Showing 81 articles
Genius of the Northern Renaissance – Albrecht Dürer
Author: Tim LeahyMay 25, 2022
If you were asked to name an artist of the Renaissance who was a superb painter, draughtsman, and skilled in science and mathematics, you would most likely think of Leonardo da Vinci. But there were others, and foremost among them was a German artist named Albrecht Dürer. Dürer was the leading artist of what is [...]
Education and Art
Author: Sabine LeitnerApril 30, 2022
There are many studies that show that involvement in the arts can lead to increased academic performance. Dance, drama, music, and the visual arts in the school curriculum enable children to develop self-confidence and self-understanding, problem solving skills, perseverance and discipline, focus and concentration, creativity, self-directed learning, collaboration and many others – these are [...]
The Gothic Cathedral : A Vessel of Light on Earth
Author: Florimond KrinsApril 18, 2022
The Gothic period started at the beginning of the 12th century – in 1128, to be precise – when 9 knights came back from Jerusalem after spending 10 years in the Temple of Solomon. They were the first Knights Templar (from the Temple of Solomon). From that moment, in France and all over Europe, Gothic [...]
The Way of the Warrior – Embracing the ‘Inner Battle’
Author: Agostino DominiciApril 18, 2022
I am imagining depicted on a Renaissance tapestry the scene of a ‘battle’. This tapestry is woven together by four threads or themes: war (and the warrior), initiation, Kali Yuga and askesis. War and the warrior Since the beginning of recorded history the theme of war has always occupied an important place in the minds [...]
ART AS A JOURNEY WITHIN – An Interview with Olivia Fraser
Author: The Acropolitan Magazine Editorial teamMarch 28, 2022
For centuries art has been a natural means to express one’s inner journey – be it as a community or as an individual search. So has it been for Olivia Fraser, who has used her art to uplift, to produce wonder and beauty, and to find the ‘inner essence’ of things. Olivia Fraser moved to [...]
Music and I
Author: Kurush DordiJune 29, 2021
Today we live in a world dominated by thousands of music streaming apps catering to a variety of genres. Although Pop, Rock, Jazz, Hip hop, and Electronic Dance Music are all popular, for me Western Classical Music is the shining jewel of the treasure box. It has its own language, awakens emotions, and rehabilitates me [...]
Art and Philosophical Ideals
Author: Rasha KawarMay 13, 2021
Art has the ability to elevate us. In equal measure it can provoke, disturb, and challenge us. Art can do many things, but perhaps at its best it can connect us not only to each other, but also to something higher, a more perfect ideal beyond the realm of the material. There are many lenses [...]
The Power of Sound
Author: Paul CummingsMay 12, 2021
Paying attention to what you hear is a way to relax. The sounds of nature provide a great deal of meditational calmness, such as listening to the rolling of ocean waves or bird song in the garden. Our ancestors strived to achieve entering altered states of mind by making sounds. They did this by chanting [...]
Reviving a Culture of Human Values
Author: Zarina ScrewvalaMarch 31, 2021
The New Acropolis Culture Circle explores the diverse expressions of culture through a series of intimate and interactive presentations, in an attempt to revive the spiritual essence that forms the basis of all classical art and culture. Far from being definitive, this article is an attempt to share a synthesis of my learning from some of the [...]
Titian: Combining the Sensual with the Divine
Author: Siobhan FarrarNovember 19, 2020
Titian (c. 1488-1576) is arguably the greatest Venetian painter of the Italian Renaissance, who earned European-wide fame and recognition during his own lifetime. The collection of paintings referred to as his ‘poesies’ (a name he coined himself) delineate poetic pictures or poetry produced in painting and draw upon the Roman poet Ovid’s classic epic, Metamorphoses [...]
The Dance of Life
Author: Trishya ScrewvalaOctober 14, 2020
Dance is a universal language that transcends geography and time; it is a means to express sentiments that cannot be captured in words. Although forms of dance differ across cultures, the aspiration of a true dancer always seems to remain the same – to assimilate and internalize principles of beauty, harmony and grace through movement [...]
Aesthetic Intelligence
Author: Sabine LeitnerOctober 1, 2020
We have probably all heard about different types of intelligence: kinaesthetic, verbal, logical-mathematical and lately also emotional and even spiritual intelligence. Recently I came across the term aesthetic intelligence and it inspired me to think about what this could mean in a philosophical and metaphysical way and why it might be important. From a philosophical [...]