This delightful book describes and interprets a series of forty full-color paintings for each day of Lent. Artists often address subjects that our culture seeks to avoid, and the brilliant and perceptive reflections from nun and art historian Sister Wendy Beckett will help you to read these paintings with a more discerning eye and encounter deeper levels of spiritual meaning than may at first appear.

'Sister Wendy's deep and insightful commentaries are utterly unique. You will want this splendid book for yourself but also to give to others.' Delia Smith

Hailed by The New York Times in 1997 as 'the most unlikely and famous art critic in the history of television', Sister Wendy Beckett went on to present numerous TV documentaries and published over thirty popular books on art history and appreciation.

Shortly before she died in December 2018, and nearly thirty years on from her first book, Sister Wendy was working with SPCK on an anthology of her all-time favourite paintings. The result is this enthralling collection, which will delight her many fans all over the world while also inspiring a new generation of art lovers as they develop their understanding of the depths and subtleties of some of the world's greatest works of art.

Brimming with Sister Wendy Beckett's's irrepressible wisdom and enthusiasm, this little book explores the spiritual riches to be found in some of the world's greatest paintings of the Passion and resurrection of Jesus. Illustrated in full color with thirty famous and lesser-known masterpieces of Western art, The Art of Holy Week and Easter is a chance to hear again the voice of Sister Wendy as she leads you gently into a deep appreciation of all that these paintings convey to the discerning eye.

This book is based on several hundred letters, exchanged on an almost daily basis, during the last three years of Sister Wendy's life. Initially they dealt with lives of saints, the meaning of holiness, and the spiritual life, but they soon expanded into a deep and intimate exchange that encompassed our whole lives, the subject of love, suffering, joy, and the presence of grace in everyday life. For Sister Wendy--by calling and temperament, a hermit--this involved an expansion of her spiritual and emotional horizons that prepared her for her final days.

From the majesty of Genesis to the mystery of Revelation, the Bible contains some of the world's most powerful stories and sublime wisdom. It is also the inspiration for some of the greatest pictures ever painted. Adam and Even expelled from Paradise, Jacob wrestling with the angel, God appearing to Moses in the burning bush, Samson betrayed by Delilah, David slaying Goliath, the beauty of Bathsheba, the wisdom of Solomon; these are among the dramatic episodes and memorable characters from the Old Testament, portrayed here by artists such as Masaccio, Raphael, Rubens, Degas, and Rembrandt.

Then, in the New Testament, the figure of Jesus takes center stage, with his compelling parables and miracles depicted by artists such as Poussin, Delacroix, and van Gogh, and with major events in his ministry from the Nativity to the Resurrection painted by Botticelli, Piero, Duccio, Leonardo, Giotto, Titian, and Craigie Atchison. Commenting on these and many other works, Sister Wendy takes you on a journey into the heart of the Bible and of biblical art, making this a book you will want to turn to again and again.

Sister Wendy Beckett is one of the best-known art historians in the world today. Here, she explores her reactions to a painting that she finds uniquely compelling: the haunting Christ on a Cross by El Greco. As she candidly admits, I have always had trouble in talking about religious art. This surprising admission leads her to examine the very nature of religious and spiritual art, which, Sister Wendy argues, are not at all the same thing.
In the course of her discussion she takes a careful look at fourteen works by artists ranging from anonymous medieval masters to Paul Cézanne, in whose still lifes she finds the expression of a deep spirituality. The art of Correggio, Rubens, Millet, and others helps Sister Wendy arrive at a new understanding of just why it is that this particular El Greco painting speaks to her so profoundly.
Joy Lasts is a remarkable personal statement from one of the best-loved contemporary guides to the meaning and experience of art.

Sister Wendy Beckett, Dan Paulos, Sister Mary Jean Dorcy

In response to Pope John Paul's recent letter to artists to promote the Catholic faith through artistic evangelization, three well-known names in the field of sacred art have collaborated to produce this beautiful art book filled with visual and spiritual meditations. Sister Wendy Beckett, famed BBC and PBS art critic, presents her always unique meditations for each of the 54 wonderful silhouettes by the two foremost Catholic paper-cutting artists, Dan Paulos and the late Sister Mary Jean Dorcy. The result is what Sister Wendy calls an epiphany, a book that reveals the God of mercy, love and peace through deeply inspired art and reflections. A perfect Christmas gift!

Thus, this book and its title, In the Midst of Chaos, Peace, perfectly sum up the three collaborator's intent: to offer people in our modern, fast-paced and hectic world, spiritual and artistic meditations that take only a minute to ponder but can produce profound and lasting peace of soul.