Portrait of Susanna Lunden,* by Peter Paul Rubens

Photo credit:  The National Gallery, London UK

*When he was 53, Rubens married 16-year-old Hélène Fourment.  Susanna Lunden, née Fourment, was Hélène’s sister.

* * *

Just a few words before I continue to write about Refus global or Total Refusal 

Yesterday I received an e-mail in which I was informed that my e-mail account would be closed because I had exceeded the limit.  I thought the writer was referring to my personal e-mail account, but the bulky account was my gmail account.

I started reading the comments and realized I would be reading, approving and deleting for a long time.  I therefore deleted a large number of comments, many of which had also been published by WordPress.  But in the process, I learned who had subscribed to my blog.  These e-mails have not been deleted.

The moral of the story is that one should look at one’s gmail account on a regular basis.

I apologize to my readers whose comments may not have been posted.

Peter Paul Rubens: a Flemish Master

Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was active at a turning-point in European history.  Before the Renaissance, the Franco-Flemish lands were the cultural hub of Europe.  Adrian Willaert (1490 – 7 December 1562) went to Venice to teach music to the Italians!  Moreover, extraordinary miniaturists had illuminated (enluminures) books of hours that chronicled an entire era.  The Limbourg brothers ‘s Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry, or Belles Heures de Jean de France, is their foremost achievement.

I have written posts on Books of Hours (see list below), a lay version of the Canonical Hours kept by monks whose Gregorian chant is extremely rich. Vatican II, the Council that promulgated a degree a laicization of liturgy, such as using a modern language instead of Latin, had to make exceptions.  Gregorian chant was protected.