Lê Phô, Mai Thứ, and Vũ Cao Đàm lived in France and learned French artistic techniques but never forgot the Buddhas and spirits of Vietnam’s tradition.
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The Enigmas of Picasso’s “Crucifixion”
A great and difficult work, it has been called “a blind spot in Picasso scholarship.” What does it really have to do with religion?
Is Turin Really “the City of Magic”? 4. The Legend of the “City of the Devil”
The legend of Turin as the “city of the Devil” derives from nineteenth-century memories but also from a goliardic prank of the late 1960s.
Is Turin Really “the City of Magic”? 3. The Waldensian Myth and the Alternatives to Catholicism
Although it has nothing to do with magic, the 19th-century tolerance for religions other than the Catholic Church in Turin helped create the myth of the “capital of alternative spiritualities”
Is Turin Really “the City of Magic”? 2. Spirits in Turin
In the 19th century, Turin was conquered—for a time, more than other Italian cities—by the fashion for spiritualism.
Is Turin Really “the City of Magic”? 1. A City of Wonders
The idea of Turin as the capital of alternative spirituality was born in the 19th century, with the flourishing in the city of “magnetizers” and “somnambulists.”
The Early Pollock and the Esoteric Pollock
Visitors to the important Paris exhibition would not learn about his esoteric connections. But they can find them in his paintings.
Metamorphosis and Theosophy Around Raoul Dal Molin Ferenzona
The theme of the androgyne has a long history in Western culture and came to Ferenzona through the Rosicrucians and the Theosophical Society.
An Outsider Artist, the Bible, and the Aliens: Prophet Royal Robertson
The work of the Louisiana outsider painter owes much to his schizophrenia but is also uniquely related to popular millennialism and UFO lore.
The Esoteric Munch: An Exhibition in Milan
The most visited exhibition of 2024 in Italy offers an opportunity to revisit the Norwegian painter’s interests in Spiritualism, Theosophy, and the demonic.