.

Fine art painting of a broken-down, abandoned architectural landscape. The stone walls of a building rise out of still reflective waters. A doorway with flanking columns is set into the wall, one door closed, the other ajar, peering into dim interiors. The lintel above the doors is cracked; the landing broken and tilting into the waters. A buffer wheel-tyre hangs off the landing; a pole (for securing boats) lists in the water. A beam of sunlight shines down and casts light and shadow upon this forgotten scene. — “Souvenir de Venise, 1978–1978”. By Jean-Marie Poumeyrol.

“Chasm”, by Michael Whelan

Fantasy painting. A beam of light pours down a sheer stone wall, mottled and stained with age. A shallow, triangular-shaped recess has been cut into this otherwise unbroken wall. A girl in a white robe stands on the edge of this recess, gripping its sloping side, looking down into the chasm. — “Chasm” (2000) by Michael Whelan.

This is a metaphor of life on so many levels.

This image is so evocative; it touches me to my very core. Sometimes I am there in dreaming. Sometimes I am there in reality. Always, that exhilarating, terrifying feeling in my core – in my mind, in my heart, in my bones, in my kidneys.

He says: there is only one way. One way to death, one way to destiny.

She will fall to be lost in the abyss, and she will rise in indomitable flight. She will fly, or walk on air. Of course. Doesn’t it always turn out that way?