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History
Early Life
Mera was born to King Ryus and his wife in the kingdom of Xebel, one of the seven Atlantean kingdoms of old which had split off from the main Atlantis during the event that swallowed the continent into the deep.
When Mera was young her mother died, and her father was left alone to raise her. One night Ryus took Mera out of the kingdom to see their ancient enemy Atlantis up close, where she was disgusted by its beauty, believing it didn't deserve such luxury.
Mera was incredibly close with her grandmother - Lammia, who trained the sea beasts used in Xebelian wars. Mera was forged into the perfect warrior over years of her life by her father's chief taskmaster- Leron. and was taught the royal secret of hydrokinesis.
Meeting Aquaman
As a young adult, Mera was promised to be wed to the military chief Nereus by her father. Ryus believed that vengeance should be exacted on Atlantis, and so tasked Mera with finding and assassinating the King of Atlantis, after returning from her job she was to marry Nereus.
Before she left, Mera was given a Shell of Sounds by her father, this device contained a message for Mera from her mother which she was to open after making it to the surface. With fury and hatred in her heart, Mera set out to find and execute the King of Atlantis.
Upon reaching the surface she asked a group of sailors where she could find the King of Atlantis. The sailors showed Mera a newspaper article of the supposed King of Atlantis - Arthur Curry/Aquaman, whom Mera learnt was a hero instead of a tyrant.
Eventually she found him rescuing wounded whales and was completely taken aback by his kindness. Impressed by her hydrokinesis powers, Arthur asked Mera to join him for lunch, which she agreed to. Arthur asked her what the shell around her neck meant, making her realize she hadn't listened to her mother's message yet.
In the message, her mother told Mera that she should make her own path in life instead of following the demands of her kingdom. Taking this advice to heart, Mera gave up on killing Aquaman and instead fell in love with the hero.
The Trench
Having decided to completely abandon Xebel to pursue a life on land with Arthur, Mera helped defend Amnesty Bay when it was attacked by a carnivorous underwater species called The Trench.
Mera and Aquaman followed the Trench, which had taken hostages to the Marianas Trench. There they discovered the predators dying out and desperately trying to feed their children in the remnants of an Atlantean craft.
Mera and Arthur saved the captives, and Aquaman reluctantly caused the Trenches' extinction by pushing a tectonic plate over the Trenches' lair to prevent further loss of human life. After this incident, Arthur and Mera adopted one of the victim's dog and named him Aquadog.
Shortly after, Mera was arrested while buying dog food when she broke the arm of a man who grossly harassed her. Although she initially struggled, Mera willingly gave herself up when she heard police chatter of a hostage situation she thought she could stop.
When the police got to the crime scene, Mera broke out, apprehended the criminal, and fled the scene. Later, a woman named Jennifer Posey, who had seen Mera get arrested, visited the hero and volunteered to get Mera supplies whenever necessary, as she knew what had really happened at the store and supported her.
Atlantean Invasion
While Mera and Aquaman were investigating some abnormal undersea activity with Batman in Gotham City, a giant wave began to emerge and threaten the city. Arthur believed that the wave was his brother's doing, following the Atlantean War plans against the surface.
Mera attempted to keep the wave back but was overwhelmed by its size. Arthur went to meet his brother the Ocean Master, who ordered war upon the surface due to a U.S. submarine firing on Atlantis. Ocean Master banished Aquaman and several other members of the Justice League to the Marianas Trench for opposing him, forcing Mera and Cyborg to rescue them.
After the heroes were saved, the Justice League unleashed the Trench to hold back the invading Atlantean army and stop Ocean Master's plot.
With Ocean Master captured and Aquaman restored to the throne, Arthur and Mera realized that the real person behind the war was Arthur's personal advisor and mentor Vulko, who hoped that the incident would incite Aquaman to return to his rightful place in Atlantis.
Return of the Dead King
Sometime after the invasion, Mera resided in Amnesty Bay, as she knew a princess of Xebel would not be welcomed in the kingdom of Atlantis. However, she was discovered and arrested for her previous assault charge. Mera fled from the police but encountered a mysterious man, who used ice manipulation to knock her unconscious.
Mera later woke up on a boat outside the Bermuda Triangle. Her kidnapper told her that he was the man who designed the imprisonment of Xebel, as he was Atlan the first King of Atlantis. Atlan wanted to use Mera to bypass Xebel's security. However, she escaped and attempted to warn the underwater city's inhabitants of the impending threat.
Upon getting to the bottom of Xebel she was greeted by Nereus, her former fiance, who asked her where she had been all those years.
Mera was deemed a traitor by Nereus after she told him about what had happened during her time on the surface. Before Mera could be arrested, Atlan broke through the barrier and froze all the people in Xebel including Mera.
Aquaman soon broke Mera out of her ice prison and began fighting Atlan while Mera began freeing the soldiers of Xebel. However, despite all this, the Xebelians sided with Atlan anyway as they saw him as their true king, forcing Aquaman and Mera to leave Xebel. Arthur and Mera attempted to warn Atlantis of the villainous king's return, but Aquaman was sent into a coma during a coincidental separate attack by the Scavenger. With their hero incapacitated and without a leader, Atlantis fell to Atlan.
Mera was imprisoned for six months, often going days without water as punishment for her escape attempts. Eventually Arthur returned and, together, he and Mera led a revolt and freed all of the imprisoned Atlanteans. Arthur forced Atlan into a lava bed where the old king melted away.
With their master defeated, Nereus and the Xebelians fled back to Xebel. As the threat was averted, Mera returned to Amnesty Bay to live her life of isolation but soon decided to rule alongside her partner, believing she could rise above the prejudice.
However, as she expected, she faced opposition. She would later survive an assassination attempt by xenophobic assailants loyal to Ocean Master and eventually brought them to justice.
Siren and the Coven
While investigating a collection of mysterious structures that appeared to kill anything they touched, Mera was kidnapped and held hostage by her sister Hila A.K.A. the Siren, and the Coven of Thule, who were behind the structures' sudden appearances.
The Coven were Atlantean warlocks who split Atlantis into two dimensions, where they could prepare for an invasion. Siren stole Mera's appearance using magic and ruled Atlantis for several months while she was captured, weakening it for the invasion.
However, eventually, Mera was able to break free and defeat her sister with the help of Garth, Tula, Swatt and Murk. With the help of their allies Mera and Arthur were able to destroy the Coven, ending their invasion.
Relations Collapse
Some time afterwards, Arthur asked Mera to be the face of the political campaign between Atlantis and the Surface World, which she accepted. Mera decided to fully embrace her new role as she donned the same Atlantean Chainmail as Arthur and began calling herself "Aquawoman", but this moniker was short lived.
While Wally West, the original Kid Flash, was escaping the Speed Force in what could be described as his "rebirth", Mera was brought to Paradise Island where Arthur proposed to her and the two became engaged.
Knowing of their engagement, Aquaman's arch nemesis Black Manta attempted to kill Mera to hurt Arthur. Arthur was able to defeat Manta, however the entire situation caused Spindrift - the facility where their fight was held - to lose its status as an embassy.
Due to this Mera and Aquaman traveled to the White House to discuss the problem with the President. Upon arrival, Arthur was arrested due to an American ship called the Pontchartrain being attacked by a group of "Atlanteans".
As tensions grew worse between Atlantis and the Surface World, Mera broke Arthur out of prison against his wishes. The pair fought off an entire U.S. battalion until Superman arrived on behalf of the government to stop them. Aquaman and Mera retreated into the water, but not before Superman encouraged them to fix the mess that had been created.
Arthur Usurped
At some point, it became clear that the people of Atlantis were displeased with Arthur and were planning a revolution to replace him with Corum Rath. After the coup started, Mera witnessed Arthur being seemingly killed by Atlantean soldiers and, for a period of time after this, went into a phase of mourning at the Curry lighthouse.
However this was short lived as Tula told her Arthur was possibly alive. Upon hearing this, Mera traveled to Atlantis where she used her powers for days, attempting to break through the Crown of Thorns, the invisible, magical barrier that had been placed around Atlantis.
Mera and the Justice League
Mera, while attempting to shatter the dome keeping her from her fiancé, was confronted by the Justice League due to the massive tidal waves she had unintentionally caused by her attacking the Crown of Thorns. After a lengthy battle between herself and the team, she eventually calmed down after hearing that her actions threatened millions of civilians.
Impressed by the extent of Mera's hydrokinetic abilities and her excellent skills in combat, Batman invited Mera to join the League as a temporary replacement for Aquaman until they could find a way to help him.
While working as a member of the League, Mera had a number of adventures on the surface world. She joined them in battle with Shirak, and also faced the time-displaced descendants of the Justice League. This undertaking led to Mera's encounter with her daughter from a possible future, Serenity.
The descendants of the League traveled back to the past in order to prevent the uprising of The Sovereign who had ravaged their futures.
Returning to rescuing Aquaman from the man who usurped their kingdom, Mera approached Garth - the former Aqualad - and pleaded with him to use his potent magical abilities against the Crown of Thorns. Knowing what was at stake, Garth agreed to help Mera bring down the Crown.
Mera successfully infiltrated Atlantis using a magic necklace Garth gave her, but the the item had an unexpected side effect that permanently removed her ability to breathe underwater, forcing her to flee to the surface.
During the invasion of the Dark Knights of the Dark Multiverse, Mera and the rest of Atlantis were changed into fish monsters known as Dead Water by the Drowned. She was returned to normal when the Dark Knights were defeated by the Justice League, with Aquaman, alive, among them.
Reclaiming the Throne
Mera survived another assassination attempted, this time by the villainous Eel. The assassin was hired by Corum Rath, the current ruler of Atlantis, who was threatened by the former queen's attempt to depose him.
Mera Queen of Atlantis
Mera also lost a fight to Ocean Master, having returned from his multi-year absence and declared that instead he would depose Corum Rath and take his rightful place as Atlantis' ruler.
After some level-headed discussion, the enemies decided to team up against their common foe.
Mera and Orm worked together to convince Nereus, Mera's ex-fiance and head of the Xebelian military, to aid them in deposing Rath. Nereus reluctantly agreed to help, but only if Orm was assured to get the throne, since he did not trust Mera.
In an attempt to show her worth through combat, Mera challenged Orm to a fight in a Xebelian arena where, by the skin of her teeth, using everything she had, managed to best the Ocean Master and become the true heir to the Atlantean throne.
In the months since Mera's departure Atlantis grew worse. Corum Rath had been corrupted by the Abyssal Dark, a foul magic which helped build Atlantis.
The dark transformed Corum into a hideous creature hell-bent on the destruction of Atlantis as he believed Atlantis could only be great again if it were reborn in the ashes of tradition.
Aquaman, working as a freedom fighter, led a last resort attack against the mad king in which his trident was shattered by the dictator.
When all seemed lost Mera arrived with the war hosts of Xebel to even the fight against Rath and his forces. In the final fight, Rath was defeated and his magic corrupted, turning him into a fish. Taking pity on him, Aquaman used his powers to commanded him to leave Atlantis and continue his new life among the other fish.
While celebrating their victory, all of a sudden the ground began to shake and Atlantis began to rise. Arthur told Mera that during his fight with the Dark Multiverse invaders he had worn a set of the reality-altering Tenth Metal armor and made a wish.
He had wished for a place that existed between the two worlds of land and sea, a place where he could live his life happily. Arthur's wish had been granted in the worst possible way, Atlantis had risen out of the water and onto the land.
The Suicide Squad Strikes
Sitting directly in the middle of Europe and the United States, Atlantis was immediately viewed with caution by the surface dwellers, many nations preparing for war.
Determined to prove that Atlantis meant no harm, Mera invited the Secretary of the United States to attend her coronation as Queen.
After her coronation, Queen Mera spent no time sitting idly in her throne waiting for her problems to sort themselves out, immediately scheduling a private meeting with U.S. ambassadors in order to quell the fear and distrust felt by many on the surface world. She also tasked many of her laborers to rebuild the parts of Atlantis destroyed during the civil war.
During the coronation, a secret penal black-ops team known as the Suicide Squad was sent by American xenophobic extremist Admiral Meddinghouse to destroy the kingdom.
Fortunately, Aquaman caught wind of this and led his former Undercurrent forces against the Squad. Disgusted that a member of the U.S. Government was attempting to destroy her city, Mera rose the water levels around America's coasts, threatening to sink America into the deep if they did not back down.
Fortunately Aquaman was able to stop the Squad and, in the aftermath, America and Atlantis returned to their fragile state of alliance. Admiral Meddinghouse was swiftly arrested on charges of high treason for sanctioning the mission.
Drowned Earth
Sometime after Mera's coronation as queen, the waters began to rise once again. However anyone who touched the water was turned into an aggressive sea beast hellbent on destruction.
Mera evacuated the civilians into the upper part of the city while Murk and the Drift attempted to hold off the infected. Ondine informed Mera that the oceans were rising all across the globe, with both humans and Atlanteans facing extinction.
After comforting some civilians, Mera contacted the Hall of Justice to see who of Earth's heroes remained alive. After a moment Batman answered her call and told her that Arthur had gone missing during a mission to the Arctic six hours prior and that the current crisis was probably alien in nature.
Mera held back the water from Atlantis as much as she could but failed to contain it all, and most of Atlantis' citizens were transformed into sea beasts. Out of options and time, Mera headed to the highest spire of Atlantis where Orm was kept locked away. Breaking through the wall of his cell she asked him for help, when he agreed she gave the Ocean Master his trident back and the two formed another uneasy alliance.
Mera and Orm began fighting their way outside of the city, eventually making it to the memorial to the dead kings of Atlantis. There, a man named Captain Gall introduced himself as an alien sea god and one of the three leaders of the invasion known as the Triumvirate of Sea Gods.
Gall instantly overwhelmed the pair, forcing Orm to transform into one of the sea-changed before Mera escaped.
Mera traveled across the globe until she found Superman and the Flash being chased by sea-changed heroes. After saving the pair from the clutches of Swamp Thing, she used a magical crown she acquired to teleport them to the location of an Atlantean weapon that could stop the invasion.
Discovering they were too late, Mera, Flash and Superman were met by Black Manta, who revealed that it was him and his allies in the Legion of Doom who had summoned the Triumvirate to Earth.
Mother Shark
When Mother Shark restores Arthur Curry's memories, it is revealed that Arthur actually survived the alien invasion and returned to Mera. However, they kept it a secret from the rest of Atlantis.
Mera stops them from being romantic to talk about the politics of Atlantis and how the Widowhood wants her to marry. Arthur confesses his love for Mera once again, again proposing they get married, but Mera is hesitant with all the drama they've endured. However, she then reveals she's pregnant.
Arthur affirms that he loves both Mera and their unborn child but, afraid that he won't be able to give his child the life it deserves, asks to go home and think. Mera, unhappy that she and her love don't seem to be on the same page, loses control, attacks Arthur, and is later found by the Widowhood and Atlantean guards.
Amnesty,Finale: Xebel's Daughter
As Mera's pregnancy progressed, Arthur returned to life and Amnesty Bay, however, he did not go to Mera nor she to him. Arthur's nemesis Black Manta destroyed an ancient Atlantean historical site to draw Mera to the surface, where she and Aquaman met and wordlessly reconciled.
Manta attacked the pair with Mecha Manta, provided by Lex Luthor. Mera and Arthur's new sidekick Jackson Hyde destroyed Mecha Manta with a giant electrified hydrokinetic construct of her, but the huge amounts of power she was forced to use put her in a coma.
She was rushed to an Atlantean hospital and gave birth shortly afterwards to a baby girl, who was named Andy.
The Wedding
Mera reawakens after 10 months in a coma. With the ruse of a fake wedding to Vulko she calls to Atlantis the leaders of the 7 underwater kingdoms. Prior to the wedding, she has the entire widowhood arrested.
Once all 7 kingdoms are assembled, to their surprise, Mera announces that she was dissolving the Atlantean monarchy and that she intended to hand power to the people. Orm attempts to take power for himself, however, Orm and his forces are stopped by Aquaman, assisted by the Justice league and the Sea gods.
Following this, Mera finally embraces her daughter, as she and Arthur settle down in Amnesty Bay. Soon afterwards Mera and Arthur marry in the presence of their family and friends, in what was originally planned as a welcome back party for her.
Following the abolition of the monarchy, Arthur and Mera intended to hold themselves apart from Atlantis to allow the city to govern itself, but they were forced to intervene when the Frost King's forces attacked the city during what was intended to be their honeymoon.
Arthur journeyed into the city's heating vents to meet with the Fire Tolls who lived in the tunnels below Atlantis, hoping they could be an ally against the Frost King. Originally Mera agreed to stay behind to guard Andy but quickly followed him, arriving in time to save Arthur from a Fire Troll with a hydrokinetic attack.
The Trolls were in awe of this and swore loyalty to her. With her army of Fire Trolls, Mera and Arthur defeated the ice creatures attacking Atlantis.
Aquamen
After abdicating the throne, Mera devoted herself to promoting democracy within Xebel and encouraging unification with Atlantis.
She had some success but was unable to get the Xebelian Guard to end the conscription of children. She also helped Jackson's mother Lucia, a refugee from Xebel, sneak Xebelians out of the city and secretly settled them in Amnesty Bay without Arthur's knowledge.
Mera was scheduled to speak at a peace conference in Xebel while Arthur was away on a mission to Mars. Jackson was framed for a terrorist attack and Mera helped him escape the city. Mera attended the conference as planned, which was attacked by a Xebelian terrorist group called the Xebelian Liberation Front.
She and the other delegates were saved by Jackson, Lucia and Lucia's secret daughter Delilah, but Lucia was critically injured and left in a coma. Mera gave an impassioned speech saying that they owed it to future generations to try to make a better world.
Orm attacked the United Nations Building but was foiled and captured by Arthur and Jackson. Shortly afterward, Jackson called Mera and told her that Arthur was secretly working with Black Manta and he needed to speak to the entire Aquaman Family.
He also asked her to bring an expert in Atlantean biology, so brought Stephen Shin in to consult. Jackson had brought the dead body of a man that Black Manta had supposedly killed and subsequently autopsied in Paris, and told them that when he had tried to arrest Manta for murder, Arthur had stopped him.
Garth and Tula believed that Arthur was trying to trick Black Manta somehow, but Mera admitted that Arthur had been acting strangely ever since he returned from Mars.
Doctor Shin examined the body and determined that the man had been born Atlantean but had been modified to be half-human, allowing him to survive on land without dehydrating.
He also had a transceiver installed in his brain, and they realized that the dead man had been some kind of deep-cover Atlantean agent. Suddenly Tula received a call from the surface that a house in Ohio had blown up and carbon had been left in the ground. The carvings were ancient Atlantean glyphs which read "Atlantis remembers" and the date of an oil spill which killed seven Atlanteans.
Mera realized there was more going on than they realized and went to Mars to speak with Frankenstein, who Arthur claimed to have been with while he was away, but Frankenstein told her that Arthur had been on Mars for only three hours and left again, despite being away from home for days.
When she returned home, one of her agents in the Atlantean Guard told her that Arthur and Manta had been spotted on the outskirts of Atlantis. She also learned that Jackson had gone to Orm's cell and tortured him for information, believing that he was behind the Atlantean sleeper agents.
Mera was concerned about Jackson's unusually aggressive and reckless behavior since Lucia was hurt, and called him to try and talk about it, but he would only tell her that he was in Gotham chasing down a lead.
She tracked down Arthur and Manta and demanded to know what was going on. Arthur admitted the truth to her: during his first reign many years ago, an Atlantean general named Mako took him to a hidden vault full of weapons developed for a potential war against the surface, and revealed that he had placed sleeper agents on the surface to retaliate in case the surface ever attacked Atlantis. Arthur had believed he shut the program down, but the sleepers had somehow been activated anyway.
Arthur met with the entire Aquaman Family and told them the truth about everything, including that he was working with Black Manta to stop the sleepers.
During the meeting Arthur revealed that he had lost some of his memories when he died and they had only just started returning, and Tula realized that Mera had been the one who killed him. Arthur told them all that he and Black Manta planned to use Manta's Orichalcum trident to deactivate the sleepers, but to do so they would need a broadcast tower.
Mera brought in Mister Terrific to design the tower, which she and Jackson would create from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean itself.
Mera and Jackson created the tower and began to broadcast the signal, although even with the two of them holding up such a huge construct was a great strain. Black Manta accidentally crashed into the tower while battling Orm's henchman Scavenger and knocked the trident out of position.
This forced Jackson to carry the trident back to the top of the tower and hold it in place, while Mera held up the tower alone. She eventually could no longer do it and the tower collapsed, but they managed to send the deactivation signal.
With the threat of the sleepers neutralized, Arthur gave Mera control over General Mako's vault and told her she could use or destroy the weapons inside as she saw fit. Mera was still angry with him for keeping secrets and lying to her, but before they could talk about it Arthur was called away by the Justice League on an emergency.
He left, promising they would talk when he got back. In the vault, Mera found a gauntlet which she discovered allowed her to use her hydrokinesis to heal.
The surface governments began debating a response to the attacks by the sleepers. Mera listened in on the meeting with hidden bugs, but just as they were about to vote to attack Atlantis, the world leaders all simultaneously received reports that the entire Justice League, including Arthur, were dead. Mera went to the dock outside the Curry Lighthouse to grieve, and Jackson came to comfort her.
Powers and abilities
As a Xebellian (a sub-race of Atlanteans from Xebel), she shares the common abilities of superhuman strength, speed, durability, and possesses the ability to breathe underwater. While on dry land, she possesses more acute senses that including limited night vision from her enhanced sight and more acute hearing compared to ordinary humans. In addition to her natural physical abilities, she possesses powerful hydrokinetic powers (called aquakinesis), allowing her to control bodies of water, create "hard water" constructs, and drawing water from other forms, including human beings. Her hydrokinetic powers also allow her to sense bodies of water, including what's in them. According to Corum Rath, she is considered perhaps the most powerful high-functioning aqua-kinetic ever recorded in the history of Atlantis.
In addition to her natural and hydrokinetic abilities, Mera is also an extremely proficient warrior; she is an expert in Atlantean-related martial arts and use of weaponry,[40] being skilled enough to battle Ocean Master in single combat. Mera was also trained in assassination and is considered a natural, proficient leader.
Weaknesses
As a natural-born Atlantean, Mera is prone to dehydration at a faster rate compared to ordinary human beings while on the surface. Powerful artifacts and strong users of telekinetic-related abilities (i.e. cryokinesis) can also resist and even negate her aquakinetic powers. Due to her abilities working through telekinetic connections, material that negates telepathic connections also disrupts her hydrokinetic powers. Earlier stories also placed some limits on her abilities such as susceptibility to lead.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
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A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Notable aliases: Aquawoman
Dead Water
Princess of Xebel
Queen of Atlantis
Publisher: DC
First appearance: Aquaman #11 (September 1963)
Created by: Jack Miller (Writer)
Nick Cardy (Artist)
Mera last seen in BP 2021 Day 32!
Today on June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692. She was a landowner and a woman who spoke her mind...yeah, she's a witch. Puritans!
I know one of her descendents. Rest well, Bridget.
Salem Witch Trial Memorial, Old Burying Point.
Irving R. Bacon (1875-1962)
Pen and ink with graphite on paper
Executed during Bacon’s Munich period of study at the Royal Academy.
Irving Roscoe Bacon was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts on November 29, 1875.
Bacon studied with Wm Chase, F. Luis Mora, and at the Royal Academy in Munich. He spent most of his career in Michigan where he was personal artist for Henry Ford.
He died in El Cajon, CA on Nov. 21, 1962.
Exhibits:
Royal Academy, 1909 (medal)
National Academy of Design (New York City), 1910-12
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1911, 1912
Art Institute of Chicago, 1911, 1912
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Examples of Bacon's paintings can be seen here: www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...(Irving%20Reuben),%201875-1962&years=0-0&perPage=10&pageNum=1&sortBy=relevance
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FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE HENRY FORD:
Irving R. Bacon worked for Henry Ford as an artist. His work ranged from cartoons in the Ford Times to paintings of artifacts and events at the Edison Institute. His papers include photographs, drawings, and correspondence related to his career with Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute.
Biographical / Historical Note
Born in 1875 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Irving Bacon received his early art training from Joseph Gies at the Art School of the Detroit Museum of Art.
Much of his early work concentrated on illustrations and cartoons, and often his artwork reflected the influence of his travels to the American West.
From 1894 to 1900 he worked as an illustrator at the Detroit Evening News and the Detroit Free Press. He first met Henry Ford through a mutual acquaintance in 1898, when he rode to Royal Oak and back to Detroit on Woodward Avenue in Henry's new automobile.
In 1902 he went to New York City to study at the Chase School of Art and to illustrate for Harper's Weekly and McClure's.
In 1906 he went to the Royal Academy in Munich and studied under Heinrich von Zugel, a noted animal painter. It was there where Bacon acquired his talent for painting landscapes and portraits.
After returning to Detroit in 1910, he once again met Henry Ford, who by this time was a millionaire. Henry became interested in art largely due to the interest and talent of his own son, Edsel.
He purchased a landscape scene from Bacon-a painting, which, according to Bacon, was "certainly not a masterpiece." It was after this meeting that Bacon gained permission from Henry to utilize his large estate for landscape paintings.
In 1913 he received a generous gift of money from his friend Harold Wills (a Ford executive), and once again returned to Munich for further study. His stay was cut short, however, due to the start of World War I.
Upon returning to Detroit, he realized the need for a steady salary in order to adequately support his wife and six children, so he met again with Henry Ford and soon became an employee of the Ford Motor Company, drawing cartoons for the Ford Times and later, illustrations for The Dearborn Independent.
Henry loved Bacon's cartoons, an area of work which Bacon wanted to discontinue. According to Bacon, "That class of work seemed to conflict with my high aims of art. Little did I realize at the time that I was beginning a thirty three year stretch of work for Henry Ford and his great organization that eventually would wean me away from the art world."
Working for Henry at the Ford Motor Company, and later the Edison Institute, Bacon's tasks included painting scenes and portraits that were of great interest to Henry Ford and his Museum and Village. These included portraits of Ford's family and friends, Noah Webster, Luther Burbank, Mark Twain, Dr. George Washington Carver, Stephen Foster, John Burroughs, and others.
He was also responsible for creating paintings of the artifacts located at the institute, and he also acted as stage designer for the Museum's theater.
His interest in photography and motion pictures led him to become the head of the Photographic Department for several years. Bacon retired from the Edison Institute in 1948, and moved to Miami with his second wife. He died in 1962 at the age of 86.
This collection is mainly composed of photographs, drawings, and some correspondence related to Bacon's career with the Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. The series within this collection are accordingly arranged to the different aspects involved with the work of Henry Bacon.
There are five series in the collection, the Golden Jubilee painting, Irving Bacon personal materials, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, Henry Ford related work, and Dearborn Independent.
Series I, Golden Jubilee painting: This series is comprised of pamphlets, notes, lists, correspondence, and photographs related Bacon’s painting entitled "Celebration of the Golden Jubilee of the Invention of the Incandescent Electric Light" also known as the "The Dedication of the Edison Institute of Technology." The Golden Jubilee occurred on October 21, 1929. It is arranged by the sub-series Printed material (1929), Correspondence (1936-1937), and Photographs (dates unknown, but assumed to be between 1920-1938). The photographs, which are mainly portraits of the individuals who attended the events of October 21, 1929, were obtained by Bacon in the years 1936-1938, for the purpose of recreating the dinner scene, some seven to nine years previous. Over 400 individuals attended this dinner, ranging from Henry Ford's personal friends to contemporary world business and political leaders. The number of dinner guests eventually included in Bacon's painting numbered 266. The filing arrangement for the Photographs subseries was left in much the same way that Bacon had organized it, which was by seating arrangements. He categorized his filing system according to "Tables," "Arches," and "Individuals Standing" e.g., Table 1, Arch 1, etc.
Series II, Irving Bacon personal materials: In this series are various materials (1907-1957) which apparently were kept for the personal use and interest of Mr. Bacon. A large portion of this series, theater interests, contains materials on early theater and film actors/actresses. The majority of the materials within this series are photographs, unless otherwise noted.
Series III, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum: This series is an assortment of photographs, mixed with notes and sketches related to subjects found at Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum. Bacon collected photographs of the various subjects in order to study them and eventually create a likeness within his own paintings.
Series IV, Henry Ford related work: This series is an example of yet another type of work that Bacon undertook as an employee of Henry Ford. It reflects the personal interests of Henry Ford. Included are miscellaneous printed materials, photographs, sketches, and maps (photographed). The folders have retained the original titles given by Bacon himself.
Series V, Dearborn Independent: Irving Bacon's artwork created for the Dearborn Independent is found within this series (approximately 1925-1935). These oversized materials consist mainly of sketches, prints, and color drawings.
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Collection Details
Object ID: 84.1.1657.0
Creator: Bacon, Irving R. (Irving Reuben), 1875-1962
Inclusive Dates: 1863-1957
Size: 4.4 cubic ft. and 4 oversize boxes 7.8 cubic ft. (17 boxes) [Collection Survey]
Language: English
From the website of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...
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From the website of The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-col...
Dunstanburgh Castle was built in the second decade of the 14th century by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster (died 1322), the wealthiest nobleman in England and leader of the baronial opposition to his cousin Edward II and successive royal favourites.The castle was built on an impractically massive scale, particularly its great south gatehouse, but much of the area inside its curtain walls was always empty and unoccupied.
Earl Thomas was later executed for his role in the barons’ rebellion against Edward II and the castle’s next main building phase consisted of an intense period of modernisation in the 1380s under John of Gaunt (who died in 1399). At the end of the Middle Ages, the castle fell into disrepair and became ever more ruinous as stone was removed for use elsewhere.
Executed between 1929 and 1931 for the Palais des Colonies by Alfred Janniot – assisted by his collaborators Gabriel Forestier and Charles Barberis and 30 specialist workers. This is only the eastern half of the front of the building. The bas-relief covers a surface area of 1,130 m², a height of 13 metres and a length of 90 metres. Described as the world’s biggest bas-relief, it covers the entire façade of the Palais de la Porte Dorée. It features a series of allegories in the midst of abundant fauna and lush flora. It was intended as an illustration of the economic contributions made by the colonies to metropolitan France. Normally the view of the bas-relief is partially obscured by the columns holding up the front of the building but I've stitched together (as best I can) a lot of photos from various angles to get rid of the columns.
monument.palais-portedoree.fr/en/the-decors/janniot-s-bas...
In 1931, the historic square took its name to commemorate the martyrs executed there under Ottoman rule. In the 1950s the square became a popular venue for cinemas and coffee-houses. During the Lebanese Civil War, it formed the demarcation line that divided the city in half.
Initially Sahat al-Burj, the square underwent a lot of transformations until 1931, where it took the name of Martyrs' Square in commemoration of the martyrs executed there under Ottoman rule. The Municipality of Beirut modernized the square in 1878 as the main meeting place of the city. Beshara Effendi designed a garden with fountain and kiosks, overlooked by the Petit Serail - the seat of Beirut’s governor general – as well as public buildings and souks. In 1950, the Petit Serail was demolished. The new Rivoli cinema blocked the link between the square and the harbor. Martyrs’ Square became Beirut’s bus and taxi terminus and a popular venue for cinemas, coffee-houses, modest hotels and the red-light district. During the Civil War (1975-1990), Martyrs’ Square formed the demarcation line that divided the city in half. In 2005, an international competition was launched for the design of a new square with its axis open to the sea, reestablishing Martyrs’ Square as Beirut’s premier public space and heart of the capital.
shot executed by pinhole Auloma Panorama 6x12, negative scanned by Canon EOS 1100D, film Fomapan 400
Studio portrait, executed with strobist technic, using two flashes and Rembrandt lighting setup. It was used one 60cm lightbox with flash in TTL mode and another flash in manual mode for background, using yellow gel.
Canon 60d
Canon EF 24-105 f/4 L IS USM
Canon 580EXII
Yongnuo YN-565EXII
Yongnuo YN-622C TX + 2 YN 622C LI
Leading off the hallway just outside Mrs. Weatherly's boudoir into a private inner courtyard is a door featuring two beautifully executed stained glass panels and a lunette above. The lunette features at bird in a foliate frame, surrounded by losenges of stained glass, whilst the late Victorian era door panels feature four panes of flowers and two panes of birds, all hand painted and expertly coloured in glass.
Built in High Victorian style in 1878 for successful gold miner Robert Wright, Billilla mansion was originally a thirteen room mansion erected on seven and a half acres of land.
When economic boom turned to bust in the 1880s, the property was purchased in 1888 by wealthy New South Wales pastoralist William Weatherly who named it Billilla after his land holdings and established a home there for his wife Jeannie and their children Violet, Gladys and Lionel.
The house was substantially altered by architect Walter Richmond Butler in 1907, extending the house beyond its original thirteen rooms and adding the Art Nouveau façade seen today.
After William Weatherly's death in 1914, his wife, who was much younger, remained living there until her own death in 1933. She bequeathed the property to her daughter, Violet, who maintained the home with reduced staff until her own death in 1972.
The property was purchased in 1973 by the Bayside Council who subsequently used Billilla as a historical house with guided tours, a wedding and events venue, a school and finally in 2009 as an artist's precinct in the property's outbuildings. Billilla is a beautiful heritage property retaining many of its original features thanks to its long private ownership still incorporating a stately formal garden and the magnificent historic house.
Billilla, at 26 Halifax Street, Brighton, is one of Melbourne’s few remaining significant homesteads, built on land which had originally been owned by Nicholas Were. The house has a mixture of architectural styles, featuring a Victorian design with Art Nouveau features and has exquisite formal gardens, which retain much of their original Nineteenth Century layout.
Billilla retains many original Victorian elements and a number of outbuildings still stand to the rear of the property including the butler’s quarters, dairy, meat house, stable garden store and coach house.
Billilla was opened to the general public as part of the Melbourne Open House weekend 2022.
Billilla was used as a backdrop in the 1980 Australian Channel 10 miniseries adaptation of Sumner Locke Elliott's "Water Under the Bridge". It was used at the Sydney harbourside home of Luigi, Honor and Carrie Mazzini.
Frescoes on the tympanum over the main west entrance to St Gayane's Chuch in Etchmiadzin. These were executed as part of the addition of a portico to the west from of the church in 1683.
Saint Gayane Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Գայանե եկեղեցի or Surb Gayane) is a 7th Century Armenian church in Etchmiadzin, the religious center of Armenia. Located just south of the perimeter of the large precincts that belong to Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of Armenia. It was originally built in 630, and its design has remained unchanged despite partial renovations of the dome and some ceilings in 1652.
It is part of the ‘Cathedral and Churches of Echmiatsin and the Archaeological Site of Zvartnots’ UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was built on the site of an existing shrine to the eponymous nun and martyr at the spot where she is said to have been killed by King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, during the events that led to the country’s conversion to Christianity.
It consists of a three-nave domed basilica with an octagonal drum resting on four internal pillars that divide the interior of the church into three naves. At the eastern wall of the church's interior is a semicircular apse with a rectangular chamber at either side.
An airy, triple-arched portico was added to the western façade of the church in 1683 as the burial place for prominent Armenian clergymen. It is situated in a substantial external courtyard surrounded by thick and sometimes ornately carved walls.
Well executed minifigures by Hobbybrick from the very best Manga-series there is. 20 years and still going strong. Hopefully one day we will find it, the One piece. :)
I absolutely adore the custom hats, if the series wasn't that expensive I would get the whole set.
(Sorry for the bad photo quality, soon I will have a better place to take them...)
The Madonna della Seggiola or The Madonna della Sedia (28" in diameter (71 cm)) is an oil on panel Madonna painting by the High Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, executed c. 1513–1514, and housed at the Palazzo Pitti Collection in Florence, Italy. Although there is documentation on its arrival to its current location, Palazzo Pitti, it is still unknown who commissioned the painting; however, it has been in the Medici family since the 16th century.
It depicts Mary embracing the Christ child while sitting in a chair as the young John the Baptist devoutly watches. The Madonna della Sedia is one of the single most important of Raphael's Madonnas. The painting also showcases Raphael's use of the tondo form and his naturalistic approach to depicting the Madonna.
The Madonna della Sedia is Raphael's most humanistic form of the Madonna. Throughout Raphael's life, this humanistic representation of the Madonna occupied his mind. The Madonna della Sedia is the incarnation of a realistic mother and child, representing human motherhood. Painted during his Roman period, this Madonna does not have the strict geometrical form and linear style of his earlier Florentine treatments of the same subject. The Madonna is portrayed subtly and naturalistically, including the drapery, her anatomy, and the movement of her body, as if it was a result of an immediate action. The Madonna della Sedia balanced simplification and detail with the treatment of her embroidered shawl, the directness of the figures and the touching of the two heads (Madonna and Christ child). Raphael dressed the Madonna in the Italian clothing of the time. Mary is depicted wearing a striped headdress, which falls behind her backside and compliments her richly colored ornamental dress with fringe.
The Madonna's image also shows less attention to careful selections, which takes the focus off refinement, and shifts it to more of a rapid representation of an observation or attitude. The Christ child and Mary are both in profile view in order to balance the composition, which resolved the issue of overcrowding. Mary is sitting in a position that is not easily replicated in reality, which allows the Christ child to sit comfortably, while balancing the figures in regards to the painting's round shape. The curvature of the two arms of Mary and Christ child in the foreground also lend themselves to a spherical form, which rounds out the composition. The chair dictates the outer limits of the composition and is the painting's namesake.
The colors play an important role in this painting, from the green embroidered garment to the cerulean blue or the juxtaposition of the Madonna's red sleeve with the Christ child's orange drapery, which adds an extra element of enrichment and a vibrancy to the color palette. The warmer colors seem to suggest the influence of Titian and Raphael's rival Sebastiano del Piombo.
Unfortunately, the Madonna della Sedia's commission is undocumented despite it being created while Raphael was spending a relatively well-documented period of twelve years in Rome. The painting was painted during the same time Raphael was working on the frescoes in the Vatican Stanze and loggia of the Vatican, including the paintings Incendio del Borgo, Battle of Ostia, and Coronation of Charlemagne. Most of Raphael's commissions for this period were under the strict guidance of Pope Leo X (Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici), who was known to be one of Raphael's biggest patrons at the time. While under Leo's patronage, Raphael rarely got commissions from outside of the pope's immediate circle. Leo X was also the successor to Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) who was another major patron of Raphael and a central contributor to the High Renaissance. However, it has been speculated that the painting was painted for Leo X, which also connects the painting to the Medici family during the sixteenth century while in Rome. The chair's finial in the Madonna della Sedia is evidence that supports the idea that the painting could have been commissioned for Pope Leo X. The finial takes on the form of a round ball, similar to the Medici's heraldic symbol, the palle, which is also seen in Leo's coat of arms. On the other hand, the chair's finial could also be a symbol for Pope Julius II and his family's symbol, the Della Rovere oak acorn, further adding to the mystery of the unidentified patron.
Already in the Gallerie Degli Uffizi, it was then moved to the Pitti Palace by the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was listed in inventories in 1723 and 1761 as being on display in the Grand Prince Ferdinando's bedroom. It was later moved throughout the Rooms of the Planets, starting with the Room of Jupiter (c. 1771) and later the Room of Mars (c. 1793), after the Leopoldine rearrangement of the picture gallery. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, it was taken during the Napoleonic looting of Florence and was in Paris from 1799 to 1815. Back in Florence, the painting has been in the Room of Saturn since 1882.
The Madonna della Sedia is the culmination of Raphael's use of the tondo form and influenced an equivalent singular male portrait, The Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–1515). The painting is oil on panel, with St John the Baptist painted in a different key range. The painted black background is lacking the usual landscape, which typically would harmonize all the colors and figures. The composition is entirely from Raphael's hand, which was a result of him shuddering off the legacies of Leonardo da Vinci and Pietro Perugino, who early on had influenced his career and style substantially. The technical execution of the painting lies within its remarkable composition, which was originally envisioned as a rectangle. Raphael did not consider the circular shape during the preliminary sketches for this painting, even though it is a form he favored during and after his Florentine period. The figures' accommodation to the shape is skillful. The painting also revolutionized the Madonna format in the Renaissance style due to its departure from the pyramidal composition of the Madonna, Christ child, Saint Joseph, and by giving the painting a superficial background, which is radically different when comparing it to an earlier Madonna portrait, The Alba Madonna (c. 1510).
The painting also revolutionized singular portrait painting during the Renaissance by enlarging the figure's scale and how they compositionally occupy the entire plane. By radically changing the scale of the figures in this painting, allowing them to occupy most of the available space, the Christ child seems to be the basis of both the Madonna and Saint John the Baptist's proportions and relationship within the painting.
The Madonna della Sedia has been admired by many artists, poets, and engravers. It has been copied many times over and, historically, was considered one of the most revered of Raphael's Madonnas. There are a few enchanting legends connected to the Madonna della Sedia painting, one being about a beautiful Urbino peasant girl, who was as good as she was beautiful, charitable, and pious, who gave her assistance to an ill hermit she had stumbled upon. The hermit rewarded the girl by blessing her and stating that she would be painted as the mother of God. Many years later, on a sunny day holding her infant in the garden and with her toddler son playing at her knees, she was spotted by a handsome young man at her garden gate. That young man was Raphael Sanzio who immediately said he would like to paint her as she sat there with her two sons, later represented as the original Virgin, Christ child, and St. John.
Because of the painting's roundness, it became the subject of another story in which a peasant girl saves a hermit from a pack of wolves in the branches of an oak, and the hermit prophesies that she will become immortalized for her good deed. Years later, the girl had two children, and the tree was made into wine barrels. Raphael happened upon the trio and used a barrel bottom to paint them. This scenario was the subject of an 1839 lithograph by August Hopfgarten and a painting by Johann Michael Wittmer.
Ingres greatly admired Raphael and paid tribute to him by including this painting in many of his works, such as in the background of Henri IV playing with his children and Raphael and La Fornarina on the table in front of the subject in his Portrait of monsieur Rivière. The image was worked into the carpet in Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne.
Johann Zoffany also included this painting along with many others in his 1770s painting of the Tribuna of the Uffizi.
In 1858, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote that the painting was "the most beautiful picture in the world" after having seen it via "a hundred engravings and copies".
The depiction inspired Raphael Morghen and Niccolò De Antoni for a commission for Prince Consort for his Raphael Collection, which is conserved at the Royal Collection Trust.
The year is 18 BBY, 1 year since we received the orders to execute all of the Jedi for committing treason against the republic. After the purge, we were given new armour, and reassigned from being the Wampa Squad, to the Eighth Brother’s personal troopers. Since then, we have gone on countless missions to find the treasonous Jedi alongside the powerful inquisitor, the Eighth Brother.
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The eighth brother received a transmission from Vader himself, our next objective is to hunt down a Jedi master called Nirhma Moss, who survived Order 66, intel has led us to believe she is hiding in an old seperatist outpost on Devaron. We arrive at Devaron and start to find traces of life among the rocky and muddy terrain. The planet has many small cliffs topped with mud and trees, bushes flourish all over the ground and old seperatist bases can sometimes be found in the depths of Devaron. We find a small crate containing some supplies, and at the same time, the sound of a lightsaber echoes around us. I look up to see Nirhma Moss and the Eighth Brother face to face.
“Eighth Brother, we finally meet.”
“Nirhma Moss, your time has come.”
“I’ve heard stories of your kind, Inquisitors. I sensed your presence long before you went rummaging through my belongings.”
“Sir, should we fire?”
“No, I will take her myself.”
“Yes Sir!”
The two fought endlessly, using all their strength, but the Eighth Brother came out on top. We were ordered to carry her back to the ship. Another successful mission.
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This is my application for the Dark Times RPG, I hope you like the build and the story. I tried my hardest to write an interesting story for this build but I couldn’t seem to get something I liked. I hope I get accepted into the Dark Times :)
S.F. Chinese New Year's stage performance. The idea was to execute a dignified and graceful routine with the pennant/streamer - as exemplified in this pose: www.flickr.com/photos/191025009@N06/51247884789/in/datepo..., but at that age it's difficult to stay focused on a task for very long. The giggles are a constant danger. The photos of these events are old; the performers are adults by now. Leave comment if for any reason you object to this non-commercial use, and I will gladly remove them at once.
Keep Visualizing, Seeing and Executing!!
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Oil on Water Abstract Macro Series
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يرجى كتابة روبنكاليكساندر [في] جوجل [دوت] كوم لاستخدام صوري. الرجاء عدم استخدام صوري بدون إذن صريح مني. تشكرات!
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Grille exécutée par Fray Francisco de Salamanca et Juan de Avila.
Fondé au XIIIe siècle après la découverte d'une statue de la Vierge et symbole de la "Hispanidad", il fut le plus important monastère d'Espagne durant quatre siècles.
C'est là que vint Colomb après son voyage de 1492 pour rendre compte aux Rois Catholiques de son voyage vers les Indes... et c'est là, en 1496, que furent baptisés les premiers Indiens ramenés en Europe.
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The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. The Castle was once the tallest building in Rome.
The tomb of the Roman emperor Hadrian, also called Hadrian's mole, was erected on the right bank of the Tiber, between 134 and 139 AD. Originally the mausoleum was a decorated cylinder, with a garden top and golden quadriga. Hadrian's ashes were placed here a year after his death in Baiae in 138, together with those of his wife Sabina, and his first adopted son, Lucius Aelius, who also died in 138. Following this, the remains of succeeding emperors were also placed here, the last recorded deposition being Caracalla in 217. The urns containing these ashes were probably placed in what is now known as the Treasury room deep within the building. Hadrian also built the Pons Aelius facing straight onto the mausoleum – it still provides a scenic approach from the center of Rome and the left bank of the Tiber, and is renowned for the Baroque additions of statues of angels holding aloft elements of the Passion of Christ.
Much of the tomb contents and decorations have been lost since the building's conversion to a military fortress in 401 and its subsequent inclusion in the Aurelian Walls by Flavius Augustus Honorius. The urns and ashes were scattered by Visigoth looters during Alaric's sacking of Rome in 410, and the original decorative bronze and stone statuary were thrown down upon the attacking Goths when they besieged Rome in 537, as recounted by Procopius. An unusual survivor, however, is the capstone of a funerary urn (probably that of Hadrian), which made its way to Saint Peter's Basilica, covered the tomb of Otto II and later was incorporated into a massive Renaissance baptistery. The use of spolia from the tomb in the post-Roman period was noted in the 16th century — Giorgio Vasari writes:
...in order to build churches for the use of the Christians, not only were the most honoured temples of the idols [pagan Roman gods] destroyed, but in order to ennoble and decorate Saint Peter's with more ornaments than it then possessed, they took away the stone columns from the tomb of Hadrian, now the castle of Sant'Angelo, as well as many other things which we now see in ruins.
Legend holds that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, thus lending the castle its present name. A less charitable yet more apt elaboration of the legend, given the militant disposition of this archangel, was heard by the 15th-century traveler who saw an angel statue on the castle roof. He recounts that during a prolonged season of the plague, Pope Gregory I heard that the populace, even Christians, had begun revering a pagan idol at the church of Santa Agata in Suburra. A vision urged the pope to lead a procession to the church. Upon arriving, the idol miraculously fell apart with a clap of thunder. Returning to St Peter's by the Aelian Bridge, the pope had another vision of an angel atop the castle, wiping the blood from his sword on his mantle, and then sheathing it. While the pope interpreted this as a sign that God was appeased, this did not prevent Gregory from destroying more sites of pagan worship in Rome.
The popes converted the structure into a castle, beginning in the 14th century; Pope Nicholas III connected the castle to St Peter's Basilica by a covered fortified corridor called the Passetto di Borgo. The fortress was the refuge of Pope Clement VII from the siege of Charles V's Landsknechte during the Sack of Rome (1527), in which Benvenuto Cellini describes strolling the ramparts and shooting enemy soldiers.
Leo X built a chapel with a Madonna by Raffaello da Montelupo. In 1536 Montelupo also created a marble statue of Saint Michael holding his sword after the 590 plague (as described above) to surmount the Castel.[6] Later Paul III built a rich apartment, to ensure that in any future siege the pope had an appropriate place to stay.
Montelupo's statue was replaced by a bronze statue of the same subject, executed by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, in 1753. Verschaffelt's is still in place and Montelupo's can be seen in an open court in the interior of the Castle.
The Papal state also used Sant'Angelo as a prison; Giordano Bruno, for example, was imprisoned there for six years. Another prisoner was the sculptor and goldsmith Benvenuto Cellini. Executions were performed in the small inner courtyard. As a prison, it was also the setting for the third act of Giacomo Puccini's 1900 opera Tosca; the eponymous heroine leaps to her death from the Castel's ramparts.
Sadly, not executed as well as I had hoped for, but I like this shot nevertheless for the expression of movement as well as for the delightful subject. The sheer number of cyclists in Amsterdam and their appearance at considerable speed from all directions is astonishing. There are no overweight Dutch people, they are all so fit!
•52 Church Street is Christ Church Cathedral. In 1816 the stone Christ Church was built by order of Governor Macquarie by convicts. Designed by convict artist Joseph Lycett. The first Bishop of Newcastle was appointed in 1847. Bishop Tyrrell who arrived 1848. The old church of 1816 was used until architect John Horbury Hunt drew up plans for a cathedral and had it demolished. One stone remains in the nave of the current Cathedral. In 1883 Cathedral Hall was built across the road for use as a church whilst the Cathedral was being built. Work began 1883 on the Cathedral but stopped in 1891 as the foundations began to subside. Work restarted in 1902 and was soon finished with marble floors, stained glass windows and a superb Warriors Chapel. The church ran a competition in 1868 for a cathedral to cost no more than £10,000. The winners were Terry and Speechley from Melbourne with John Horbury Hunt as supervising architect. Cost concerns arose and John Horbury Hunt was appointed as the architect. During repairs undertaken after the 1989 Newcastle earthquake the original 1816 church foundation stone was re-positioned within the Cathedral nave. Hunt also designed a Pro-Cathedral opposite which was called Cathedral Hall. It is now the Anglican Newcastle Grammar School. This was used until the opening of the new Cathedral for services in 1902. Kempe of London supplied the stained glass windows in the nave and baptistery in the new Cathedral. It also contains a stained glass jewel: the Dies Domini window designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and executed by Morris & Co. of London. The Warriors' Chapel was built in 1924. It was a permanent memorial to all those who died in World War I, especially men and women of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. The Christ Church burial ground, located on the northern side of the church and now a park and is the first known European burial ground in Newcastle.
Image of Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 767 doing a photo runby on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad made at Boston Mill.
U memorijalnom parku Dotrščina spomenik je u čast žrtava fašizma strijeljanima u ovoj šumi. Spomenik je djelo Vojina Bakića (1915.- 1992.), koji je bio istaknuti hrvatski kipar srpskog podrijetla.
Zbog odbijanja svjetla od metalne površine ovog lijepog spomenika, on se mijenja od sata do sata, od jednog do drugog godišnjeg doba. Nikad se ne čini isti.
In memorial park Dotrščina there is a monument in honour of victims of fascism executed in this forest. The monument is work of Vojin Bakić, ( born 1915 , died 1992) who was a prominent Croatian sculptor of Serbian descent.
Due to reflection of the light from the metallic surface of this beautiful monument, it changes from hour to hour and from season to season. It never seems to be the same.
March 2029 - SSA troops execute a mission to locate an abandoned DARKWATER military facility in Sudan. They met no resistance and recovered old DARKWATER technology and documents hidden in the facility. Lucky for them, it did not look like the EU had found the place yet. However, some rooms and certain areas of the facility looked demolished and unrecognisable. Reports indicate the facility has hastily destroyed by DARKWATER units after the head of the facility was executed due to his little care to orders issued by DARKWATER command. Sharp Sky was hired by the Indian government to raid this place. They were hired to find DARKWATER technology for the Indian armed forces that use semi-outdated equipment. This successful mission strengthened relations between Sharp Sky and the Indian government. Unintentionally, this annoyed the European Union’s leaders because they had been the ones who had found many facilities in Eastern Africa and the Middle East. According to found DARKWATER documents, this facility had encountered safety and maintenance problems and had been disbanded.
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The Sharp Sky figure in the scene is the new standard for all main SSA figures from now on. Scout and Marksman/Sniper variants aren't official yet.
Exécuté seulement en 1807 par Gérard (1770-1837), le portrait de Joséphine "dans le costume du couronnement" fut exposé au Salon de 1808 et placé aux Tuileries.
Napoléon en commanda la même année une réplique destinée à être traduite en tapisserie.
Huit lissiers des Gobelins travaillèrent au tissage, notamment Claude père, aidé de son fils, qui exécuta la figure de Joséphine avec une rare perfection. Bien que tissée en haute lisse, la tapisserie est inversée par rapport à la peinture comme c'est le cas en basse lisse. La couronne posée sur le tabouret est bien celle livrée par le joaillier Marguerite pour le couronnement; et, mis à part la parure de saphirs et le haut du corsage, le bas de robe en soie blanche brodée et le grand manteau en velours pourpre, exécutés par les couturiers Leroy et Rimbaud, sont ceux que l'Impératrice portait pour la cérémonie du 2 décembre 1804.
Commencée en juillet 1808 et livrée en novembre 1810, un an après le divorce de Joséphine et Napoléon, cette tapisserie fut offerte par Napoléon au fils de Joséphine, Eugène (1781-1824) pour les étrennes de 1810.
Executed only in 1807 by Gérard (1770-1837), the portrait of Josephine "in the costume of the coronation" was exhibited at the Salon of 1808 and placed in the Tuileries.
In the same year, Napoleon commissioned a replica to be translated into tapestry.
Eight weavers from the Gobelins worked on the weaving, notably Claude père, assisted by his son, who executed the figure of Joséphine with rare perfection. Although woven in haute lisse, the tapestry is inverted in relation to the painting, as is the case in basse lisse. The crown on the stool is indeed the one delivered by the jeweller Marguerite for the coronation; and, apart from the sapphire set and the top of the bodice, the embroidered white silk dress and the large purple velvet cloak, made by the couturiers Leroy and Rimbaud, are those worn by the Empress for the ceremony of 2 December 1804.
The tapestry was begun in July 1808 and delivered in November 1810, a year after Josephine and Napoleon's divorce. Napoleon gave it to Josephine's son Eugène (1781-1824) for his Christmas present in 1810.
It has been a busy few weeks, planning and executing a seven part project for one of my favorite clients and squeaking in other work between those shoots. Between at project and my other responsibilities, I have pulled almost a month (maybe more, who can remember) for 7 day work weeks. So, I am headed up to lake Bruin with a few friends for a much-needed couple of days off.
Before I go, I thought I’d throw a few images up on the site that were outtakes from the recent shoots. It’s been a fun project where I had a lot of creative latitude. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be able to make a living doing something I really love, namely taking pictures. But, when I am doing client work, I am sometimes restricted in what I can post. Such is the life of the freelancer.
Although I do plan on doing some work on a wedding that I recent photographed, this weekend will be more about play than work. Depending on the conditions, I would like to get some shooting in while I am up there. Readers of this blog won’t be surprised to know that I love north Louisiana and the photographs I am occasionally able to capture from the mystical, empty place.
I hope you all have a good weekend and just to keep this site active (I’ve been slack about posting, I know). Here are some of the shots I took recently but which probably won’t make the cut with the client.
Check out more at my blog, for lots of photos, recipes, tech talk, travel writing and other ramblings. I appreciate any feedback but, please do not post graphic awards or invitations in the comments, I'm just not crazy about them. Also, if you want to use any of my Commercial Commons licensed photos please link the attribution back to my blog (listed above) and use my full name, Frank McMains. Thanks! Sorry, but you have to pay to use fully copyright protected photos.
The Bridge of Don is a five-arch bridge of granite crossing the River Don just above its mouth in Aberdeen, Scotland.
In 1605 Alexander Hay executed a Charter of Mortification for the maintenance of the 13th century Brig o' Balgownie further upstream, which later became the Bridge of Don Fund, which financed several bridges in the north-east of Scotland. This fund having accumulated a value of over GB£20,000, the patrons of the fund, the town council, sought an Act of Parliamentto permit construction of a new bridge in 1825.
The original design by John Gibb and John Smith was modified by Thomas Telford, and construction work started in 1827. Problems with the foundations meant it had to be partly taken down and have additional piles sunk. It was opened free to the public with no toll in 1830 and later gave its name to the suburb of the city on the north bank.
It was listed as a Category B listed building in 1967.
The bridge has five spans of dressed granite, and rounded cutwaters that carry up to road level to form pedestrian refuges. The spans are 75 feet (23 m), with a rise of 25 feet (7.6 m).
It was widened in 1958-59, from 24 feet (7.3 m), to 66 feet (20 m) by the construction of a new concrete bridge adjacent to the old one.
It now carries four lanes of the A956 road, and is the last bridge on the River Don before it meets the sea.
The bridge is just downstream from a substantial island in the river. Around the area of the bridge is the Donmouth Local Nature Reserve, designated as a LNR in 1992.
Near to the bridge are a number of World War II era coastal defences, including a pill box.
F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano Air Base, Italy, execute formation maneuvers after refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England, March 4, 2015, during Exercise Iron Hand over southern France. Through forward presence and ready forces, U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa executes missions in support of regional and global operations to provide global vigilance, global reach and global power for national objectives across an area spanning 104 countries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kate Maurer/Released)
Not a well-executed photo, spur of the moment spin and shoot, too much shake and contrast for my liking, but a fond memory. One that might be worth sharing.
Walking along Place Saint Michel and across from the landmark fountain, a section of Paris where the dominant language is definitely English and that could be labeled “tourist central.” Suddenly a waitress in this establishment called out “Take my Picture” in French. Then I turned to see her with a big smile and arms outstretched, snap! This view pretty much sums up most of my interactions with Parisians.
I’m sure that under one of my many Paris photos I’ve mentioned this before, the fact that one of my favorite activities during my three month Paris stay was reading Ernest Hemingway’s “A Movable Feast” reading that book under the allées of the Luxembourg Gardens. I don’t know if I’d ever gotten around to mentioning how the book was named.
In the introduction Hemingway’s son explains that the title was because Ernest Hemingway believed that anyone who spends an amount of time in Paris that experience will follow wherever they go. I couldn’t agree more. And I’m counting the days until I go back, 230 days.
Lindau, located near the borders to Austria and Switzerland, was mentioned first time in 882 when a nunnery was founded here. The old town is on an island, which meanwhile is connected with the mainland by a road bridge and a railway dam.
The church of St. Stephan was built around 1180, Franciscans founded a monastery here in 1224. In 1274/75 Lindau became an Imperial Free City under King Rudolf I.
Lindau became Protestant in 1528. The nunnery remained Catholic while the Franciscan monastery, from which the first Reformation preachers came, was closed. During the Thirty Years' War, Lindau was unsuccessfully besieged by Swedish troops in 1646/47. Between 1445 and 1761, 18 people were indicted in witch trials in Lindau. The last victim of the witch hunt was Maria Madlener, who was executed on August 4, 1730.
St. Stephan, founded 1180, is the largest church on the island, located next to the Catholic Münster Unserer Lieben Frau right on the marketplace. After several expansions, the church lost its Romanesque facade in 1506, but inside the building the Romanesque basilica can still be seen in the otherwise Rococo church.
The rifles are aimed at the medal worn around the victims neck - the poles behind the statue represent the names, and ages of those executed - during WW1 306 British and Commonwealth soldiers were shot for desertion, cowardice, striking a senior officer, disobeying a lawful command, casting away arms, and sleeping on post.
It is now recognised that several were under age when they volunteered and many were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, which was not recognised as a medical condition until 1980.
The six trees facing the memorial represent where the firing squad
stood.
A LOT OF THE POLES WHICH STATE THE NAMES OF THOSE EXECUTED SAY AGE UNKNOWN WHICH POSSIBLY INDICATES THAT THEY WERE VERY YOUNG
In 2006 a posthumous pardon was granted for the men....❤️
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After executing a pop-up slide into second base, the runner for the Napa Silverados Minor League Baseball club was called out stealing second on the low throw from the Pacifics catcher.
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 IS II USM @321mm
Exposure: 1/2000 sec @ f/5.6 ISO400
This image is © Douglas Bawden Photography, please do not use without prior permission.
Enjoy my photos and please feel free to comment. The only thing that I ask is no large or flashy graphics in the comments.
Singapore is one of those rare cities that doesn’t just impress you — it elevates you.
Clean lines, calm energy, disciplined systems, and a skyline built on vision.
A place where ambition feels organised, and progress feels intentional.”
EXPLORE # 152
This is Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. Shown at the background is a part of the Rizal Shrine where the national hero's belongings were kept after his execution and also numerous artworks about him. The footprints were made of copper retracing his path towards the execution site (Bagumbayan) now called Luneta. Rizal was executed December 30, 1896 at the age of 35. Below is his poem written in Spanish, "Mi Ultimo Adios", " and the English translation,. "My Last Farewell."
Mi Ultimo Adiós
¡Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del mar de oriente, nuestro perdido Edén!
A darte voy alegre la triste mustia vida,
Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,
También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.
En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio,
Otros te dan sus vidas sin dudas, sin pesar;
El sitio nada importa, ciprés, laurel o lirio,
Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio,
Lo mismo es si lo piden la patria y el hogar.
Yo muero cuando veo que el cielo se colora
Y al fin anuncia el día tras lóbrego capuz;
si grana necesitas para teñir tu aurora,
Vierte la sangre mía, derrámala en buen hora
Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz.
Mis sueños cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,
Mis sueños cuando joven ya lleno de vigor,
Fueron el verte un día, joya del mar de oriente,
Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,
Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor
Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo,
¡Salud te grita el alma que pronto va a partir!
¡Salud! Ah, que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,
Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,
Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir.
Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar un día
Entre la espesa yerba sencilla, humilde flor,
Acércala a tus labios y besa al alma mía,
Y sienta yo en mi frente bajo la tumba fría,
De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.
Deja a la luna verme con luz tranquila y suave,
Deja que el alba envíe su resplandor fugaz,
Deja gemir al viento con su murmullo grave,
Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave,
Deja que el ave entone su cántico de paz.
Deja que el sol, ardiendo, las lluvias evapore
Y al cielo tornen puras, con mi clamor en pos;
Deja que un ser amigo mi fin temprano llore
Y en las serenas tardes cuando por mí alguien ore,
¡Ora también, oh Patria, por mi descanso a Dios!
Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura,
Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual,
Por nuestras pobres madres que gimen su amargura;
Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura
Y ora por ti que veas tu redención final.
Y cuando en noche oscura se envuelva el cementerio
Y solos sólo muertos queden velando allí,
No turbes su reposo, no turbes el misterio,
Tal vez acordes oigas de cítara o salterio,
Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto a ti.
Y cuando ya mi tumba de todos olvidada
No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,
Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,
Y mis cenizas, antes que vuelvan a la nada,
El polvo de tu alfombra que vayan a formar.
Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido.
Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré.
Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oído,
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido,
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe.
Mi patria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,
Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adiós.
Ahí te dejo todo, mis padres, mis amores.
Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores,
Donde la fe no mata, donde el que reina es Dios.
Adiós, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma mía,
Amigos de la infancia en el perdido hogar,
Dad gracias que descanso del fatigoso día;
Adiós, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegría,
Adiós, queridos seres, morir es descansar.
José Rizal, 1896
My Last Farewell
Farewell, beloved Country, treasured region of the sun,
Pearl of the sea of the Orient, our lost Eden!
To you eagerly I surrender this sad and gloomy life;
And were it brighter, fresher, more florid,
Even then I’d give it to you, for your sake alone.
In fields of battle, deliriously fighting,
Others give you their lives, without doubt, without regret;
The place matters not: where there’s cypress, laurel or lily,
On a plank or open field, in combat or cruel martyrdom,
It’s all the same if the home or country asks.
I die when I see the sky has unfurled its colors
And at last after a cloak of darkness announces the day;
If you need scarlet to tint your dawn,
Shed my blood, pour it as the moment comes,
And may it be gilded by a reflection of the heaven’s newly-born light.
My dreams, when scarcely an adolescent,
My dreams, when a young man already full of life,
Were to see you one day, jewel of the sea of the Orient,
Dry those eyes of black, that forehead high,
Without frown, without wrinkles, without stains of shame.
My lifelong dream, my deep burning desire,
This soul that will soon depart cries out: Salud!
To your health! Oh how beautiful to fall to give you flight,
To die to give you life, to die under your sky,
And in your enchanted land eternally sleep.
If upon my grave one day you see appear,
Amidst the dense grass, a simple humble flower,
Place it near your lips and my soul you’ll kiss,
And on my brow may I feel, under the cold tomb,
The gentle blow of your tenderness, the warmth of your breath.
Let the moon see me in a soft and tranquil light,
Let the dawn send its fleeting radiance,
Let the wind moan with its low murmur,
And should a bird descend and rest on my cross,
Let it sing its canticle of peace.
Let the burning sun evaporate the rains,
And with my clamor behind, towards the sky may they turn pure;
Let a friend mourn my early demise,
And in the serene afternoons, when someone prays for me,
O Country, pray to God also for my rest!
Pray for all the unfortunate ones who died,
For all who suffered torments unequaled,
For our poor mothers who in their grief and bitterness cry,
For orphans and widows, for prisoners in torture,
And for yourself pray that your final redemption you’ll see.
And when the cemetery is enveloped in dark night,
And there, alone, only those who have gone remain in vigil,
Disturb not their rest, nor the mystery,
And should you hear chords from a zither or psaltery,
It is I, beloved Country, singing to you.
And when my grave, then by all forgotten,
has not a cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let men plow and with a spade scatter it,
And before my ashes return to nothing,
May they be the dust that carpets your fields.
Then nothing matters, cast me in oblivion.
Your atmosphere, your space and valleys I’ll cross.
I will be a vibrant and clear note to your ears,
Aroma, light, colors, murmur, moan, and song,
Constantly repeating the essence of my faith.
My idolized country, sorrow of my sorrows,
Beloved Filipinas, hear my last good-bye.
There I leave you all, my parents, my loves.
I’ll go where there are no slaves, hangmen nor oppressors,
Where faith doesn’t kill, where the one who reigns is God.
Goodbye, dear parents, brother and sisters, fragments of my soul,
Childhood friends in the home now lost,
Give thanks that I rest from this wearisome day;
Goodbye, sweet foreigner, my friend, my joy;
Farewell, loved ones, to die is to rest.
José Rizal, 1896
(Modern English translation by Edwin Agustín Lozada)
The F-35 Lightning II executed its first live-fire launch of a guided air-to-air missile over a military test range off the California coast on Oct. 30, 2013. The AIM-120 advanced medium range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) was fired from an F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant test aircraft. Test data and observers confirmed the F-35 identified and targeted an aerial drone target with its mission systems sensors, passed the target "track" information to the missile, and launched the AIM-120 from the aircraft to engage the drone. After launch, the missile successfully acquired the target and followed an intercept flight profile. Moments before the missile was about to destroy the target, a self-destruct signal was sent to the AIM-120 in order to preserve the aerial drone for use in future tests.
Think, plan, execute, rethink, adjust the plan and re-execute.
Stopped down much more than my usual settings for this deca exposure in order to hold back the ultra bright LEDs so as to keep me and the background plenty dark.
Headache extraordinaire and ridiculously soaked in the process !
Hit L for audience participation.
Slight crop and signed.