paintings

Mary and Joseph watch over the rabbis in Jesus' circumcision ceremony, in which He also received His name. The traditional ceremony is depicted with ample detail by Fernando Sayan Polo, in a replica of an anonymous painting from the Cuzco School of Religious Paintings. Preparing the canvas with gesso, Sayan expertly paints with oils and gild applications.

Titled " Circuncision del Señor" in Spanish.

"This personage is magical and can fly. A kind of shaman or warrior priest that is often portrayed in pre-Hispanic iconography," says Estrada as he confides his inspiration. "According to ancient beliefs, this character had the power to unite the three worlds, the superior, the central or terrestrial, and the underworld. The creature that I evoke combines several cultures, including Paracas in Peru, and Egyptian mysticism."

Titled "Personaje volador" in Spanish.

Buddha´s head appears in profile in this sublime study by Tanachai Ekuruchaitep. Lichen adds texture and realism to the sculpted stone image, reflecting the ancient atmosphere of Khmer temples. The artist is inspired by the Sukothai Buddha images whose style originated in Ceylon. Buddha's serenity is intensified by the dark background.

Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation, filled with breathtaking ancient temples, pagodas and other architectural wonders constructed to worship Buddha. In Thailand images of Buddha play an important role beyond mere decoration. They are traditionally placed within the home in special locations, such as shrines or pedestals, to help facilitate everyday religious worship.

Brahmin and Buddhist cosmology overlap in the veneration of Ganesha. In Thailand, the Hindu deity is known as Phra Pikanet or Phra Phikhanesawora. Tanachai Ekuruchaitep depicts the auspicious lord as a stone sculpture where lichen attest to the passing centuries.

Stylized lions guard a bodhi tree in this composition by Parinya Nanjai. They represent Kraisorn Rajasri, a group of pure lions that live in the Himmaphan forest of Hindu myth. It is said that Buddha achieved enlightenment while meditating beneath a bodhi tree, which then became known as the "enlightened" tree. Some of these trees in Thailand are said to derive from cuttings of the original bodhi, and people use stakes to prop their branches.

Nanjai names this work "Kraisorn Rajasri," and frames the painting in rain tree wood.