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La statue fut exécutée de 1747 à 1750. Elle fut initialement placée dans le salon d'Hercule du château de Versailles, avant d'être transférée dans le salon de l'Orangerie du château de Choisy-le-Roi. Une reproduction sera placée dans le Temple de l'Amour, dans les Jardins du Petit Trianon à Versailles.

Le Louvre est redevenu propriétaire de l'original, sous la Restauration.

 

L'oeuvre originale porte l'inscription suivante : PAR EDME BOUCHARDON DE/CHAUMONT EN BASSIGNY/FAIT EN 1750.

 

All my images are copyrighted, feel free to contact me before using it. Thank you for your comments.

 

© jeremyflavien.com

Executing a Go-Around at EDDH while on an Airbus factory test flight

 

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The Christopher Columbus Memorial, executed by sculptor Giuseppe Ciochetti, was dedicated in Washington Park on October 12, 1927. Funded by the Associated Italian Societies of Newark and the Giuseppe Verdi Society, the memorial features a bronze portrait of Christopher Columbus atop a tall square base adorned with four bronze relief plaques depicting the commissioning, embarkation, voyage, and landing of Columbus. Each corner of the base, between the reliefs, is adorned with a standing female figure representing discovery. The female figures stand with their faces directed toward the sky and their hands raised to their chests. The corners above each female figure are carved with fluted stone columns, above which a bronze garland encircles the base. Un March 1973, one of the base plaques fell off and was taken to the Bureau of Parks and Ground warehouse to await replacement by the Department of Public Works. Graffiti was cleaned from the base of the memorial in April 1985.

It's a village situated in Haraz called Ayd,

Haraz is one of the most beautiful Districts located in Yemen,

Distance of 100 kilometers from the capital Sana'a City, Yemen

We alNajjar Architects got an opportunity to design and execute this ambitious project in year 2017, which was later finished in 2019.

We are proud and thankful to His Holiness Dr. Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin Aqa (TUS) who awarded this project to his Adna Gulam.

May he live prosperously till the day of judgement.

 

Marie Antoinette was executed, along with her husband King Louis XVI of France, in 1793. This medal shows the traditional detached aristocratic image on the obverse and the emotionally charged image of a mother being separated from her children in the face of the guillotine on the reverse.

 

Accession number: 1885 N1536.4

Washington, executed by Donald De Lue and Bryant Baker in 1959, was dedicated adjacent to the New Orleans Public Library on February 2, 1960 to mark the Lousiana Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Order of Masons' sesquicentennial. The monument features a full length heroic figure of George Washingtn, striding forward, in a Masonic apron.

Cpl. Dusten R. Bradburn, right, directs his military working dog, Falco, July 2 in the Central Training Area. MWDs and their handlers executed improvised explosive device detection training, in which the dog teams patrolled through areas with odors typically associated with IEDs. The goal of the training was to identify all indicators in the lane. Bradburn is a Springfield, Colorado, native and military working dog handler with 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion, III Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, III MEF. Falco is a patrol explosive detection dog with the battalion. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Drew Tech/Released)

To the south of the high altar stands the most artistically significant of Framlingham's tombs, that of 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard (d.1554), uncle to both of Henry VIII's executed queens (Anne Boleyn & Catherine Howard) and also his first wife Anne Plantagenet (d.1511), the fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Howard,_3rd_Duke_of_Norfolk

 

The tomb itself is remarkable as perhaps the last example of traditional Catholic iconography appearing on a church monument in this country and an extremely rare example of what the English Renaissance might have been had the Reformation not suffocated it. The figures of Apostles adorn the tomb chest in a rich display and fusion of late medieval and Renaissance styles, the niches that frame them being wholly in the latter spirit.

 

Framlingham was perhaps my most anticipated target of the day, one of the 'big three' of my itinerary that I knew I'd require more time for, and getting later in the afternoon I was increasingly anxious about not arriving here too late. St Michael's is justly renowned for its fine tombs, really special and quite unique, and is an impressive building in its own right. I was fortunately here a while until closing time, and the ladies on duty I met kindly checked I'd got all I wanted before locking up and even gave me access to the organ gallery for some great final views of the interior.

 

The church announces its presence with its handsome 15th century west tower, poking proudly above the rooftops in the oldest part of the town. The churchyard is set back from the streets and reveals a grand, fairly sprawling building, all apparently late medieval but some of it later still. What strikes the observer most is the way the chancel with its aisles has spread outwards, being of far greater width than the nave, which though of good proportions itself appears rather slim by comparison. The reason for this discrepancy becomes clear within.

 

Entry is by the south porch and it is immediately clear what an impressive space this is, very much the large town church. The nave is light and crowned by a fine medieval roof and opposite the entrance the eye is drawn to a 15th century mural of the Trinity. At the west end in the gallery is the handsome Baroque organ case of the precious 17th century Thamar organ, its pipes painted with swirling foliate designs. In the north aisle is the medieval font following the classic East Anglian design but less well preserved than some.

 

Stepping beyond the nave the chancel seems like a separate building, with its aisle split into three vessels of equal height like some great pillared hall. It is light and spacious and at first sight appears a little austere until one notices the cluster of tombs at the east end on either side, which are the reason for this part of the building's existence which was finished only in 1554 in order to house them. The Tudor tombs belong to the family of the Dukes of Norfolk who at the time owned nearby Framlingham Castle and made this church a family mausoleum as a direct consequence of losing their previous chosen resting place, Thetford Priory, to the Dissolution and thus the earlier tombs were transferred from there shortly after they were originally erected.

 

The tombs are a remarkable expression of English Renaissance design on the cusp of the Reformation and thus still informed as much by medieval precedents as the more standard forms of the following decades. The oldest is that of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and illegitimate son of Henry VIII who married in to the Norfolk family. His tomb has no effigy but is adorned with some fetching small-scale reliefs. Much grander is the tomb of the wives of the 4th Duke nearby with recumbent effigies, but for me the most significant tomb here artistically is that of 3rd Duke Thomas Howard to the south of the altar. This remarkable monument is the best example we have of how English Renaissance church art might have blossomed without the Reformation, for the tomb chest is adorned with with a series of carved apostles in the medieval format but in detail wholly Renaissance, the figures in a still familiar on the continent but extremely rare over here. Award for the most colourful tomb however goes to that of Henry Howard on the north side (erected several decades after his execution under Henry VIII) and adorned with richly painted effigies, heraldic beasts and kneeling progeny.

 

Framlingham church would be worth a visit even without its fine tombs but these monuments make it unmissable, especially as they capture such a snapshot of one of the most turbulent periods of English history. I was duly relieved to have got here before they closed, but the church is generally kept open and welcoming in normal times so those getting less distracted than me en route here shouldn't have to worry so much about getting in.

 

For more on this fine church see its entry on the Suffolk Churches site below:-

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/framcofe.html

The Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a Baroque palace at the Fürstengasse in the 9th District of Vienna, Alsergrund . Between the palace, where the Liechtenstein Museum was until the end of 2011, and executed as Belvedere summer palace on the Alserbachstraße is a park. Since early 2012, the Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a place for events. Part of the private art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein is still in the gallery rooms of the palace. In 2010 was started to call the palace, to avoid future confusion, officially the Garden Palace, since 2013 the city has renovated the Palais Liechtenstein (Stadtpalais) in Vienna's old town and then also equipped with a part of the Liechtenstein art collection.

Building

Design for the Liechtenstein Garden Palace, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1687/1688

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

1687 bought Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein a garden with adjoining meadows of Count Weikhard von Auersperg in the Rossau. In the southern part of the property the prince had built a palace and in the north part he founded a brewery and a manorial, from which developed the suburb Lichtental. For the construction of the palace Johann Adam Andreas organised 1688 a competition, in the inter alia participating, the young Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Meanwhile, a little functional, " permeable " project was rejected by the prince but, after all, instead he was allowed to built a garden in the Belvedere Alserbachstraße 14, which , however, was canceled in 1872.

The competition was won by Domenico Egidio Rossi, but was replaced in 1692 by Domenico Martinelli. The execution of the stonework had been given the royal Hofsteinmetzmeister (master stonemason) Martin Mitschke. He was delivered by the Masters of Kaisersteinbruch Ambrose Ferrethi , Giovanni Battista Passerini and Martin Trumler large pillars, columns and pedestal made ​​from stone Emperor (Kaiserstein). Begin of the contract was the fourth July 1689 , the total cost was around 50,000 guilders.

For contracts from the years 1693 and 1701 undertook the Salzburg master stonemason John and Joseph Pernegger owner for 4,060 guilders the steps of the great grand staircase from Lienbacher (Adnet = red) to supply marble monolith of 4.65 meters. From the Master Nicolaus Wendlinger from Hallein came the Stiegenbalustraden (stair balustrades) for 1,000 guilders.

A palazzo was built in a mix of city and country in the Roman-style villa. The structure is clear and the construction very blocky with a stressed central risalite, what served the conservative tastes of the Prince very much. According to the procedure of the architectural treatise by Johann Adam Andreas ' father, Karl Eusebius, the palace was designed with three floors and 13 windows axis on the main front and seven windows axis on the lateral front. Together with the stems it forms a courtyard .

Sala terrene of the Palais

1700 the shell was completed. In 1702, the Salzburg master stonemason and Georg Andreas Doppler took over 7,005 guilders for the manufacture of door frame made ​​of white marble of Salzburg, 1708 was the delivery of the fireplaces in marble hall for 1,577 guilders. For the painted decoration was originally the Bolognese Marcantonio Franceschini hired, from him are some of the painted ceilings on the first floor. Since he to slow to the prince, Antonio Belucci was hired from Venice, who envisioned the rest of the floor. The ceiling painting in the Great Hall, the Hercules Hall but got Andrea Pozzo . Pozzo in 1708 confirmed the sum of 7,500 florins which he had received since 1704 for the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall in installments. As these artists died ( Pozzo) or declined to Italy, the Prince now had no painter left for the ground floor.

After a long search finally Michael Rottmayr was hired for the painting of the ground floor - originally a temporary solution, because the prince was of the opinion that only Italian artist buon gusto d'invenzione had. Since Rottmayr was not involved in the original planning, his paintings not quite fit with the stucco. Rottmayr 1708 confirmed the receipt of 7,500 guilders for his fresco work.

Giovanni Giuliani, who designed the sculptural decoration in the window roofing of the main facade, undertook in 1705 to provide sixteen stone vases of Zogelsdorfer stone. From September 1704 to August 1705 Santino Bussi stuccoed the ground floor of the vault of the hall and received a fee of 1,000 florins and twenty buckets of wine. 1706 Bussi adorned the two staircases, the Marble Hall, the Gallery Hall and the remaining six halls of the main projectile with its stucco work for 2,200 florins and twenty buckets of wine. Giuliani received in 1709 for his Kaminbekrönungen (fireplace crowning) of the great room and the vases 1,128 guilders.

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

The garden was created in the mind of a classic baroque garden. The vases and statues were carried out according to the plans of Giuseppe Mazza from the local Giovanni Giuliani. In 1820 the garden has been remodeled according to plans of Joseph Kornhäusel in the Classical sense. In the Fürstengasse was opposite the Palais, the Orangerie, built 1700s.

Use as a museum

Already from 1805 to 1938, the palace was housing the family collection of the house of Liechtenstein, which was also open for public viewing, the collection was then transferred to the Principality of Liechtenstein, which remained neutral during the war and was not bombed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called Building Centre was housed in the palace as a tenant, a permanent exhibition for builders of single-family houses and similar buildings. From 26 April 1979 rented the since 1962 housed in the so-called 20er Haus Museum of the 20th Century , a federal museum, the palace as a new main house, the 20er Haus was continued as a branch . Since the start of operations at the Palais, the collection called itself Museum of Modern Art (since 1991 Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation ), the MUMOK in 2001 moved to the newly built museum district.

From 29 March 2004 till the end of 2011 in the Palace was the Liechtenstein Museum, whose collection includes paintings and sculptures from five centuries. The collection is considered one of the largest and most valuable private art collections in the world, whose main base in Vaduz (Liechtenstein) is . As the palace, so too the collection is owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation .

On 15 November 2011 it was announced that the regular museum operating in the Garden Palace was stopped due to short of original expectations, visiting numbers remaining lower as calculated, with January 2012. The Liechtenstein City Palace museum will also not offer regular operations. Exhibited works of art would then (in the city palace from 2013) only during the "Long Night of the Museums", for registered groups and during leased events being visitable. The name of the Liechtenstein Museum will no longer be used.

 

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Liechtenstein_(F%C3%BCrstengasse)

Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States.

 

The striking apartment house- at 45 East 66th Street stands at the corner of 66th Street and Madison Avenue and Is richly detailed with a profusion of Gothic ornament. The building creates a picturesque and imposing effect reminiscent of the neo-French Renaissance style which often employed Gothic detail. Executed in brick with terra-cotta trim, from the designs of the architectural firm of Harde & Short, this handsome apartment building with its distinctive corner tower was, when It was erected in 1906-08, among the earliest of Its type to be constructed In the city.

 

During the first decade of the 20th century, luxurious apartment houses gradually began to replace the opulent private residences of affluent New Yorkers who, for both economic and practical reasons, came to prefer apartment-styIe urban living. The convenience of apartment life was noted in many periodicals of the time and was praised by the architect, Lafayette A. Go Id stone, writing in Architecture (1918):

 

He [the apartment dweller] can be entirely Isolated and experience the joy of living 100 to 200 feet In the air, above the noise and dust of the street, and if he desires to travel need only dismiss his help and latch the front door, with none of the dreaded discomfort of closing up a huge house.

 

As early as 1884, The Dakota, one of the most impressive of the early luxury apartment buildings, had been constructed on 72nd Street and Central Park West. A number of elegant apartment houses were subsequently erected along Central Park West; however, construction of large deluxe apartment buildings along the fashionable streets of the Upper East Side did not occur until slightly Iater.

 

At the time that 45 East 66th Street was built, the surrounding neighborhood was characterized by low scale rowhouses. Only a few apartment buildings, such as Charles Piatt's neo-ltalian. Renaissance design at 131-35 East 66th Street (1905-07), stood nearby. After the construction of 45 East 66th Street, a number of elegant apartment houses were erected In this part of the Upper East Side. In 1909, the Verona was erected at 64th Street and Madison Avenue and In 1912, a large apartment house was built at 66th Street and Park Avenue.

 

The apartment buildings of the early 20th-century were designed by many of the most prestigious architects of the day and elegantly detailed in a wide variety of styles, including the neo-Gothic, neo-Renaissance and Trench Beaux-Arts. The use of elaborate architectural ornament on the exterior of the building symbolized the grandeur and luxury of the style of living within.

 

THE ARCHITECTS

 

The architectural firm of Harde & Short was responsible for many deluxe apartment houses throughout the city. Several of these buildings still stand

 

today and are among the most distinguished examples of' this early type of apartment design. Herbert Spencer Harde (1873-1958) studied architecture in London,* Returning to New York, Harde designed a number of tenement houses at the turn of the century. Between 1898 and 1900 he worked with both James I. Ware Associates and Ralph Townsend on tenements located on the Upper West Side.

 

Harde was listed as the owner of two of these properties. One of the earliest references to the architect, Richard Thomas Short, appears in I.N. Phelps Stokes' The Iconography of Manhattan Island ; it concerns a 1900 housing exhibition in which Short won first prize for his model tenement design. The first building known to have been designed by the firm of Harde & Short was "Red House," an apartment house erected in 1903-04 at 350 West 85th Street. Lavishly ornamented with features which recur in the later work of the firm, "Red House" still stands. The Gothic window detail of this building is quite similar to that used a few years later at 45 East 66th Street.

 

In 1906, Charles f. Rogers, president of Parkview Real Estate Company, commissioned Harde & Short to design the apartment house at 45 East 66th Street. Completed two years later, the building oriqinally had two apartments per floor. The extensive use of laroe windows, combined with the exuberant terra-cotta Gothic detail, give 45 Fast 66th Street an unusually handsome appearance. One of the most distinctive features of this apartment house, its corner tower, recalls Parisian apartment buildings of the time and was repeated In another of the firm's impressive works, Alwyn Court.

 

Erected In 1908-09, Alwyn Court, like 45 East 66th Street, Is magnificently ornamented with terra-cotta detail. A designated New York City Landmark, Alwyn Court was designed by Harde & Short In the neo-French Renaissance style and displays such characteristic features as the crowned salamander, the official symbol of Francois I.

 

Alwyn Court was named for Alwyn Ball, Jr., a member of the syndicate responsible for the building as well as for another apartment house by Harde & Short, known as The Studio. Strongly Gothic in character, The Studio, at 44 West 77th Street within the Central Park West-76th Street Historic District, was completed the same year as Alwyn Court. The original features of The Studio— such as the series of traceried arches elaborately crowned by crockets-close Iy resembled those at 45 East 66th Street.

 

Much of this fine detail was removed from The Studio In 1944, so that now 45 East 66th Street is the only Harde & Short apartment house which displays such a profusion of Intricate Gothic ornament.

 

Short also worked Independently of Harde and designed a variety of building types, including a police station (1907-08), which still stands on West 30th Street, and the Moorish style Kismet Temple Mystic Shrine (1909) in Brooklyn. Despite the high quality of the designs executed by Harde & Short durina the first decade of the 20th century, little is known about the architects after this period.

 

THE BUILDING

 

The striking ten-story high apartment building at 45 East 66th Street rises above the surrounding town houses and, with its distinctive corner tower and ornate red brick and IIght-colored terra-cotta facade, is reminiscent of the French Renaissance styf-e. The contrast between the red brick of the facade and the intricate light-colored terra-cotta features animates this building and creates a rich effect. The wealth of Gothic detail gives it an almost medieval quality and is characteristic of the early phase of the French Renaissance, which often used Gothic ornament.

 

The apartment house is composed of two facades — one facing Madison Avenue and the other 66th Street — which are connected by the full-height corner tower. Each of these facades Is divided vertically into three large bays of varying widths. At the far end of each facade, the widest of the bays -- five windows wide— projects slightly and is flanked by engaged spiral columns. Alone Madison Avenue, the other two bays are four windows wide, similar to the "hinoe" corner tower, while the two at the 66th Street facade are only three windows wide.

 

The building is now entered on 66th Street and the original entrance, set in the corner tower, has been remodeled. The first floor of the apartment house has been converted to commercial use and Is separated from the upper stories by a wide paneled band course which recurs above the second story windows. The twelve-over-twelve sash windows of the second story, with the exception of the eight-over-eight of the third story, are similar to those above and, in the extensive use of mullions, recall the- windows of Tudor architecture. The second and third-story windows share common round-shouIdered enframements and drip moldings which

have corbeled ends.

 

At the fourth story, a richly detailed stone balcony of scrollwork flanking vertical Dane Is elegantly crowns the three lower stories and extends around both facades, following the graceful curve of the corner tower. The upper stories are more elaborately embellished with Gothic ornament. Each of the tall window bays is flanked by narrow, pointed ribs. At either side of these bays, the walls are enlivened by light-colored terra cotta keyed to the brickwork, creating the effect of guoins. The spandrel Dane Is between the tweIve-over-tweIve windows of the fourth through the sixth stories are ornamented with a series of arched motifs.

 

Handsomely crowning the sixth story of each of the bays is a decorative canopy, character'!stic of the Gothic style. Executed in terra cotta, the canopy is composed of delicate ogee arches with crockets, flnials and tracery and creates a rich, sculptural effect above these windows. At each facade between the canopies, a larger trefoil arch in terra cotta is set against the brick wall between the two smaller bays and is capped by an elaborate finial.

 

At the four upper stories, the narrow pointed ribs continue at either side of the bays and terminate, above the tenth floor windows, in finials. Triple arches on corbels are set in the spandrel panels between the windows. Impressively crowning each of the tenth story windows is a large tracer led ogee arch with ornate finials. The delicate rhythm created by these terra-cotta features lends a distinctively picturesque quality to this building.

 

Comparatively simple in design, the roof cornice is carried on a series of diminutive corbeled arches, surmounted by a band of vertical grooves. Originally a high parapet was set above Hie cornice.

 

In Its striking scale and prolific use of elaborate architectural detail, the 45 East 66th Street Building Is an Impressive reminder of the grand era of the early luxury apartment house. As one of the first elegant apartment buildings of the 20th century, it stands out today as among the most distinctive extant designs of that period and as a vital architectural element In this part of the city.

 

- From the 1977 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report

RIVAL 52 executes a low approach during one of his passes in the VFR pattern.

 

This photo is my 2,000th photo uploaded to Flickr.

 

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A brilliantly executed casting from its very first release, the Hot Wheels 2019 Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss LT certainly likes to flaunt its almost Matchbox levels of stock realism. Hot Wheels pick-up trucks can sometimes be a little bit hit and miss but theres no question of which side this lands. Looking super clean in this latest 2020 recolour complete with licensed Belltech branding. Mint and boxed.

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - U.S. Army Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, execute a rehearsal of a mission for live fire operations during Decisive Action Rotation 15-02 at the National Training Center here, Nov. 11, 2014. The decisive action training environment was developed in order to create a common training scenario for use throughout the Army. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Probst, Operations Group, National Training Center)

Auguste Rodin, About 1885, Patinated plaster.

 

“Executed by Rodin around 1885 for The Gates of Hell, of which it would never become a part, this curled-up female nude suggests painful affliction. The work’s title was inspired by the Greek myth of the fifty daughters of King Danaus, all of them guilty of having slit their husband’s throat on their wedding night and condemned to fill a bottomless jug for eternity in Hell.”

 

“Contrary to traditional iconography showing the figures in action, Rodin chose to depict the despair of one of them: realizing the unproductiveness and inanity of her task, she falls and remains prostrate on the ground. Exhausted, Danaid places her head, “like a large sob,” on her arm. Her spreading hair, which Rainer Maria Rilke called liquid, merges with the water flowing from her jug. Here Rodin has constructed a female landscape by emphasizing the line of the back and the nape of the neck.”

 

“In 1889, Danaid was both enlarged and carved in marble. The success of this sculpture was such that Rodin made many copies in bronze and in marble.”

 

(Details from mmfarodin.com/w/la-danaide-grand-modele?lang=fr&from-...)

The Paddle Steamer Waverley executes a very wide 160 degree turn, near Sgeir Bhuidhe, which guards the yacht anchorage immediately east of Plockton. The engine piston to the crank that turns both paddles is fused, so it turns ‘gracefully' on the rudder only. Paddles cannot be disconnected for tight turns.

 

Hazy bright moist evening. Distance was about 1.2 miles/ 2 kms. Difficult photography with a long lens amidst a rising heat haze.

 

Passengers from Kyle onboard for 2.25 hours at £30 a ticket.

 

Waverley is run as a charity and circumnavigates the UK every year, carrying as many passengers on short trips as she can.

 

Wonderful old ship , but not all that old. Very elegant in every aspect.

 

PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world.

 

Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), she has been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.

 

Since 2003, Waverley has been listed in the National Historic Fleet by National Historic Ships UK as, "a vessel of pre-eminent national importance”.

 

I have sailed on her twice before, the first time with the family about 30 years ago from Weymouth to Bournemouth and return, in a very memorably phosphorescent sea.

 

Waverley makes passenger excursions from various British ports. She regularly sails from Glasgow and other towns on the Firth of Clyde, the Thames, the South Coast of England and the Bristol Channel. She also undertakes private charters and has provided a period setting for television documentaries and movies, such as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).

 

Primarily during the summer she is based on the Clyde, operating excursions from Glasgow, Greenock, Largs or Ayr.

 

Typically her Clyde timetable ends at the end of August and Waverley spends 6 weeks between September and October cruising the Bristol Channel, the Solent and the Thames before returning to the Clyde for two sailings in October.

 

On 3 September 2020, Waverley collided with the Brodick Pier on the Isle of Arran, causing damage to the bow. Twenty-four people were injured. The ship was carrying 213 passengers and 26 crew, who were temporarily stranded on Arran. A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, made an unscheduled sailing to return them to the Scottish mainland later that evening.

 

During the 2021 season Waverley was unable to operate south of the Clyde owing to crew availability. 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of her maiden voyage and she was able to return to other parts of the British coast.

Executed in Illustrator & Photoshop for a personal project.

Marines execute helicopter rope suspension techniques out of an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft March 12 during training at Camp Schwab, Okinawa. With these techniques, commonly referred to as fast-roping, Marines can execute tactical insertions and extractions where rotary aircraft landings are impractical, according to Marine Corps Reference Publication 3-11.4A. The Marines are with Force Reconnaissance Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

6th Regiment, Basic Camp Cadets execute standard drills for the Drill and Ceremony Competition at Ft. Knox, Ky. on 28 July 2018. Photo By: Inayah Bolton.

Glass by Charles Eamer Kempe in the Lady Chapel, c1890.

 

St Albans claims to be the earliest site of Christian pilgrimage in England, being named after our first martyr, who was executed at some point in the 3rd century AD (when the city was still known by its Roman name, Verulanium) having sheltered a persecuted Christian priest, St Amphibalus, and been impressed by his faith, offering himself for arrest in his place. Both men were buried here and Alban's tomb was venerated and marked in some form long before the present cathedral was built.

 

The cathedral is nonetheless one of the most ancient of our major churches, though its cathedral status dates only to 1877 when the new diocese of St Albans was formed. The church was originally founded as St Alban's Abbey, and built close to the presumed site of Alban's martyrdom. Founded in 793 by King Offa, the abbey was rebuilt several times with the earliest parts of the present cathedral dating back to the late 11th century. Much use was made of recycled material from the abandoned Roman city of Verulanium, and the handsome Romanesque tower appears to be entirely constructed of reused Roman bricks. The Abbey was built on an impressive scale, and must have once been a very wealthy institution owing to pilgrimages to the shrine of St Alban behind the high altar. However its fortunes had begun to decline even before the Reformation swept medieval monastic life away.

 

The abbey church miraculously survived the Dissolution in its entirety and was sold to the town for use as their parish church. The monastic buildings however were completely erased aside from the splendid Abbey Gatehouse near the west end, and only the weathered remains of arcading on the south side of the nave remains of the former cloisters. Upkeep thereafter seems to have been a serious challenge and the huge church spent much of the following centuries in poor repair, thus much work was done by a succession of architects in the Victorian period prior to the abbey church being raised to the status of cathedral. The most obvious interventions are those made by Edmund Beckett / Lord Grimthorpe, an amateur architect who paid for much of the work in the 1870s in return for a free hand in redesigning parts of the building. His are the strange turrets on ends of the transepts, along with their facade windows below and the west front, which is clearly a Victorian confection, though the medieval facade it replaced had been left in a rather bare, unfinished state.

 

The cathedral we see today is thus a rather surprising mixture of styles and materials, everything from Roman brick, flint and rubble to fine white limestone., which gives it a rather patchy appearance. Its great length however is remarkable, being the second longest medieval church in the country (only Winchester is longer, but St Albans has a longer nave). The oldest parts are the towers and transepts from the end of the 11th century, along with much of the north side of the nave, all fine examples of early Romanesque architecture. Most of the rest was rebuilt in the Gothic style in various phases throughout the 14th century, including the greater part of the nave and all of the choir and Lady Chapel (though the east end was heavily renewed externally in the Victorian restoration).

 

Entering the cathedral one cannot fail to be impressed by the enormous length of the nave,, mostly of late 13th and early 14th century date aside from the strikingly austere north arcade in the more easterly section, where the raw unadorned early Norman architecture contrasts dramatically with the more ornate Gothic arcade opposite. The Norman columns have the added appeal of retaining substantial remains of medieval mural decoration, with a succession of Crucifixion scenes that may have originally served as reredos to long vanished side altars. The medieval pulpitum screen remains and separates the eastern bays for use as the choir beyond it. This area also retains its flat late medieval wooden ceiling complete with painted panels of angels holding shields.

 

The transepts and crossing beneath the tower form an especially memorable interior space, again the architecture is of the more raw, auster Norman variety, but the tower arches are enlivened with painted decoration simulating brickwork and much Roman and Saxon material is incorporated in the transepts. Beyond is the fully Gothic eastern limb with the presbytery covered by a handsome medieval wooden vault, again replete it medieval painted decoration, and the striking altar reredos, a towering late medieval screen populated with elaborate niches and statuary (the latter being Victorian replacements for originals long lost). Behind this is the re-assembled shrine of St Alban (along with that of St Amphibalus in the south choir aisle nearby). The Lady Chapel beyond is a handsome example of 14th century Decorated Gothic, though much restored following centuries of use as a schoolroom separated from the rest of the church.

 

There is much of interest to see in the cathedral, though most of the furnishings are Victorian (the originals having long vanished) and there are few monuments of note aside from the two late medieval chantry chapels of Abbot Ramryge and Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, the latter overlooking the shrine of St Alban and balanced by a 15th century wooden watching loft on the opposite side (a rare survival). There is a mixture of glass, the most notable pieces being the most recent additions in the south aisle and north transept rose window. The best features are the unusually extensive remnants of medieval mural painting in various parts of the church, a quite remarkable survival, making a thorough exploration of this cathedral all the more rewarding.

 

This was my third visit, and longest one, though my attempt at a fuller photographic record was severely compromised by accidents with my camera, which at one point fell from my tripod onto the stone floor in one of the chantry chapels. I was lucky it survived at all given the dreadful crash it made, but it was seriously affected and my photos were very hit and miss from that point onwards. My day however ended on a happier note, returning in the evening to attend a lovely performance of Mozart's Requiem, and the acoustics in there are indeed impressive.

 

For more about the cathedral see below.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Albans_Cathedral

Pickering Castle is situated on the southern edge of the North York Moors on a limestone bluff which formerly overlooked the meeting point of two of the main highways through the north of England: the east-west route along the Vale of Pickering and the north-south route through Newton Dale to Malton. The monument consists of a single area which includes the site of the 11th century motte and bailey castle and the 13th century shell keep castle. The former was built by William the Conqueror either during or shortly after the 'harrying of the north' in 1069-70. It consisted of an earth motte crowned by a timber palisade, flanked on the north-west side by a crescent-shaped inner bailey and, on the south-east side, by a contemporary or slightly later outer bailey. The inner bailey measured c.120m by c.35m and was bounded to the north by a steep natural slope surmounted by a palisade and to the south by deep 15m wide ditches linked to the ditch encircling the motte. The outer bailey, which measured c.185m by c.25m, was protected on the north side by these same ditches and, on the south side, by a 5-8m high palisaded bank with an outer ditch. To the immediate east of the outer bailey ditch a further earthwork bank may have provided additional defence on this side; alternatively it may be part of a medieval defence system associated with the adjacent settlement. The motte is c.20m high and has a base diameter of c.60m. It is not yet clear whether this is the original 11th century motte or a later medieval reconstruction. In the latter case, the earlier motte will have been preserved inside the later while, in addition, the buried remains of a wide range of domestic and service buildings will survive within the open areas of the baileys.

 

The reconstruction of the castle in stone largely took place between 1180 and 1236. There were three main phases to the work at this time, the earliest involving the late 12th century replacement of the palisade round the inner bailey with a curtain wall and also the probable construction of the first shell keep on the motte. In its present form the shell keep dates to the early 13th century but the foundations of the earlier wall will survive underneath. The remains of the early curtain wall still stand round the inner bailey, surviving best where the curtain was incorporated into later buildings. The earliest buildings so far identified are the early or mid- 12th century Old Hall, a free-standing residence whose surviving foundations show it to have been half-timbered, and the Coleman Tower, constructed at the same time as the inner curtain and an integral part of it. The Coleman Tower guarded the entry across the inner bailey ditch and was also a prison; hence its earlier name, the King's Prison. It was square in plan and had its entrance on the first floor, the level underneath being where the prisoners were kept. On the east side are the remains of a small building and also a stairway leading onto an adjacent wall. This wall, built across the motte ditch in the late 12th century, replaced an earlier palisade and provided access to the summit of the motte. A similar and contemporary length survives on the opposite side of the motte, crossing the ditch and joining the curtain alongside the later Rosamund's Tower. The keep consisted of a rubble wall enclosing a roughly circular area 20m wide. A wall walk would have lined the inside of the wall above a series of garrison buildings. The foundations of some of these buildings survive but it is not certain whether they date to the 13th or the 14th century. In some cases they will have replaced earlier timber structures whose buried remains will also survive. Also of uncertain date are the foundations of a number of buildings in the inner bailey, including a service range to the south-west and a group of buildings referred to as the Constable's Place in the accounts of the years 1441-43. The latter were half-timbered and some sections predate the inner curtain though others were clearly added later. A survey of 1537 lists a number of distinct structures, including the Constable's hall, a kitchen, buttery and pantry, and quarters for staff and servants. At the southern end of the group were a number of storage buildings, one of which is believed to have been the wool house. Two additional service buildings lay adjacent to the Old Hall and are thought, originally, to have been contemporary with it. To the south of these is the chantry-chapel which dates from c.1227 and is still complete though in a much altered state.

 

To the west of this is the early 14th century New Hall, initially built as a residence for Countess Alice, wife of Earl Thomas of Lancaster. This was later used as a courthouse which gave rise to it being named King's Hall or Motte (moot) Hall in later surveys. It was a penticed or lean-to building of two storeys which utilised the inner curtain for its outer wall. The inner walls were timber-framed and, as much of the surviving stonework is late 12th or early 13th century, it clearly replaced an earlier building. The upper chamber or solar of the 14th century hall was an elaborate plastered room with a decorated fireplace. The last major programme of building dates to 1324-26 when Edward II ordered extensive works to be carried out which included replacing the whole of the timber palisade round the outer bailey with a stone wall. This outer curtain included three projecting towers, a gatehouse with a drawbridge over the outer ditch and a postern gate which led from the north-east arm of the inner bailey ditch, underneath Rosamund's Tower and out onto the rampart. A second gate and drawbridge, built at this time alongside the Coleman Tower, had fallen out of use by the 16th century and can now no longer be seen. The three projecting towers, named from north-east to south-west, Rosamund's Tower, Diate Hill Tower and Mill Tower, are all square in plan and all would have led out onto the wall-walk along the inside of the curtain though, in the case of the Mill Tower, the curtain to either side has not survived sufficiently well to demonstrate this. The ground-floor entrance to the Mill Tower consisted of two doors linked by a short passage, in which the first door opened inwards and the second outwards indicating that the tower was built as a prison, a role it took over from the Coleman Tower. North of the Mill Tower, the outer curtain crossed the inner bailey ditch which can also be seen outside the castle walls on the west and north sides. This section of the ditch was part of the original 11th century defences and was quarried out of the rock on which the castle was built.

 

A levelled area alongside the inner edge indicates that quarrying of the rock-face continued after the ditch was cut. The quarried stone would have gone towards the construction of at least some of the castle buildings. Aside from its strategic and administrative roles, Pickering Castle had two other functions: to guard and manage the large forest which lay adjacent and to provide a court and place of detention for those found guilty of offences against it, such as poaching, unauthorised clearance and the theft of timber. The forest was an extremely important economic resource during the Middle Ages and its particular importance at Pickering can be seen in the great use made of wood in the castle buildings and also, most significantly, its continuous use in the defences down to the 14th century. Also important to the castle economy during the 14th century was the sale of wool, and it also had responsibility for managing the royal stud created by Edward II in c.1322. Possibly the stables known to have been located against the outer curtain at this time, between the gatehouse and Diate Hill tower, were connected with this. According to the Domesday Book, in 1086 the manor of Pickering was held by the king, that is, William the Conqueror. The castle established at this time as part of the subjugation of the rebellious North remained in royal hands until 1267 when it was conferred with the title Earl of Lancaster on Edmund Crouchback, younger son of Henry III. Edmund's son Thomas succeeded to both title and estates in 1296 but was executed for treason by Edward II in 1322, whereupon his estates reverted to the king. Following the unsuccessful Scottish campaign of the same year, and the ensuing retaliatory attacks on the north of England by Robert the Bruce, Edward ordered the building works noted above, clearly intending to keep Pickering a royal castle. However, in 1326 his son Edward III confirmed Henry, the younger brother of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, in his brother's titles and estates, and, in 1351, the castle became part of the Duchy of Lancaster when that title was created. Upon the elevation of the House of Lancaster to the throne in 1399, and in 1413, the succession of Henry V, the Duchy reverted to the Crown and Pickering became a royal castle once again. It has been in State care since 1926. A number of features within the protected area are excluded from the scheduling. These include the ticket office/sales point and its paved base and steps, all English Heritage fixtures and fittings such as bins, bridges, safety grilles, signs, railings and interpretation boards, the surfaces of all modern steps and paths inside and outside the castle walls, lighting and the modern walls and fences round the outside edge of the protected area but the ground beneath all these features is included.

One of many absurdities executed in our country with the historical heritage: the long promised but never opened railway museum in the place of El Clot del Moro. The lack of political commitment, and personnel mismanagement on the part of its director, was for many years preserved vehicles were abandoned in the open and subject to the effects of the harsh climate of the pre-Pyrenees.

 

In this picture you can see a cabin of the cable car of St. Jeroni, in Montserrat. (Photo scanned from an original paper).

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Uno de tantos despropósitos ejecutados en nuestro país con el patrimonio histórico: el siempre prometido, pero nunca abierto, museo del ferrocarril en el paraje del Clot del Moro. La falta de compromiso político, y una pésima gestión personal por parte de su director, llevó a que durante muchos años los vehículos preservados fueran abandonados a la intemperie y sometidos a los efectos del duro clima del pre-Pirineo.

 

En esta foto se puede ver una cabina del teleférico de Sant Jeroni, en Montserrat. (Foto escaneada de un original de papel).

youtu.be/H-QV9CL-p_Y

 

Starring Tod Andrews, Tina Carver, Linda Watkins, John McNamara. Directed by Dan Milner.

synopsis After being wrongfully accused and executed with a knife through the heart, a South Seas island prince returns from the dead as a scowling tree stump.

This uproariously bad monster mess is set on a remote tropical island, where a native prince places a curse on the elders just prior to his execution for breaking tribal law, promising to return from the dead for revenge. He does, of course -- but he can only manage to return from the grave as a giant walking tree. (His obvious displeasure with having assumed this shape is indicated by the tree-thing's permanently constipated expression.) There is some indication given that his resurrection has something to do with atomic testing taking place on the island, but this is obviously incidental to the real plot, which treats viewers to endless scenes of natives running in horror from a shambling, ticked-off rubber stump. In print, this sounds like broad comedy material, but the only laughs to be found in this clunker are purely unintentional.

review

The sheer badness of Dan Milner's From Hell It Came is mitigated ever so slightly by the efforts of Paul Blaisdell, who created the vengeful tree-creature called the Tabonga. Now, the creature itself it pretty ludicrous in its actual on-screen appearances, but given the fact that we're talking about a killer tree-stump (and this is NOT the only killer tree-stump movie in creation -- The Navy Vs. The Night Monsters would fit into the sub-genre as well) and a low-budget, the fact that Blaisdell was able to devise anything at all that, even for a fraction of a second, might be scary, is the one part of the movie that does work. Nothing else does -- not the acting, despite the presence of once-promising theater hopeful Todd Andrews in the lead; and certainly not the script, which makes little sense, and is also terminally talkie for a full half-hour (which seems like an hour) following the ridiculous introduction, loading us up with exposition leading nowhere. So the viewer, in theaters in 1957 and at home ever since, takes what they can get, in this case, the Tabonga, shambling its way slowly across a faux south sea island set (which makes Gilligan's Island look like it was shot on location). Milner wasn't a good enough director to establish true menace (or any mood), and none of the actors here is remotely good enough (or sufficiently involved with their role) to convince us that they can't outrun a tree stump. All of which leaves ridiculously campy fun as the sole reason to watch this very mildly entertaining misfire, which is funnier in the telling than the watching. A major newspaper's movie guide used to have a one-line critique of this movie, based on its title: "And to Hell it can go!"

 

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time but deals more with dynamic movement .I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

 

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

The Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a Baroque palace at the Fürstengasse in the 9th District of Vienna, Alsergrund . Between the palace, where the Liechtenstein Museum was until the end of 2011, and executed as Belvedere summer palace on the Alserbachstraße is a park. Since early 2012, the Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a place for events. Part of the private art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein is still in the gallery rooms of the palace. In 2010 was started to call the palace, to avoid future confusion, officially the Garden Palace, since 2013 the city has renovated the Palais Liechtenstein (Stadtpalais) in Vienna's old town and then also equipped with a part of the Liechtenstein art collection.

Building

Design for the Liechtenstein Garden Palace, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1687/1688

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

1687 bought Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein a garden with adjoining meadows of Count Weikhard von Auersperg in the Rossau. In the southern part of the property the prince had built a palace and in the north part he founded a brewery and a manorial, from which developed the suburb Lichtental. For the construction of the palace Johann Adam Andreas organised 1688 a competition, in the inter alia participating, the young Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Meanwhile, a little functional, " permeable " project was rejected by the prince but, after all, instead he was allowed to built a garden in the Belvedere Alserbachstraße 14, which , however, was canceled in 1872.

The competition was won by Domenico Egidio Rossi, but was replaced in 1692 by Domenico Martinelli. The execution of the stonework had been given the royal Hofsteinmetzmeister (master stonemason) Martin Mitschke. He was delivered by the Masters of Kaisersteinbruch Ambrose Ferrethi , Giovanni Battista Passerini and Martin Trumler large pillars, columns and pedestal made ​​from stone Emperor (Kaiserstein). Begin of the contract was the fourth July 1689 , the total cost was around 50,000 guilders.

For contracts from the years 1693 and 1701 undertook the Salzburg master stonemason John and Joseph Pernegger owner for 4,060 guilders the steps of the great grand staircase from Lienbacher (Adnet = red) to supply marble monolith of 4.65 meters. From the Master Nicolaus Wendlinger from Hallein came the Stiegenbalustraden (stair balustrades) for 1,000 guilders.

A palazzo was built in a mix of city and country in the Roman-style villa. The structure is clear and the construction very blocky with a stressed central risalite, what served the conservative tastes of the Prince very much. According to the procedure of the architectural treatise by Johann Adam Andreas ' father, Karl Eusebius, the palace was designed with three floors and 13 windows axis on the main front and seven windows axis on the lateral front. Together with the stems it forms a courtyard .

Sala terrene of the Palais

1700 the shell was completed. In 1702, the Salzburg master stonemason and Georg Andreas Doppler took over 7,005 guilders for the manufacture of door frame made ​​of white marble of Salzburg, 1708 was the delivery of the fireplaces in marble hall for 1,577 guilders. For the painted decoration was originally the Bolognese Marcantonio Franceschini hired, from him are some of the painted ceilings on the first floor. Since he to slow to the prince, Antonio Belucci was hired from Venice, who envisioned the rest of the floor. The ceiling painting in the Great Hall, the Hercules Hall but got Andrea Pozzo . Pozzo in 1708 confirmed the sum of 7,500 florins which he had received since 1704 for the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall in installments. As these artists died ( Pozzo) or declined to Italy, the Prince now had no painter left for the ground floor.

After a long search finally Michael Rottmayr was hired for the painting of the ground floor - originally a temporary solution, because the prince was of the opinion that only Italian artist buon gusto d'invenzione had. Since Rottmayr was not involved in the original planning, his paintings not quite fit with the stucco. Rottmayr 1708 confirmed the receipt of 7,500 guilders for his fresco work.

Giovanni Giuliani, who designed the sculptural decoration in the window roofing of the main facade, undertook in 1705 to provide sixteen stone vases of Zogelsdorfer stone. From September 1704 to August 1705 Santino Bussi stuccoed the ground floor of the vault of the hall and received a fee of 1,000 florins and twenty buckets of wine. 1706 Bussi adorned the two staircases, the Marble Hall, the Gallery Hall and the remaining six halls of the main projectile with its stucco work for 2,200 florins and twenty buckets of wine. Giuliani received in 1709 for his Kaminbekrönungen (fireplace crowning) of the great room and the vases 1,128 guilders.

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

The garden was created in the mind of a classic baroque garden. The vases and statues were carried out according to the plans of Giuseppe Mazza from the local Giovanni Giuliani. In 1820 the garden has been remodeled according to plans of Joseph Kornhäusel in the Classical sense. In the Fürstengasse was opposite the Palais, the Orangerie, built 1700s.

Use as a museum

Already from 1805 to 1938, the palace was housing the family collection of the house of Liechtenstein, which was also open for public viewing, the collection was then transferred to the Principality of Liechtenstein, which remained neutral during the war and was not bombed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called Building Centre was housed in the palace as a tenant, a permanent exhibition for builders of single-family houses and similar buildings. From 26 April 1979 rented the since 1962 housed in the so-called 20er Haus Museum of the 20th Century , a federal museum, the palace as a new main house, the 20er Haus was continued as a branch . Since the start of operations at the Palais, the collection called itself Museum of Modern Art (since 1991 Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation ), the MUMOK in 2001 moved to the newly built museum district.

From 29 March 2004 till the end of 2011 in the Palace was the Liechtenstein Museum, whose collection includes paintings and sculptures from five centuries. The collection is considered one of the largest and most valuable private art collections in the world, whose main base in Vaduz (Liechtenstein) is . As the palace, so too the collection is owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation .

On 15 November 2011 it was announced that the regular museum operating in the Garden Palace was stopped due to short of original expectations, visiting numbers remaining lower as calculated, with January 2012. The Liechtenstein City Palace museum will also not offer regular operations. Exhibited works of art would then (in the city palace from 2013) only during the "Long Night of the Museums", for registered groups and during leased events being visitable. The name of the Liechtenstein Museum will no longer be used.

 

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Liechtenstein_(F%C3%BCrstengasse)

The Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a Baroque palace at the Fürstengasse in the 9th District of Vienna, Alsergrund . Between the palace, where the Liechtenstein Museum was until the end of 2011, and executed as Belvedere summer palace on the Alserbachstraße is a park. Since early 2012, the Liechtenstein Garden Palace is a place for events. Part of the private art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein is still in the gallery rooms of the palace. In 2010 was started to call the palace, to avoid future confusion, officially the Garden Palace, since 2013 the city has renovated the Palais Liechtenstein (Stadtpalais) in Vienna's old town and then also equipped with a part of the Liechtenstein art collection.

Building

Design for the Liechtenstein Garden Palace, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach in 1687/1688

Canaletto: View of Palais Liechtenstein

1687 bought Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein a garden with adjoining meadows of Count Weikhard von Auersperg in the Rossau. In the southern part of the property the prince had built a palace and in the north part he founded a brewery and a manorial, from which developed the suburb Lichtental. For the construction of the palace Johann Adam Andreas organised 1688 a competition, in the inter alia participating, the young Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. Meanwhile, a little functional, " permeable " project was rejected by the prince but, after all, instead he was allowed to built a garden in the Belvedere Alserbachstraße 14, which , however, was canceled in 1872.

The competition was won by Domenico Egidio Rossi, but was replaced in 1692 by Domenico Martinelli. The execution of the stonework had been given the royal Hofsteinmetzmeister (master stonemason) Martin Mitschke. He was delivered by the Masters of Kaisersteinbruch Ambrose Ferrethi , Giovanni Battista Passerini and Martin Trumler large pillars, columns and pedestal made ​​from stone Emperor (Kaiserstein). Begin of the contract was the fourth July 1689 , the total cost was around 50,000 guilders.

For contracts from the years 1693 and 1701 undertook the Salzburg master stonemason John and Joseph Pernegger owner for 4,060 guilders the steps of the great grand staircase from Lienbacher (Adnet = red) to supply marble monolith of 4.65 meters. From the Master Nicolaus Wendlinger from Hallein came the Stiegenbalustraden (stair balustrades) for 1,000 guilders.

A palazzo was built in a mix of city and country in the Roman-style villa. The structure is clear and the construction very blocky with a stressed central risalite, what served the conservative tastes of the Prince very much. According to the procedure of the architectural treatise by Johann Adam Andreas ' father, Karl Eusebius, the palace was designed with three floors and 13 windows axis on the main front and seven windows axis on the lateral front. Together with the stems it forms a courtyard .

Sala terrene of the Palais

1700 the shell was completed. In 1702, the Salzburg master stonemason and Georg Andreas Doppler took over 7,005 guilders for the manufacture of door frame made ​​of white marble of Salzburg, 1708 was the delivery of the fireplaces in marble hall for 1,577 guilders. For the painted decoration was originally the Bolognese Marcantonio Franceschini hired, from him are some of the painted ceilings on the first floor. Since he to slow to the prince, Antonio Belucci was hired from Venice, who envisioned the rest of the floor. The ceiling painting in the Great Hall, the Hercules Hall but got Andrea Pozzo . Pozzo in 1708 confirmed the sum of 7,500 florins which he had received since 1704 for the ceiling fresco in the Marble Hall in installments. As these artists died ( Pozzo) or declined to Italy, the Prince now had no painter left for the ground floor.

After a long search finally Michael Rottmayr was hired for the painting of the ground floor - originally a temporary solution, because the prince was of the opinion that only Italian artist buon gusto d'invenzione had. Since Rottmayr was not involved in the original planning, his paintings not quite fit with the stucco. Rottmayr 1708 confirmed the receipt of 7,500 guilders for his fresco work.

Giovanni Giuliani, who designed the sculptural decoration in the window roofing of the main facade, undertook in 1705 to provide sixteen stone vases of Zogelsdorfer stone. From September 1704 to August 1705 Santino Bussi stuccoed the ground floor of the vault of the hall and received a fee of 1,000 florins and twenty buckets of wine. 1706 Bussi adorned the two staircases, the Marble Hall, the Gallery Hall and the remaining six halls of the main projectile with its stucco work for 2,200 florins and twenty buckets of wine. Giuliani received in 1709 for his Kaminbekrönungen (fireplace crowning) of the great room and the vases 1,128 guilders.

Garden

Liechtenstein Palace from the garden

The new summer palace of Henry of Ferstel from the garden

The garden was created in the mind of a classic baroque garden. The vases and statues were carried out according to the plans of Giuseppe Mazza from the local Giovanni Giuliani. In 1820 the garden has been remodeled according to plans of Joseph Kornhäusel in the Classical sense. In the Fürstengasse was opposite the Palais, the Orangerie, built 1700s.

Use as a museum

Already from 1805 to 1938, the palace was housing the family collection of the house of Liechtenstein, which was also open for public viewing, the collection was then transferred to the Principality of Liechtenstein, which remained neutral during the war and was not bombed. In the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called Building Centre was housed in the palace as a tenant, a permanent exhibition for builders of single-family houses and similar buildings. From 26 April 1979 rented the since 1962 housed in the so-called 20er Haus Museum of the 20th Century , a federal museum, the palace as a new main house, the 20er Haus was continued as a branch . Since the start of operations at the Palais, the collection called itself Museum of Modern Art (since 1991 Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation ), the MUMOK in 2001 moved to the newly built museum district.

From 29 March 2004 till the end of 2011 in the Palace was the Liechtenstein Museum, whose collection includes paintings and sculptures from five centuries. The collection is considered one of the largest and most valuable private art collections in the world, whose main base in Vaduz (Liechtenstein) is . As the palace, so too the collection is owned by the Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation .

On 15 November 2011 it was announced that the regular museum operating in the Garden Palace was stopped due to short of original expectations, visiting numbers remaining lower as calculated, with January 2012. The Liechtenstein City Palace museum will also not offer regular operations. Exhibited works of art would then (in the city palace from 2013) only during the "Long Night of the Museums", for registered groups and during leased events being visitable. The name of the Liechtenstein Museum will no longer be used.

 

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Liechtenstein_%28F%C3%BCrste...

Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan of Caeo (c. 1341–1401) was a wealthy Carmarthenshire landowner who was executed in Llandovery by Henry IV of England in punishment for his support of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh rebellion.

 

Until recently Llewelyn was little known even in his home area, but has become celebrated as a "Welsh Braveheart" after a campaign to construct a monument to him in Llandovery.

 

The main source for Llewelyn's life is Adam of Usk, who mentions him in his Chronicle as a "bountiful" member of the Carmarthenshire gentry who used "fifteen pipes of wine" yearly in his household (implying he was both wealthy and a generous host). He continues by stating that as a result of Llewelyn's support for the rebellion, Henry had him drawn, hung, eviscerated, beheaded and quartered before the gate of Llandovery castle on October 9, 1401 "in the presence of his eldest son" (it is slightly unclear whether Adam is referring to Henry's son or Llewelyn's son at this point). After his death his lands were granted to one of Henry's supporters, Gruffydd ap Rhys.

 

A more detailed version of the story suggests that Llewelyn was specifically charged with having deliberately led the English forces the wrong way while pretending to guide them to Glyndŵr. Adam, however, states only that Llewelyn "willingly preferred death to treachery". Llewelyn is also thought to have had two sons fighting in Glyndŵr's forces.

 

While Llewelyn undoubtedly existed, concrete details of his life are scant (it has been stated that all that is known of him is "his name, his politics and his alcohol consumption"). However, his name and ancestry may be recorded in later genealogies. His father Gruffydd Fychan (described as "lord of Caeo and Cilycwm") was recorded as holding the constableship of Caeo in 1359 for the sum of £8 per annum; Gruffydd's wife (and therefore Llewelyn's mother) was said to have been Jonnett, daughter of Gruffydd ap Llewelyn Foethus of Dryslwyn Castle.

 

Lewys Dwnn's Heraldic Visitations, a 16th-century genealogical record of Welsh landowning families, identifies Llewelyn's wife as Sioned, daughter of one of the Scudamores of Kentchurch, and lists his sons as Gwilym (of Llangadog) and Morgan. As one of the Scudamores married Glyndŵr's daughter Alys, this suggests significant family links between Llewelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan and Glyndŵr. Dwnn claims that Llewelyn's son Morgan became the Abbot of Strata Florida later in his life, "and was a man held in great respect".

 

Dwnn also notes Llewelyn's grandsons "Llywelyn, Tomas [and] Morgan meibion [sons of] Gwilim ap Llewelyn ap Gruffydd vachan ap Dafydd vongam ap David ap Meurig goch" as holding Mallaen in the parish of Caeo, and traces the family back to Selyf, King of Dyfed through the lords of Caeo and Cilycwm. Llewelyn's (probable) grandson, Llewelyn ap Gwilym ap Llewelyn, was said by Edward Lhuyd to have lived at the mansion of Neuadd Fawr at Cilycwm, where his "motto over his door was Gresso pan dhelech, a chennad pan vynnech, a phan dhelech tra vynnecli trig"

 

A campaign was started in 1998 in Llandovery to construct a monument to Llewelyn; financial support came both from the community and the Arts Council of Wales. After an exhibition of proposed designs in 2000, a public vote chose a submission by Toby and Gideon Petersen of St Clears.

 

The 16-foot-tall (4.9 m) stainless steel statue, a figure with an empty helmet, cloak and armour stands on a base of stone brought from Caeo. Petersen described the statue as representing a "brave nobody", with the empty helmet and armour representing both the universal nature of Llewelyn's actions and the violence of his death.

 

Llandovery is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about 25 miles (40 km) north-east of Carmarthen, 27 miles (43 km) north of Swansea and 21 miles (34 km) west of Brecon.

 

The name of the town derives from Llan ymlith y dyfroedd, meaning "church enclosure amid the waters", i. e. between the Tywi and the Afon Brân just upstream of their confluence. A smaller watercourse, the Bawddwr, runs through and under the town.

 

The Roman fort at Llanfair Hill to the north-east of the modern town was known to the Romans as Alabum. It was built around AD 50–60 as part of a strategy for the conquest of Wales. A Roman road heads across Mynydd Bach Trecastell to the south-east of Llandovery bound for the fort of Brecon Gaer. Another heads down the Towy valley for Carmarthen, whilst a third makes for the goldmines at Dolaucothi.

 

Attractions in the town include the remains of the Norman Llandovery Castle, built in 1110. It was almost immediately captured by the Welsh and changed hands between them and the Normans until the reign of King Edward I of England in the late 13th century. The castle was used by King Henry IV while on a sortie into Wales, when he executed Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan in the market place. It was later attacked by the forces of Owain Glyndŵr in 1403.

 

A 16-foot-high (4.9 m) stainless-steel statue to Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan was unveiled in 2001 on the north side of Llandovery Castle, overlooking the place of his execution 600 years earlier. He had led the army of King Henry IV on a "wild goose chase", under the pretence of leading them to a secret rebel camp and an ambush of Glyndŵr's forces. King Henry lost patience with him, exposed the charade and had him half hanged, disembowelled in front of his own eyes, beheaded and quartered – the quarters salted and dispatched to other Welsh towns for public display.

 

The design of the statue, by Toby and Gideon Petersen, was chosen after a national competition. It was funded by the National Lottery and the Arts Council of Wales.

 

According to folklore, the Physicians of Myddfai practised in the area in the 13th century.

 

The Bank of the Black Ox, one of the first Welsh banks, was established by a wealthy cattle drover. The original bank building was part of the King's Head Inn. It later became part of Lloyds Bank.

 

The population in 1841 was 1,709.

 

The town has a theatre (Llandovery Theatre), a heritage centre, a private school (Llandovery College) and a tourist information and heritage centre, which houses exhibitions on the Tonn Press, the area's droving history, and the 19th-century geologist Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, whose work here resulted in the name "Llandovery" being given to rocks of a certain age across the world. The Llandovery epoch is the earliest in the Silurian period of geological time.

 

In the small central market place stands Llandovery Town Hall (1857–1858) by the architect Richard Kyke Penson. This was designed in the Italianate style with a courtroom over an open market. Behind are police cells with iron grilles; entry to the old courtroom (now a library) is via a door on the ground floor of the tower.

 

The 12th-century Grade I listed St Mary's Church in the north of the town is among the largest medieval churches in Carmarthenshire.

 

The Memorial Chapel in Stryd y Bont was built as a memorial to the hymnist William Williams Pantycelyn.

 

The town's comprehensive school, Ysgol Pantycelyn, with about 300 pupils, was closed on 31 August 2013 and merged with Ysgol Tre-Gib in Ffairfach to form Ysgol Bro Dinefwr.

 

The town has an independent day and boarding school, Llandovery College.

 

Llandovery has a leading Welsh Premiership rugby union team, Llandovery RFC, nicknamed The Drovers, active as such since at least 1877 and a founder member of the Welsh Rugby Union. It has successful junior and youth sections. A number of former players have gone on to represent Wales (and some other nations) in international rugby. Home games are played at its ground in Church Bank.

 

Llandovery Junior Football Club has a membership of over 70 from Llandovery and its surrounding area. It provides coaching and competitive scope for all aged 6 to 16 years. The club currently has an Under 14 team in the Carmarthenshire Junior League, and Under 11 and Under 8 teams playing in the Carmarthen Mini Football League.

 

A Llandovery Golf Club, founded in 1910, survived until the onset of the Second World War. Golfing now takes place on the Llandovery College 9-hole course.

 

An electoral ward of the same name exists. This covers Llandovery and stretches to the north. The total ward population taken at the 2011 Census was 2,689. The community is bordered by those of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn, Myddfai, Llanwrda, and Cilycwm, all being in Carmarthenshire. As of May 2019, the mayor of Llandovery is Councillor Louise Wride.

 

Llandovery is twinned with Pluguffan in Brittany, France.

 

Llandovery stands at the junction of the main A40 and A483 roads.

 

Llandovery railway station is on the Heart of Wales line, with services in the direction of Swansea and of Shrewsbury.

 

Notable residents

Twm Siôn Cati (16th c.), figure in Welsh folklore, sometimes as an outlaw and a thief

Rhys Prichard (1579–1644), Welsh-language poet (Cannwyll y Cymry – The Welshman's Candle) and Anglican Vicar of Llandovery

William Williams Pantycelyn (1717–1791), highly regarded hymnist and prose writer associated with the Welsh Methodist revival

Josiah Rees (1744–1804), Welsh Unitarian minister, schoolmaster and writer

David Jones (1765–1816), Welsh barrister known as "the Welsh Freeholder"; came from Bwlchygwynt

William Hallowes Miller FRS (1801–1880), Welsh mineralogist, helped found modern crystallography; born at Velindre

Rice Rees (1804–1839), Anglican priest, fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, lecturer at St David's College, Lampeter and Chaplain to the Bishop of St Davids

William Saunders (1806–1851), Welsh-language poet, writer and printer

David Jones (1810–1869), banker and Carmarthenshire Conservative MP

John Jones (1812–1886), banker and Carmarthenshire Conservative MP

Major Sir David Hughes-Morgan (1871–1941), solicitor and landowner

 

Sport

Aneurin Rees (1858–1932), solicitor, Town Clerk of Merthyr Tydfil, rugby union player for Wales and golfer

Edward John Lewis (1859–1925), physician and rugby union player for Wales

Conway Rees (1870–1932), rugby union player for Wales, and schoolmaster in England and India

Carwyn Davies (1964–1997), farmer and rugby union player for Wales

Emyr Phillips (born 1987), rugby union player for Wales

Wyn Jones (born 1992), rugby union player for Wales

 

The Dolaucothi Gold Mines are located 10 miles (16 km) away near Pumpsaint on the A482. The road follows an original Roman road to Llanio fort.

 

Llandovery lies just north of Brecon Beacons National Park and Fforest Fawr Geopark, whose geological heritage is celebrated. These designated landscapes are centred on Bannau Sir Gâr or the Carmarthen Fans, themselves part of the Black Mountain extending north towards the town, as Mynydd Myddfai and Mynydd Bach Trecastell. The village of Myddfai lies within the National Park, 4 miles (6 km) to the south-east of Llandovery.

 

The Llyn Brianne dam is 11 miles (18 km) to the north is in rugged countryside above Rhandirmwyn. The route to the dam also passes Twm Siôn Cati's Cave at the RSPB's Dinas reserve.

 

Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales.

 

Carmarthenshire has been inhabited since prehistoric times. The county town was founded by the Romans, and the region was part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth in the High Middle Ages. After invasion by the Normans in the 12th and 13th centuries it was subjugated, along with other parts of Wales, by Edward I of England. There was further unrest in the early 15th century, when the Welsh rebelled under Owain Glyndŵr, and during the English Civil War.

 

Carmarthenshire is mainly an agricultural county, apart from the southeastern part which was once heavily industrialised with coal mining, steel-making and tin-plating. In the north of the county, the woollen industry was very important in the 18th century. The economy depends on agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. West Wales was identified in 2014 as the worst-performing region in the United Kingdom along with the South Wales Valleys with the decline in its industrial base, and the low profitability of the livestock sector.

 

Carmarthenshire, as a tourist destination, offers a wide range of outdoor activities. Much of the coast is fairly flat; it includes the Millennium Coastal Park, which extends for ten miles to the west of Llanelli; the National Wetlands Centre; a championship golf course; and the harbours of Burry Port and Pembrey. The sandy beaches at Llansteffan and Pendine are further west. Carmarthenshire has a number of medieval castles, hillforts and standing stones. The Dylan Thomas Boathouse is at Laugharne.

 

Stone tools found in Coygan Cave, near Laugharne indicate the presence of hominins, probably neanderthals, at least 40,000 years ago, though, as in the rest of the British Isles, continuous habitation by modern humans is not known before the end of the Younger Dryas, around 11,500 years BP. Before the Romans arrived in Britain, the land now forming the county of Carmarthenshire was part of the kingdom of the Demetae who gave their name to the county of Dyfed; it contained one of their chief settlements, Moridunum, now known as Carmarthen. The Romans established two forts in South Wales, one at Caerwent to control the southeast of the country, and one at Carmarthen to control the southwest. The fort at Carmarthen dates from around 75 AD, and there is a Roman amphitheatre nearby, so this probably makes Carmarthen the oldest continually occupied town in Wales.

 

Carmarthenshire has its early roots in the region formerly known as Ystrad Tywi ("Vale of [the river] Tywi") and part of the Kingdom of Deheubarth during the High Middle Ages, with the court at Dinefwr. After the Normans had subjugated England they tried to subdue Wales. Carmarthenshire was disputed between the Normans and the Welsh lords and many of the castles built around this time, first of wood and then stone, changed hands several times. Following the Conquest of Wales by Edward I, the region was reorganized by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 into Carmarthenshire. Edward I made Carmarthen the capital of this new county, establishing his courts of chancery and his exchequer there, and holding the Court of Great Sessions in Wales in the town.

 

The Normans transformed Carmarthen into an international trading port, the only staple port in Wales. Merchants imported food and French wines and exported wool, pelts, leather, lead and tin. In the late medieval period the county's fortunes varied, as good and bad harvests occurred, increased taxes were levied by England, there were episodes of plague, and recruitment for wars removed the young men. Carmarthen was particularly susceptible to plague as it was brought in by flea-infested rats on board ships from southern France.

 

In 1405, Owain Glyndŵr captured Carmarthen Castle and several other strongholds in the neighbourhood. However, when his support dwindled, the principal men of the county returned their allegiance to King Henry V. During the English Civil War, Parliamentary forces under Colonel Roland Laugharne besieged and captured Carmarthen Castle but later abandoned the cause, and joined the Royalists. In 1648, Carmarthen Castle was recaptured by the Parliamentarians, and Oliver Cromwell ordered it to be slighted.

 

The first industrial canal in Wales was built in 1768 to convey coal from the Gwendraeth Valley to the coast, and the following year, the earliest tramroad bridge was on the tramroad built alongside the canal. During the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815) there was increased demand for coal, iron and agricultural goods, and the county prospered. The landscape changed as much woodland was cleared to make way for more food production, and mills, power stations, mines and factories sprang up between Llanelli and Pembrey. Carmarthenshire was at the centre of the Rebecca Riots around 1840, when local farmers and agricultural workers dressed as women and rebelled against higher taxes and tolls.

 

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Carmarthenshire joined Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire in the new county of Dyfed; Carmarthenshire was divided into three districts: Carmarthen, Llanelli and Dinefwr. Twenty-two years later this amalgamation was reversed when, under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, the original county boundaries were reinstated.

 

The county is bounded to the north by Ceredigion, to the east by Powys (historic county Brecknockshire), Neath Port Talbot (historic county Glamorgan) and Swansea (also Glamorgan), to the south by the Bristol Channel and to the west by Pembrokeshire. Much of the county is upland and hilly. The Black Mountain range dominates the east of the county, with the lower foothills of the Cambrian Mountains to the north across the valley of the River Towy. The south coast contains many fishing villages and sandy beaches. The highest point (county top) is the minor summit of Fan Foel, height 781 metres (2,562 ft), which is a subsidiary top of the higher mountain of Fan Brycheiniog, height 802.5 metres (2,633 ft) (the higher summit, as its name suggests, is actually across the border in Brecknockshire/Powys). Carmarthenshire is the largest historic county by area in Wales.

 

The county is drained by several important rivers which flow southwards into the Bristol Channel, especially the River Towy, and its several tributaries, such as the River Cothi. The Towy is the longest river flowing entirely within Wales. Other rivers include the Loughor (which forms the eastern boundary with Glamorgan), the River Gwendraeth and the River Taf. The River Teifi forms much of the border between Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, and there are a number of towns in the Teifi Valley which have communities living on either side of the river and hence in different counties. Carmarthenshire has a long coastline which is deeply cut by the estuaries of the Loughor in the east and the Gwendraeth, Tywi and Taf, which enter the sea on the east side of Carmarthen Bay. The coastline includes notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and large areas of foreshore are uncovered at low tide along the Loughor and Towy estuaries.

 

The principal towns in the county are Ammanford, Burry Port, Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Llanelli, Llandeilo, Newcastle Emlyn, Llandovery, St Clears, and Whitland. The principal industries are agriculture, forestry, fishing and tourism. Although Llanelli is by far the largest town in the county, the county town remains Carmarthen, mainly due to its central location.

 

Carmarthenshire is predominantly an agricultural county, with only the southeastern area having any significant amount of industry. The best agricultural land is in the broad Tywi Valley, especially its lower reaches. With its fertile land and agricultural produce, Carmarthenshire is known as the "Garden of Wales". The lowest bridge over the river is at Carmarthen, and the Towi Estuary cuts the southwesterly part of the county, including Llansteffan and Laugharne, off from the more urban southeastern region. This area is also bypassed by the main communication routes into Pembrokeshire. A passenger ferry service used to connect Ferryside with Llansteffan until the early part of the twentieth century.

 

Agriculture and forestry are the main sources of income over most of the county of Carmarthenshire. On improved pastures, dairying is important and in the past, the presence of the railway enabled milk to be transported to the urban areas of England. The creamery at Whitland is now closed but milk processing still takes place at Newcastle Emlyn where mozzarella cheese is made. On upland pastures and marginal land, livestock rearing of cattle and sheep is the main agricultural activity. The estuaries of the Loughor and Towy provide pickings for the cockle industry.

 

Llanelli, Ammanford and the upper parts of the Gwendraeth Valley are situated on the South Wales Coalfield. The opencast mining activities in this region have now ceased but the old mining settlements with terraced housing remain, often centred on their nonconformist chapels. Kidwelly had a tin-plating industry in the eighteenth century, with Llanelli following not long after, so that by the end of the nineteenth century, Llanelli was the world-centre of the industry. There is little trace of these industrial activities today. Llanelli and Burry Port served at one time for the export of coal, but trade declined, as it did from the ports of Kidwelly and Carmarthen as their estuaries silted up. Country towns in the more agricultural part of the county still hold regular markets where livestock is traded.

 

In the north of the county, in and around the Teifi Valley, there was a thriving woollen industry in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Here water-power provided the energy to drive the looms and other machinery at the mills. The village of Dre-fach Felindre at one time contained twenty-four mills and was known as the "Huddersfield of Wales". The demand for woollen cloth declined in the twentieth century and so did the industry.

 

In 2014, West Wales was identified as the worst-performing region in the United Kingdom along with the South Wales Valleys. The gross value added economic indicator showed a figure of £14,763 per head in these regions, as compared with a GVA of £22,986 for Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. The Welsh Assembly Government is aware of this, and helped by government initiatives and local actions, opportunities for farmers to diversify have emerged. These include farm tourism, rural crafts, specialist food shops, farmers' markets and added-value food products.

 

Carmarthenshire County Council produced a fifteen-year plan that highlighted six projects which it hoped would create five thousand new jobs. The sectors involved would be in the "creative industries, tourism, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, energy and environment, and financial and professional services".

 

Carmarthenshire became an administrative county with a county council taking over functions from the Quarter Sessions under the Local Government Act 1888. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the administrative county of Carmarthenshire was abolished on 1 April 1974 and the area of Carmarthenshire became three districts within the new county of Dyfed : Carmarthen, Dinefwr and Llanelli. Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, Dyfed was abolished on 1 April 1996 and Carmarthenshire was re-established as a county. The three districts united to form a unitary authority which had the same boundaries as the traditional county of Carmarthenshire. In 2003, the Clynderwen community council area was transferred to the administrative county of Pembrokeshire.

 

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, Carmarthen and Wrexham were the two most populous towns in Wales. In 1931, the county's population was 171,445 and in 1951, 164,800. At the census in 2011, Carmarthenshire had a population of 183,777. Population levels have thus dipped and then increased again over the course of eighty years. The population density in Carmarthenshire is 0.8 persons per hectare compared to 1.5 per hectare in Wales as a whole.

 

Carmarthenshire was the most populous of the five historic counties of Wales to remain majority Welsh-speaking throughout the 20th century. According to the 1911 Census, 84.9 per cent of the county's population were Welsh-speaking (compared with 43.5 per cent in all of Wales), with 20.5 per cent of Carmarthenshire's overall population being monolingual Welsh-speakers.

 

In 1931, 82.3 per cent could speak Welsh and in 1951, 75.2 per cent. By the 2001 census, 50.3 per cent of people living in Carmarthenshire could speak Welsh, with 39 per cent being able to read and write the language as well.

 

The 2011 census showed a further decline, with 43.9 per cent speaking Welsh, making it a minority language in the county for the first time. However, the 2011 census also showed that 3,000 more people could understand spoken Welsh than in 2001 and that 60% of 5-14-year-olds could speak Welsh (a 5% increase since 2001). A decade later, the 2021 census, showed further decrease, to 39.9% Welsh speakers -- the largest percentage drop in all of Wales.

 

With its strategic location and history, the county is rich in archaeological remains such as forts, earthworks and standing stones. Carn Goch is one of the most impressive Iron Age forts and stands on a hilltop near Llandeilo. The Bronze Age is represented by chambered cairns and standing stones on Mynydd Llangyndeyrn, near Llangyndeyrn. Castles that can be easily accessed include Carreg Cennen, Dinefwr, Kidwelly, Laugharne, Llansteffan and Newcastle Emlyn Castle. There are the ruinous remains of Talley Abbey, and the coastal village of Laugharne is for ever associated with Dylan Thomas. Stately homes in the county include Aberglasney House and Gardens, Golden Grove and Newton House.

 

There are plenty of opportunities in the county for hiking, observing wildlife and admiring the scenery. These include Brechfa Forest, the Pembrey Country Park, the Millennium Coastal Park at Llanelli, the WWT Llanelli Wetlands Centre and the Carmel National Nature Reserve. There are large stretches of golden sands and the Wales Coast Path now provides a continuous walking route around the whole of Wales.

 

The National Botanic Garden of Wales displays plants from Wales and from all around the world, and the Carmarthenshire County Museum, the National Wool Museum, the Parc Howard Museum, the Pendine Museum of Speed and the West Wales Museum of Childhood all provide opportunities to delve into the past. Dylan Thomas Boathouse where the author wrote many of his works can be visited, as can the Roman-worked Dolaucothi Gold Mines.

 

Activities available in the county include rambling, cycling, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, sailing, horse riding, caving, abseiling and coasteering.[7] Carmarthen Town A.F.C. plays in the Cymru Premier. They won the Welsh Football League Cup in the 1995–96 season, and since then have won the Welsh Cup once and the Welsh League Cup twice. Llanelli Town A.F.C. play in the Welsh Football League Division Two. The club won the Welsh premier league and Loosemores challenge cup in 2008 and won the Welsh Cup in 2011, but after experiencing financial difficulties, were wound up and reformed under the present title in 2013. Scarlets is the regional professional rugby union team that plays in the Pro14, they play their home matches at their ground, Parc y Scarlets. Honours include winning the 2003/04 and 2016/17 Pro12. Llanelli RFC is a semi-professional rugby union team that play in the Welsh Premier Division, also playing home matches at Parc y Scarlets. Among many honours, they have been WRU Challenge Cup winners on fourteen occasions and frequently taken part in the Heineken Cup. West Wales Raiders, based in Llanelli, represent the county in Rugby league.

 

Some sporting venues utilise disused industrial sites. Ffos Las racecourse was built on the site of an open cast coal mine after mining operations ceased. Opened in 2009, it was the first racecourse built in the United Kingdom for eighty years and has regular race-days. Machynys is a championship golf course opened in 2005 and built as part of the Llanelli Waterside regeneration plan. Pembrey Circuit is a motor racing circuit near Pembrey village, considered the home of Welsh motorsport, providing racing for cars, motorcycles, karts and trucks. It was opened in 1989 on a former airfield, is popular for testing and has hosted many events including the British Touring Car Championship twice. The 2018 Tour of Britain cycling race started at Pembrey on 2 September 2018.

 

Carmarthenshire is served by the main line railway service operated by Transport for Wales Rail which links London Paddington, Cardiff Central and Swansea to southwest Wales. The main hub is Carmarthen railway station where some services from the east terminate. The line continues westwards with several branches which serve Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven and Fishguard Harbour (for the ferry to Rosslare Europort and connecting trains to Dublin Connolly). The Heart of Wales Line takes a scenic route through mid-Wales and links Llanelli with Craven Arms, from where passengers can travel on the Welsh Marches Line to Shrewsbury.

 

Two heritage railways, the Gwili Railway and the Teifi Valley Railway, use the track of the Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway that at one time ran from Carmarthen to Newcastle Emlyn, but did not reach Cardigan.

 

The A40, A48, A484 and A485 converge on Carmarthen. The M4 route that links South Wales with London, terminates at junction 49, the Pont Abraham services, to continue northwest as the dual carriageway A48, and to finish with its junction with the A40 in Carmarthen.

 

Llanelli is linked to M4 junction 48 by the A4138. The A40 links Carmarthen to Llandeilo, Llandovery and Brecon to the east, and with St Clears, Whitland and Haverfordwest to the west. The A484 links Llanelli with Carmarthen by a coastal route and continues northwards to Cardigan, and via the A486 and A487 to Aberystwyth, and the A485 links Carmarthen to Lampeter.

 

Bus services run between the main towns within the county and are operated by First Cymru under their "Western Welsh" or "Cymru Clipper" livery. Bus services from Carmarthenshire are also run to Cardiff. A bus service known as "fflecsi Bwcabus" (formerly just "Bwcabus") operates in the north of the county, offering customised transport to rural dwellers.

 

Carmarthenshire has rich, fertile farmland and a productive coast with estuaries providing a range of foods that motivate many home cooks and chefs.

Agents with the Cullman Narcotics Enforcement Team (CNET) and deputies with the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) arrested nine individuals for Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

 

Arrested for Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia were:

 

• Santos Lynn Thomas (25 - Hispanic) Cleveland, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Sarah Marie Milligan (23 -White) Cullman, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Omar Rivera Loyola (24 - Hispanic) Oneonta, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Tonya Lynn Wagner (35 -White) Crane Hill, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Brian Keith Bagwell (32 -White) Holly Pond, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Ricky Charles Mewbourn (50 - White) Cullman, AL - $5000 Bond

(also had a warrant for Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia)

 

• Hugo Contreaus-Cenantes (33 - Hispanic) Altoona, AL - $5000 Bond

 

• Angela Denise Stewart (44 - White) Hayden, AL - $5,000 Bond

  

Arrested for Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and also had warrants for Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance and Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia:

 

• Santanna Marie Barnett (25 - White) Cullman, AL - $13,000 Bond

 

The operation that led to the arrest of the nine suspects was executed in the 800 block of County Road 1319, also known as Basch Road, on Thursday February 4, 2016.

 

CNET and CCSO deputies made entry into the residence and arrested those suspects who had warrants. While inside, CNET agents and deputies located multiple suspects inside the residence were methamphetamine, other drugs and drug paraphernalia were located.

 

CCSO seized approximately 10 grams of meth, syringes, glass meth pipes, straws and Marijuana.

 

Following the arrest Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry had these remarks:

 

“I believe anytime you can arrest a large number of drug pushers and several of them are not from our community it sends the message we don’t want your drugs in Cullman County and if you come here you will go to jail. I would also like to thank CNET and our deputies for the great job they did on this arrest."

 

For the full story including images of those arrested and example of items seized. please so here:

cullmantoday.com/2016/02/04/cnet-executes-far-reaching-cu...

To the south of the high altar stands the most artistically significant of Framlingham's tombs, that of 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard (d.1554), uncle to both of Henry VIII's executed queens (Anne Boleyn & Catherine Howard) and also his first wife Anne Plantagenet (d.1511), the fifth daughter of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Howard,_3rd_Duke_of_Norfolk

 

The tomb itself is remarkable as perhaps the last example of traditional Catholic iconography appearing on a church monument in this country and an extremely rare example of what the English Renaissance might have been had the Reformation not suffocated it. The figures of Apostles adorn the tomb chest in a rich display and fusion of late medieval and Renaissance styles, the niches that frame them being wholly in the latter spirit.

 

Framlingham was perhaps my most anticipated target of the day, one of the 'big three' of my itinerary that I knew I'd require more time for, and getting later in the afternoon I was increasingly anxious about not arriving here too late. St Michael's is justly renowned for its fine tombs, really special and quite unique, and is an impressive building in its own right. I was fortunately here a while until closing time, and the ladies on duty I met kindly checked I'd got all I wanted before locking up and even gave me access to the organ gallery for some great final views of the interior.

 

The church announces its presence with its handsome 15th century west tower, poking proudly above the rooftops in the oldest part of the town. The churchyard is set back from the streets and reveals a grand, fairly sprawling building, all apparently late medieval but some of it later still. What strikes the observer most is the way the chancel with its aisles has spread outwards, being of far greater width than the nave, which though of good proportions itself appears rather slim by comparison. The reason for this discrepancy becomes clear within.

 

Entry is by the south porch and it is immediately clear what an impressive space this is, very much the large town church. The nave is light and crowned by a fine medieval roof and opposite the entrance the eye is drawn to a 15th century mural of the Trinity. At the west end in the gallery is the handsome Baroque organ case of the precious 17th century Thamar organ, its pipes painted with swirling foliate designs. In the north aisle is the medieval font following the classic East Anglian design but less well preserved than some.

 

Stepping beyond the nave the chancel seems like a separate building, with its aisle split into three vessels of equal height like some great pillared hall. It is light and spacious and at first sight appears a little austere until one notices the cluster of tombs at the east end on either side, which are the reason for this part of the building's existence which was finished only in 1554 in order to house them. The Tudor tombs belong to the family of the Dukes of Norfolk who at the time owned nearby Framlingham Castle and made this church a family mausoleum as a direct consequence of losing their previous chosen resting place, Thetford Priory, to the Dissolution and thus the earlier tombs were transferred from there shortly after they were originally erected.

 

The tombs are a remarkable expression of English Renaissance design on the cusp of the Reformation and thus still informed as much by medieval precedents as the more standard forms of the following decades. The oldest is that of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and illegitimate son of Henry VIII who married in to the Norfolk family. His tomb has no effigy but is adorned with some fetching small-scale reliefs. Much grander is the tomb of the wives of the 4th Duke nearby with recumbent effigies, but for me the most significant tomb here artistically is that of 3rd Duke Thomas Howard to the south of the altar. This remarkable monument is the best example we have of how English Renaissance church art might have blossomed without the Reformation, for the tomb chest is adorned with with a series of carved apostles in the medieval format but in detail wholly Renaissance, the figures in a still familiar on the continent but extremely rare over here. Award for the most colourful tomb however goes to that of Henry Howard on the north side (erected several decades after his execution under Henry VIII) and adorned with richly painted effigies, heraldic beasts and kneeling progeny.

 

Framlingham church would be worth a visit even without its fine tombs but these monuments make it unmissable, especially as they capture such a snapshot of one of the most turbulent periods of English history. I was duly relieved to have got here before they closed, but the church is generally kept open and welcoming in normal times so those getting less distracted than me en route here shouldn't have to worry so much about getting in.

 

For more on this fine church see its entry on the Suffolk Churches site below:-

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/framcofe.html

A nicely executed model of the MINI Cooper S convertible by Matchbox. Detailing to the front end has thankfully remained on this fairly recent edition. Mint and boxed.

“They break into your house. They come to kill, burn, execute. They don't spare anyone – the elderly, women, children… They are beasts…”

These are the memories of the Nazi occupation survivors.

And these are the memories of the Russian occupation survivors. The same horrors, the crimes of the same monsters.

80 years ago, millions of Ukrainians fought to defeat Nazism forever. But today, Ukrainians are once again standing up to evil, which reemerged, returned, and wants to destroy us again. It’s an army of a fiend that kills, tortures and wipes peaceful cities and villages off the face of the Earth. This evil is called Russian fascism, or RF for short.

A witness to this is this basement in the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region. The ruscists herded all the villagers into it and kept them there for almost a month. All of them. 350 people, all the children of this village, 80 girls and boys, the youngest of whom was a month and a half old. Everyone in the world can understand what Putin's Russia is by imagining themself here, in this basement, among these people, without light, food, water, medicine, and air, in a room with less than a meter per person. They slept seated. They went outside only once. They ate 200 grams of soup a day. The men were stripped naked in the freezing cold to find Ukrainian tattoos. 10 of the hostages died here. It was forbidden to bury them. Another 17 people were killed by the ruscists. In any corner of the world, that’s known by the same word – hell. When entire villages are burned down, when there are mass executions, when people are put against a wall blindfolded to be killed – in any corner of the world, that's known by the same word – Nazism. If that's not Nazism, then what is that?

And everyone on Earth knows history and remembers how to fight Nazism. It’s done with humanity united to oppose Hitler, not with buying oil from him or attending his inauguration.

Yahidne, a village that survived the hell of the RF, is just one example. It's just one village, but it reflects the essence of Putin's vision of the world, his real goals. And his goal is to force underground all those who want to live freely, to force a whole village into the basement, and then another one, and then the whole of Ukraine, and finally, force the whole world into the basement. For the RF, these are just stages of their morbid plan to imprison freedom in a ghetto, in a concentration camp called the "Russian world," and to export Russia's main asset – barbed wire – worldwide, by repeating the same scenario Hitler created 80 years ago: swallowing the lands of others step by step and testing the world’s reaction. And when the reaction is spineless, the Nazis keep going. Appeals, resolutions, and half-sanctions don't stop them. And the only question Putin is concerned about today is: Who's next?

Russia has officially approved a list of states that cannot feel safe and called it a “List of Unfriendly States.” Tellingly, it almost completely coincides with the list of the states of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. Those who defeated Nazism are enemies for modern Russia: the countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and almost fifty states in total. They are free, democratic and independent, which in the modern Kremlin ideology means “dangerous.” And therefore, they are targets.

The world didn't see the threat, the world slept through the revival of Nazism – at 5 a.m. on February 24, 2022. And today, everyone who remembers World War II and has survived to this day is experiencing déjà vu. The Battle of Kyiv, bombing of Kharkiv, Odesa, Dnipro, mass graves, blockade of ports, plundering and seizure of grain, tortures, executions, deportation of children, filtration camps, and colonies for captives. Russia has brought pages from textbooks about World War II back into the headlines of the world's media. Russia has brought the terrible past back into the daily news, proving with each new crime that Nazism has revived. Just this time it has a new label: “Made in Russia.”

Recently, our society was moved by a photo of a man at the grave of his grandson who died at war. The father of this man was killed by the Nazis. His grandson's life was taken by the Russian occupiers. This is just one of the millions of examples that put the sign of equality between Nazism and modern Russia.

Today, Hitler's ideas are voiced in Russian. Nazi crimes are committed under the Russian flag. The difference is merely formal. The new Wehrmacht that invaded Ukraine wears a double-headed eagle on its sleeves. Kalibrs and Kinzhals are the new V-weapons, MiGs and Su-aircrafts are the new Luftwaffe, a Z symbol is the new swastika, and Yunarmiya is the new Hitlerjugend. There are dozens of similar parallels and hundreds of similar emulations.

And if the modern Kremlin resembles the Third Reich in everything, its end should be identical, taking place in the new Nuremberg – in the city of The Hague.

And like in 1945 this can only be ensured by a united free world, the world united in Anti-Putin Coalition, the world that can stop Moscow Nazis through actions, not words, and prevent the new evil from spreading to the entire European continent and, subsequently, to the entire world, the world capable of helping Ukraine defeat Russian Nazism, helping itself, and proving its commitment to the words “Never again!”, so that “Never again!” becomes relevant again.

Dear Ukrainians!

The residents of the village of Yahidne were held here for 27 days. On March 30, 2022, the village was liberated from the ruscist invaders. On April 19, it was demined by our military forces. This symbolizes that history is repeating itself, and everyone who came to destroy us will eventually have to flee from Ukrainian land. A part of our territory is still occupied, and some of our people are held in captivity, which means that our battle continues. And today, on the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism, as we commemorate the millions of Ukrainians who fought and gained victory together with other nations, we keep believing and we bring a new day of a new victory closer.

When the expulsion of the Nazis from Ukraine, we read about in the history textbooks, will happen in real life. And the event of the mid-twentieth century will be repeated and become part of the history of the 21st century, the history of our joint victory over Russian evil.

Greetings on the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II!

Glory to Ukraine!

Marie Antoinette was executed, along with her husband King Louis XVI of France, in 1793. This medal shows the traditional detached aristocratic image on the obverse and the emotionally charged image of a mother being separated from her children in the face of the guillotine on the reverse.

 

Accession number: 1885 N1536.4

The south aisle in Skálholt Cathedral is dominated by Gerður Helgadóttir's abstract high modernist stained glass. The glass was executed by the German firm, Oidtmann from Linnich in Northrhine-Westphalia, who also led the 2018 repair and restoration of the windows.

 

Skálholt Cathedral (Skálholtsdómkirkja) is a church of the national Church of Iceland, a Lutheran body. It was designed by Hörður Bjarnason, the building master of the Icelandic state, with the intention of marrying is modern styles to the architectural patterns of ancient cathedrals. Built from 1956-63, it was completely renovated inside and out in 2022-3.

 

Skálholt was the capital of Iceland for around 750 years, and Skálholt Cathedral was the original seat of the Bishops of Iceland. The current building is the tenth church to stand on the site. The first was built in the very early 11th Century, after Icelanders converted to Christianity; it became a Cathedral in 1056 when Ísleifur Gissurarson became the first Bishop of Iceland.

 

In the Middle Ages, Skálholtsstaður grew greatly in spiritual and secular terms and soon became one of the most populated places in the country. In 1630, the whole place burned down and many cultural and historical values were lost—although another cathedral was built on the site. All the local buildings, except the cathedral, collapsed in the earthquakes connected with the devastating 1784 Laki fissure eruption, which led to a famine which killed at least a fifth of the Icelandic population. Following this, and the See was moved to Reykjavík, and the 1650 cathedral was demolished, but a smaller church was built in its place.

 

The government, in co-operation with the church, organised a festival in Skálholt in 1956 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the first bishop; the cornerstone of the present cathedral was laid in the same year by Bishop Sigurbjörn Einarsson, after the Icelandic parliament, the Alþing, agreed to build it. The new cathedral was completed in 1963. Many of the furnishings were given by other Nordic churches.

 

The cathedral contains a total of 25 stained glass windows made by Gerður Helgadóttir. They are designed in an abstract manner and depict Christian symbolism and some of the medieval bishops of Skálholt. The altarpiece is the work of Nína Tryggvadóttir and depicts Christ coming into the cathedral with the landscape behind depicting Iceland. The pulpit dates from the 17th century and is the one used by Bishop Brynjólfur Sveinsson in 1650.

 

This description incorporates text from the skalholt.is website and the English Wikipedia.

Bain News Service,, publisher.

 

Floral display at Dago Frank's funeral

 

[1914 April]

 

1 negative : glass ; 5 x 7 in. or smaller.

 

Notes:

Title from data provided by the Bain News Service on the negative.

Photo shows funeral of "Dago Frank" Cirofici, a New York City criminal convicted of murdering Herman Rosenthal, along with his associates Harry Horowitz "Gyp the Blood", Louis Rosenberg (Rosenweig) "Lefty Louis", and "Whitey" Lewis (Frank Seidenshner) on July 16, 1912. The four men were executed at Sing Sing prison, Ossining, New York on April 13, 1914. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2010)

Forms part of: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress).

 

Format: Glass negatives.

 

Rights Info: No known restrictions on publication.

 

Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

 

General information about the Bain Collection is available at hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.ggbain

 

Higher resolution image is available (Persistent URL): hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.15763

 

Call Number: LC-B2- 3025-9

  

Arbour Hill is an inner city area of Dublin, on the Northside of the River Liffey, in the Dublin 7 postal district. Arbour Hill, the road of the same name, runs west from Blackhall Place in Stoneybatter, and separates Collins Barracks, now part of the National Museum of Ireland, to the south from Arbour Hill Prison to the north, whose graveyard includes the burial plot of the signatories of the Easter Proclamation that began the 1916 Rising.

  

The military cemetery at Arbour Hill is the last resting place of 14 of the executed leaders of the insurrection of 1916. Among those buried there are Patrick Pearse, James Connolly and Major John Mc Bride. The leaders were executed in Kilmainham and then their bodies were transported to Arbour Hill, where they were buried.

 

The graves are located under a low mound on a terrace of Wicklow granite in what was once the old prison yard. The gravesite is surrounded by a limestone wall on which their names are inscribed in Irish and English. On the prison wall opposite the gravesite is a plaque with the names of other people who gave their lives in 1916.

 

The adjoining Church of the Sacred Heart, which is the prison chapel for Arbour Hill prison, is maintained by the Department of Defence. At the rear of the church lies the old cemetery, where lie the remains of British military personnel who died in the Dublin area in the 19th and early 20th century.

 

A doorway beside the 1916 memorial gives access to the Irish United Nations Veterans Association house and memorial garden.

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - U.S. Army Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, execute a rehearsal of a mission for live fire operations during Decisive Action Rotation 15-02 at the National Training Center here, Nov. 11, 2014. The decisive action training environment was developed in order to create a common training scenario for use throughout the Army. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Charles Probst, Operations Group, National Training Center)

ift.tt/1U5vEr8 This map of Hokkaido was smuggled out of Japan by a German doctor during the Edo period –Japan prohibited foreign travel and trade and traffic with almost all countries at the time– The official who gave him the maps was executed and more than 50 people were punished for the incident [OS][1024x1792] #HistoryPorn #history #retro ift.tt/20iRtp1 via Histolines

Lower-class criminals were usually executed by hanging at one of the public execution sites outside the Tower. High-profile convicts, such as Thomas More, were publicly beheaded on Tower Hill. Seven nobles (five of them ladies) were beheaded privately on Tower Green, inside the complex, and then buried in the "Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula" (Latin for "in chains," making him an appropriate patron saint for prisoners) next to the Green. Some of the nobles who were executed outside the Tower are also buried in that chapel. (External link to Chapel webpage) The names of the seven beheaded on Tower Green for treason alone are:

 

* William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (1483)

* Anne Boleyn (1536)

* Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541)

* Catherine Howard (1542)

* Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford (1542)

* Lady Jane Grey (1554)

* Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1601)

 

The Traitors' Gate

The Traitors' Gate

 

George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England, was executed for treason in the Tower in February 1478, but not by beheading (and probably not by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine, despite what Shakespeare wrote).

 

When Edward IV died, he left two young sons behind: the Princes in the Tower. His brother Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, was made Regent until the older of his two sons, Edward V, should come of age. According to Thomas More's History of Richard III, Richard hired men to kill them, and, one night, the two Princes were smothered with their pillows. Many years later, bones were found buried at the foot of a stairway in the Tower, which are thought to be those of the princes. Richard was crowned King Richard III of England.

 

The last execution at the Tower was that of German spy Josef Jakobs on 14 August 1941 by firing squad formed from the Scots Guards.

In 1945, a few days before the end of the war, Wehrmacht Captain Gerhard Klinkicht was ordered by City Commander Dietrich to blow the "Dom" first to pieces with 100 shells. If that is not enough, you have to continue shooting until it is completely destroyed. "But for moral reasons, Gerhard Klinkicht refused to execute this order and thus saved St. Stephen's Cathedral from total destruction.

On 14 March 2000 Gerhard Klinkicht died in Bavaria in his 86th year. A few months before his death, he presented Dr. Christoph Cardinal Schönborn a check worth around 70,000 euros for the restoration of St. Stephen's Cathedral. In total, Klinkicht donated 150,000 euros for "Our St. Stephen's Cathedral".

A memorial plaque at the foot of the high tower commemorates the savior of St. Stephen's Cathedral:

"Captain Gerhard Klinkicht thank you. By his decision of conscience he saved St. Stephen's Cathedral from destruction in April 1945. "

 

St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Second World War

During the Second World War, of course, hardly any restoration work could be carried out. Priority was the valuable art treasures to protect against possible bomb attacks: thus, for example, the pulpit and the tomb of Friedrich had been walled, the beautiful, colorful glass panes were removed, the giant gate secured and movable art objects brought into the catacombs.

On the night of April 11 to 12, 1945, the scaffolding on the north tower began to burn. Since there was no water to extinguish, the fire could spread to the roof. As a result of the fire, the Pummerin collapsed, including the belfry, the great organ was destroyed, the medieval choir stalls were burned and the vaults of the central and south choir collapsed: essential substance of St. Stephen's Cathedral was lost.

Yet 1945 was begun with the reconstruction of St. Stephen's Cathedral. From 1945 to 1948, the back of the cathedral was used as a church, while the choir (separated by a wall) was restored. In 1952, the choir was solemnly opened and the new Pummerin - a gift from Upper Austria - brought to Vienna.

Actions such as the "roof tile action" (a roof tile cost 5 shillings) or the Dombaulotterie (cathedral building lottery) contributed significantly to the rapid reconstruction of St. Stephen's Cathedral. The material that was used in 1945 (St. Margarethner limestone), was basically good. In some cases, however, layers were used that were biologically interfused and thus vulnerable. This material is still being replaced today.

In 1945 it was also considered to build a flat roof (such as the Milan Cathedral) instead of the steep Gothic roof. The idea was rejected.

The year 1960 marked the end of the reconstruction, from this point on one speaks of restoration work.

 

Wehrmachtshauptmann Gerhard Klinkicht erhielt 1945 einige Tage vor Kriegsende von Stadtkommandant Dietrich den Befehl, den „... Dom zunächst mit 100 Granaten in Schutt und Asche zu legen. Sollte das nicht ausreichen, ist bis zu seiner völligen Zerstörung weiterzuschießen." Doch Gerhard Klinkicht verweigerte aus moralischen Gründen die Ausführung dieses Befehls und rettete damit den Stephansdom vor der totalen Zerstörung.

Am 14. März 2000 ist Gerhard Klinkicht in Bayern im 86. Lebensjahr verstorben. Einige Monate vor seinem Tod überreichte er Dr. Christoph Kardinal Schönborn einen Scheck im Wert von rund 70.000 Euro für die Restaurierung des Stephansdoms. Insgesamt spendete Klinkicht 150.000 Euro für „Unser Stephansdom“.

Eine Gedenktafel am Fuß des Hochturms erinnert an den Retter des Stephansdoms:

„Hauptmann Gerhard Klinkicht zum Dank. Durch seine Gewissensentscheidung bewahrte er im April 1945 den Stephansdom vor der Zerstörung."

 

Der Stephansdom und der Zweite Weltkrieg

Während des Zweiten Weltkriegs konnten selbstverständlich kaum Restaurierungsarbeiten durchgeführt werden. Vorrangig waren die wertvollen Kunstschätze vor möglichen Bombeneinschlägen zu schützen: So wurden z. B. die Kanzel und das Friedrichsgrab ummauert, die schönen, bunten Glasscheiben wurden ausgebaut, das Riesentor gesichert und bewegliche Kunstgegenstände in die Katakomben gebracht.

In der Nacht von 11. auf 12. April 1945 begann das Gerüst auf dem Nordturm zu brennen. Da kein Wasser zum Löschen vorhanden war, konnte sich das Feuer auf das Dach ausbreiten. Infolge des Brandes stürzte die Pummerin samt Glockenstuhl herab, die große Orgel wurde zerstört, das mittelalterliche Chorgestühl verbrannte und das Gewölbe des Mittel- und Südchores stürzte ein: Wesentliche Substanz des Stephansdoms war verloren.

Noch 1945 wurde mit dem Wiederaufbau des Stephansdoms begonnen. In den Jahren 1945 bis 1948 wurde der hintere Teil des Doms als Kirche verwendet, während der Chor (durch eine Wand getrennt) wiederhergestellt wurde. 1952 wurde der Chor feierlich eröffnet und die neue Pummerin – ein Geschenk Oberösterreichs – nach Wien gebracht.

Aktionen wie die „Dachziegelaktion“ (ein Dachziegel kostete 5 Schilling) oder die Dombaulotterie trugen wesentlich zum raschen Wiederaufbau des Stephansdoms bei. Das Material, das 1945 verwendet wurde (St. Margarethner Kalksandstein), war grundsätzlich gut. Teilweise kamen aber Schichten zum Einsatz, die biologisch durchsetzt und somit anfällig waren. Noch heute wird dieses Material ausgetauscht.

1945 wurde auch überlegt, ein Flachdach (wie z. B. am Mailänder Dom) anstelle des steilen gotischen Daches zu errichten. Die Idee wurde jedoch verworfen.

Das Jahr 1960 markiert das Ende des Wiederaufbaus, ab diesem Zeitpunkt spricht man von Restaurierungsarbeiten.

www.stephansdom.at/restaurierung_zweiter_weltkrieg.htm

The Bridge and Cascade.

 

Grade I listed.

 

Cascade I Bridge and cascade. Designed with a single arch by Robert Adam in 1761. Redesigned, with three arches in 1764. Executed 1770- 1771. Ashlar. The bridge has three round-arched spans with moulded hoodmoulds. Fluted roundels in the spandrels. Projecting piers with apsed niches and moulded sill band. The tops of the piers with swags. Fluted frieze and dentil cornice. Balustraded parapet the balusters divided into three units per span. Cast iron balusters. Steep road approaches with the end walls curving outwards and downwards. End piers. Rubblestone cascade to east.

 

Listing NGR: SK3126840716

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1335352

  

The Bridge by Robert Adam

 

Kedleston Hall is an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire, approximately four miles north-west of Derby, and is the seat of the Curzon family whose name originates in Notre-Dame-de-Courson in Normandy. Today it is a National Trust property.

 

The Curzon family have owned the estate at Kedleston since at least 1297 and have lived in a succession of manor houses near to or on the site of the present Kedleston Hall. The present house was commissioned by Sir Nathaniel Curzon (later 1st Baron Scarsdale) in 1759. The house was designed by the Palladian architects James Paine and Matthew Brettingham and was loosely based on an original plan by Andrea Palladio for the never-built Villa Mocenigo. At the time a relatively unknown architect, Robert Adam was designing some garden temples to enhance the landscape of the park; Curzon was so impressed with Adam's designs, that Adam was quickly put in charge of the construction of the new mansion.

 

World War II

 

In 1939, Kedleston Hall was offered by Richard Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale for use by the War Department.[1] Kedleston Hall provided various facilities during the period 1939–45 including its use as a mustering point and army training camp. It also formed one of the Y-stations used to gather Signals Intelligence via radio transmissions which, if encrypted, were subsequently passed to Bletchley Park for decryption.

 

National Trust

 

In the 1970s the estate was too expensive for the Curzon family to maintain. When Richard Nathaniel Curzon, 2nd Viscount Scarsdale died, his cousin Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale offered the estate to the nation in lieu of death duties. A deal was agreed with the National Trust that it should take over Kedleston while still allowing the family to live rent-free in the 23-room Family Wing, which contained an adjoining garden and two rent-free flats for servants or other family members.

 

External design

 

The design of the three-floored house is of three blocks linked by two segmentally curved corridors. The ground floor is rusticated, while the upper floors are of smooth-dressed stone. The central, largest block contains the state rooms and was intended for use only when there were important guests in the house. The East block was a self-contained country house in its own right, containing all the rooms for the family's private use, and the identical West block contained the kitchens and all other domestic rooms and staff accommodation. Plans for two more pavilions (as the two smaller blocks are known) of identical size, and similar appearance were not executed. These further wings were intended to contain, in the south east a music room, and south west a conservatory and chapel. Externally these latter pavilions would have differed from their northern counterparts by large glazed Serlian windows on the piano nobile of their southern facades. Here the blocks were to appear as of two floors only; a mezzanine was to have been disguised in the north of the music room block. The linking galleries here were also to contain larger windows, than on the north, and niches containing classical statuary.

 

If the great north front, approximately 107 metres in length, is Palladian in character, dominated by the massive, six-columned Corinthian portico, then the south front (illustrated right) is pure Robert Adam. It is divided into three distinct sets of bays; the central section is a four-columned, blind triumphal arch (based on the Arch of Constantine in Rome) containing one large, pedimented glass door reached from the rusticated ground floor by an external, curved double staircase. Above the door, at second-floor height, are stone garlands and medallions in relief. The four Corinthian columns are topped by classical statues. This whole centre section of the facade is crowned by a low dome visible only from a distance. Flanking the central section are two identical wings on three floors, each three windows wide, the windows of the first-floor piano nobile being the tallest. Adam's design for this facade contains huge "movement" and has a delicate almost fragile quality.

 

Gardens and grounds

 

The gardens and grounds, as they appear today, are largely the concept of Robert Adam. Adam was asked by Nathaniel Curzon in 1758 to "take in hand the deer park and pleasure grounds". The landscape gardener William Emes had begun work at Kedleston in 1756, and he continued in Curzon's employ until 1760; however, it was Adam who was the guiding influence. It was during this period that the former gardens designed by Charles Bridgeman were swept away in favour of a more natural-looking landscape. Bridgeman's canals and geometric ponds were metamorphosed into serpentine lakes.

 

Adam designed numerous temples and follies, many of which were never built. Those that were include the North lodge (which takes the form of a triumphal arch), the entrance lodges in the village, a bridge, cascade and the Fishing Room. The Fishing Room is one of the most noticeable of the park's buildings. In the neoclassical style it is sited on the edge of the upper lake and contains a plunge pool and boat house below. Some of Adam's unexecuted design for follies in the park rivalled in grandeur the house itself. A "View Tower" designed in 1760 – 84 feet high and 50 feet wide on five floors, surmounted by a saucer dome flanked by the smaller domes of flanking towers — would have been a small neoclassical palace itself. Adam planned to transform even mundane utilitarian buildings into architectural wonders. A design for a pheasant house (a platform to provide a vantage point for the game shooting) became a domed temple, the roofs of its classical porticos providing the necessary platforms; this plan too was never completed. Among the statuary in the grounds is a Medici lion sculpture carved by Joseph Wilton on a pedestal designed by Samuel Wyatt, from around 1760-1770.

 

In the 1770s, George Richardson designed the hexagonal summerhouse, and in 1800 the orangery. The Long Walk was laid out in 1760 and planted with flowering shrubs and ornamental trees. In 1763, it was reported that Lord Scarsdale had given his gardener a seed from rare and scarce Italian shrub, the "Rodo Dendrone".

 

The gardens and grounds today, over two hundred years later, remain mostly unaltered. Parts of the estate are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, primarily because of the "rich and diverse deadwood invertebrate fauna" inhabiting its ancient trees.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kedleston_Hall

cartographic-images.net/255_Unknown.html

 

Anonymous world map, 1485, 17.5 cm diameter

 

TITLE: A Circular, Copper-engraved, Medieval World Map

 

DATE: 1485

 

AUTHOR: unknown

 

DESCRIPTION: Printed medieval world maps (map-incunabula) can be arranged in three types: (1) schematic copies of maps in manuscripts of the early Middle Ages, the so-called wheel-maps, T-O maps and zonal maps from 1472 (#201 and #205); (2) maps made after the pattern of the so-called monastic maps (in Rudimentum Novitiorum (#253) and Mer des Histoires, by Rüst and Sporer, from 1475; and (3) copies of Ptolemy’s world map, with or without minor corrections in the north of Europe from 1477. None of these types seem to be influenced by the advances in geographical knowledge which set in from the beginning of the 15th century, “the age of discoveries”, particularly in regard to knowledge of West Africa, and which are recorded in many manuscript medieval maps; there is thus no group of printed maps based on Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian portolans, notwithstanding their proximity in time. The reason for this may be sought in the fact that such portolan [nautical] charts were kept secret by the rival powers in the interests of colonial policy. Only one map-incunabulum, however, cannot be included in any of these three above-mentioned groups: an anonymous and undated circular world map engraved on copper, certainly in Italy and at Venice, and to be ascribed to approximately 1485.

 

The map that is the subject of this monograph (bearing neither title, indication of author, place of execution, or date) is engraved on a circular copper-plate (of a diameter of about 17.5 cm), and measures 17 cm (N-S) by 17.3 cm (W-E). The paper is a fairly thick “incunable” paper with very thin longitudinal lines traced at rather more than one millimeter distance and thicker transverse lines at a distance of about 33 mm, without watermark.

 

The map-picture presents the eastern hemisphere of the world as it was then known in Europe, in our present-day conception (i.e., North at the top). Its basis is the representation of Ptolemy’s world map, although the author does not slavishly adhere to it. Rather he has in mind the medieval Christian belief in an earthly Paradise with four rivers flowing from it; but he takes special account of advances in knowledge of the three parts of the world made since Ptolemy. There is no division into degrees or zones. The nomenclature is given in the Latin language, as used in the age of the Roman Empire, and is executed in Roman type.

 

The continents, with the islands pertaining to them, almost reach the edges of the map, so that the ocean, as in most of the medieval manuscript maps, is limited to a narrow circle; there is however a large patch of ocean, but without any name, in the Gulf of Guinea. The ocean is represented by means of numerous lines parallel to the edge of the map, while the inland seas, among which even the Indian Ocean is found, are represented by horizontal, straight (W-E) and dense lines, so that the darker water surfaces stand out clearly on the lighter surface of the land. The contours of the mainland and islands are, besides, stressed by narrow shading.

 

Rivers are marked by plain lines corresponding to their actual or presumed course; often they flow from mountains, sometimes across them, which is in itself no absurdity though the representation of valleys is lacking. Mountains are represented by conventional signs in perspective, of different length and height, and are mostly drawn as rows of mountains stretching from west to east (they are left white in my copy, but in Hind’s they are colored); only the Appenines, Alps, Karst and Balkans are characterized, in conformity with their crooked outline, by a connected chain of mountains. The few towns indicated in the map are represented by towered buildings of different sizes.

 

Legends are confined to the most important indications, so that the map-picture is not overcrowded with an excessive number of names and legends, as was customary in most medieval maps. From an orthographic point of view, the names are unusually correct; the Latin ‘æ’ is mostly transcribed, as was then customary in Italy, by ‘e’. The cardinal points are indicated in the ocean in their respective places by Septentrio, Oriens, Auster and Occidens.

  

Places in Europe that are indicated (in larger type) include the following:

 

a) on the Continent: Ispania Taraconesis, Lusitania Isp., Betica Isp. - Gallia Lugdunensis (indicated in its correct place and not, as Destombes says, in the wrong one, for the Roman province comprised also Brittany and Normandy beside other parts of France) - Gallia Belgica. - Germania Magna, Retia, Vindelitia. Italia, Venetie, Roma (as a town) - Dalmatia, Macedonia, Pelopone[sus] - Tanais Fl., Sarmatia Europae, Datia, Danubius Fl., Tracia - Norbegia, Suetia q[uae] est Gottia, Helandia [Halandia], Engrovelant, Gottia Orientalis;

 

b) Seas and Islands: Germanicus Oceanus, Sarmaticum, Egeum Mare, Pontus Euxinus [Black Sea] - Gotcia [Gotland], Albion [Scotland], Britanica [England], Ibernia, Baleares lnsule, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicilia, Creta .

 

Places in “Africa” (in larger type) include the following::

 

a) on the Continent: Mauritania Tingitana, Mauritania Cesarensis [indicated in its correct place and not, as Destombes says, in the wrong one (Algeria of today], Africa [as a Roman Province - Tunis of today], Cartago (as a town), Marmarica, Egyptus, Alexandria and Thebe (as towns), Getusia [Getulia], Libya Interior, Aethiopia, Nilus Fl. (named three times at the length of its course), Meroe Insula, Trogloditica Regio;

 

b) Seas and Islands: Sircis (Little Syrte), Sirtis Magna, Rubrum Mare, Indicum Mare; Fortunate Insule.

 

Places in “Asia” (in larger type) include the following::

 

a) on the Continent: Hyperborei M., Rha Fl., Sarmatia Asiae, Iberia, Colchias, Albania, Ilircanum Mare, Sogdiana, Margiana, Hircania, Pontus,Asia [as a Roman Province in western Asia Minor], Licia, Paphilia, Cilicia, Capadocia (the name is divided in four parts), Armenia, Armenia Maior, Syria, Juda, Hierusalem (as a town), Arabia Petrea, Arabia Felix, Arabia Deserta, Assiria, Babylonia, Susiana, Persia, Media, Aria, Carmania, India (named twice), Fison Fl., Eufrates Fl., Tigris Fl., Paradisus;

 

b) Seas and Islands: Persicum Mare; Cyprus, Taprobana Insula.

  

Moreover, many mountains and waters are represented without any names, e.g. in Europe: the Rhine with two branches at its mouth, four branches of the Danube at its mouth, mountains along the length of Scandinavia, imaginary mountains in Central Russia (giving birth to the Don); in Asia: the correct upper course of the Euphrates, an imaginary river taking its sources in the Elbrooz and flowing in the direction of the Euphrates, mountains in India and two mountains in easternmost Asia, from the northernmost of which the Oxus flows to the Caspian Sea and another river runs southwards and reaches the Fison [Ganges)]; the Lake of Paradise gives birth to four rivers of Paradise; in Africa: the mountains south of the present-day Tunis, from which a river takes its sources and flows to the Mediterranean, southeast of these some other mountains connected with the former by a river (Gir); in central Africa Lunae Montes with the sources of the Nile, three of which are quickly united, mountains in eastern Africa (Garbato Mons?) with one more source of the Nile, and three mountains in the southern, elongated toward Asia, part of Africa, from the western-most of which run two sources of the Nile which soon unite, while from the central mountain, through which runs the upper course of the main branch of the Nile, a river flows southward to the Ocean.

 

Regarding the outline of the coasts, a considerable improvement can be observed in respect of Europe in comparison with printed Ptolemaic maps of the 15th century, particularly in regard to the position of Italy which is altered to a more northwesterly and southeasterly direction, instead of the usual excessive west-easterly direction, and also in regard to the better representation of the British Isles, in particular, the omission of the northern part of the main island lying in a west-easterly direction at a right angle to England. Also Scandinavia, which was usually lacking or, as in the Ulm edition of Ptolemy (#119) in a special map of the northern countries, was represented as an island, appears here for the first time on a printed map in the shape of a natural peninsula. The representation of Greenland (bearing for the first time a name on a printed map) almost conforms to that in the above cited special map of the North: it is a peninsula of the Eurasian continent bearing the name of “Engrovelant”, probably a mutilation of the name due to the copyist’s error, a frequent occurrence in the 15th century. In Asia, we are surprised at the correct representation of the Caspian Sea, unlike that in all other manuscript maps. Even in Fra Mauro’s map of 1450 (#249) only the shape, but not the orientation, of this sea is true to reality. The inclusion of an earthly Paradise at the easternmost limit of the explored world and the four rivers taking their sources there conform to the medieval Christian conception of the world and is encountered in nearly all manuscript maps from Cosmas Indicopleustes (sixth century, #202) to Andrea Bianco (1436, #241), as well as in map-incunabula of the monastic type. The representation of the south coast of Asia differs considerably from that in most contemporary medieval maps, especially in Ptolemaic maps; in this respect the author approaches the Arab Idrisi’s conception (#219), that of the Catalan-Estense world map (about 1450, Modena, #246), and that of Fra Mauro’s map (#249), for he represents only the smaller Indian peninsulas and not the big Ptolemaic Aurea Chersonesus.

 

An obvious and retrograde feature of the map, when compared to earlier maps, is that no consideration is given to the discoveries made in East Asia by medieval Italian explorers. In the representation of Africa the author was evidently guided by two leading principles: on the one hand, adherence to Ptolemy’s viewpoint as regards the land connection of South Africa and East Asia, and on the other hand, consideration of the recent discoveries made by the Portuguese on the west coast of Africa, which, however, in no wise contradict Ptolemy’s conception. The effort to compare separate bays and points of the West African coast on the map with the actual ones in order to find out how much of the Portuguese discoveries were known to our author would be in vain. The general impression can be gathered, however, that the navigation round the Bay of Biafra (1475: Cabo de Catarina 22 degrees south latitude was reached by Ruy Sequeira) was the last achievement in the exploration of the west coast of Africa recorded by the map. Later discoveries, made by Diogo Cão (1482-85) as far as Cape Cross (approximately 22 degrees south latitude) were certainly unknown to the author of the map. Regarding the sources of the Nile, the author tries to connect Ptolemy’s point of view with the medieval one based on a certain interpretation of the Bible (the four rivers of Paradise: the Pison [Fison = Ganges)] the Gihon [Nile], the Hiddekce [Tigris] and the Euphrates), and shows one of them, flowing from the Lake of Paradise, running through the whole length of Africa and uniting the other sources coming from the mountains only in the middle of the Continent.

 

Italy can with some certainty be considered to be the land of this map’s provenance. Copper-engraved maps were not produced in any other country in the Middle Ages and, besides, at that time Italy was the only country where cartographic style had, under the influence of the Renaissance, developed such clear and classical lines and rejected all Gothic ornaments, as shown in this circular world map. Considering that, on the small space which the map has available for legends, Venetie is the only province in Italy bearing a name, it can be assumed with most probability that Venice was the place of its production, especially as this town simultaneously presented the world with another outstanding set of printed maps, i.e., the Isolario of Bartolomeo dalli Sonetti, not to mention Fra Mauro’s large hand-illuminated world map produced at an earlier date (#249). As the map has neither title nor legends, it can be presumed that it was designed as an appendix to a printed book of average format, e.g., an edition of Ptolemy, Solinus, or the like. Its maker, in contrast to his contemporaries Hanns Rust and Hanns Sporer, must have been not only a highly educated humanist, but even a person of independent opinions, who, notwithstanding his belief in the tradition of the Bible and his veneration of Ptolemy’s authority, was receptive to the progress in knowledge of the late Middle Ages. He had naturally made use of all the data available to him from verbal, literary and cartographic sources, access to which was probably attended with great difficulty considering that many of the maps (portolans) extant in those days, particularly manuscript, were kept secret. However, he wholly suppressed those representations which contradicted his Christian conception of the world, e.g., Marco Polo’s revelations (especially in respect of the eastward course of the rivers in eastern Asia, as this was incompatible with the Biblical rivers flowing from Paradise south and westward). The author did not share the view of some of the medieval cartographers, as known to us, that Africa was divided from Asia by a more or less wide and open ocean, because he probably regarded Ptolemy as more trustworthy than Herodotus or Idrisi; for the rest, the difference between his representation of Africa and that of Idrisi and his adherents, regarding the southern extremity of Africa protruding far out to the east and the chain of islands adjacent to it stretching out in the direction of southeastern Asia, is not so great.

 

From the latest data recorded on the map, in particular the representation of Guinea, bearing in mind that a certain interval in time had to elapse between the date of a discovery and its recording on a map, and from the technique of the copper-engraving and quality of the paper, the date of the appearance of the map can be fixed at the middle eighties of the I5th century.

 

Summarizing, it can be said that this map, in spite of many discrepancies, represents an important milestone in the history of cartography. It is the first (and perhaps the only 15th century) printed world map showing a part of the New World (Greenland), though somewhat incorrectly drawn, and the discoveries of the Portuguese on the west coast of Africa. Deviating from the ordinary type of map with the hardly understandable Ptolemaic projection and from the Gothic map of the monastic type overcrowded with ornaments, this map gives us, on a small scale, an idea of the outline of the world, as it presented itself in the last phase of the Middle Ages.

 

A work based on a critical and subtle combination of the available source-materials, and not on the copies of antique and medieval maps customary in those days, ought to be appreciated as a real achievement in geographic science. It adds a new leaf to the wreath of fame crowning the Italian art of cartography.

  

LOCATION: E. Woldan Collection, Vienna

  

REFERENCES:

 

*Shirley, R.W., The Mapping of the World, pp. 13-14, Plate 22.

 

*Woldan, E., “A circular, copper-engraved, medieval world map”, Imago Mundi, 1954.

----

ARENTZEN, Jorg-Geerd (1984). Imago Mundi Cartographica. Studien zur Bildlichkeit Mittelalterlicher Welt- und Oekumene Karten unter besonderer Berucksichtigung des Zusammenwirkens von Text und Bild. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munchen. ISBN 3-7705-2258-3

A permanent memorial in memory of murdered Preston cotton workers was unveiled on Lune Street in 1992 - the 150th anniversary of the shooting. The memorial was designed by the British artist and sculptor Gordon Young. It was inspired by Goya's painting The Third of May 1808 picturing Spanish civilians being executed in 1808 for resisting Napoleon’s troops.

 

© 2013 Tony Worrall

This piece is entitled "self portrait of ones entire life". I executed this piece with the a theory I developed that is called Dimensionalism . This theory has its inspiration form my experiences with pre-seizure events for I have epilepsy. In this state I become detached from reality and see time in a different construct,that of a hyper intensity. A hyper awareness of a moment and everything that constructs it from sounds,thoughts,things tactile . While in these pre seizure states, some instances time is slowed down/speed up or frozen. While in other instances I am forced away form all comprehension of what is in my present environment and reality takes on a totally foreign existence where all has to be re learned.

For the viewers of my piece all of life is in dimensions and how one moves through these dimensions of either large dimensional constructs such as ones life or to the minute dimensional construct of a simple word. Thus giving the viewer this new perspective of time and space. The suspended animation of the piece is only dynamic as the viewer views the piece from the narrower sides form either end where a visible play of time sequencing exists and ones eye is drawn into the piece...

A perspective of a Dimesionalist where one has a view of a moment with a gods eye/time traveler or a pure energy source . From looking at a simple word to a memory one has. All is captured in dimensions. There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time/moment.I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

There are other branches of my theory that further portray my experiences. Demensionalising and facitile dimensionalism. These ideas also play with the constructs of how one sees time but deals more with dynamic movement .I hope to execute these ideas in the future...........

All these ideas/theories have a direct correlation with present day society...from the over abundance of information that is transferred by different technologies to the ways these technologies directly affect our existence and how it adds other dimensions of time to our lives.

 

I will be placing more info online in the future. and creating a temp website that fully explains all the details and shows examples of these theories as well as go into more details..

 

If you are interested in more info please feel free to contact ...efj@sbcglobal.net

 

Best best

 

Efj.

The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat well known for its distinctive physical appearance. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat.

 

Although the Maine Coon’s exact origins and date of introduction to the United States are unknown, many theories have been proposed. The breed was popular in cat shows in the late 1800s, but its existence became threatened when long-haired breeds from overseas were introduced in the early 20th century. The Maine Coon has since made a comeback and is now the second most popular cat breed in North America, according to the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA).

 

The Maine Coon is generally noted for its large bone structure, its rectangular body shape, and a long, flowing coat. The breed can be seen in a variety of colors and are known for their intelligence and gentle personalities. Health problems, such as feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hip dysplasia, are seen in the breed, but testing is available to detect the genes responsible for causing these abnormalities

 

Origin

 

The ancestral origins of the Maine Coon are unknown. There are only theories and folktales. One such folktale involves Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who was executed in 1793. Before her death, Antoinette attempted to escape France with the help of Captain Samuel Clough. She loaded Clough’s ship with her most prized possessions, including six of her favorite long-haired cats. Although Antoinette did not make it to the United States, her pets safely reached the shores of Wiscasset, Maine, where they mated with short-haired breeds and evolved into the modern breed of the Maine Coon.

The face of a Maine Coon

 

Another folktale involves Captain Charles Coon, an English seafarer who kept long-haired cats aboard his ships. Whenever Coon’s ship would anchor in the New England ports, the felines would exit the ship and mate with the local feral cat population. When long-haired kittens began appearing in the litters of the local cat population, they were referred to as one of “Coon’s cats”.

 

A theory which is biologically-based, though genetically impossible, is the idea that the modern Maine Coon descended from ancestors of semi-feral domestic cats and raccoons. This could have possibly explained the most common color of the breed (brown tabby) and the bushy tail, which is a characteristic trait. Another idea is that the Maine Coon originated between the matings of domestic cats and wild bobcats, which could explain the tufts of hairs that are so commonly seen on the tips of the ears. There have been reports of domestic cats breeding with bobcats.

 

The generally-accepted theory among breeders is that the Maine Coon is descended from the pairings of local short-haired domestic cats and long-haired breeds brought overseas by English seafarers (possibly by Captain Charles Coon) or 11th-century Vikings. The connection to the Vikings is seen in the strong resemblance of the Maine Coon to the Norwegian Forest Cat, another breed that is said to be a descendant of cats that traveled with the Vikings.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/34409164@N06/3208415360/

 

Mi Maine Coon

 

Es la primera raza que se desarrolló en Estados Unidos. El nombre proviene de la creencia de los colonizadores de que era el resultado del cruce de un mapache y un gato, cosa imposible.

 

Su pelaje es tupido, lanoso, resistente a los rigores climáticos, con la piel cubierta por un lustroso pelaje exterior más abundante, con el que soporta el invierno. Generalmente se cuida solo.

 

Esta raza posee una disposición afable y se lo reconoce en una amplia gama de colores y patrones. El color de los ojos no tiene que hacer juego con el pelaje. También se caracteriza por ser de gran longitud. Se cree que era una mezcla de los gatos de la realeza francesa.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/34409164@N06/3208415360/

 

Il mio Maine Coon

 

Il Maine Coon è una delle più antiche razze naturali del Nord America, tanto da essere considerato generalmente come nativo dello stato del Maine, di cui è il gatto ufficiale. Il suo nome deriva da Maine, lo stato della Nuova Inghilterra in cui veniva avvistato, e da Raccoon, orsetto lavatore in inglese, per via della sua coda molto simile a quella di un procione. Molteplici sono le leggende che circondano l’origine di questo particolare gatto. La più diffusa all’inizio del secolo narrava che per le grandi e pelose orecchie provviste di ciuffi e la coda grossa e inanellata, il Maine Coon fosse il risultato di un incrocio tra una lince e un orsetto lavatore. L’ipotesi, ovviamente assurda, ha comunque contribuito ad alimentare le numerose storie che si tramandano su questa razza. C’è anche chi a tutti i costi ha voluto conferire un’aura regale a questo gatto “rustico”, facendolo addirittura discendere da sei gatti d’Angora che la regina Maria Antonietta, durante la Rivoluzione Francese, avrebbe messo in salvo inviandoli a Wiscasset, nello Stato Americano del Maine. Le origini del Maine Coon hanno creato così tantissime leggende e congetture, nessuna delle quali può essere provata. La teoria più probabile, anche se la meno pittoresca, indicherebbe il Maine Coon come il risultato di un incrocio tra gatti selvatici a pelo corto del continente nordamericano e gatti a pelo lungo d’oltremare. Secondo alcuni infatti, il Maine Coon avrebbe antenati tra i gatti nordici, i progenitori del Norvegese delle Foreste, arrivati in America del Nord nell’anno mille in seguito agli sbarchi dei Vichinghi sulle Isole di Terranova. Secondo altri invece, l’origine del Maine Coon risalirebbe al periodo della colonizzazione quando le navi dei coloni provenienti da tutto il mondo attraccavano sulle coste americane del Nord-est portando al seguito dei gatti per far strage di topi. Erano gatti d’ogni risma, che i marinai dell’epoca apprezzavano più o meno a seconda della loro maggiore o minore capacità di cacciare topi piuttosto che per la loro maggiore o minore bellezza. È però assai probabile che, fra quei “gatti”, tutti uguali e tutti diversi, ci fosse anche qualche antenato degli attuali gatti d’America. La prima segnalazione ufficiale di un Maine Coon, risale al 1861 con una menzione da parte della signora Pierce di un gatto bianco e nero chiamato “Captain Jenks of the Horse Marines”. In Italia il Maine Coon compare solo nel 1986 su un mensile del settore, da allora la diffusione della razza è in continua espansione e i Maine Coon sono ormai protagonisti di successo nelle esposizioni feline.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/34409164@N06/3208415360/

 

Mi Maine Coon

 

Deuxième race féline des États-Unis, et dont la popularité ne cesse de croître à travers le monde, le maine coon est un chat robuste et rustique, façonné par le dur climat de l’État du Maine, sur la côte est des États-Unis. Il est probablement l’une des plus anciennes races naturelles nord-américaine,.

 

Plusieurs légendes décrivent les origines de la race. La plus répandue raconte que le maine coon est le fruit d’un croisement entre des chats et des ratons laveurs (raccoon en anglais), ce qui expliquerait leur couleur (la plus répandue est le brown tabby) et leur queue très touffue. Bien sûr, il est génétiquement impossible de réaliser un tel croisement mais la race gardera de cette légende son nom. La deuxième avance que ce sont des descendants des six chats angoras envoyés par Marie-Antoinette d’Autriche alors qu’elle préparait une fuite pour échapper à la révolution française. Ces angoras auraient été amenés sur le bateau le Sally du capitaine Samuel Clough de Wiscasset avec les autres effets personnels de la reine. Les angoras se seraient ensuite mêlés aux chats de ferme locaux pour donner naissance au maine coon.

 

Une autre théorie, un peu moins extravagante celle-ci, avance que la race s’est développée à partir de croisements entre des chats de ferme locaux et d’autres chats à poils longs ou mi-longs importés d’abord par les Vikings aux alentours de l’an 1000. Le maine Coon descendrait alors du chat des forêts norvégiennes, ce qui expliquerait leur ressemblance. Cette hypothèse est appuyée par la ressemblance entre turc de van, sibériens, norvégiens et enfin maine coons dont les origines géographiques correspondent aux déplacements des vikings. Cette ressemblance avec le norvégien peut aussi s’expliquer par le fait que le climat hivernal de la Nouvelle-Angleterre et de la Norvège sont identiques et auraient donc conduits à développer les mêmes spécificités.

Cosey, la première maine coon vainqueur en 1885 à New York

 

C’est en tout cas ce qu’affirmait Mme Pierce, une des premières propriétaires de maine coon qui avait à l’époque effectué des recherches approfondies sur les origines de la race. Elle avait effectivement trouvé que ces chats étaient arrivés sur les côtes du Maine par la mer, mais pas grâce aux Vikings. Ce serait plutôt par les riches familles du Maine qui possédaient alors de luxueux bateaux et voyageaient beaucoup. Ils auraient ramenés de leurs expéditions de nombreux animaux de compagnie exotiques, notamment pour amuser les enfants. La deuxième hypothèse de Mme Pierce était que des chats angoras furent embarqués à bord des bateaux marchands pour chasser les rats. Dans les deux cas, ils auraient débarqués sur la Côte Est et se seraient mélangés aux chats locaux à poils courts et le brassage aurait donnés le chat à poils mi-long que nous connaissons.

 

Une autre possibilité est qu’ils aient été importés par les immigrants européens et aient su s’adapter aux conditions de vie et au climat difficile de la région.

 

En 1860, les fermiers du Maine, très fiers de leurs chats organisaient leurs propres expositions pour élire le champion. Le premier maine coon cité dans la littérature est un mâle noir et blanc nommé Captain Jencks qui appartenait à Mme Pierce. Cela remonte à 1861. Un peu plus tard, en 1895, ce chat de grande taille fit sensation au Madison Square Garden. C’est d’ailleurs une femelle maine coon nommée Cosey qui remporta le concours. En 1897, c’était une douzaine de maine coons qui participaient à une exposition à Boston. Au début du XXe siècle, la popularité de la race dépasse la Côte Est et atteint la Côte Ouest des États-Unis. Puis peu à peu, elle tombe dans l’oubli puisque jusqu’en 1950 la mode est aux persans et aux siamois, laissant de côté le géant américain. A la fin des années 40, on le déclare même un peu vite disparu. Pour que le maine coon retrouve sa popularité, deux éleveurs fondent le Central maine coon cat club en 1953. Trois ans plus tard, ce club écrit également le premier standard de la race. Les efforts paient puisqu’en 1960, la race a retrouvé sa popularité d’antan.

Jeune maine coon brun mackerel tabby et blanc

 

La race est officiellement reconnue depuis 1967 par l’American Cat Fanciers Association et la Canadian cat association. La CFA tarde à reconnaître la race qu’elle refuse à plusieurs reprises entre 1969 et 1972. Il aura fallut attendre 1973 pour que la fédération reconnaisse la race de façon provisoire et 1976 pour une reconnaissance définitive. Entre temps, en 1972, les différents standards existants sont harmonisés au niveau national.

 

L’importation du maine coon en France date de 1981 mais la race ne prend son essor qu’au début des années 90 et c’est également à cette époque que l’Allemagne la découvre. La FIFé reconnaît la race en 1983 et le GCCF anglais en 1986.

 

www.flickr.com/photos/34409164@N06/3208415360/

   

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Washington (CNN)-The execution of an Iranian nuclear scientist accused of spying for the US is reverberating from Tehran to the presidential campaign trail.

 

Critics, including opponent Donald Trump, are slamming former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for having received emails mentioning...

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The Birth of Venus (Italian: Nascita di Venere [ˈnaʃʃita di ˈvɛːnere]) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid-1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown (called Venus Anadyomene and often depicted in art). The painting is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

 

Although the two are not a pair, the painting is inevitably discussed with Botticelli's other very large mythological painting, the Primavera, also in the Uffizi. They are among the most famous paintings in the world, and icons of Italian Renaissance painting; of the two, the Birth is better known than the Primavera.[1] As depictions of subjects from classical mythology on a very large scale they were virtually unprecedented in Western art since classical antiquity, as was the size and prominence of a nude female figure in the Birth. It used to be thought that they were both commissioned by the same member of the Medici family, but this is now uncertain.

 

They have been endlessly analysed by art historians, with the main themes being: the emulation of ancient painters and the context of wedding celebrations (generally agreed), the influence of Renaissance Neo-Platonism (somewhat controversial), and the identity of the commissioners (not agreed). Most art historians agree, however, that the Birth does not require complex analysis to decode its meaning, in the way that the Primavera probably does. While there are subtleties in the painting, its main meaning is a straightforward, if individual, treatment of a traditional scene from Greek mythology, and its appeal is sensory and very accessible, hence its enormous popularity.[2]

 

Description and subject

 

The Hora of Spring

In the centre, the goddess Venus (newly born in fully grown state, in accordance with tradition) stands nude in a giant scallop shell. The size of the shell is purely imaginary, and is also found in classical depictions of the subject.[3] At the left the wind god Zephyrus blows at her, with the wind shown by lines radiating from his mouth. He is in the air, and carries a young female, who is also blowing, but less forcefully. Both have wings. Vasari was probably correct in identifying her as "Aura", personification of a lighter breeze.[4] Their joint efforts are blowing Venus towards the shore, and blowing the hair and clothes of the other figures to the right.[5]

 

At the right a female figure who may be floating slightly above the ground holds out a rich cloak or dress to cover Venus when she reaches the shore, as she is about to do. She is one of the three Horae or Hours, Greek minor goddesses of the seasons and of other divisions of time, and attendants of Venus. The floral decoration of her dress suggests she is the Hora of Spring.[6] She stands in a contrapposto pose, similarly to Venus as she seems relaxed and joyful that Venus has arrived.

 

Alternative identifications for the two secondary female figures involve those also found in the Primavera; the nymph held by Zephyr may be Chloris, a flower nymph he married in some versions of her story, and the figure on land may be Flora.[7] Flora is generally the Roman equivalent of the Greek Chloris; in the Primavera, Chloris is transformed into the figure of Flora next to her, following Ovid's Fasti,[8] but it is hard to see that such a transformation is envisaged here. However, the roses blown along with the two flying figures would be appropriate for Chloris.

 

The subject is not strictly the "Birth of Venus", a title given to the painting only in the nineteenth century (though given as the subject by Vasari), but the next scene in her story, where she arrives on land, blown by the wind. The land probably represents either Cythera or Cyprus, both Mediterranean islands regarded by the Greeks as territories of Venus.[9]

 

Technical

The painting is large, but slightly smaller than the Primavera, and where that is a panel painting, this is on the cheaper support of canvas. Canvas was increasing in popularity, perhaps especially for secular paintings for country villas, which were decorated more simply, cheaply and cheerfully than those for city palazzi, being designed for pleasure more than ostentatious entertainment.[10]

 

The painting is on two pieces of canvas, sewn together before starting, with a gesso ground tinted blue. There are differences to Botticelli's usual technique, working on panel supports, such as the lack of a green first layer under the flesh areas. There are a number of pentimenti revealed by modern scientific testing. The Hora originally had "low classical sandals", and the collar on the mantle she holds out is an afterthought. The hair of Venus and the flying couple was changed. There is heavy use of gold as a pigment for highlights, on hair, wings, textiles, the shell and the landscape. This was all apparently applied after the painting was framed. It was finished with a "cool gray varnish", probably using egg yolk.[11][12]

 

As in the Primavera, the green pigment – used for the wings of Zephyr, Zephyr's companion, and the leaves of the orange trees on the land – has darkened considerably with exposure to light over time, somewhat distorting the intended balance of colours. Parts of some leaves at the top right corner, normally covered by the frame, have been less affected.[13] The blues of the sea and sky have also lost their brightness.[14]

 

Style

 

Venus

Although the pose of Venus is classical in some respects, and borrows the position of the hands from the Venus Pudica type in Greco-Roman sculptures (see section below), the overall treatment of the figure, standing off-centre with a curved body of long flowing lines, is in many respects from Gothic art. Kenneth Clark wrote: "Her differences from antique form are not physiological, but rhythmic and structural. Her whole body follows the curve of a Gothic ivory. It is entirely without that quality so much prized in classical art, known as aplomb; that is to say, the weight of the body is not distributed evenly either side of a central plumb line. .... She is not standing but floating. ... Her shoulders, for example, instead of forming a sort of architrave to her torso, as in the antique nude, run down into her arms in the same unbroken stream of movement as her floating hair."[15]

 

Venus' body is anatomically improbable, with elongated neck and torso. Her pose is impossible: although she stands in a classical contrapposto stance, her weight is shifted too far over the left leg for the pose to be held. The proportions and poses of the winds to the left do not quite make sense, and none of the figures cast shadows.[16] The painting depicts the world of the imagination rather than being very concerned with realistic depiction.[17]

 

Ignoring the size and positioning of the wings and limbs of the flying pair on the left, which bother some other critics, Kenneth Clark calls them:

 

...perhaps the most beautiful example of ecstatic movement in the whole of painting. ... the suspension of our reason is achieved by the intricate rhythms of the drapery which sweep and flow irresistibly around the nude figures. Their bodies, by an endless intricacy of embrace, sustain the current of movement, which finally flickers down their legs and is dispersed like an electric charge.[18]

 

Botticelli's art was never fully committed to naturalism; in comparison to his contemporary Domenico Ghirlandaio, Botticelli seldom gave weight and volume to his figures and rarely used a deep perspectival space.[16] Botticelli never painted landscape backgrounds with great detail or realism, but this is especially the case here. The laurel trees and the grass below them are green with gold highlights, most of the waves regular patterns, and the landscape seems out of scale with the figures.[19] The clumps of bulrushes in the left foreground are out of place here, as they come from a freshwater species.[20]

 

Dating and history

It has long been suggested that Botticelli was commissioned to paint the work by the Medici family of Florence, perhaps by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici (1463–1503) a major patron of Botticelli, under the influence of his cousin Lorenzo de' Medici, "il Magnifico". This was first suggested by Herbert Horne in his monograph of 1908, the first major modern work on Botticelli, and long followed by most writers, but more recently has been widely doubted, though it is still accepted by some. Various interpretations of the painting rely on this origin for its meaning. Although relations were perhaps always rather tense between the Magnifico and his young cousins and wards, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco and his brother Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, it may have been politic to commission a work that glorified the older Lorenzo, as some interpretations have it. There may be a deliberate ambiguity as to which Lorenzo was intended to be evoked. In later years hostility between the two branches of the family became overt.

 

Horne believed that the painting was commissioned soon after the purchase in 1477 of the Villa di Castello, a country house outside Florence, by Lorenzo and Giovanni, to decorate their new house, which they were rebuilding. This was the year after their father died at the age of 46, leaving the young boys wards of their cousin Lorenzo il Magnifico, of the senior branch of the Medici family and de facto ruler of Florence.[21] There is no record of the original commission, and the painting is first mentioned by Vasari, who saw it, together with the Primavera, at Castello, some time before the first edition of his Lives in 1550, probably by 1530–40. In 1550 Vasari was himself painting in the villa, but he very possibly visited it before that. But in 1975 it emerged that, unlike the Primavera, the Birth is not in the inventory, apparently complete, made in 1499 of the works of art belonging to Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's branch of the family. Ronald Lightbown concludes that it only came to be owned by the Medici after that. The inventory was only published in 1975, and made many previous assumptions invalid.[22]

 

Horne dated the work at some point after the purchase of the villa in 1477 and before Botticelli's departure for Rome to join the painting of the Sistine Chapel in 1481. Recent scholars prefer a date of around 1484–86 on grounds of the work's place in the development of Botticelli's style. The Primavera is now usually dated earlier, after Botticelli's return from Rome in 1482 and perhaps around the time of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco's wedding in July 1482,[23] but by some still before Botticelli's departure.[24]

 

Whenever the two paintings were united at Castello, they have remained together ever since. They stayed in Castello until 1815, when they were transferred to the Uffizi. For some years until 1919 they were kept in the Galleria dell'Accademia, another government museum in Florence.[25]

 

from wikipedia

Woodcut by Albrecht Durer.

CHANDLER, Alan (1989). The Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer. In: Stretton Review, No. 22, March - May 1989

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Dürer's Rhinoceros is the name commonly given to a woodcut executed by German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer in 1515. The image was based on a written description and brief sketch by an unknown artist of an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon earlier that year. Dürer never saw the actual rhinoceros, which was the first living example seen in Europe since Roman times. In late 1515, the King of Portugal, Manuel I, sent the animal as a gift for Pope Leo X, but it died in a shipwreck off the coast of Italy in early 1516. A live rhinoceros was not seen again in Europe until a second specimen, named Abada, arrived from India at the court of Sebastian of Portugal in 1577, being later inherited by Philip II of Spain around 1580.

 

Dürer's woodcut is not an entirely accurate representation of a rhinoceros. He depicts an animal with hard plates that cover its body like sheets of armour, with a gorget at the throat, a solid-looking breastplate, and rivets along the seams; he also places a small twisted horn on its back, and gives it scaly legs and saw-like rear quarters. None of these features is present in a real rhinoceros. Despite its anatomical inaccuracies, Dürer's woodcut became very popular in Europe and was copied many times in the following three centuries. It was regarded by Westerners as a true representation of a rhinoceros into the late 18th century. Eventually, it was supplanted by more realistic drawings and paintings, particularly those of Clara the rhinoceros, who toured Europe in the 1740s and 1750s. It has been said of Dürer's woodcut: "probably no animal picture has exerted such a profound influence on the arts".

On 20 May 1515, an Indian rhinoceros arrived in Lisbon from the Far East. In early 1514, Afonso de Albuquerque, governor of Portuguese India, sent ambassadors to Sultan Muzafar II, ruler of Cambay (modern Gujarat), to seek permission to build a fort on the island of Diu. The mission returned without an agreement, but diplomatic gifts were exchanged, including the rhinoceros. At that time, the rulers of different countries would occasionally send each other exotic animals to be kept in a menagerie. The rhinoceros was already well accustomed to being kept in captivity. Albuquerque decided to forward the gift, known by its Gujarati name of ganda, and its Indian keeper, named Ocem, to King Manuel I of Portugal. It sailed on the Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, which left Goa in January 1515. The ship, captained by Francisco Pereira Coutinho, and two companion vessels, all loaded with exotic spices, sailed across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and north through the Atlantic, stopping briefly in Mozambique, Saint Helena and the Azores.

 

After a relatively fast voyage of 120 days, the rhinoceros was finally unloaded in Portugal, near the site where the Manueline Belém Tower was under construction. The tower was later decorated with gargoyles shaped as rhinoceros heads under its corbels. A rhinoceros had not been seen in Europe since Roman times: it had become something of a mythical beast, occasionally conflated in bestiaries with the "monoceros" (unicorn), so the arrival of a living example created a sensation. In the context of the Renaissance, it was a piece of Classical Antiquity which had been rediscovered, like a statue or an inscription.

The animal was examined by scholars and the curious, and letters describing the fantastic creature were sent to correspondents throughout Europe. The earliest known image of the animal illustrates a poemetto by Florentine Giovanni Giacomo Penni, published in Rome on 13 July 1515, fewer than eight weeks after its arrival in Lisbon. The only known copy of the original published poem is held by the Institución Colombina in Seville.

The exotic animal was housed in King Manuel's menagerie at the Ribeira Palace in Lisbon, separate from his elephants and other large beasts at the Estaus Palace. On Trinity Sunday, 3 June, Manuel arranged a fight between the rhinoceros and a young elephant from his collection, to test the account by Pliny the Elder that the elephant and the rhinoceros are bitter enemies. The rhinoceros advanced slowly and deliberately towards its foe; the elephant, unaccustomed to the noisy crowd that turned out to witness the spectacle, fled the field in panic before a single blow was struck.

Manuel decided to give the rhinoceros as a gift to the Medici Pope, Leo X. The King was keen to curry favour with the Pope, to maintain the papal grants of exclusive possession to the new lands that his naval forces had been exploring in the Far East since Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India around Africa in 1498. The previous year, the Pope had been very pleased with Manuel's gift of a white elephant, also from India, which the Pope had named Hanno. Together with other precious gifts of silver plate and spices, the rhinoceros, with its new collar of green velvet decorated with flowers, embarked in December 1515 for the voyage from the Tagus to Rome. The vessel passed near Marseille in early 1516. King Francis I of France was returning from Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence, and requested a viewing of the beast. The Portuguese vessel stopped briefly at an island off Marseilles, where the rhinoceros disembarked to be beheld by the King on 24 January.

 

After resuming its journey, the ship was wrecked in a sudden storm as it passed through the narrows of Porto Venere, north of La Spezia on the coast of Liguria. The rhinoceros, chained and shackled to the deck to keep it under control, was unable to swim to safety and drowned. The carcass of the rhinoceros was recovered near Villefranche and its hide was returned to Lisbon, where it was stuffed. Some reports say that the mounted skin was sent to Rome, arriving in February 1516, to be exhibited impagliato (Italian for "stuffed with straw"), although such a feat would have challenged 16th-century methods of taxidermy. In any event, the rhinoceros did not cause a popular sensation in Rome as the living beast had in Lisbon, although a rhinoceros was depicted in contemporary paintings in Rome by Giovanni da Udine and Raphael.

 

If a stuffed rhinoceros arrived in Rome, its fate remains unknown: it might have been removed to Florence by the Medici, or else destroyed in the sack of Rome in 1527. Its story was the basis for Lawrence Norfolk's 1996 novel The Pope's Rhinoceros.

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