James Baresel, Author at Catholic Herald

James Baresel

A sculptor whose masterful art united Spain and Tuscany

January 23, 2020

Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain By CD Dickerson III Yale, 244pp, £40/$55 Given Alonso Berruguete’s artistic education in Italy at the height of the Renaissance and his subsequent influence in his native Spain, it would not be surprising if this book was merely another tribute to the style and international impact of the

The Borgia story isn’t all debauchery

November 14, 2019

The Borgias: Power and Fortune By Paul Strathern Atlantic Books, 400pp, £25/$28.95 The dubious distinction of serving as the stereotypical exemplars of Renaissance ecclesial corruption is held by the Borgias, a family as infamous as any in Renaissance Italy for its embrace of that era’s mixture of neo-classical learning and aesthetics with the depths of

Not just breakfast: How Tiffany revolutionised the stained-glass window

October 03, 2019

Eternal Light by Catherine Shotick D Giles, 82pp, £20/$25 In the 19th century artistic movements attempted to revive styles associated with the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. They embraced long-neglected techniques and even rediscovered ones which had been lost to human memory for centuries. But it was also a time in which artists, particularly in

Frederick II clashed with the Pope, but he was no secularist

September 05, 2019

The Two Powers By Brett Edward Whalen University of Pennsylvania Press, 328pp, £70/$80 Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241) may not be among the most forgotten of the vicars of Christ, but neither is he remembered as well as might be expected for a pope who had such a decisive impact on the life of the Church.

Russell Kirk’s fiction is unjustly ignored

August 08, 2019

The writings of Catholic convert Russell Kirk exert no more than a marginal influence outside of limited circles, which is a common cause for lament among the best contemporary American political thinkers and social critics. I share this view. But I would add that at least the accomplishments of the self-described “Bohemian Tory” as a

The royal bully who retired to a monastery

August 01, 2019

Emperor: A New Life of Charles V By Geoffrey Parker Yale, 760pp, £25/$35 Early 16th-century demographics can lead one to wonder how Protestantism managed to establish itself not just as a major religion but also one with considerable political power. Outside northern Germany almost every institution holding significant political power opposed both formal separation from

Wren brought Rome to London – without ever going there

April 18, 2019

Sir Christopher Wren By Paul Rabbitts Shire Publications, 96pp, £9.99/$14 Displaying a typically Victorian aversion to the classicising aesthetics of 17th- and 18th-century architecture, Anthony Trollope once attempted to satirise English Palladian and English Baroque styles by saying that they would be called Italian despite the fact that they did not look like anything found

Christians weren’t Ancient Rome’s only victims

March 28, 2019

Ten Caesars By Barry Strauss Simon and Schuster, 432pp, £20/$28 One is naturally disposed to be defensive of “Western civilisation”, in part because the term is often used as a euphemism for civilisations influenced by Christianity, in part because such alternatives as Sharia law are unappealing, and partly because of increasing hostility to the social

When Native Americans backed the Jacobite cause

March 14, 2019

Storm of the Sea by Matthew R Bahar Oxford University Press, 320pp, £22.99/$35 It was 1715 and a tribal people were preparing to assist in restoring Britain’s exiled Royal House of Stuart, sharpening tomahawks, covering themselves in war paint and raising sails on ships built to the highest technical standards of the day. No, I

The surprising truth about the Roman army at the time of Christ

February 28, 2019

The Roman Army and the New Testament By Christopher Zeichmann Fortress Academic, 208pp, £60/$80 Few phrases are as cringe-inducing as “the historical Jesus”, with its implication that there is an alternative, mythical Jesus created by those wishing to deny the historical accuracy of the New Testament, orthodox Christology and the supernatural generally. Defence of the

How Westminster Abbey suffered from no longer being Catholic

January 31, 2019

Treasures of Westminster Abbey By Tony Trowles Scala Art, 176pp, £16.99/$25 Walking into once Catholic churches appropriated by other religious bodies tends to produce the sense that “we were robbed”, but there are not many that I would be more interested in seeing restored to Catholic ownership than Westminster Abbey. This is a point on

Henry VI: The well-meaning ruler whose world fell to pieces

December 06, 2018

Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou By Amy License, Pen and Sword Books, 256pp, £19.99/$35 During my days as an undergraduate, a professor of history under whom I was studying once summarised the standards of medieval chivalry as “pagan warrior codes with a Christian veneer”. It would be hard to find a summary of any

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