Jesus og Maria
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Sebastiano Serlio (1490–1554) is remembered primarily as an architect and theorist rather than a painter. His treatise, published in parts as *I sette libri dell'architettura* (later gathered as *Tutte l'opere d'architettura et prospetiva*), was among the most influential architectural books of the sixteenth century, helping to codify the classical orders for later generations of builders across Europe.
An Italian working in the Mannerist idiom, Serlio was part of the team of Italian artists brought in to build the Palace of Fontainebleau in France, a project that carried Italian Renaissance design north.
*Jesus og Maria*, an oil on panel, is held by the SMK — National Gallery of Denmark.
Background drawn from SMK — National Gallery of Denmark & Wikipedia
Today's poem
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
Robert Frost · 1916 · Public domain
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Robert Frost (1874–1963) was an American poet known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. He frequently drew on settings from New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.
"The Road Not Taken" is characteristic of that method: an ordinary scene — a walker choosing between two paths in a wood — becomes the vehicle for a larger reflection on choice and its consequences. The poem is often read as a straightforward celebration of individual decision, but its details complicate that reading. The speaker admits the two roads are worn "really about the same," undercutting any clear claim that one was less traveled.
The poem is composed in regular stanzas of five lines each, with a consistent rhyme scheme, and its diction stays close to plain, conversational speech. Its central image of the diverging roads has become one of the most quoted in American poetry.
Background drawn from curated & Wikipedia