Anthony Esolen and "Masterpiece Christmas: To Read a Work of Art"

Developing Classical Thinkers

In this webinar, just in time for the 2023-Christmas season, Dr. Anthony Esolen walked viewers through four seminal pieces of art including: "The Nativity" by Giotto (1314-1315), "The Presentation of the Holy Family" by Mantegna (1455), "Christ among the Doctors" by Dirck van Baburen (1622), and "The Holy Family" by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1650).
The beauty we see, hear, or touch has the power to enter our minds and memories more powerfully than do philosophical or political abstractions expressed in words. As teachers, we must remember this, especially when we want to introduce our students to ways of life embodied in another culture. A painting -- even the decorated hilt of a sword -- can work wonders. Dr. Anthony Esolen received his A.B. in English Literature from Princeton University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Renaissance English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Esolen has been a professor of literature and humanities for 35 years and is the author or translator of more than 30 books, which include a range of English translations, analyses of culture, literary and Biblical criticisms, meditations on modern education, meditations on the Christian life, and original poetry. Dr. Esolen is a senior editor and regular writer at Touchstone magazine and has published well over 1000 articles in a wide variety of journals. With his wife, Debra, he writes a daily a web magazine, Word & Song, dedicated to language, music, poetry, and classic film.