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La souffrance de l’ennui, révélatrice de l’absurdité de l’être
Le premier philosophe à faire de l’ennui un phénomène essentiel, révélateur du fond de l’être, est le penseur allemand dit « pessimiste », Arthur Schopenhauer. Avant lui, et avant les pages qu’il va lui consacrer en 1818 dans son grand livre Le monde comme volonté et comme représentation1, jamais l’ennui n’avait fait l’objet d’une analyse philosophique aussi minutieuse.
Pour Schopenhauer, la vie est animée d’un vouloir-vivre aveugle et absurde, une sorte de pulsion de vie qui cherche absolument sa préservation, envers et contre tout. Il nous pousse à tenir à la vie, à lutter sans cesse contre la mort. Notre marche est une chute incessamment arrêtée, une mort d’instant en instant repoussée. Nous livrons bataille à la mort à chaque seconde. Enfin, il faudra qu’elle triomphe. Il suffit d’être né pour être condamné à mourir :
« Et si un moment elle joue avec sa proie, c’est en attendant de la dévorer. Nous n’en conservons pas moins notre vie, y prenant intérêt, la soignant, autant qu’elle peut durer ; quand on souffle une bulle de savon, on y met tout le temps et les soins nécessaires ; pourtant elle crèvera, on le sait bien »2.
Ainsi le vouloir-vivre est-il insensé : tout vivant lutte contre une mort inexorable.
Encircling this two-handled drinking cup is a scene from Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. The Greek hero Odysseus has traveled to the Underworld to consult the ghost of the blind seer Teiresias—the only one who can tell him how to return home to Ithaca. Odysseus, shown brandishing his sword, has just sacrificed a ram to summon the spirits of the dead. Teiresias and another figure are shown sitting on rocks. The other side of the cup, shown here, depicts a group of men in conversation—seven figures, all older men wearing cloaks, who may be identified as philosophers. The handles are decorated with foliate patterns on the tops of their shafts above the rim, and at their attachment plates to the body of the cup. The foot is decorated with a sharp fillet near the top, and with a beaded band and ovolo atop the footplate. Roman domestic silver of fine quality often displayed images referring to Greek myth and literature. Cups decorated with narrative subjects inspired discussion at refined dinner parties, where guests could identify the scenes and admire their host’s taste. Heavy, silver drinking cups with repoussé decoration were very popular in the 1st century CE. Such vessels were formed from an outer case decorated with the relief and a plain inner liner soldered together. The feet and handles were made separately and soldered on.
Roman, ca. 25 BCE - 100 CE.
Getty Villa Museum, Pacific Palisades, California (96.AM.57)
Maintes-fois repoussées, le dépoussiérage de cette plaquette stéréo dans son décor si rococo, finalement, a été assez simple. Juste la blancheur de la peau de « l’artiste » n'est pas réellement satisfaisante et vue les salissures générales de ce tirage où je laissais les tâches où les blanchissaient.
Une curiosité ; avec cette statue « grecque » dont la tète me paraît mal proportionnée.
La particularité des décors studio de R.Y. Young provient du clin d'œil, avec rajout du photographe d'un élément ( statuette, bustes...) Que l'on retrouve de photographie en photographie. Un petit jeu de Young qui pourrait devenir signature.
Certains tableaux dans le décor peuvent surprendre...
Sur une série à suite, une jeune fille disparaît, laissant place à une statue de nue, pour reparaître sur la suivante. L'intruse la plus marquante reste ce buste de femmes avec chapeau se penchant pour mieux vous fixer avec un petit sourire vous indiquant qu'elle aussi, vous a bien remarqué et sans amuse !
Autre particularité de R.Y. Young plus glauque, est souvent l'apparition de corps de garçonnet entièrement nu.
11672. A lover of art.
11538.Seeking Knowlege througt the saturn.
11953.The artist's ideal.
...
Série qui continue avec une femme en collant cachant sa nudité ( deux versions), et même une mère et son bébé. Développera qui voudra, mais sans moi !
Aucune de ces stéréos ne vous sera présentée évidemment, je ne sais même pas quoi en faire… La pédophilie, restera en ce début de siècle,pas réellement et sérieusement pourchassée ni punie, soigné. À moins d’être associé à un fait divers retentissant.
Il fallait bien en parler un jour...
La laine repousse déjà, on commence à voir sa typique couleur argentée
The wool is growing back. She has again her typical silver colour
This gilded silver Sasanian plate features an unusual scene that borrows from Graeco-Roman prototypes and possibly Iranian ones as well. Two youths stand on platforms facing one another, each holding a staff and the reins of a winged horse, reminiscent of representations of the hero Bellerophon and Pegasus as well as of the Dioskouroi (the divine twins Castor and Pollux). Both horses bend their necks down to drink from a large vessel supported by a female figure, who appears in bust form emerging from a frieze of half-palmettes. She is most likely either a personification of water or the Iranian river goddess Anahita. In the background, a small cross-legged figure plays the lute. The scene may have cosmic significance, if indeed the two youths represent the constellation Gemini, called Do-paykar in Middle Persian astronomical texts.
Sasanian silver bowls were usually hammered into shape and then decorated in various complex techniques. On this plate, pieces of metal were added to create areas of high relief, and other details were achieved through the use of repoussé.
Sasanian, Iran, 400-600 CE. Silver, mercury gilding.
Met Museum, New York (63.152)
Bronze chariot inlaid with ivory
2nd quarter of the 6th century B.C.
Scenes from the life of the Greek hero Achilles
In 1902, a landowner working on his property accidentally discovered a subterranean built tomb covered by a tumulus (mound). His investigations revealed the remains of a parade chariot as well as bronze, ceramic, and iron utensils together with other grave goods. Following the discovery, the finds passed through the hands of several Italian owners and dealers who were responsible for the appearance of the chariot and related material on the Paris art market. There they were purchased in 1903 by General Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the first director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Monteleone chariot is the best preserved example of its kind from ancient Italy before the Roman period. The relatively good condition of its major parts--the panels of the car, the pole, and the wheels--has made it possible to undertake a new reconstruction based on the most recent scholarship. Moreover, some of the surviving ivory fragments can now be placed with reasonable certitude. The other tomb furnishings acquired with the chariot are exhibited in two cases on the south wall of this gallery.
...On the Italian peninsula, the largest number of chariots come from Etruria and the surrounding regions. They are datable between the second half of the eighth and the fifth centuries B.C. and represent several varieties. None seems to have been used for fighting in battle. Most came to light in tombs; after serving in life, they were buried with their owners, male and also female. The Monteleone chariot belongs to a group of parade chariots, so called because they were used by significant individuals on special occasions. They have two wheels and were drawn by two horses standing about forty-nine inches (122 centimeters) apart at the point where the yoke rests on their necks. The car would have accommodated the driver and the distinguished passenger. The shape of the car, with a tall panel in front and a lower one at each side, provided expansive surfaces for decoration, executed in repoussé. The frieze at the axle, the attachment of the pole to the car, and the ends of the pole and yoke all have additional figural embellishment.
...The iconography represents a carefully thought-out program. The three major panels of the car depict episodes from the life of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the magnificent central scene, Achilles, on the right, receives from his mother, Thetis, on the left, a shield and helmet to replace the armor that Achilles had given his friend Patroklos, for combat against the Trojan Hektor. Patroklos was killed, allowing Hektor to take Achilles' armor. The subject was widely known thanks to the account in Homer's Iliad and many representations in Greek art. The panel on the left shows a combat between two warriors, usually identified as the Greek Achilles and the Trojan Memnon. In the panel on the right, the apotheosis of Achilles shows him ascending in a chariot drawn by winged horses. The subsidiary reliefs partly covered by the wheels are interpreted as showing Achilles as a youth in the care of the centaur Chiron and Achilles as a lion felling his foes, in this case a stag and a bull. The central axis of the chariot is reinforced by the head and forelegs of the boar at the join of the pole to the car. The deer below Achilles' shield appears slung over the boar's back. The eagle's head at the front of the pole repeats the two attacking eagles at the top of the central panel, and the lion heads on the yoke relate to the numerous savage felines on the car. While the meaning of the human and animal figures allows for various interpretations, there is a thematic unity and a Homeric quality emphasizing the glory of the hero.
The three panels of the car represent the main artistic achievement. Scholarly opinion agrees that the style of the decoration is strongly influenced by Greek art, particularly that of Ionia and adjacent islands such as Rhodes. The choice of subjects, moreover, reflects close knowledge of the epics recounting the Trojan War. In the extent of Greek influence, the chariot resembles works of virtually all media from Archaic Etruria. Contemporary carved ambers reflect a similar situation. The typically Etruscan features of the object begin with its function, for chariots were not significant in Greek life of the sixth century B.C. except in athletic contests. Furthermore, iconographical motifs such as the winged horses in Achilles' apotheosis and the plethora of birds of prey reflect Etruscan predilections. The repoussé panels may have been produced in one of the important metal-working centers such as Vulci by a local craftsman well familiar with Greek art or possibly by an immigrant bronze-worker. The chariot could well have been made for an important individual living in southern Etruria or Latium. Its burial in Monteleone may have to do with the fact that this town controlled a major route through the Appenine Mountains. The vehicle could have been a gift to win favor with a powerful local authority or to reward his services. Beyond discussion is the superlative skill of the artist. His control of the height of the relief, from very high to subtly shallow, is extraordinary. Equally remarkable are the richness and variety of the decoration lavished on all of the figures, especially those of the central panel. In its original state, with the gleaming bronze and painted ivory as well as all of the accessory paraphernalia, the chariot must have been dazzling.
After the parts of the chariot arrived in the Museum in 1903, they were assembled in a presentation that remained on view for almost a century. During the new reconstruction, which took three years' work, the chariot was entirely dismantled. A new support was made according to the same structural principles as the ancient one would have been. The reexamination of many pieces has allowed them to be placed in their correct positions. Moreover, the bronze sheathing of the pole, which had been considered only partially preserved, has been recognized as substantially complete. The main element that has not been reconstructed is the yoke. Although the length is correct, the wooden bar simply connects the two bronze pieces.
[Met Museum]
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5th Avenue, New York
The August Challenge for the Art Bead Scene was based on Hokusai's woodcut print "The Great Wave. The pendant has a nickel repousse base with polymer clay applied to it. Polymer clay beads. Forged pendant dangles in annealed steel; connector rings are also steel. Silver beads are from Michael's and others were repurposed from an old jewelry piece.
Plate with youths and winged horses
[ca. 5th–6th century AD]
Mertmuseum 63.152
This gilded silver Sasanian plate features an unusual scene that borrows from Graeco-Roman prototypes and possibly Iranian ones as well. Two youths stand on platforms facing one another, each holding a staff and the reins of a winged horse, reminiscent of representations of the hero Bellerophon and Pegasus as well as of the Dioskouroi (the divine twins Castor and Pollux). Both horses bend their necks down to drink from a large vessel supported by a female figure, who appears in bust form emerging from a frieze of half-palmettes. She is most likely either a personification of water or the Iranian river goddess Anahita. In the background, a small cross-legged figure plays the lute. The scene may have cosmic significance, if indeed the two youths represent the constellation Gemini, called Do-paykar in Middle Persian astronomical texts.
Sasanian silver bowls were usually hammered into shape and then decorated in various complex techniques. On this plate, pieces of metal were added to create areas of high relief, and other details were achieved through the use of repoussé.
Source: Metmuseum
From the inscription we know that the frame was created by Beka of Opiza (Opizari in Georgian). His name indicates that he belonged to the famous monastic workshop at Opiza Monastery, which was the significant religious and artistic center of Klarjeti (historical south-western region of Georgia, now in modern day Turkey).
Later, in about 1308-1334, a special triptych case was created for the venerable image, donated by the powerful aristocratic family of Jakeli, governors of the south-western province of Samtskhe. The inner parts of the lateral wings depict seven scenes from the Great Twelve Feasts executed in repoussé. The Ascension adorns the semi-circular top; the Annunciation, Nativity and Baptism are placed on the left wing; and the Transfiguration, Crucifixion and Anastasis on the right.
The repoussé frame has vine-scroll foliate ornamentation with inserted holy images. The central part of the upper frame contains a depiction of the Preparation of the Throne, (Hetoimasia) accompanied by half-figures of frontal Archangels depicted in the corners.
Source:
Vent de NW avec des rafales de 70 à 100km/heure, l'eau de ce côté-ci l'étang est repoussée, laissant place à la grève par endroits.
Musée des Confluences
Éternités, visions de l’au-delà
Cette exposition nous invite à partager avec d’autres civilisations la question centrale de la mort et de ce qui éventuellement la suit.
Et qu’en est-il de sa place aujourd’hui, quand ses limites sont sans cesse repoussées ? À la différence des autres êtres vivants, l’être humain se questionne sur sa propre mort. Et cette mort, celle des autres, la nôtre, nous touche tous.
Les rites funéraires expriment en partie le désir de dépasser cette inconcevable fin. Le dernier passage a toujours été entouré de pratiques destinées à rendre acceptable la séparation des vivants et des morts. Les rites permettent de donner un autre horizon à la mort et d’offrir une forme d’espérance. Le cérémonial, les gestes, les paroles, en apaisant et en attribuant une nouvelle place à chacun, contribuent à rétablir un ordre social bouleversé.
Circular bronze box mirror which depicts a repoussé relief of Eros intervening in a quarrel between two Pans.
Greek, Late Classical, mid-4th century BCE.
Diameter: 13.3 cm/5.25 in.
Met Museum, New York (07.259)
Je me réjouis de pouvoir vous présenter ma nouvelle Brume: j'ai trouvé la petite par hasard sur Ebay et j'ai eu le coup de foudre!
Son histoire:
Brume est aveugle de naissance. Elle n'a pas connu sa mère qui est morte lorsqu'elle a poussé son 1er cri et lorsqu'elle aurait dû, comme on dit habituellement "voir" le jour!
Châtiment divin pour celle qui, pour vivre, a causé la mort de sa génitrice? C'est en tout cas ainsi que l'a interprété son père fou de chagrin, lequel a repoussé l'enfant "maudite" au bout d'à peine quelques jours... c'est le jeune frère de sa mère, son seul parent,qui a consenti à adopter Brume... Elle a grandi à ses côtés ou disons, sous le même toit car il n'a guère été présent. L'éducation de Brume a été confiée à une gouvernante. Pourquoi son oncle la fuit-il ainsi?... A -t-il voulu échapper au charme irrésistible qu' exerce à son insu la jeune infirme?
Her story:
Brume (Mist in english !) is blind from birth. She’s never known her mother who died when she screamed for the fist time and when she should have “seen” the light!
Divine punishment for the one who has “stolen” the life of her mother? That’s the opinion of her father who pushed away the “blasted” child when she’s only few days old… the young bother of her mother, her single parent, adopted Brume.. She grew up near him, more exactly under the same roof, because he used to be often absent… ( a governess took care of the girl) What does he flee from? The irresistible charm of her disabled niece?
Crown of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Crown of the Andes, Columbia) c. 1660 (diadem), c. 1770 (arches), gold and emeralds, 34.3 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Another riff on the lotus pod theme, this time using a variety of coloration effects including patination with fire and chemicals in combination with color on metal.
Brass, Copper, Cold Joined, Repousse
3.5 in. dia
This closeup reveals that parts of this statue have, actually, been robbed out over the last two millennia. The decorative phalerae on the bridle of the horse are missing, with its sockets exposed. We know from surviving examples that the round one would have had repoussé portraits of gods and/or emperors, and the rectangular one on the snout of the horse may have had an image of Victoria or a symbol of the emperor's authority.
There is no mention of the equestrian statue dedicated to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in ancient literary sources, but it was in all likelihood erected in 176 CE, along with numerous other honors on the occasion of his triumph over the Germanic tribes, or in 180 CE soon after his death. There were many equestrian statues in Rome at that time: late-Imperial descriptions of the areas of the city listed 22 such statues, called equi magni, that is larger-than-life-size, just like the monument to Marcus Aurelius. The latter statue, however, is the only one to have survived to the present, and by virtue of its integrity it soon assumed the symbolic value for all those who wished to present themselves as heirs to Imperial Rome. Its location in the Lateran is first recorded in the tenth century, but it is likely that it had been there from at least the end of the eighth century, when Charlemagne wanted to copy the layout of Campus Lateranensis when he transferred a similar equestrian statue, taken from Ravenna, to his palace in Aachen. In 1538 Pope Paul III ordered the Farnese family to have the statue moved to the Capitoline Hill, which had become the headquarters of the city's authorities in 1143. A year after its arrival, the Roman Senate commissioned Michelangelo to refurbish the statue. The great Florentine artist did not just limit himself to planning an appropriate site for the monument, but made in central element in the magnificent architectural complex known as the Piazza del Campidoglio.
Roman, probably 176 CE. Gilded bronze
Musei Capitolini, Rome (inv. MC3247)
Benvenuto Cellini 1 November 1500 – 13 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the Cellini Salt Cellar, the sculpture of Perseus with the Head of Medusa, and his autobiography, which has been described as "one of the most important documents of the 16th century."
Benvenuto Cellini was born in Florence, in present-day Italy. His parents were Giovanni Cellini and Maria Lisabetta Granacci. They were married for 18 years before the birth of their first child. Benvenuto was the second child of the family. The son of a musician and builder of musical instruments, Cellini was pushed towards music, but when he was fifteen, his father reluctantly agreed to apprentice him to a goldsmith, Antonio di Sandro, nicknamed Marcone. At the age of 16, Benvenuto had already attracted attention in Florence by taking part in an affray with youthful companions. He was banished for six months and lived in Siena, where he worked for a goldsmith named Fracastoro (unrelated to the Veronese polymath). From Siena he moved to Bologna, where he became a more accomplished cornett and flute player and made progress as a goldsmith. After a visit to Pisa and two periods of living in Florence (where he was visited by the sculptor Torrigiano), he moved to Rome, at the age of nineteen.
His first works in Rome were a silver casket, silver candlesticks, and a vase for the bishop of Salamanca, which won him the approval of Pope Clement VII. Another celebrated work from Rome is the gold medallion of "Leda and the Swan" executed for the Gonfaloniere Gabbriello Cesarino, and which is now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence. He also took up the cornett again, and was appointed one of the pope's court musicians.
In the attack on Rome by the imperial forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor under the command of Charles III, Duke of Bourbon and Constable of France, Cellini's bravery proved of signal service to the pontiff. According to Cellini's own accounts, he shot and injured Philibert of Châlon, prince of Orange (and, allegedly, shot and killed Charles III resulting in the Sack of Rome). His bravery led to a reconciliation with the Florentine magistrates, and he soon returned to his hometown of Florence. Here he devoted himself to crafting medals, the more famous of which are "Hercules and the Nemean Lion", in gold repoussé work, and "Atlas supporting the Sphere", in chased gold, the latter eventually falling into the possession of Francis I of France.
From Florence, he went to the court of the duke of Mantua, and then back to Florence. On returning to Rome, he was employed in the working of jewelry and in the execution of dies for private medals and for the papal mint. In 1529, his brother Cecchino killed a Corporal of the Roman Watch and in turn was wounded by an arquebusier, later dying of his wound. Soon afterward Benvenuto killed his brother's killer—an act of blood revenge but not justice as Cellini admits that his brother's killer had acted in self-defense. Cellini fled to Naples to shelter from the consequences of an affray with a notary, Ser Benedetto, whom he had wounded. Through the influence of several cardinals, Cellini obtained a pardon. He found favor with the new pope, Paul III, notwithstanding a fresh homicide during the interregnum three days after the death of Pope Clement VII in September 1534. The fourth victim was a rival goldsmith, Pompeo of Milan.
The plots of Pier Luigi Farnese led to Cellini's retreat from Rome to Florence and Venice, where he was restored with greater honour than before. At the age of 37, upon returning from a visit to the French court, he was imprisoned on a charge (apparently false) of having embezzled the gems of the pope's tiara during the war. He was confined to the Castel Sant'Angelo, escaped, was recaptured, and was treated with great severity; he was in daily expectation of death on the scaffold. While imprisoned in 1539, Cellini was the target of an assassination attempt of murder by ingestion of diamond dust; the attempt failed, for a nondiamond gem was used instead. The intercession of Pier Luigi's wife, and especially that of the Cardinal d'Este of Ferrara, eventually secured Cellini's release, in gratitude for which he gave d'Este a splendid cup.
Cellini then worked at the court of Francis I at Fontainebleau and Paris. Cellini is known to have taken some of his female models as mistresses, having an illegitimate daughter in 1544 with one of them while living in France, whom he named Costanza. Cellini considered the Duchesse d'Étampes to be set against him and refused to conciliate with the king's favorites. He could no longer silence his enemies by the sword, as he had silenced those in Rome.
After several years of productive work in France, but beset by almost continual professional conflicts and violence, Cellini returned to Florence. There he once again took up his skills as a goldsmith, and was warmly welcomed by Duke Cosimo I de' Medici – who elevated him to the position of court sculptor and gave him an elegant house in Via del Rosario (where Cellini built a foundry), with an annual salary of two hundred scudi. Furthermore, Cosimo commissioned him to make two significant bronze sculptures: a bust of himself, and Perseus with the head of Medusa (which was to be placed in the Lanzi loggia in the centre of the city).
In 1548, Cellini was accused by a woman named Margherita of having committed sodomy with her son Vincenzo, and he temporarily fled to seek shelter in Venice. This was neither the first nor the last time that Cellini was implicated for sodomy (once with a woman and at least three times with men during his life), illustrating his homosexual or bisexual tendencies. For example, earlier in his life as a young man, he was sentenced to pay 12 staia of flour in 1523 for relations with another young man named Domenico di Ser Giuliano da Ripa. Meanwhile, in Paris a former model and lover brought charges against him of using her "after the Italian fashion" (i.e., sodomy).
During the war with Siena in 1554, Cellini was appointed to strengthen the defences of his native city, and, though rather shabbily treated by his ducal patrons, he continued to gain the admiration of his fellow citizens by the magnificent works which he produced. According to Cellini's autobiography, it was during this period that his personal rivalry with the sculptor Baccio Bandinelli grew. On 26 February 1556, Cellini's apprentice Fernando di Giovanni di Montepulciano accused his mentor of having sodomised him many times while "keeping him for five years in his bed as a wife". This time the penalty was a hefty 50 golden scudi fine, and four years of prison, remitted to four years of house arrest thanks to the intercession of the Medicis. In a public altercation before Duke Cosimo, Bandinelli had called out to him Sta cheto, soddomitaccio! (Shut up, you filthy sodomite!) Cellini described this as an "atrocious insult", and attempted to laugh it off.
After briefly attempting a clerical career, in 1562 he married a servant, Piera Parigi, with whom he claimed he had five children, of whom only a son and two daughters survived him.
He was also named a member (Accademico) of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno of Florence, founded by the Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, on 13 January 1563, under the influence of the architect Giorgio Vasari. He died in Florence on 13 February 1571 and was buried with great pomp in the church of the Santissima Annunziata.
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 360,930 inhabitants in 2023, and 984,991 in its metropolitan area.
Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center. During this time, Florence rose to a position of enormous influence in Italy, Europe, and beyond. Its turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family and numerous religious and republican revolutions. From 1865 to 1871 the city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The Florentine dialect forms the base of standard Italian and it became the language of culture throughout Italy due to the prestige of the masterpieces by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini.
The city attracts millions of tourists each year, and UNESCO declared the Historic Centre of Florence a World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture and monuments. The city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florence's artistic and architectural heritage, Forbes ranked it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world in 2010.
Florence plays an important role in Italian fashion, and is ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world by Global Language Monitor; furthermore, it is a major national economic centre, as well as a tourist and industrial hub.
Florence (Italian: Firenze) weathered the decline of the Western Roman Empire to emerge as a financial hub of Europe, home to several banks including that of the politically powerful Medici family. The city's wealth supported the development of art during the Italian Renaissance, and tourism attracted by its rich history continues today.
Prehistoric origins
For much of the Quaternary Age, the Florence-Prato-Pistoia plain was occupied by a great lake bounded by Monte Albano in the west, Monte Giovi in the north and the foothills of Chianti in the south. Even after most of the water had receded, the plain, 50 metres (160 ft) above sea level, was strewn with ponds and marshes that remained until the 18th century, when the land was reclaimed. Most of the marshland was in the region of Campi Bisenzio, Signa and Bagno a Ripoli.
It is thought that there was already a settlement at the confluence of the Mugnone River with the River Arno between the 10th and 8th centuries BC. Between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Etruscans discovered and used the ford of the Arno near this confluence, closer to the hills to the north and south. A bridge or a ferry was probably constructed here, about ten metres away from the current Ponte Vecchio, but closer to the ford itself. The Etruscans, however, preferred not to build cities on the plain for reasons of defence and instead settled about six kilometres away on a hill. This settlement was a precursor of the fortified centre of Vipsul (today's Fiesole), which was later connected by road to all the major Etruscan centres of Emilia to the north and Lazio to the south.
Classical Florence
Some historians still assert the existence of a Pre-Roman settlement in Florence, arguing the possibility of an urban center destroyed by Sulla.
Written history of Florence traditionally begins in 59 BC, when the Romans founded the village for army veterans, and reportedly dedicated it to the god Mars. According to some stories, the city was founded for precise political and strategic reasons; in 62 BC, Fiesole (a region in Florence) was a cove for Catilines, and Caesar wanted an outpost nearby to monitor the roads and communications. It was originally named Fluentia, owing to the fact that it was built between two rivers, which was later changed to Florentia ("flowering").
The Romans built ports on the Arno and the Mugnone to create advantageous transport positions; old Florence was on the Via Cassia, forming a wedge controlling the end of the Apennine valley of the Arno and the beginning of the plain that led to the sea in the direction of Pisa. In AD 123, a bridge was constructed over the Arno. Buildings began to accumulate around the Roman military camp, including an aqueduct (from Monte Morello), a forum (in today's Piazza della Repubblica), spas, the Roman Theatre of Florence, and the Roman Amphitheatre of Florence, while the surrounding land was organized by centuriation. A nearby river port allowed trade up to Pisa. The outlines of the Roman city are still recognizable in the city's plan, notably the city walls.
In AD 285, Diocletian established a commander seat in Florence who was responsible for all of Tuscia. Eastern merchants (some from the quarter of Oltrarno) brought the cult of Isis, and later Christianity.
Because Florence rapidly developed over the next several centuries and into the Middle Ages, few monuments from the Roman period remain in Florence today. Some of the remaining structures include the thermal complex discovered in the Piazza della Signoria, the amphitheater (or at least its road structure), and artifacts remaining at the Florentine National Archaeological Museum and the Museo di Firenze com'era (English: The Museum of Florence as it Was).
Early Middle Ages
The seat of a bishopric from around the beginning of the 4th century CE, the city was ruled alternatively by Byzantine and Ostrogothic potentates as the two powers fought each other for control of the city. The city would be taken by siege only to be lost again later by one of the two powers. In the sixth century, at the end this unstable period, the population fell to a low point speculated to be as low as 1,000.
Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century. Conquered by Charlemagne in 774, Florence became part of the March of Tuscany, whose capital was Lucca. The population began to grow again and commerce prospered. In 854, Florence and Fiesole were united in one county.
Middle Ages
Profile of Dante Alighieri, one of the most renowned Italian poets, painted by his contemporary Giotto di Bondone
Margrave Hugh "the Great" of Tuscany chose Florence as his residence instead of Lucca in about 1000 CE. This initiated a Golden Age of Florentine Art. In 1013, construction was begun on the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. The exterior of the baptistry was reworked in Romanesque style between 1059 and 1128.
Florence experienced a long period of civic revival beginning in the 10th century and was governed from 1115 by an autonomous medieval commune. But the period of revival was interrupted when the city was plunged into internal strife by the 13th-century struggle between the Ghibellines, supporters of the German emperor, and the pro-Papal Guelphs after the murder of nobleman Buondelmonte del Buondelmonti for reneging on his agreement to marry one of the daughters of the Amidei family. In 1257, the city was ruled by a podestà, the Guelph Luca Grimaldi. The Guelphs had triumphed and soon split in turn into feuding "White" and "Black" factions led respectively by Vieri de' Cerchi and Corso Donati. These struggles eventually led to the exile of the White Guelphs, one of whom was the poet Dante Alighieri. This factional strife was later recorded by Dino Compagni, a White Guelph, in his Chronicles of Florence.
Political conflict did not, however, prevent the city's rise to become one of the most powerful and prosperous in Europe, assisted by its own strong gold currency. The "fiorino d'oro" of the Republic of Florence, or florin, was introduced in 1252, the first European gold coin struck in sufficient quantities to play a significant commercial role since the 7th century. Many Florentine banks had branches across Europe, with able bankers and merchants such as the famous chronicler Giovanni Villani of the Peruzzi Company engaging in commercial transactions as far away as Bruges. The florin quickly became the dominant trade coin of Western Europe, replacing silver bars in multiples of the mark. This period also saw the eclipse of Florence's formerly powerful rival Pisa, which was defeated by Genoa in 1284 and subjugated by Florence in 1406. Power shifted from the aristocracy to the mercantile elite and members of organized guilds after an anti-aristocratic movement, led by Giano della Bella, enacted the Ordinances of Justice in 1293.
While visiting the ruins of Rome during the jubilee celebration in 1300, the banker and chronicler Giovanni Villani (c. 1276–1348) noted the well-known history of the city, its monuments and achievements, and was then inspired to write a universal history of his own city of Florence. Hence he began to record the history of Florence in a year-by-year format in his Nuova Cronica, which was continued by his brother and nephew after he succumbed to the Black Death in 1348. Villani is praised by historians for preserving valuable information on statistics, biographies, and even events taking place throughout Europe, but his work has also drawn criticism by historians for its many inaccuracies, use of the supernatural and divine providence to explain the outcome of events and glorification of Florence and the papacy.
Renaissance
In 1338, there were about 17,000 beggars in the city. Four thousand were on public relief. There were six primary schools with 10,000 pupils, including girls. Four high schools taught 600 students, including a few girls. They studied literature and philosophy.
Of a population estimated at 80,000 before the Black Death of 1349, about 25,000 are estimated to have been engaged in the city's wool industry. In 1345, Florence was the scene of an attempted strike by wool carders (ciompi), who in 1378 rose up in a brief revolt against oligarchic rule known as the Revolt of the Ciompi. After their suppression, the city came under the sway of the Albizzi family, bitter rivals of the Medici family, between 1382 and 1434. Cosimo de' Medici (1389–1464) was the first Medici family member to govern the city from behind the scenes. Although the city was technically a democracy of sorts, his power came from a vast network of patronage and a political alliance to new immigrants to the city, the gente nuova. The fact that the Medici were bankers to the pope also contributed to their prominence. Cosimo was succeeded by his son Piero di Cosimo de' Medici (1416–1469), who was shortly thereafter succeeded by Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo in 1469. Lorenzo de' Medici was a great patron of the arts who commissioned works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli.
After Lorenzo's death in 1492, his son Piero the Unfortunate took the reins of government, however his rule was short. In 1494, King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy and entered Tuscany on his way to claim the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. After Piero made a submissive treaty with Charles, the Florentines responded by forcing him into exile, and the first period of Medici rule ended with the restoration of a republican government. Anti-Medici sentiment was much influenced by the teachings of the radical Dominican prior Girolamo Savonarola. However, in due time, Savonarola lost support and was hanged in 1498. Medici rule was not restored until 1512. The Florentines drove out the Medici for a second time and re-established the Republic on May 16, 1527.
An individual of highly unusual insight into political conditions of this time was Niccolò Machiavelli, whose prescriptions for Florence's regeneration under strong leadership have often been seen as a legitimization of political expediency and even evil. Machiavelli was tortured and exiled from Florence by the Medici family in 1513, due to accusations of conspiracy, which was exacerbated because of his ties to the previous republican government of Florence. Commissioned by the Medici, in 1520 Machiavelli wrote the Florentine Histories, a history of the city.
The 10-month Siege of Florence (1529–1530) by the Spanish ended the Republic of Florence and Alessandro de' Medici became the ruler of the city. The siege brought the destruction of its suburbs, the ruin of its export business and the confiscation of its citizens' wealth. Alessandro, who ruled from 1531 to 1537, was the first Medici to use the style Duke of Florence, a title arranged for him in 1532 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1569, Duke Cosimo I was elevated to the rank of Grand Duke of Tuscany by Pope Pius V. The Medici would continue to rule in Tuscany as grand dukes until 1737. After the Battle of Marciano in 1554, the city's historical rival Siena was conquered and the only remaining territory in Tuscany not ruled from Florence was the Republic of Lucca (later a Duchy).
During Renaissance Florence, mobs were both common and influential. Families were pitted against each other in a constant struggle for power. Politically, double-crossings and betrayals were not uncommon, sometimes even within families. Despite political violence, factionalism and corruption, Renaissance Florence did experiment with different forms of citizen government and power sharing arrangements. In order to reconcile the warring factions and families, a complex electoral system was developed as mechanism for sharing power. Incumbent officers and appointees carried out a secret ballot every three or four years. They committed the names of all those elected into a series of bags, one for each sesto, or sixth, of the city. One name was drawn from each bag every two months to form the highest executive authority of the city, the Signoria. The selection scheme was controlled to ensure that no two members of the same family ended up in the same batch of six names.
This lottery arrangement organized the political structure of Florence until 1434, when the Medici family took power. To maintain control, the Medici undermined the selection process by introducing a system of elected committees they could effectively manipulate by fear and favour. Civic lotteries still took place, but actual power rested with the Medicis. In 1465, a movement to reintroduce civic lotteries was halted by an extraordinary commission packed with Medici supporters.
Role in art, literature, music and science
The surge in artistic, literary, and scientific investigation that occurred in Florence in the 14th-16th centuries was facilitated by Florentines' strong economy, based on money, banking, trade, and with the display of wealth and leisure.
In parallel with leisure evolving from a strong economy, the crises of the Catholic church (especially the controversy over the French Avignon Papacy and the Great Schism) along with the catastrophic effects of the Black Death led to a re-evaluation of medieval values, resulting in the development of a humanist culture, stimulated by the works of Petrarch and Boccaccio. This prompted a revisitation and study of the classical antiquity, leading to the Renaissance.
This renaissance thrived locally from about 1434 to 1534. It halted amid social, moral, and political upheaval. By then, the inspiration it had created had set the rest of Western Europe ablaze with new ideas.
Florence benefited materially and culturally from this sea-change in social consciousness. In the arts, the creations of Florentine artists, architects, and musicians were influential in many parts of Europe. The culmination of certain speculations into the nature of ancient Greek drama by humanist scholars led to the birth of opera in the 1590s.
Modern and contemporary age
The extinction of the Medici line and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa of Austria, led to Tuscany's inclusion in the territories of the Austrian crown. Habsburg rule was to end in defeat at the hands of France and the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont in 1859, and Tuscany became a province of the united Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Florence replaced Turin as Italy's capital in 1865 and, in an effort to modernise the city, the old market in the Piazza del Mercato Vecchio and many medieval houses were pulled down and replaced by a more formal street plan with newer houses. The Piazza (first renamed Piazza Vittorio Emmanuele II, then Piazza della Repubblica, the present name) was significantly widened and a large triumphal arch was constructed at the west end. This development was unpopular and was prevented from continuing by the efforts of several British and American people living in the city.[citation needed] Poet Antonio Pucci had written in the 14th century, "There was never so noble a garden as when in Mercato Vecchio the eyes and tastes of the Florentines did feast." The area had, however, decayed from its original medieval splendor. A museum recording the destruction stands nearby today. The country's second capital city was superseded by Rome six years later after the withdrawal of the French troops made its addition to the kingdom possible. A very important role is played in these years by the famous Florentine café Giubbe Rosse from its foundation until the present day.
20th century
In the 19th century, the population of Florence doubled to over 230,000, and in the 20th century reached over 450,000 at one point with the growth of tourism, trade, financial services and the industry. A foreign community came to represent one-quarter of the population in the second half of the 19th century and of this period and writers such as James Irving and the pre-Raphaelite artists captured a romantic vision of the city in their works. Numerous villas of mainly English barons with their eclectic collections of art were bequeathed to the city in this era. Today they are occupied by museums such as the Horne Museum, the Stibbert Museum, Villa La Pietra, etc.
During World War II, the city experienced a year-long German occupation (1943–1944). On September 25, 1943, Allied bombers targeted central Florence, destroying many buildings and killing 215 civilians.
In late July 1944, the British 8th Army closed in as they liberated Tuscany. New Zealand troops stormed the Pian dei Cerri hills overlooking the city. After several days of fighting, German forces retreated and gave way.
During the German retreat, Florence was declared an undefended "open city", prohibiting further shelling and bombing in accordance with the Hague Convention. On 4 August, the retreating Germans decided to detonate charges along the bridges of the Arno linking the district of Oltrarno to the rest of the city, thus making it difficult for the New Zealand, South African and British troops to cross just before liberation. The German officer in charge of the demolitions, Gerhard Wolf, ordered that the Ponte Vecchio was to be spared. At 04:00 on 4 August 1944, an armored patrol of the South African Imperial Light Horse and Kimberley Regiments found the Ponte Vecchio bridge intact, crossed the bridge under heavy German shelling and subsequently became the first Allied soldiers to enter Florence. Before the war, Wolf had been a student in the city, and his decision has been honored with a memorial plaque on the bridge. Instead, an equally historic area of streets directly to the south of the bridge, including part of the Corridoio Vasariano, was destroyed using mines. Since then, the bridges have been restored exactly to their original forms using as many of the remaining materials as possible, but the buildings surrounding the Ponte Vecchio have been rebuilt in a style combining the old with modern design. The last days of battle for Florence were very intense because the Italian Fascists resistance skirmish known as Franchi Tiratori. The Allied soldiers who died driving the Germans from Tuscany are buried in cemeteries outside the city, i.e. British and Commonwealth soldiers a few kilometers east of the center on the north bank of the Arno ), whilst Americans are about 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) south of the city .
On November 4, 1966, the Arno flooded parts of the city centre, killing at least 40 and damaging millions of art treasures and rare books. There was no warning from the authorities who knew the flood was coming except a phone call to the jewellers on the Ponte Vecchio. Volunteers from around the world came to help rescue the books and art, and the effort inspired multiple new methods of art conservation. Forty years later, there were still works awaiting restoration.
On May 28, 1993, a powerful car bomb exploded in the via de Georgofili, behind the Uffizi, killing five people, injuring numerous others and seriously damaging the Torre dei Pulci, the museum and parts of its collection. The blast has been attributed to the Mafia.
21st century
In 2002, Florence was the seat of the first European Social Forum. There are also several new building and cultural projects, such as that of the Parco della Musica e della Cultura, which will be a vast musical and cultural complex that is currently being built in the Parco delle Cascine (Cascine park). It will host a lyrical theatre containing 2000 places, a concert hall for 1000 spectators, a hall with 3000 seats and an open-air amphitheatre with 3000 spaces. It will host numerous ballets, concerts, lyrical operas and numerous musical festivals. The theatre was inaugurated on April 28, 2011, in honour of the 150th anniversary of the Italian unification.
Huile sur toile d'un peintre parisien anonyme (vers 1580-1590).
Ce tableau est un bel exemple d'une composition dont il existe une multitude de versions peintes. Ces dernières mettent en scène les mêmes personnages vêtus comme au Moyen-Âge. Ici, les figures portent des vêtements plus modernes qui peuvent être datés de la fin du XVIe siècle. Le vieillard à droite, dont la tenue est marquée par une braguette disproportionnée, est Pantalone, un personnage de la comédie italienne. Le vieux marchand lubrique est repoussé par la belle jeune fille qui lui préfère l'homme dont elle pince le petit doigt pour lui signifier son amour. Ce type de composition marque le développement des sujets populaires (scènes de genre) dans la peinture française à partir de la seconde moitié du XVIe siècle.
This painting is a fine example of a composition of which there are a multitude of painted versions. The latter feature the same characters dressed as in the Middle Ages. Here, the figures wear more modern clothing which can be dated to the end of the 16th century. The old man on the right, whose outfit is marked by a disproportionate fly, is Pantalone, a character from the Italian comedy. The lustful old merchant is repelled by the beautiful young girl who prefers the man whose little finger she pinches to signify her love to him. This type of composition marks the development of popular subjects (genre scenes) in French painting from the second half of the 16th century.
Musée des beaux-arts, Rennes.
Repoussée d'une année, cette sixième édition de Monumenta confie la majestueuse nef du Grand Palais à un couple d'artistes d'origine russe, Ilya et Emilia Kabakov. Leur Étrange cité matérialise une forme d'utopie qui, après les désastres du XXe siècle, n'existerait que dans l'art. La Coupole, cette énorme structure en vitrail de seize mètres de haut, adopte une forme de coupole Art Nouveau renversée sur le côté, et fait écho à la verrière dentelée du Grand Palais. Un millier de tubes fluorescents changent de couleur lentement au rythme de la musique. C'est un véritable choc visuel, évoquant un immense radar cosmique, que l'on aperçoit après avoir contourné l'enceinte de la « ville », premier élément que le visiteur voit avant de pénétrer par une porte en ruines dans la cité elle-même, sorte de médina d'une blancheur céleste.
www.exponaute.com/magazine/2014/05/07/monumenta-visite-gu...
Anchiskhati Triptych. 6th c. 12th c. 14th c. 17th c. 19th c. The Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi, Georgia
Later, in about 1308-1334, a special triptych case was created for the venerable image, donated by the powerful aristocratic family of Jakeli, governors of the south-western province of Samtskhe. The inner parts of the lateral wings depict seven scenes from the Great Twelve Feasts executed in repoussé. The Ascension adorns the semi-circular top; the Annunciation, Nativity and Baptism are placed on the left wing; and the Transfiguration, Crucifixion and Anastasis on the right.
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The icon of ancha or anchiskhati, a replica of the holy face of edessa the image of christ not made by human hand, is one of the major relics of the georgian church. This is the earliest preserved copy of the image of christ, which according to christian tradition was miraculously imprinted on cloth during his earthly life. The mandylion is directly connected with orthodox christian teaching, proving the real incarnation of christ. Moreover, the image not made by human hand is also perceived as a legitimation of christian images. During the iconoclastic controversy, the mandylion was one of the most important arguments for the iconophiles (those who venerated images), who claimed the legitimacy of images for the christian church.
Source:
Mandylion, the supposed direct image of the face of Jesus Christ, according to tradition created by direct imprinting in cloth.
Anchiskhati is a complex icon made up of parts from various historical periods: the painted image is traditionally attributed to the sixth and seventh centuries, while its precious metal frame was added between 1284-1307. A repousse inscription executed in the old georgian uncial script asomtavruli states that ioanne rkinaeli, the bishop of ancha, adorned the icon by order of queen tamar and with her donations.
Icon, kept in the MFA of Georgia, Tbilisi
Source:
Commerces d'étoffes d'Arimatsu, produits typiques du lieu, Narumi (étape 41)
Série des 53 étapes du Tokaido (Route de la mer de l'Est)
Oeuvre d'Utagawa Hiroshige (Japon, 1797-1858)
1855
Période Edo, Japon
Hiroshige hitsu
estampe (nishiki-e),
papier et encre
Oeuvre de la collection du musée d'art oriental de Venise, présentée dans l'exposition Hiroshige. De Edo à Kyoto vues célèbres du Japon, au palais Grimani du 20 septembre 2014 au 15 janvier 2015
www.palazzogrimani.org/mostre-ed-eventi/hiroshige/
Cette exposition très bien scénographiée dans les salles du palazzo Grimani permet de voir de nombreuses oeuvres (estampes) de Hiroshige appartenant aux collections du musée d'art oriental de Venise. Ce musée, dont le fond japonais est très riche, se trouve hébergé depuis de nombreuses années dans des locaux trop exigus au 3ème étage du palais Ca' Pesaro, le musée d'art moderne de Venise. Sa réinstallation dans un palais plus vaste a été sans cesse repoussée, ce qui l'oblige à exposer ses collections dans d'autres musées.
Album sur le musée d'art oriental (photos dalbera)
www.flickr.com/photos/dalbera/sets/72157627615989247
Photo Annie Dalbéra
Voir une des séries des 53 relais ou étapes du Tokaido
A repost.
Happy New Year! It is snowing here in Calgary, -11C (feels like -16C).
Thank you all for the visits, faves and comments during the past year (2024)! Can't thank you enough. My apologies for rarely doing the same.
I don't have a fireworks image or anything remotely New Year. Instead, I am using a quick shot (from ages ago) of a prayer wheel that I have had for a few decades, bought in Dubai, Oct/Nov 1972, when we were on local leave from Oman. This city is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.
In my imagination (and maybe in yours, too), this wheel can turn and turn forever, repeating prayers (and hope) that some day the world will change and each one of us would be able to live in peace, no matter what part of the world one lives. Hopefully, the year 2025 will begin to change in that direction - it definitely needs to.
Wishing you all a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year. If you are out on the roads, please don't drink and drive.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer_wheel
"In Buddhism, a prayer wheel is of a hollow metal cylinder, often beautifully embossed, mounted on a rod handle and containing a tightly wound scroll printed with a mantra. Prayer wheels come in many sizes: they may be small, attached to a stick, and spun around by hand, medium-sized and set up at monasteries or temples, or very large and continuously spun by a wind or water mill.
Prayer wheels are used primarily by the Buddhists of Tibet and Nepal, where hand-held prayer wheels are carried by pilgrims and other devotees and turned during devotional activities.
According to Tibetan Buddhist belief, spinning a prayer wheel is just as effective as reciting the sacred texts aloud. This belief derives from the Buddhist belief in the power of sound and the formulas to which deities are subject. For many Buddhists, the prayer wheel also represents the Wheel of the Law (or Dharma) set in motion by the Buddha.
The prayer wheel is also useful for illiterate members of the lay Buddhist community, since they can "read" the prayers by turning the wheel.
The external cylinder of a prayer wheel is made out of repoussé metal, usually gilded bronze. The wheel is supported on a handle or axis made of wood or a precious metal. On the outside of the cylinder are inscriptions in Sanskrit (or sometimes Tibetan) script (often Om mani padme hum) and auspicious Buddhist symbols. This outer part is removable to allow for the insertion of the sacred text into the cylinder. The uppermost point of the prayer wheel forms the shape of a lotus bud.
The cylinder contains a sacred text written or printed on paper or animal skin. These texts might be sutra or invocations to particular deities (dharani or mantras). In Tibetan prayer wheels, the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is printed in an ancient Indian script or in Tibetan script, usually on the outside as well as on the scroll inside. "Om mani padme hum" is the most important mantra of Buddhism. It is the six syllable mantra of the Bodhisattva of compassion Avalokiteshvara. The Dalai Lama is said to be an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, so the mantra is especially revered by his devotees." From religionfacts,com.
Rostrillo or Facial Aureola
18th Century
Spanish Colonial
Solid Silver
A massive and impressive 18th century Spanish colonial silver ROSTRILLO -- mistakenly referred to as a Resplendor -- with beautiful hand chasing and repousse. Overall very high silver content with good age tarnished patina. Displayed on a high quality custom made stand.
Dimensions: overall height on display stand is 18 inches. Resplendor measures 13 inches wide x 12 inches high. Weight: 14.25 troy ounces.
Condition: old loss around inner band
The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World; French: La Liberté éclairant le monde) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the United States. The statue, designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, a French sculptor and dedicated on October 28, 1886, was a gift to the United States from the people of France. The statue is of a robed female figure representing Libertas, the Roman goddess, who bears a torch and a tabula ansata (a tablet evoking the law) upon which is inscribed the date of the American Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. A broken chain lies at her feet. The statue is an icon of freedom and of the United States: a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.
Bartholdi was inspired by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who is said to have commented in 1865 that any monument raised to American independence would properly be a joint project of the French and American peoples. He may have been minded to honor the Union victory in the American Civil War and the end of slavery. Due to the troubled political situation in France, work on the statue did not commence until the early 1870s. In 1875, Laboulaye proposed that the French finance the statue and the Americans provide the site and build the pedestal. Bartholdi completed the head and the torch-bearing arm before the statue was fully designed, and these pieces were exhibited for publicity at international expositions.
The torch-bearing arm was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, and in Madison Square Park in Manhattan from 1876 to 1882. Fundraising proved difficult, especially for the Americans, and by 1885 work on the pedestal was threatened due to lack of funds. Publisher Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World started a drive for donations to complete the project that attracted more than 120,000 contributors, most of whom gave less than a dollar. The statue was constructed in France, shipped overseas in crates, and assembled on the completed pedestal on what was then called Bedloe's Island. The statue's completion was marked by New York's first ticker-tape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland.
The statue was administered by the United States Lighthouse Board until 1901 and then by the Department of War; since 1933 it has been maintained by the National Park Service. The statue was closed for renovation for much of 1938. In the early 1980s, it was found to have deteriorated to such an extent that a major restoration was required. While the statue was closed from 1984 to 1986, the torch and a large part of the internal structure were replaced. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, it was closed for reasons of safety and security; the pedestal reopened in 2004 and the statue in 2009, with limits on the number of visitors allowed to ascend to the crown. The statue, including the pedestal and base, was closed for a year until October 28, 2012, so that a secondary staircase and other safety features could be installed; Liberty Island remained open. However, one day after the reopening, Liberty Island closed due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York; the statue and island opened again on July 4, 2013. Public access to the balcony surrounding the torch has been barred for safety reasons since 1916.
Design and construction process
Origin
The origin of the Statue of Liberty project is sometimes traced to a comment made by French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye in mid-1865. In after-dinner conversation at his home near Versailles, Laboulaye, an ardent supporter of the Union in the American Civil War, is supposed to have said: "If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort—a common work of both our nations."[7] The National Park Service, in a 2000 report, however, deemed this a legend traced to an 1885 fundraising pamphlet, and that the statue was most likely conceived in 1870.[8] In another essay on their website, the Park Service suggested that Laboulaye was minded to honor the Union victory and its consequences, "With the abolition of slavery and the Union's victory in the Civil War in 1865, Laboulaye's wishes of freedom and democracy were turning into a reality in the United States. In order to honor these achievements, Laboulaye proposed that a gift be built for the United States on behalf of France. Laboulaye hoped that by calling attention to the recent achievements of the United States, the French people would be inspired to call for their own democracy in the face of a repressive monarchy."[9]
Bartholdi's design patent
According to sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who later recounted the story, Laboulaye's comment was not intended as a proposal, but it inspired Bartholdi.[7] Given the repressive nature of the regime of Napoleon III, Bartholdi took no immediate action on the idea except to discuss it with Laboulaye. Bartholdi was in any event busy with other possible projects; in the late 1860s, he approached Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt, with a plan to build a huge lighthouse in the form of an ancient Egyptian female fellah or peasant, robed and holding a torch aloft, at the northern entrance to the Suez Canal in Port Said. Sketches and models were made of the proposed work, though it was never erected. There was a classical precedent for the Suez proposal, the Colossus of Rhodes: an ancient bronze statue of the Greek god of the sun, Helios. This statue is believed to have been over 100 feet (30 m) high, and it similarly stood at a harbor entrance and carried a light to guide ships.[10]
Any large project was further delayed by the Franco-Prussian War, in which Bartholdi served as a major of militia. In the war, Napoleon III was captured and deposed. Bartholdi's home province of Alsace was lost to the Prussians, and a more liberal republic was installed in France.[7] As Bartholdi had been planning a trip to the United States, he and Laboulaye decided the time was right to discuss the idea with influential Americans.[11] In June 1871, Bartholdi crossed the Atlantic, with letters of introduction signed by Laboulaye.[12]
Arriving at New York Harbor, Bartholdi focused on Bedloe's Island as a site for the statue, struck by the fact that vessels arriving in New York had to sail past it. He was delighted to learn that the island was owned by the United States government—it had been ceded by the New York State Legislature in 1800 for harbor defense. It was thus, as he put it in a letter to Laboulaye: "land common to all the states."[13] As well as meeting many influential New Yorkers, Bartholdi visited President Ulysses S. Grant, who assured him that it would not be difficult to obtain the site for the statue.[14] Bartholdi crossed the United States twice by rail, and met many Americans he felt would be sympathetic to the project.[12] But he remained concerned that popular opinion on both sides of the Atlantic was insufficiently supportive of the proposal, and he and Laboulaye decided to wait before mounting a public campaign.[15]
Bartholdi's Lion of Belfort
Bartholdi had made a first model of his concept in 1870.[16] The son of a friend of Bartholdi's, American artist John LaFarge, later maintained that Bartholdi made the first sketches for the statue during his U.S. visit at La Farge's Rhode Island studio. Bartholdi continued to develop the concept following his return to France.[16] He also worked on a number of sculptures designed to bolster French patriotism after the defeat by the Prussians. One of these was the Lion of Belfort, a monumental sculpture carved in sandstone below the fortress of Belfort, which during the war had resisted a Prussian siege for over three months. The defiant lion, 73 feet (22 m) long and half that in height, displays an emotional quality characteristic of Romanticism, which Bartholdi would later bring to the Statue of Liberty.[17]
Design, style, and symbolism
Detail from a fresco by Constantino Brumidi in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., showing two early symbols of America: Columbia (left) and the Indian princess
Bartholdi and Laboulaye considered how best to express the idea of American liberty.[18] In early American history, two female figures were frequently used as cultural symbols of the nation.[19] One of these symbols, the personified Columbia, was seen as an embodiment of the United States in the manner that Britannia was identified with the United Kingdom and Marianne came to represent France. Columbia had supplanted the earlier figure of an Indian princess, which had come to be regarded as uncivilized and derogatory toward Americans.[19] The other significant female icon in American culture was a representation of Liberty, derived from Libertas, the goddess of freedom widely worshipped in ancient Rome, especially among emancipated slaves. A Liberty figure adorned most American coins of the time,[18] and representations of Liberty appeared in popular and civic art, including Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom (1863) atop the dome of the United States Capitol Building.[18]
Artists of the 18th and 19th centuries striving to evoke republican ideals commonly used representations of Libartas as an allegorical symbol.[18] A figure of Liberty was also depicted on the Great Seal of France.[18] However, Bartholdi and Laboulaye avoided an image of revolutionary liberty such as that depicted in Eugène Delacroix's famed Liberty Leading the People (1830). In this painting, which commemorates France's Revolution of 1830, a half-clothed Liberty leads an armed mob over the bodies of the fallen.[19] Laboulaye had no sympathy for revolution, and so Bartholdi's figure would be fully dressed in flowing robes.[19] Instead of the impression of violence in the Delacroix work, Bartholdi wished to give the statue a peaceful appearance and chose a torch, representing progress, for the figure to hold.[20]
Crawford's statue was designed in the early 1850s. It was originally to be crowned with a pileus, the cap given to emancipated slaves in ancient Rome. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, a Southerner who would later serve as president of the Confederate States of America, was concerned that the pileus would be taken as an abolitionist symbol. He ordered that it be changed to a helmet.[21] Delacroix's figure wears a pileus,[19] and Bartholdi at first considered placing one on his figure as well. Instead, he used a diadem, or crown, to top its head.[22] In so doing, he avoided a reference to Marianne, who invariably wears a pileus.[23] The seven rays form a halo or aureole.[24] They evoke the sun, the seven seas, and the seven continents,[25] and represent another means, besides the torch, whereby Liberty enlightens the world.[20]
Bartholdi's early models were all similar in concept: a female figure in neoclassical style representing liberty, wearing a stola and pella (gown and cloak, common in depictions of Roman goddesses) and holding a torch aloft. According to popular accounts, the face was modeled after that of Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi, the sculptor's mother,[26] but Regis Huber, the curator of the Bartholdi Museum is on record as saying that this, as well as other similar speculations, have no basis in fact.[27] He designed the figure with a strong, uncomplicated silhouette, which would be set off well by its dramatic harbor placement and allow passengers on vessels entering New York Bay to experience a changing perspective on the statue as they proceeded toward Manhattan. He gave it bold classical contours and applied simplified modeling, reflecting the huge scale of the project and its solemn purpose.[20] Bartholdi wrote of his technique:
Thomas Crawford's Statue of Freedom
The surfaces should be broad and simple, defined by a bold and clear design, accentuated in the important places. The enlargement of the details or their multiplicity is to be feared. By exaggerating the forms, in order to render them more clearly visible, or by enriching them with details, we would destroy the proportion of the work. Finally, the model, like the design, should have a summarized character, such as one would give to a rapid sketch. Only it is necessary that this character should be the product of volition and study, and that the artist, concentrating his knowledge, should find the form and the line in its greatest simplicity.[28]
Bartholdi made alterations in the design as the project evolved. Bartholdi considered having Liberty hold a broken chain, but decided this would be too divisive in the days after the Civil War. The erected statue does rise over a broken chain, half-hidden by her robes and difficult to see from the ground.[22] Bartholdi was initially uncertain of what to place in Liberty's left hand; he settled on a tabula ansata, a keystone-shaped tablet[29] used to evoke the concept of law.[30] Though Bartholdi greatly admired the United States Constitution, he chose to inscribe "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" on the tablet, thus associating the date of the country's Declaration of Independence with the concept of liberty.[29]
Bartholdi interested his friend and mentor, architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, in the project.[27] As chief engineer,[27] Viollet-le-Duc designed a brick pier within the statue, to which the skin would be anchored.[31] After consultations with the metalwork foundry Gaget, Gauthier & Co., Viollet-le-Duc chose the metal which would be used for the skin, copper sheets, and the method used to shape it, repoussé, in which the sheets were heated and then struck with wooden hammers.[27][32] An advantage of this choice was that the entire statue would be light for its volume, as the copper need be only .094 inches (2.4 mm) thick. Bartholdi had decided on a height of just over 151 feet (46 m) for the statue, double that of Italy's Colosso di San Carlo Borromeo and the German statue of Arminius, both made with the same method.[33]
Announcement and early work
By 1875, France was enjoying improved political stability and a recovering postwar economy. Growing interest in the upcoming Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia led Laboulaye to decide it was time to seek public support.[34] In September 1875, he announced the project and the formation of the Franco-American Union as its fundraising arm. With the announcement, the statue was given a name, Liberty Enlightening the World.[35] The French would finance the statue; Americans would be expected to pay for the pedestal.[36] The announcement provoked a generally favorable reaction in France, though many Frenchmen resented the United States for not coming to their aid during the war with Prussia.[35] French monarchists opposed the statue, if for no other reason than it was proposed by the liberal Laboulaye, who had recently been elected a senator for life.[36] Laboulaye arranged events designed to appeal to the rich and powerful, including a special performance at the Paris Opera on April 25, 1876, that featured a new cantata by composer Charles Gounod. The piece was titled La Liberté éclairant le monde, the French version of the statue's announced name.[35]
Despite its initial focus on the elites, the Union was successful in raising funds from across French society. Schoolchildren and ordinary citizens gave, as did 181 French municipalities. Laboulaye's political allies supported the call, as did descendants of the French contingent in the American Revolutionary War. Less idealistically, contributions came from those who hoped for American support in the French attempt to build the Panama Canal. The copper may have come from multiple sources and some of it is said to have come from a mine in Visnes, Norway,[37] though this has not been conclusively determined after testing samples.[38] According to Cara Sutherland in her book on the statue for the Museum of the City of New York, 90,800 kilos (200,000 pounds) was needed to build the statue, and the French copper industrialist Eugène Secrétan donated 58,100 kilos (128,000 pounds) of copper.[39] Historian Yasmin Khan, in her 2010 book about the statue, states that the firm of Japy Frères, copper merchants, donated copper valued at 64,000 francs (about $16,000 at the time or the equivalent of US$ 354,000 in 2015).[40][41]
Although plans for the statue had not been finalized, Bartholdi moved forward with fabrication of the right arm, bearing the torch, and the head. Work began at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop.[42] In May 1876, Bartholdi traveled to the United States as a member of a French delegation to the Centennial Exhibition,[43] and arranged for a huge painting of the statue to be shown in New York as part of the Centennial festivities.[44] The arm did not arrive in Philadelphia until August; because of its late arrival, it was not listed in the exhibition catalogue, and while some reports correctly identified the work, others called it the "Colossal Arm" or "Bartholdi Electric Light". The exhibition grounds contained a number of monumental artworks to compete for fairgoers' interest, including an outsized fountain designed by Bartholdi.[45] Nevertheless, the arm proved popular in the exhibition's waning days, and visitors would climb up to the balcony of the torch to view the fairgrounds.[46] After the exhibition closed, the arm was transported to New York, where it remained on display in Madison Square Park for several years before it was returned to France to join the rest of the statue.[46]
During his second trip to the United States, Bartholdi addressed a number of groups about the project, and urged the formation of American committees of the Franco-American Union.[47] Committees to raise money to pay for the foundation and pedestal were formed in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia.[48] The New York group eventually took on most of the responsibility for American fundraising and is often referred to as the "American Committee".[49] One of its members was 19-year-old Theodore Roosevelt, the future governor of New York and president of the United States.[47] On March 3, 1877, on his final full day in office, President Grant signed a joint resolution that authorized the President to accept the statue when it was presented by France and to select a site for it. President Rutherford B. Hayes, who took office the following day, selected the Bedloe's Island site that Bartholdi had proposed.[50]
Construction in France
The statue's head on exhibit at the Paris World's Fair, 1878
On his return to Paris in 1877, Bartholdi concentrated on completing the head, which was exhibited at the 1878 Paris World's Fair. Fundraising continued, with models of the statue put on sale. Tickets to view the construction activity at the Gaget, Gauthier & Co. workshop were also offered.[41] The French government authorized a lottery; among the prizes were valuable silver plate and a terracotta model of the statue. By the end of 1879, about 250,000 francs had been raised.[51]
The head and arm had been built with assistance from Viollet-le-Duc, who fell ill in 1879. He soon died, leaving no indication of how he intended to transition from the copper skin to his proposed masonry pier.[52] The following year, Bartholdi was able to obtain the services of the innovative designer and builder Gustave Eiffel.[41] Eiffel and his structural engineer, Maurice Koechlin, decided to abandon the pier and instead build an iron truss tower. Eiffel opted not to use a completely rigid structure, which would force stresses to accumulate in the skin and lead eventually to cracking. A secondary skeleton was attached to the center pylon, then, to enable the statue to move slightly in the winds of New York Harbor and as the metal expanded on hot summer days, he loosely connected the support structure to the skin using flat iron bars[27] which culminated in a mesh of metal straps, known as "saddles", that were riveted to the skin, providing firm support. In a labor-intensive process, each saddle had to be crafted individually.[53][54] To prevent galvanic corrosion between the copper skin and the iron support structure, Eiffel insulated the skin with asbestos impregnated with shellac.[55]
Eiffel's design made the statue one of the earliest examples of curtain wall construction, in which the exterior of the structure is not load bearing, but is instead supported by an interior framework. He included two interior spiral staircases, to make it easier for visitors to reach the observation point in the crown.[56] Access to an observation platform surrounding the torch was also provided, but the narrowness of the arm allowed for only a single ladder, 40 feet (12 m) long.[57] As the pylon tower arose, Eiffel and Bartholdi coordinated their work carefully so that completed segments of skin would fit exactly on the support structure.[58] The components of the pylon tower were built in the Eiffel factory in the nearby Parisian suburb of Levallois-Perret.[59]
The change in structural material from masonry to iron allowed Bartholdi to change his plans for the statue's assembly. He had originally expected to assemble the skin on-site as the masonry pier was built; instead he decided to build the statue in France and have it disassembled and transported to the United States for reassembly in place on Bedloe's Island.[60]
In a symbolic act, the first rivet placed into the skin, fixing a copper plate onto the statue's big toe, was driven by United States Ambassador to France Levi P. Morton.[61] The skin was not, however, crafted in exact sequence from low to high; work proceeded on a number of segments simultaneously in a manner often confusing to visitors.[62] Some work was performed by contractors—one of the fingers was made to Bartholdi's exacting specifications by a coppersmith in the southern French town of Montauban.[63] By 1882, the statue was complete up to the waist, an event Barthodi celebrated by inviting reporters to lunch on a platform built within the statue.[64] Laboulaye died in 1883. He was succeeded as chairman of the French committee by Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal. The completed statue was formally presented to Ambassador Morton at a ceremony in Paris on July 4, 1884, and de Lesseps announced that the French government had agreed to pay for its transport to New York.[65] The statue remained intact in Paris pending sufficient progress on the pedestal; by January 1885, this had occurred and the statue was disassembled and crated for its ocean voyage.[66]
The pedestal
The committees in the United States faced great difficulties in obtaining funds for the construction of the pedestal. The Panic of 1873 had led to an economic depression that persisted through much of the decade. The Liberty statue project was not the only such undertaking that had difficulty raising money: construction of the obelisk later known as the Washington Monument sometimes stalled for years; it would ultimately take over three-and-a-half decades to complete.[67] There was criticism both of Bartholdi's statue and of the fact that the gift required Americans to foot the bill for the pedestal. In the years following the Civil War, most Americans preferred realistic artworks depicting heroes and events from the nation's history, rather than allegorical works like the Liberty statue.[67] There was also a feeling that Americans should design American public works—the selection of Italian-born Constantino Brumidi to decorate the Capitol had provoked intense criticism, even though he was a naturalized U.S. citizen.[68] Harper's Weekly declared its wish that "M. Bartholdi and our French cousins had 'gone the whole figure' while they were about it, and given us statue and pedestal at once."[69] The New York Times stated that "no true patriot can countenance any such expenditures for bronze females in the present state of our finances."[70] Faced with these criticisms, the American committees took little action for several years.[70]
Design
The foundation of Bartholdi's statue was to be laid inside Fort Wood, a disused army base on Bedloe's Island constructed between 1807 and 1811. Since 1823, it had rarely been used, though during the Civil War, it had served as a recruiting station.[71] The fortifications of the structure were in the shape of an eleven-point star. The statue's foundation and pedestal were aligned so that it would face southeast, greeting ships entering the harbor from the Atlantic Ocean.[72] In 1881, the New York committee commissioned Richard Morris Hunt to design the pedestal. Within months, Hunt submitted a detailed plan, indicating that he expected construction to take about nine months.[73] He proposed a pedestal 114 feet (35 m) in height; faced with money problems, the committee reduced that to 89 feet (27 m).[74]
Hunt's pedestal design contains elements of classical architecture, including Doric portals, as well as some elements influenced by Aztec architecture.[27] The large mass is fragmented with architectural detail, in order to focus attention on the statue.[74] In form, it is a truncated pyramid, 62 feet (19 m) square at the base and 39.4 feet (12.0 m) at the top. The four sides are identical in appearance. Above the door on each side, there are ten disks upon which Bartholdi proposed to place the coats of arms of the states (between 1876 and 1889, there were 40 U.S. states), although this was not done. Above that, a balcony was placed on each side, framed by pillars. Bartholdi placed an observation platform near the top of the pedestal, above which the statue itself rises.[75] According to author Louis Auchincloss, the pedestal "craggily evokes the power of an ancient Europe over which rises the dominating figure of the Statue of Liberty".[74] The committee hired former army General Charles Pomeroy Stone to oversee the construction work.[76] Construction on the 15-foot-deep (4.6 m) foundation began in 1883, and the pedestal's cornerstone was laid in 1884.[73] In Hunt's original conception, the pedestal was to have been made of solid granite. Financial concerns again forced him to revise his plans; the final design called for poured concrete walls, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick, faced with granite blocks.[77][78] This Stony Creek granite came from the Beattie Quarry in Branford, Connecticut.[79] The concrete mass was the largest poured to that time.[78]
Norwegian immigrant civil engineer Joachim Goschen Giæver designed the structural framework for the Statue of Liberty. His work involved design computations, detailed fabrication and construction drawings, and oversight of construction. In completing his engineering for the statue’s frame, Giæver worked from drawings and sketches produced by Gustave Eiffel.[80][80]
Fundraising
Unpacking of the head of the Statue of Liberty, which was delivered on June 17, 1885
Fundraising for the statue had begun in 1882. The committee organized a large number of money-raising events.[81] As part of one such effort, an auction of art and manuscripts, poet Emma Lazarus was asked to donate an original work. She initially declined, stating she could not write a poem about a statue. At the time, she was also involved in aiding refugees to New York who had fled anti-Semitic pogroms in eastern Europe. These refugees were forced to live in conditions that the wealthy Lazarus had never experienced. She saw a way to express her empathy for these refugees in terms of the statue.[82] The resulting sonnet, "The New Colossus", including the iconic lines "Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", is uniquely identified with the Statue of Liberty and is inscribed on a plaque in the museum in its base.[83]
Even with these efforts, fundraising lagged. Grover Cleveland, the governor of New York, vetoed a bill to provide $50,000 for the statue project in 1884. An attempt the next year to have Congress provide $100,000, sufficient to complete the project, also failed. The New York committee, with only $3,000 in the bank, suspended work on the pedestal. With the project in jeopardy, groups from other American cities, including Boston and Philadelphia, offered to pay the full cost of erecting the statue in return for relocating it.[84]
Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, a New York newspaper, announced a drive to raise $100,000 – the equivalent of $2.3 million today.[40] Pulitzer pledged to print the name of every contributor, no matter how small the amount given.[85] The drive captured the imagination of New Yorkers, especially when Pulitzer began publishing the notes he received from contributors. "A young girl alone in the world" donated "60 cents, the result of self denial."[86] One donor gave "five cents as a poor office boy's mite toward the Pedestal Fund." A group of children sent a dollar as "the money we saved to go to the circus with."[87] Another dollar was given by a "lonely and very aged woman."[86] Residents of a home for alcoholics in New York's rival city of Brooklyn – the cities would not merge until 1898 – donated $15; other drinkers helped out through donation boxes in bars and saloons.[88] A kindergarten class in Davenport, Iowa, mailed the World a gift of $1.35.[86] As the donations flooded in, the committee resumed work on the pedestal.[89]
Construction
On June 17, 1885, the French steamer Isère, laden with the Statue of Liberty, reached the New York port safely. New Yorkers displayed their new-found enthusiasm for the statue, as the French vessel arrived with the crates holding the disassembled statue on board. Two hundred thousand people lined the docks and hundreds of boats put to sea to welcome the Isère.[90] [91] After five months of daily calls to donate to the statue fund, on August 11, 1885, the World announced that $102,000 had been raised from 120,000 donors, and that 80 percent of the total had been received in sums of less than one dollar.[92]
Even with the success of the fund drive, the pedestal was not completed until April 1886. Immediately thereafter, reassembly of the statue began. Eiffel's iron framework was anchored to steel I-beams within the concrete pedestal and assembled.[93] Once this was done, the sections of skin were carefully attached.[94] Due to the width of the pedestal, it was not possible to erect scaffolding, and workers dangled from ropes while installing the skin sections. Nevertheless, no one died during the construction.[95] Bartholdi had planned to put floodlights on the torch's balcony to illuminate it; a week before the dedication, the Army Corps of Engineers vetoed the proposal, fearing that ships' pilots passing the statue would be blinded. Instead, Bartholdi cut portholes in the torch – which was covered with gold leaf – and placed the lights inside them.[96] A power plant was installed on the island to light the torch and for other electrical needs.[97] After the skin was completed, renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, co-designer of New York's Central Park and Brooklyn's Prospect Park, supervised a cleanup of Bedloe's Island in anticipation of the dedication.[98]
Dedication
Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World (1886) by Edward Moran. Oil on canvas. The J. Clarence Davies Collection, Museum of the City of New York.
A ceremony of dedication was held on the afternoon of October 28, 1886. President Grover Cleveland, the former New York governor, presided over the event.[99] On the morning of the dedication, a parade was held in New York City; estimates of the number of people who watched it ranged from several hundred thousand to a million. President Cleveland headed the procession, then stood in the reviewing stand to see bands and marchers from across America. General Stone was the grand marshal of the parade. The route began at Madison Square, once the venue for the arm, and proceeded to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan by way of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, with a slight detour so the parade could pass in front of the World building on Park Row. As the parade passed the New York Stock Exchange, traders threw ticker tape from the windows, beginning the New York tradition of the ticker-tape parade.[100]
A nautical parade began at 12:45 p.m., and President Cleveland embarked on a yacht that took him across the harbor to Bedloe's Island for the dedication.[101] De Lesseps made the first speech, on behalf of the French committee, followed by the chairman of the New York committee, Senator William M. Evarts. A French flag draped across the statue's face was to be lowered to unveil the statue at the close of Evarts's speech, but Bartholdi mistook a pause as the conclusion and let the flag fall prematurely. The ensuing cheers put an end to Evarts's address.[100] President Cleveland spoke next, stating that the statue's "stream of light shall pierce the darkness of ignorance and man's oppression until Liberty enlightens the world".[102] Bartholdi, observed near the dais, was called upon to speak, but he refused. Orator Chauncey M. Depew concluded the speechmaking with a lengthy address.[103]
No members of the general public were permitted on the island during the ceremonies, which were reserved entirely for dignitaries. The only females granted access were Bartholdi's wife and de Lesseps's granddaughter; officials stated that they feared women might be injured in the crush of people. The restriction offended area suffragists, who chartered a boat and got as close as they could to the island. The group's leaders made speeches applauding the embodiment of Liberty as a woman and advocating women's right to vote.[102] A scheduled fireworks display was postponed until November 1 because of poor weather.[104]
Shortly after the dedication, The Cleveland Gazette, an African American newspaper, suggested that the statue's torch not be lit until the United States became a free nation "in reality":
"Liberty enlightening the world," indeed! The expression makes us sick. This government is a howling farce. It can not or rather does not protect its citizens within its own borders. Shove the Bartholdi statue, torch and all, into the ocean until the "liberty" of this country is such as to make it possible for an inoffensive and industrious colored man to earn a respectable living for himself and family, without being ku-kluxed, perhaps murdered, his daughter and wife outraged, and his property destroyed. The idea of the "liberty" of this country "enlightening the world," or even Patagonia, is ridiculous in the extreme.[105]
After dedication
Lighthouse Board and War Department (1886–1933)
Government poster using the Statue of Liberty to promote the sale of Liberty Bonds
When the torch was illuminated on the evening of the statue's dedication, it produced only a faint gleam, barely visible from Manhattan. The World characterized it as "more like a glowworm than a beacon."[97] Bartholdi suggested gilding the statue to increase its ability to reflect light, but this proved too expensive. The United States Lighthouse Board took over the Statue of Liberty in 1887 and pledged to install equipment to enhance the torch's effect; in spite of its efforts, the statue remained virtually invisible at night. When Bartholdi returned to the United States in 1893, he made additional suggestions, all of which proved ineffective. He did successfully lobby for improved lighting within the statue, allowing visitors to better appreciate Eiffel's design.[97] In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt, once a member of the New York committee, ordered the statue's transfer to the War Department, as it had proved useless as a lighthouse.[106] A unit of the Army Signal Corps was stationed on Bedloe's Island until 1923, after which military police remained there while the island was under military jurisdiction.[107]
The statue rapidly became a landmark. Many immigrants who entered through New York saw it as a welcoming sight. Oral histories of immigrants record their feelings of exhilaration on first viewing the Statue of Liberty. One immigrant who arrived from Greece recalled,
I saw the Statue of Liberty. And I said to myself, "Lady, you're such a beautiful! [sic] You opened your arms and you get all the foreigners here. Give me a chance to prove that I am worth it, to do something, to be someone in America." And always that statue was on my mind.[108]
Originally, the statue was a dull copper color, but shortly after 1900 a green patina, also called verdigris, caused by the oxidation of the copper skin, began to spread. As early as 1902 it was mentioned in the press; by 1906 it had entirely covered the statue.[109] Accepting a view that the patina was evidence of corrosion, Congress authorized $62,800 for various repairs, and to paint the statue both inside and out.[110] There was considerable public protest against the proposed exterior painting.[111] The Army Corps of Engineers studied the patina for any ill effects to the statue and concluded that it protected the skin, "softened the outlines of the Statue and made it beautiful."[112] The statue was painted only on the inside. The Corps of Engineers also installed an elevator to take visitors from the base to the top of the pedestal.[112]
On July 30, 1916, during World War I, German saboteurs set off a disastrous explosion on the Black Tom peninsula in Jersey City, New Jersey, in what is now part of Liberty State Park, close to Bedloe's Island. Carloads of dynamite and other explosives that were being sent to Britain and France for their war efforts were detonated, and seven people were killed. The statue sustained minor damage, mostly to the torch-bearing right arm, and was closed for ten days. The cost to repair the statue and buildings on the island was about $100,000. The narrow ascent to the torch was closed for public safety reasons, and it has remained closed ever since.[103]
That same year, Ralph Pulitzer, who had succeeded his father Joseph as publisher of the World, began a drive to raise $30,000 for an exterior lighting system to illuminate the statue at night. He claimed over 80,000 contributors but failed to reach the goal. The difference was quietly made up by a gift from a wealthy donor—a fact that was not revealed until 1936. An underwater power cable brought electricity from the mainland and floodlights were placed along the walls of Fort Wood. Gutzon Borglum, who later sculpted Mount Rushmore, redesigned the torch, replacing much of the original copper with stained glass. On December 2, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson pressed the telegraph key that turned on the lights, successfully illuminating the statue.[113]
After the United States entered World War I in 1917, images of the statue were heavily used in both recruitment posters and the Liberty Bond drives that urged American citizens to support the war financially. This impressed upon the public the war's stated purpose—to secure liberty—and served as a reminder that embattled France had given the United States the statue.[114]
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge used his authority under the Antiquities Act to declare the statue a National Monument.[106] The only successful suicide in the statue's history occurred five years later, when a man climbed out of one of the windows in the crown and jumped to his death, glancing off the statue's breast and landing on the base.[115]
Le 14/11/2009, après que l'opération de distribution d'argent sur le Champs de Mars par la société Mailorama.fr a été annulée, plusieurs dizaines de personnes s'attaquent aux vitrines et à une voiture de police, avant d'être repoussées par les forces de l'ordre qui procéderont à 9 interpellations. Plusieurs photographes seront également agressés voire tabassés.
Plus de 5000 personnes s'étaient rassemblées, dont certaines en bandes, "forçant" la société à annuler l'opération. Reste que la violence était prévisible (et sans doute une véritable émeute en cas de distribution), et qu'un tel coup publicitaire relève de la provocation (ou d'une naiveté et d'une incompétence sans borne).
Merci de lire les explications en début d'album et de parcourir les photos par ordre chronologique / Please read the explanation at the beginning of the set and view the pictures in chronological order.
Part of "Free c(l)ash !
The most spectacular of Tutankhamun's six chairs is the so-called 'Golden Throne'. It is an elaborated armchair of wood overlaid with sheet gold and silver and inlaid with the usual blend of coloured glass, faience and semi-precious stones. The animal legs, originally linked by grilles (removed in antiquity by the tomb robbers) representing the 'binding of the Two Lands' (sma-tawy), are of a type that goes back to the beginnings of Egyptian furniture design. Here they adopt a leonine form, a theme continued in the apotropaic lion heads which protrude from the front. The openwork side-panels of the char take the form of winged uraei adorned with the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, which present the nomen of the king in its earlier, -aten form. Four more uraei decorate the back of the throne, two on either side of the central stile.
The focus of this chair is the sloping back with its inlaid scene (in the relaxed Amarna style) of the queen anointing her young husband with perfume within a floral pavilion open to the rays of the Aten, which is here referred to in its later name-form. Certain details of this panel have been altered since it was first made - most noticeably the head-ornaments worn by the royal coupe which in their final form cut through the life-giving rays of the disc. The queen's wig appears also to been reduced in size, leaving the pleated ribbons of the fillet hanging unattached. The repoussé inscriptions to the left and right of the couple refer to them with the -amun forms of their names; these names too appear to been altered. These alterations are perhaps to be construed as part of a refurbishment (not fully completed) to which the chair had been subjected before it was introduced into the tomb, and to which two hieratic notations on the rear right legs perhaps relate.
Text from: Nicholas Reeves: The complete Tutankhamun
18th dynasty
Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Tutankhamun, KV62
JE 62028
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
Victorian or steampunk? This piece started with a section of a vintage tin which I formed in the hydraulic press. I then riveted it to a black Plexiglass disc. Then I added a retaining ring, filigree detail and of course, the wonderful bee, all of which are securely riveted to the piece which hangs from a vintage pearl-studded 24" chain. Bee steamy!!
The beautiful Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York City. I took this photo of the magnificent Statue of Liberty on my first trip to Liberty Island and New York City in October 2004. She is of utmost beauty and I was totally blown away by her magnifigance. Today I tried to add an "Orton" Effect but admit I'm a real novice at it...
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté), is a large statue that was presented to the United States by France in 1886. It stands at Liberty Island, New York in New York Harbor as a welcome to all visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. The copper-clad statue, dedicated on October 28, 1886, commemorates the centennial of the United States and is a gesture of friendship from France to America. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue, and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) engineered the internal structure. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue's construction and adoption of the repoussé technique.
The statue is of a female figure standing upright, dressed in a robe and a seven point spiked rays representing a nimbus (halo), holding a stone tablet close to her body in her left hand and a flaming torch high in her right hand. The tablet bears the words "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" (July 4, 1776), commemorating the date of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The statue is made of a sheeting of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel (originally puddled iron) with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf. It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151' 1" (46.5 m) tall, with the pedestal and foundation adding another 154 feet (46.9 m).
Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States, and, more generally, represents liberty and escape from oppression. The Statue of Liberty was, from 1886 until the jet age, often one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants after ocean voyages from Europe. The Statue of Liberty's obviously classical appearance (Roman stola, sandals, facial expression) derives from Libertas, ancient Rome's goddess of freedom from slavery, oppression, and tyranny. Broken shackles lie at her feet. The seven spikes in the crown represent the Seven Seas and seven continents. Her torch signifies enlightenment. The tablet in her hand shows the date of the nation's birth, July 4, 1776.
Since 1903, the statue, also known as "Lady Liberty," has been associated with Emma Lazarus's poem “The New Colossus” and has been a symbol of welcome to arriving immigrants. The interior of the pedestal contains a bronze plaque inscribed with the poem, which reads:
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal. There are 25 windows in the crown which comprise the jewels beneath the seven rays of the diadem. The tablet which the Statue holds in her left hand reads, in Roman numerals, "July 4, 1776" the day of America's independence from Britain. The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour cause the Statue to sway 3 inches (7.62 cm) and the torch to sway 5 inches (12.7 cm). This allows the Statue to move rather than break in high [wind load] conditions.
Source: Wikipedia
Où va la jeune Indoue, ....................... Where will the young Indian girl,
Fille des Parias, ................................. daughter of the pariahs,
Quand la lune se joue, ........................ go when the moon dances
Dans le grand mimosa? ..................... In the large mimosa tree?
Elle court sur la mousse .................... She runs on the moss
Et ne se souvient pas ........................ And does not remember
Que partout on repousse ................... That she is pushed around
L'enfant des parias; ............................ The child of outcasts;
Le long des lauriers roses, ................. Along the oleanders,
Rêvant de douce choses, Ah! ............ Dreaming of sweet things, Ah!
Elle passe sans bruit .......................... She goes without noise
Et riant à la nuit. ................................. And laughs a night.
La-bas dans la foret plus sombre, ...... There in the dark forest
Quel est ce voyageur perdu? ............. Who is the lost traveler?
Autour de lui ....................................... Around him
Des yeux brillent dans l'ombre, .......... Eyes shining in the darkness,
Il marche encore au hasard, éperdu! . He wonders randomly, aimless and lost!
Les fauves rugissent de joie, ............. The wild beasts roar of joy,
Ils vont se jeter sur leur proie, ............ They will pounce on their prey,
La jeune fille accourt .......................... The girl runs to him
Et brave leur fureur: ........................... And braves their fury
Elle a dans sa main la baguette ......... She has in her hand the baton
où tinte la clochette des charmeurs! ... with tinkle bell charms!
L'étranger la regarde, ......................... The stranger looks at her,
Elle reste éblouie. ............................... and remains dazzled.
Il est plus beau que les Rajahs! .......... He is more beautiful than the Rajahs!
Il rougira, s'il sait qu'il doit ................... He will blush if he knows he must owe
La vie à la fille des Parias. .................. his life to the daughter of the pariahs.
Mais lui, l'endormant dans un rêve, .... But they fall asleep and drift into a dream,
Jusque dans le ciel il l'enleve, ............ Up in the sky, they are transported,
En lui disant: 'ta place est là!' .............. The traveler tells her: 'your place is here!'
C'était Vishnu, fils de Brahma! ............ It was Vishnu, son of Brahma!
Depuis ce jour au fond de bois, .......... From that day on, in the depths of the dark forest,
Le voyageur entend parfois ................ a traveler may sometimes hear
Le bruit léger de la baguette ............... the slight noise of the baton
Où tinte la clochette des charmeurs! .. with the tinkle bell charms!
San Rafael Arcangel / Saint Raphael the Archangel
Santa Cruz or Binondo, Manila second quarter of the
nineteenth century (1825–50)
ivory, gold, silver, baticuling wood, silk velvet, silvergilt threads
head to toe: 12" (30 cm)
left to right arm to arm: 6" (16 cm)
chest to back: 2" (5 cm)
base: H: 9 1/2" (24 cm) D: 10 1/2" (26 cm)
Opening bid: PHP 800,000
Provenance: An old Cavite family
ABOUT THE WORK
EXQUISITE ICONOGRAPHY: Loaves, Fish, Coronets and Catmon Flowers
by AUGUSTO MARCELINO REYES GONZALEZ III
This compelling ivory statuette of “San Rafael Arcangel” comes from the cherished altar of an old Cavite trading, shipping, and logistics family and was likely acquired originally from a “taller” workshop of religious images in Binondo or Santa Cruz in Manila. The young Archangel is depicted wearing an exquisite coronet of flowers and leaves executed in chased 14 karat gold and filigree wirework; an unusual blonde wig of Victorian sausage curls; silvergilt repousse wings; vestments embroidered with “catmon” flowers, buds, and leaves in silvergilt threads, along with appliquees of cherubs and leaves in “dorado de fuego” fire–gilded solid silver; a lavishly embroidered center stole with vase, tree–of–life, “boteh” paisley form, and large flower motifs one on top of the other, the top vase/cartouche with the unmistakable Carmelite crest featuring Mount Carmel in Palestine and the three stars symbolizing the three periods of the history of the Order; San Rafael’s attributes of a basket with loaves (an opulent chased and repousse 14 karat gold basket with “catmon” floral and “lubi–lubi” foliar details with ivory loaves) on the left hand and a simple silvergilt staff with a fish on the right hand; and gilded feet to simulate shoes/slippers. The gilded “peana” base is also exceedingly elegant: four separately–carved acanthus leaves emanate from the midsection of the urn and act as bracket supports for the upper section of the peana. It is a feast for a devotee’s, a connoisseur’s, and a collector’s discriminating eyes.
This exquisite San Rafael Arcangel is outstanding because despite its being a “de vestir” (dressed) image with the expected ivory head, hands, and perhaps feet, the entire statuette is actually made of ivory. It is thought that it was probably created at a transitional time from 1800–1850 when solid ivory tabletop images, which were in entirely different styles (baroque, rococo, and neoclassical) and consumed more of the luxurious and expensive elephant tusk, were for economic reasons finally being overlooked in favor of the more sustainable albeit baroque “de vestir” ones with only the heads, hands, and occasionally even the feet of ivory. However, one must be reminded that all kinds of classical Roman Catholic religious images --- the life–sized hardwood statues for the “retablo” altars, the smaller wooden statues for domestic veneration, the luxurious solid ivory statuettes intended for the affluent religious orders in Intramuros and for export to Madre Espana, Mexico, and the Latin American colonies, the life–sized processional as well as tabletop ivory “de vestir” images --- were already being produced simultaneously by the Sangley artisans and their indio assistants since the formalization of the Spanish conquest of these islands in 1571: the establishment of the settlements of Cebu (1565) and Manila (1571).
There are tabletop ivory “de vestir” images at the Museo Oriental in Valladolid, Spain that are documented to have come from Manila in the late 1500s. The famous “de vestir” processional image of the “Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario”/ “La Naval de Manila”/Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary at the Santo Domingo church dates from 1587–93. Three extant examples from the late–1700s to the mid– 1800s illustrating the collective transition in preference from solid ivory to “de vestir” come to mind: 1) An unbelievable “Calvario” tableau of 12” inches/30.48 cm tall solid ivory figures (Cristo Expirante, Mater Dolorosa, San Juan Evangelista, and Santa Maria Magdalena), late eighteenth century (1775–1800), Ex Coll: Maximino Molo Agustin Paterno family, Santa Cruz, Manila, currently in the Paulino and Hetty Que Collection; 2) A tabletop “Nuestra Senora del Pilar” with ivory head and hands, Nino Jesus with ivory head and hands, the linear body painted off–white and embellished with painted scrollwork (in gold leaf) to mimic a solid ivory piece from the eighteenth century, mid–nineteenth century (1850s), Ex Coll: Maximino Molo Agustin Paterno family, Santa Cruz, Manila; 3) A relatively big “de vestir” statuette of a kneeling “Santa Maria Magdalena Penitente,” 1860s–70s, in its high quality and singular style thought to have come from the taller of escultor Leoncio Asuncion y Molo, sold years ago at a major Leon Gallery auction, currently in an important Cavite collection.
The opulent overall concept, excellent craftsmanship, prodigal use of ivory, and exquisite quality of the goldwork point to the distinct possibility of this “San Rafael Arcangel” piece originating from the “taller” workshop of the early maestro Leoncio Asuncion y Molo in Santa Cruz, Manila (1813–1888). The preeminent sculptor was known to have produced magnificent and memorable religious figures life–sized and tabletop in ivory and wood (“marfil y madera”) with singular expressions, full gestures, and perfect, lean anatomies (almost ballet dancer–like) which set them apart from the undistinguished work of other sculptors of religious images. Considered as Leoncio Asuncion’s magnum opus was a spectacular, life–sized, processional tableau of “La Tercera Caida”/The Third Fall of Jesus Christ --- featuring a burdened “Jesus Nazareno” collapsing from a heavy cross, a helpful Simon of Cyrene, three angry Jews, a trumpeteer, two Roman foot soldiers, including another Roman soldier astride a horse --- which was brought out in procession during the “Semana Santa”/Holy Week rites in Santa Cruz, Manila from the 1860s until World War II, when it was assumed destroyed during the Liberation of Manila in February 1945. Leoncio Asuncion y Molo came from an artistic family with affluent origins in the Molo de San Agustin clan of Santa Cruz, Manila --- descended from a migrant Chinese apothecary in the late 1700s --- and were closely related to the Molo Agustin Paterno family, one of the richest, most highly–educated, and most cultured in 1800s Manila.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, “San Rafael Arcangel” Saint Raphael the Archangel is one of The Three Archangels who are specifically named in the Bible. In the larger Christian traditions, The Seven Archangels stand before the Throne of God: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Barrachiel, Judiel, Uriel, and Sealtiel. Raphael is the “Divine Healer.” In the Deuterocanonical (“Second Canon”) books of the Roman Catholic Bible (called Apocrypha by the Protestants), in the books of Tobit and 1 Enoch, is the story of the Archangel Raphael and how he guided and assisted Tobias the righteous father and Tobias the righteous son who were exiled to Persia during the Assyrian conquest, 800 years before Christ. Tobias the father sent Tobias the son to Ragues, a distant city, to retrieve substantial money lent to a relative, with Azarias (the Archangel Raphael) as his companion. The trip was dangerous at every turn. At the Tigris river, a huge fish tried to devour Tobias the son but Azarias prevented it. At the city of Rages, at the house of his relative Raguel, Tobias the son was engaged to the former’s beautiful daughter Sara. Seven suitors had died before him; Azarias assured him that he alone would be spared. Tobias the son married the beautiful Sara, daughter of his relative Raguel. The journey back home ended up happily with Tobias the son and his wife Sara, and companion Azarias, returning to Tobias the father, who had become blind from pigeon droppings. Azarias instructed Tobias the son to cure his father’s blindness with the gall of the huge fish which tried to devour him; Tobias the father was promptly healed of his blindness. Thus, the iconography of Saint Raphael the Archangel with the staff, the fish, loaves of bread, and the young Tobias.
The most famous image of San Rafael Arcangel in the islands is the patron saint of Calaca city, Batangas: It is dark–colored --- the only exposed wooden parts are the head and hands --- whether from dark wood or from the patina of nearly two centuries, it is not known; stands about 12” inches/30.48 cm high (without its pedestal); wears a repousse silver coronet; is dressed entirely in 80 % Mexican solid silver repousse with floral and foliar motifs in the style of the 1860s–70s; depicts the saint with his attributes of a basket of loaves set on cloth on his left hand and a staff with a fish with his right hand; wears silver boots. The image dates stylistically from the 1830s.
Aside from Calaca city, Batangas, other parishes with San Rafael Arcangel as the titular patron are in Linmansangan, Binalonan, Pangasinan; San Rafael, Tarlac city; Mabiga, Mabalacat, Pampanga; San Rafael, Lubao, Pampanga; San Rafael, Macabebe, Pampanga; Park avenue, Pasay city; Balut island, Tondo, Manila; San Rafael, Rodriguez, Rizal province; Lucena City, Quezon province; and Real, Quezon province. This exquisite ivory San Rafael Arcangel, a magnificent example of Philippine religious art, is on par with the renowned holdings of the National Museum, the Intramuros Administration, as well as the AERA Collection at the Villa Escudero, the Paulino and Hetty Que Collection, and the Mario and Mimi Que Collection.
Lot 142 of the Leon Gallery auction on June 17, 2023. Please see leon-gallery.com/auctions/The-Spectacular-Mid-Year-Auctio... for more information.
Rose de moi et la texture de mon amie Lenabem Anna
L'amour est une dentelle
La nuit s’est penchée
Sur nos cœurs en discorde
Une ombre les précédait
Effaçant tous nos projets
J’ai voulu raréfier
De toutes mes larmes
Purifiées par ma pensée
Les troubles de notre dualité
J’ai cherché les pourquoi
J’ai trouvé je ne sais quelle friche
Rien d’ineffable pour moi
Ma vie supportable pour toi
Tes viles sautes d’humeur
Me transposaient dans l’épouvante
Que notre amour se meurt
Au fond de nos deux cœurs
Je t’ai redis des je t’aime
Ils étaient doux comme soie
Tu m’a enfin sourit sans haine
Et Je n’ai plus eu cette peine
Notre nuit au loin s’est couchée
Emportant les ombres perverties
J’ai vu le soleil des amours se lever
Découvrir les ombres de notre fidélité
J’ai repoussée tous ces soirs
Qui m’apportaient le grand ténébreux
Désormais je vous ferai voir
Mes soleils dans mon armoire
Les bonheurs me rappellent
Que l’amour est une dentelle facettée
Mais qu’il faut laisser passer belle
La lumière des joies éternelles.
Écrit par TiKalo eu sur le net
Done in repoussé relief, this round pendant depicts the torso bust of a winged angel giving a benediction and holding a staff.
Byzantine, made in Constantinople, ca. 500-600 CE.
Getty Villa Museum, on loan from James E. and Elizabeth J. Ferrell (VL.2017.6.2)
Made these for Week 7 of the 52 Earrings challenge. The mold was made in silicone putty from a repousse metal leaf crafted by my husband-- I loved it so much I just had to make polymer copies of it! I used chalk, pencil and heat-set oil paints to color these.
For more on my process, visit my blog at storiestheytell.blogspot.com
Photo André Knoerr, Genève. Reproduction autorisée avec mention de la source.
Utilisation commerciale soumise à autorisation spéciale préalable.
Information coronavirus COVID-19
Après avoir adopté l'horaire du samedi en semaine à partir du 23 mars, les TPG passent à un horaire "dimanche +" dès le 1er avril 2020. D'autres restrictions ultérieures ne sont pas exclues.
Durant la semaine, cet horaire sera ponctué de renforts aux heures de pointe du matin et du soir.
Les lignes 36, 39, 56, 59, 62, 63, 75, 76, 77, 78, T ainsi que les lignes Express 5+, E+, G+ et les services nocturnes et Noctambus ne seront pas exploités.
Les lignes 64, M et N ne circulent que sur territoire français avec l'horaire du samedi.
La Be 6/10 1802 n'aura que brièvement porté les couleurs de James Bond 007 dont la sortie du film "Mourir peut attendre" prévue le 8 avril a été repoussée en novembre 2020.
Elle stationne ici au terminus en tiroir du CERN sur la ligne 18.
22119
Copper alloy peaked helmet. Made from beaten copper alloy sheet, the helmet is approaching the Roman coolus helmet in form, with a broad neck guard with La Tène style decoration. The central repoussé palmette is flanked by lobed stems and further ornamented by symmetrical bosses scored for enamelling. The base of the headpiece is encircled with two pairs of parallel incised lines.
The left side of the headpiece is torn and dented, damage on the right side is slighter. The cheekpiece attachments are very fragmentary, and the cheekpieces themselves are missing entirely, but it appears that they were held in place by expanded rivets with scored heads. Rivet holes and a circular patch of discoloration at the peak of the headpiece suggest the original presence of a plume holder or mount, now also missing.
England, Iron Age, La Tène style decoration, ca. 50-150 CE.
British Museum (1872,1213.2)
When Rendile women dance, one goes in front and shakes her necklaces, then another one comes around and her. A kind of tenderness gesture but made with violence!
The Rendille: Pushed away by their neighbours, they henceforth inhabit a vast territory : from the Kaisut Desert to the east (one of Kenya's most arid regions) to the shores of Lake Turkana to the west and the Chalbi Desert to the north.They are semi-nomadic, that is to say both nomad and pastoralist. Clans live in temporary settlement called gobs. Gobs are usually near dug wells and are given the name of the clan, subclan or the elder of the family. The Rendille never stay long at the same place to look for water sources and pasturing areas. They have to move 3 to 5 times a year. Villages are typically made of two dozen houses with about 120 individuals. They are composed of a group of semi-spherical huts made of branches and covered with leather or canvas. Women are in charge of taking the houses apart and putting them back in the new location. Near the huts, an enclosure of crabbed branches protects camels for the night. Each kind of animal they keep (camels, sheeps, goats, cattle) have a separate camp that is taken cared of by people of a different age-set. Unlike other pastoral tribes, the Rendille favour camels rather than cattle, because they are better suited to the environment. The Rendille depend heavily on these animals for many of their daily needs: food, milk, clothing, trade and transport. The Rendille are skilled craftsmen and make many different decoration or ornaments. The warriors often wear proudly a distinctive visor-like hairstyle, dyed with red ochre. As for the women, they wear several kilos beads. The Rendille receive empooro engorio beaded collars for marriage, made of palm fibers, girafe or elephant hairs. Like the Maasai with cows, camels are bled in order to drink their blood. The Rendille are closely aligned with the Samburu, by economic and kinship's ties. They have often adopted their language. Marriage is not allowed within one's own clan, and is arranged by parents as for most tribes. Each wife lives in her own home with her children, and mothers have a high status. Society is strongly bound by family ties. The Rendille still believe in their God, called Wak or Ngai. They also have fortune-tellers who predict the future, and perform sacrifices to make it rain. Special ceremonies take place at a child's birth. A ewe or goat is sacrificed if it is a girl, a ram if a boy. The girl is blessed 3 times while 4 for the boy. In the same way, mother drinks blood for 3 days for a babygirl, 4 days for a babyboy. The weeding ceremony takes time. The prospective groom must give the bridewealth (gunu) to the bride's family: 4 female and 4 male camels (half for the father, the remaining camels for the rest of the family). One of them is eaten at the ceremony. The bride wears jewellery made of glass and metal, necklaces of beads and wire, headbands, and a large circular earings. She will join her husband's family after marriage. The elders discuss problems in a ritual circle called Nabo, in which women are allowed to enter. They also meet there to pray, receive guests and perform ceremonies.
Les Rendille: Repoussés par leurs voisins, ils habitent désormais un vaste territoire, qui va du Désert de Kaisut à l’est (l’une des régions les plus arides du Kenya) aux rives du Lac Turkana à l’ouest et au Désert de Chalbi au Nord.Ils sont semi-nomades, c’est-à-dire à la fois nomades et pasteurs. Les clans vivent dans des installations temporaires appelées gobs. Les gobs sont souvent situés près des puits à main auxquels on donne le nom du clan, sous-clan, ou de l’aîné de la famille. Les Rendille ne restent jamais longtemps au même endroit pour chercher des sources d’eau et des pâturages. Ils doivent se déplacer 3 à 5 fois par an. Les villages sont de façon typique faits de deux douzaines de maisons totalisant environ 120 individus. Ils sont composés d’un groupe de huttes semi-sphériques faites de branches et couvertes de cuir ou toiles. Les femmes sont chargées de démonter les maisons et les ré arranger dans leur nouveau lieu d’habitat. Près des huttes, un enclos de branches épineuses protège les dromadaires pour la nuit. Chaque type d’animal (dromadaires, brebis, chèvres, bétail) ont un camp séparé dont s’occupent des individus de différentes classes d’âge. Contrairement à d’autres tribus pastorales, les Rendile privilégient les dromadaires au bétail, car ils sont plus adaptés à leur environnement. Ils dépendent largement de ces animals pour nombre de leurs besoins quotidiens : nourriture, lait, habits, commerce et transport. Les Rendille sont des artisans qualifiés et créent des décorations et ornements divers. Les guerriers portent souvent fièrement une coiffure distinctive en forme de visière, coloré avec de l’ocre. Les femmes quant à elles portent plusieurs kilogrammes de perles. Les Rendille reçoivent les colliers de perles empooro engorio pour le mariage, faits de fibres de palmier, de poils de giraffe ou d’éléphant. De la même façon que les Maasai avec les vaches, les dromadaires sont saignés pour boire le sang. Les Rendille sont intimement liés aux Samburu, par des liens économiques et de parenté. Ils ont souvent adopté leur langue. Le mariage n’est pas autorisé à l’intérieur d’un même clan et est arrangé par les parents comme pour la plupart des tribus. Chaque femme vit dans sa propre maison avec ses enfants, et les mères ont un statut très reconnu. La société est solidement lié par les attaches familiales.Les Rendille croient dans un Dieu qu’ils appellent Wak ou Ngai. Ils ont aussi des voyants qui prédisent l’avenir, et réalisent des sacrifices pour faire pleuvoir. Des cérémonies spéciales ont lieu à la naissance d’un enfant. Une brebis ou chèvre est sacrifiée si c’est une fille, un bélier si c’est un garçon. La fille est bénie 3 fois, 4 pour le garçon. De la même manière, la mère boit du sang pendant 3 jours pour une petite fille, 4 pour un petit garçon. La cérémonie du mariage prend du temps. Le futur époux doit payer le prix de la mariée (gunu) à la famille de celle-ci : 4 dromadaires femelles et 4 dromadaires mâles (la moitié pour le père, les dromadaires restant pour le reste de la famille). L’un d’eux est mangé à la cérémonie. La mariée porte des bijoux faits de verre et de métal, des colliers de perles et de fils de fer, des bandeaux, et de larges boucles d’oreille circulaires. Elle rejoindra la famille de son mari après le mariage. Les aînés discutent les problèmes dans un cercle rituel appelé Nabo, dans lequel les femmes sont interdites d’entrer. Ils se rassemblent aussi à cet endroit pour prier, recevoir des invités et accomplir des cérémonies.
© Eric Lafforgue
Cumdach (book shrine) of the Cathach, 1062–94 and late 14th century with later additions and repairs, bronze, gilt silver, wood, crystal, and glass, 19 x 25 x 5.25 cm (National Museum of Ireland)
Plate (identified as King Shapur II hunting boar), 4th century C.E. (Sasanian, Iran), silver and gilt, 5 x 24 cm (National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.)
Fibula (rear chamber, Regolini-Galassi Tomb, Cerveteri), 670–650 B.C.E., gold, 29.2 cm long Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Musei Vaticani)
" Les belles infos du canard "
Global Warming, merci vraiment ... Grâce à ton action ô combien salutaire les côtes méditerranéennes repoussées très au nord nous ont permis de créer une première marina dans ma contrée naguère glacée ...
Vais pouvoir me payer un Riva ... ou un Chris-Craft ?.. J'hésite encore ....
Canon/Samyang 8.0mm ...
Silver bowl decorated in repoussé with gilded vines (much of the gilding has worn off). It originally had a smooth inner lining. The grape vines are clear references to Dionysos-Bacchus.
Roman, Julio-Claudian, about 1-50 CE.
Diameter: 14.70 cm (5.79 in.)
Height: 9.30 cm (3.66 in.)
British Museum, London (1867,0508.1410)