Are you the MikeFitz who took the photographs of a group of young people on pilgrimage to Lourdes back in July of 2007. I am a sociologists who is working on a project of a textbook publisher who has asked me to create a series of two page spreads on various topics. I am working on one that is exploring the question “just how secular are we?” and would love to use two of your photographs of this group. It all depends upon the approval of the publisher. they would of course want a high resolution image, and they would purchase the photos and credit you in the caption.

Are you interested?

best,

John Grady
Professor of Sociology
Wheaton college
Norton, MA USA
02766

Thanks for your comment and welcome.

Yes, I can see what motivates Francophiles now. And we certainly did cover a lot of ground. Each day, as I drove, Mrs Fitz spent half the time scouring the guide books and creating lists of things we must not miss. She then spent the other half the time reluctantly crossing things off the list because there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

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Michael: I hope you don’t mind that I edited your comment down so it fits in my tiny brain.

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Stuart: Let Mrs Fitz know and she’ll tell you where to go. She tells me where to go all the time.

The best of da Vinci’s genius is not his paintings as art. Yes the art is exquisite, world class when viewed as art but what he put within and even more importantly outside the frame of the art is quickly becoming recognized by more and more people world-wide, as the proof of his absolute all time world class genius.

The art techniques he developed were cutting edge, seminal and unique, never before seen brush less masterpieces…. but even these revolutionary techniques and artistic quality pale when compared to the intellectual encryptions the master scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, and yes artist placed within the artworks using even more astonishing techniques, hundreds of years ahead of their time.

One such technique used by Leonardo was the optical illusion, the subtle use of light and shade to give the impression of visually expected objects and effects, while masking a second and to him more important item, message or visually illusive construct. Such is the case in the Mona Lisa.

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Several paragraphs removed from here - MikeFitz
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It is very interesting to note and speculate upon the reason(s) that the Mona Lisa was never delivered to Gioconda family. It remained with Leonardo da Vinci until his death in Ambrose, France in 1519. The painting was his most cherished and protected possession. He loved the portrait so much that he carried it with him on all of his travels throughout Italy and in his later years while conducting studies at the Vatican. He kept the painting with him while he was in Ambrose, France where he spent his twilight years.
Why? Is it because it held meaning beyond the actual artwork, exquisite though it was?

Anything hidden could very well have been construed to be the “work of the Devil” by an overly repressive and dominant Catholic church of the time. Or are there other reasons?

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Several more paragraphs trimmed from here.

Mike
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