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My contribution to the BTL group theme of transportation. sorry I have nothing new but didn't like the attempts I made earlier today of the kid's scooter. This is about 1/2 mile from my work. Every day I'm tempted to just "go west young man"
Night Life! Nightclubs, Muggings and dirty Cyberpunk lovin'. All things you will see at illuminated by fluorescent light at night in the CyberDocks.
My contribution to the Bro-Lug display this year. It is everything you see in this photo, minus the cube on top. Built roughly in 2 weeks.
Main photo
www.flickr.com/photos/si-mocs/14854324444/
Beyond the Brick Video Tour (Narrated by me!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnCHl9xlgfw&list=UUkapkfGuO2L...
Photo Cred goes to Simon! Thanks Again!
contribution to the traveling moleskine project. introduction page, including parcel stamp with pen.
my latest contribution to the 3am collaboration with ventral is golden (www.ventralisgolden.com/) and bryan olson (www.cargocollective.com/BryanOlson)
check out the other works at www.cargocollective.com/3AM and www.3amofthesoul.tumblr.com/
www.society6.com/studio/jessetreece/store
www.collageartbyjesse.tumblr.com
My contribution for this week's theme «remains»; for the Swedish photo group Fotosondag.
Mitt bidrag till Fotosöndag och veckans tema «rester».
My contribution to #BMDWeapons Dora SR 44 Sniper Rifles.
This sniper rifles gun completely acquired with a bench rest quality stainless steel barrel. The DORA SR 44 has a detachable box magazine and an adjustable stock, both length of pull and deadly accurate from afar. The 3-yellow marking on the barrel gun indicate the kills score by the gunner.
Il bacio is an 1859 painting by the Italian artist Francesco Hayez. It is possibly his best known work. This painting conveys the main features of Italian Romanticism and has come to represent the spirit of the Risorgimento. It was commissioned by Alfonso Maria Visconti di Saliceto, who donated it to the Pinacoteca di Brera after his death.
After the defeat of Napoleonic France in the 19th century, the Congress of Vienna was held in 1815 to redraw the map of Europe. Italy had a very marginal role compared to other European countries and was slated to be divided into several states. Every state was either ruled directly, or strongly influenced, by the Habsburgs of the Austrian Empire. That fragmentation went against the growing nationalist sentiment for Italy's unification, and caused the creation of secret societies with democratic-radical orientations, such as the Carboneria and Young Italy. Although those associations were unsuccessful, their role was fundamental in shaping public opinion.
The first war of Italian independence (1848) was a failure but, by 1859, the secret agreement between Napoleon III and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour stipulated the formation of an anti-Austrian alliance. The contribution of France was considered crucial, because the Austrian armies were defeated by the alliance in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. That victory initiated the unification process, and the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed a few years later, in 1861.
It was during that period that Francesco Hayez painted The Kiss. Mindful of the bloody repression of the nationalist movement, the artist decided to disguise the ideals of conspiracy and the struggle against the invaders under a representation of past events. The use of ambiguous, opaque metaphors allowed the artist to avoid censorship by the authorities.
The first version of The Kiss was commissioned by Count Alfonso Maria Visconti of Saliceto. Hayez, who was very well known amongst Milanese patriots, was asked by the Count to depict the hopes associated with the alliance between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia.
The artwork was created in 1859 and presented at the Pinacoteca di Brera on 9 September. It was hung as a decoration in the luxurious residence of the Visconti family for more than twenty-five years. It was only in 1886, a year before his death, that the Count presented the canvas to the Pinacoteca di Brera, where it is still exhibited today, in Room XXXVII.
Although the oil version is the most famous, Hayez produced two other versions of the painting, one in oil and one watercolor. The second version was painted in 1861 for the Mylius family, and was sent to Paris to be exhibited in the Exposition Universelle in 1867. In 2008, that version was sold at Sotheby's for 780,450 pounds. The difference between the second painting and the previous one is that the woman’s dress is colored white. The third version is the only one to have been rendered in watercolor on paper. Painted in 1859, it has an oval shape, and was donated by Hayez to Carolina Zucchi. It is now exhibited at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
The last painting differs from the original because of the addition of a white cloth lying on the steps beside the couple, and the bright green paint used for the man's mantle.
The painting represents a couple from the Middle Ages, embracing while they kiss each other. It is among the most passionate and intense representations of a kiss in the history of Western art. The girl leans backwards, while the man bends his left leg so as to support her, simultaneously placing a foot on the step next to him as though poised to go at any moment. The couple, though at the center of the painting, are not recognizable, as Hayez wanted the action of the kissing to be at the center of the composition. In the left part of the canvas shadowy forms lurk in the corner to give an impression of conspiracy and danger.
The geometric and perspective scheme of the Kiss is set on a series of diagonals which follow the course of the steps and converge to the vanishing point, placed to the left of the two lovers. These lines represent the framework of the painting and brings the observer’s attention to the couple.
The chromatism of the painting is inherited from the Renaissance schools of the Venetian masters where Hayez conducted his first studies. The brown of the cloak and the red of the boy's tights blend harmoniously with the light blue in the dress of the girl, while the neutral shades of the background help the couple stand out. A light, coming from an external source placed to the left of the picture, hits the whole scene homogeneously: its reflections enhances the silky dress of the girl, emphasizing also the pavement and the bricks on the wall.
This painting has been regarded as a symbol of Italian Romanticism, of which it encompasses many features. On a more superficial level, the painting is the representation of a passionate kiss, which puts itself in accordance with the principles of Romanticism. Therefore, it emphasizes deep feelings rather than rational thought, and presents a reinterpretation and reevaluation of the Middle Ages in a patriotic and nostalgic tone. Some art historians also suggest that one of the political meanings that Il Bacio can carry is that a young Italian soldier, going off to fight for Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, says goodbye to his love kissing her for one last time.
On a deeper level, the painting symbolizes the romantic, nationalist and patriotic ideals of the Risorgimento; this interpretation is endorsed by several iconographic elements.
The imminent farewell between the lovers is suggested by the man’s foot temporarily resting on the step and the tight grasp with which his beloved is holding him. This represents both the necessity that he must leave whilst showing the danger of being a patriot. Other elements are the dagger hidden in the mantle, a sign of the imminent rebellion against the Habsburg invader, and the date of the painting (1859), the year of the second war of independence. However the most obvious allegory in the painting is its chromatic range, which summarizes the political changes that involved Italy in the 19th century. In the Brera version, the blue of the woman's dress and the bright red of the young man's tights allude to the colors in the French flag.
Hayez intended to pay tribute to the French nation, now allied with Italy. In the three subsequent versions the allegorical-patriotic connotations became even more obvious: in the 1861 version, the dress of the girl assumed a neutral white tone, as a tribute to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. In the fourth version, Italy manifests itself instead in the clothes of the man, who now wears a green cloak, symbolizing the Italian national banner.
The Kiss has enjoyed extensive popularity from its exhibition onward, especially in Italy, and has been the subject of much commentary. In the 1920s the art director of Perugina, one of Italy's leading chocolate manufacturers, revised the image of the painting and created the typical blue box of the popular "Baci" chocolates with the picture of two lovers. In 1954 the great Italian director Luchino Visconti took inspiration from the painting for one of the leading scenes of his masterpiece movie, Senso.
As i get older, I am now age 60, I still regret the years I wasted in fear of my desire to dress up as a woman and the way I went into complete denial and continually attempted to suppress my desire to appear as a female. I was brought up in an era when boys were told to be boys and to man up. All I recall is as teenager I was desperate to become a girl. At the time I was confused as I was far from certain if I simply wanted to dress up as a girl or I actually wanted to be a girl.
Being older I think I now have some understanding as to how I was back then. I think part of me is transsexual but it’s not dominant enough to make we want to transition into a full time woman. I also was painfully shy and harboured a dream of performance. I was especially taken with female impersonators who had established theatrical acts. These were not over the top drag queens, these were men whose performance was based upon looking completely convincing as women with no hint of the man being present yet the audience knew they were male. This is an art form in my mind, what I like to call female illusion.
This performance of the audience seeing you appear as a woman right down your physical attributes, clothing, shoes, make-up and hair and confidently performing as a female in front of them genuinely thrilled me and I wanted to be such a performer. To be able to carry off a convincing transformation and have the confidence and nerve as a man to step out on stage such a portrayal would have been quite amazing to experience. Knowing there were men out there that had made careers of doing this type of performance really caught my imagination.
I can still vividly recall the first time as a teenager I shaved my legs, dared to pluck my eyebrows, wore make-up for the first time, styled my hair into a girls style (no ned for a wig back then!), wore a bra and put on my first dress, then slipped on a pair of high heels…my head was spinning and I nearly passed out!
I experienced pure elation, yet there was also fear at that was doing yet every fibre of my being was embracing what I had just done. At last I was a girl! A girl! Oh joy! I loved how I felt in that precious and intense private moment. I also recall I got the shakes, it was uncontrollable for awhile but eventually settled enough for me to stand in front of a mirror. Seeing myself as a girl was quite a moment full of mixed emotions. I was euphoric and the emotions overwhelmed me. This was what I dreamed of doing! I was a boy but I also wanted to be a girl and seeing myself in a dress and make-up made me cry. I was frustrated and elated at the same time. I was a boy, not a girl but I was trying to be a girl and I knew I wanted that, oh yes, I really wanted it!
I began to imagine how it must feel to be a professional female impersonator. How would it be to make a living out of appearing on stage as a woman and entertaining people. Would I ever have the nerve and self confidence to step out in front of an audience completely in the guise of a woman? I wanted to do it but I had self doubt about my abilities. The prospect of a career of dressing up as a woman was alluring but my inner doubt held me back.
Now am 60, I never stepped on stage dressed up as a woman so that dream is unlikely to ever happen now. I still feel a desire to attempt some form of performance as a female impersonator and to some extent, my videos I’ve posted pander to this yearning. Increasingly, I am finding I feel more confident about stepping in front of a video camera dressed as a woman and I enjoy talking to camera in my guise as a female.
However, I’ll admit, my videos to date are rather aimless, rambling and highly self indulgent. I now find I would like to record more videos but have some point to them. I did try a series of videos in the past called ’T-chat’ in which I interviewed other cross-dressers and transsexuals. Unfortunately, this idea proved a failure and never gained much interest within the trans community. In fact sometimes it generated very negative and hostile responses! I eventually gave up on this idea after realising it was pointless doing anymore interviews due to the notable lack of enthusiasm. I think I was rather naive in my plans for such a series of videos.
Despite that not working out I find I am still keen to record videos as my female alter-ego. There are lots of things about my transvestism I have a need to talk about. When I talk to the camera about them I am expressing my own personal feelings and thoughts on being a man that cross-dresses asa woman. I do often wonder how others feel about their own motivations and aspirations with their own cross-dressing.
I would like to improve my videos and take on more interesting subject matter that is related to cross-dressing. I did enjoy the two way conversation in the T-chat interviews and have been thinking of an alternative. What I would love is to hear from other cross-dressers about transgender subjects they have a view on. Appearing on camera as a woman gives me an opportunity to perform as the female impersonator I always wished I had dared to become. I’ve had ideas where i could maybe host a series of videos that includes videos made by other cross-dressers in which they speak on camera on a cross-dressing subject they want open up about or start debate upon. Hopefully this would lead to further responses that can be included in future episodes.
I accept some people have no wish to talk on camera when they are appearing as a woman and I wondered if they too felt as I did that they have questions in regard to their cross-dressing. I the past I used to receive e-mails asking me questions about my own cross-dressing. I am willing to talk openly about them so I wondered if perhaps I could record videos in which I answered their questions.
I also wondered if perhaps questions could be posed on a cross-dressing topic and several cross-dressers could contribute by recording a video of their own answers to such questions. I could then compile these answers in to a video programme.
I’m not trying to be arrogant or ‘me, me, me’, it is a case of I enjoy being a woman on camera and I want to do something that is helpful and interesting for the trans community and i do seek more focus and substance for future videos rather than my stream of consciousness ramblings such as I’ve been doing so far.
I suppose I am aware I enjoy being a an on screen presenter when I dress up as a woman. It’s great fun and a chance tower lots of dresses, experiment with make-up and wear different wigs. In a way it’s me finally being a female impersonator but in a more interactive way than I do at the moment.
I would love torah from anyone who would consider posing a question or recording something on video for inclusion in a future video. It may just be this idea goes the same way as my ill fated ’T-chat’ interview series< i only managed four of them in the end and one person asked for their interview to be taken off-line. I’m not really expecting this to pan out based only experiences but I feel if I don’t mention it then I will never know. If you should feel a willingness to ask a question or record a video about cross-dressing, expressing your own thoughts and views on camera then I’m keen to embark on a series of videos the can include these.
I can be contacted by direct e-mail on: helene_barclay@yahho.co.uk
My first contributions to the amazing illustration house and zine The Wizard's Hat
"Find the Magic Number"
My contribution to an ambitious project by the local Mountain Club OPS Ikarias.
About this place, see my blog article: "sun in the gulch"
About the culture or wild swimming and swimming holes, illustrated with a selection of photos from Ikaria, read my article: "Κολυμπότρυπες ☺ στην Ικαρία"
Special blog article:
I've been terribly negligent with my Flickr account, so I'm finally getting caught up on uploading some of my favorites from the last year+!
Pinhole image of a sliced pear on a gold-rimmed white plate. My third and latest attempt to photograph this particular subject; my first contribution to the Worldwide Pinhole Photograpy Day (#1443). This is the same pear slice as the one I have used for "Pear No. 2". By the time I took this picture the initially yellow-white pear flesh had oxidised and turned brownish, plus the skin had crumpled slightly inwards. Both of these natural changes had a positive effect on the overall outcome, giving the pear more structure, volume and outline. I have also reduced the exposure time from originally 6 hours (No. 1) and 5½ hours (No. 2) to 4½ hours (EV10), hoping the dish and its golden rim would show up better. This has worked to some degree, but quite obviously a white plate on a white table cloth is and remains a tricky subject. I would have been better off, exchanging the white table cloth with a somewhat darker fabric. Anyway, I do also like this version and I am learning quite a bit in the process. I read somewhere that Weston had exposed at least 50 negatives of peppers, so there’s quite a task ahead of me ;-). No worries though, if I have counted right, I have only 8 sheets of 8x10 DPP left. Taken with my homemade, foldable 8x10" Camera Obscura ("Stenopeica #1", 190mm, f.540) on Harman DPP (Direct Positive Paper, FB) and developed in Caffenol.
Arles 2016 - Don McCullin, Looking Beyond the Edge
Don McCullin was born in 1935 in a poor section of northern London, UK. Don McCullin left school at the age of fifteen and completed his National Service in the RAF as a photographic assistant. In 1958, McCullin's photograph of "The Guvnors", a London gang, appeared in "The Observer" and led to him securing a contract there. Between 1966 and 1984, McCullin worked for "The Sunday Times Magazine" at the cutting edge of investigative, critical journalism. During this period his assignments included Vietnam, Biafra, Northern Ireland and the Lebanese civil war. McCullin has received numerous awards and is the author of more than a dozen books. His work is held in museum collections around the world.
In recent years, McCullin has continued to travel and work internationally, while many of his most recent images are of the British landscape, notably Somerset, where he now lives with his family After serving as an aerial photographer for the RAF during his national service, but at 77 years old.... off to war again '….to see « what's going on »in Syria !
He is the author of more than a dozen books, including his acclaimed autobiography, Unreasonable Behaviour (1990), and 2001’s retrospective Don McCullin (both by Jonathan Cape). The winner of numerous awards, including two Premier Awards from the World Press Photo, in 1992 he became the only photojournalist to be made Commander of the British Empire (CBE).
In recent years, in addition to his landscape work in Britain and India, he has focused primarily on the African continent, documenting the AIDS crisis in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, producing a book on the “lost tribes” of Ethiopia, Don McCullin in Africa (Jonathan Cape 2005), and photographing refugees from the genocide in Darfur in 2007. He was awarded the 2006 Cornell Capa Award by the International Center for Photography in New York for his lifetime contribution to photography.
The exhibition of his work at the Rencontres d’Arles 2016 brings together, for the first time, the wealth and depth of his photographic practice beyond the limits of conflict, exploring his long standing practice as a documentary and landscape photographer. Even outside the frame of war, McCullin’s work reflects some of the most pressing social issues of our time, always portrayed using a photographic language of great beauty and subtlety. Perhaps his greatest talent, however, has been his ability to capture a diversity of subjects from a consistent standpoint. From his local surroundings in London, to foreign conflicts and tragedies, or returning to the peaceful landscape of the Somerset levels, there is a universal way in which McCullin reveals the world around us.
It's a great exhibition that I've seen three times! Much pleasure to admire his captures.
This is my contribution for the third round for The Tourney. I chose the category 1 "Set Revamp":
In this category, take any existing Lego castle/pirate set and revamp it. The revamp should be a complete rebuild, of course, not just mods. We recommend that you consider the main features of the set and subtheme to ensure that those characteristics are clearly recognizable in your revamp.Entries should be built in ‘MOC form’; it shouldn’t (necessarily) look like a set Lego would release.
I decided to go for the Set 6048 - Majisto`s Workshop. I had this set as a child and I loved to charm the knight of my brother with the magician :)
First of all I have to say that the build has been a lot of fun for me and I think this Moc is one of my best - next to the christmas build for the 9 Kingdoms.
The house itself has the same size as the original set and I tried to reproduce the eye-catchers: the blue window shutters, the growing tree through the house and the red roof with black bars.
I hope you like it. To all the competitors: Good luck for round 3 :)
My contribution to the expanding gallery of this beautiful and famous little bird. She has become quite the Bombay Hook celebrity.
Please click on the photo for the best view.
Thanks for looking.
Greg
My contribution to the One World One Heart giveaway event
Enter the giveaway on my blog: natashaburns.blogspot.com/2008/02/one-world-one-heart-giv...
We honor Juneteenth by celebrating African Americans' contributions to our nation and supporting black-owned businesses. Here's to celebrating freedom today and every day!
"If there is just about anything to rejoice about, it can be my ancestors, African People who survived the atrocity and stain of slavery…I honor them these days with a guarantee that I will keep on to combat for your unexplored desires and hopes." — Viola Davis, Actress, Author, and Producer.
Raising awareness: What is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States on June 19. It commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and the end of slavery in the United States.
The history of Juneteenth dates back to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, which declared that all slaves in Texas were free. This announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation officially abolished slavery in the Confederate states on January 1, 1863. However, due to the minimal presence of Union troops in Texas, the proclamation was not effectively enforced until General Granger's arrival.
Juneteenth celebrations typically involve various activities, including parades, picnics, cookouts, family gatherings, music, dancing, and educational events. It is a time for African Americans and others to reflect on their ancestors' struggles and achievements and celebrate freedom and equal rights.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday in the United States. On June 17, 2021, it was officially declared a federal holiday when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. This designation makes Juneteenth the 12th federal holiday and the first new one to be added since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.
The recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is seen as an essential step in acknowledging the historical significance of emancipation and the ongoing struggle for racial equality in the United States. It provides an opportunity for all Americans to learn about and honor the contributions of African Americans to the nation's history and culture.
#BlackIndependenceDay
Our contribution for the upcoming new round of On9 (starting 9th May): The Flowerchair in 4 different colors (white, black, red and purple). LI 3/2 Prims with 12 single sitting/lounging Animations. Dimensions are: 1.95 x 1.5 x 1.4 meters. SURL to the event location: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tropical%20Orchid/247/193/999
On the first day of Metroline's operation of route 295, VWH2097 is seen having turned off the stand at Clapham Junction to work a service to Ladbroke Grove. The route is operated by Gemini 3 VWH hybrids in the new "frog-face" front design style. This bus is the old Gemini 3 style design from Willesden garage and was helping out on the Willesden Junction based route due to the late delivery of the new VWHs for the route.
This full size Hawker Hurricane replica, standing near the River Thames in Windsor, is a memorial to Sir Sydney Camm and his contribution to British aircraft design.
Sir Sydney Camm, CBE, FRAeS (5 August 1893 – 12 March 1966) was an English aeronautical engineer who contributed to many Hawker aircraft designs, from the biplanes of the 1920s to jet fighters. One particularly notable aircraft he designed was the Hawker Hurricane fighter.
Sydney Camm was born at 10 Alma Road in Windsor, Berkshire, the eldest child of the twelve children of Frederick Camm, a carpenter/joiner and Mary Smith. The Camm family lived near Windsor & Eton Central railway station. His brother Frederick James Camm became a technical author and created the Practical Wireless magazine.
In 1901 he began attending the Royal Free School on Bachelors Acre in Windsor (The Royal Free school became the Royal Free Middle School with the secondary school becoming the Princess Margaret Royal Free School on Bourne Avenue). In 1906 he was granted a Foundation Scholarship. In 1908 Camm left school to become an apprentice carpenter.
Camm developed an interest in aeronautics and together with his brothers began building model aircraft, which they supplied to Herbert's Eton High Street shop. After finding that they could obtain a higher price they began making direct sales to boys at Eton College, which were delivered in secret to avoid attracting the attention of Herbert and the school authorities.
These activities led him to being one of the founders of the Windsor Model Aeroplane Club in early 1912. His accomplishments as a model aeroplane builder culminated in a man-carrying glider which he and others at the club built in 1912.
Shortly before the start of the World War I, Camm obtained a position as a shop-floor carpenter at the Martinsyde aircraft company ,which was located at the Brooklands racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey. His ability soon led to his being promoted to the drawing office, where he spent the war period. After the company went into liquidation in 1921, Camm was employed by George Handasyde, who had created his own aircraft manufacturing company, which was responsible for the creation of the Handasyde Monoplane.
In November 1923 Camm joined the Hawker Aircraft Company (later Hawker Siddeley) based at Canbury Park Road in Kingston upon Thames as a senior draughtsman. His first design was the Cygnet, the success of which led to his being appointed chief designer in 1925.
In 1925, in association with Fred Sigrist, Hawker's managing director, Camm developed a form of metal construction, using cheaper and simpler jointed tubes, rather than the alternative welded structure.
During his employment at Hawker he was responsible for the creation of 52 different types of aircraft, of which a total of 26,000 were manufactured. Among his early designs were the Tomtit, Hornbill, Nimrod, Hart and Fury. At one time in the 1930s 84 per cent of the aircraft in the RAF were of Camm’s design.
He then moved on to designing aeroplanes that would become mainstays of the RAF in the Second World War including the Hawker Hurricane, Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tempest.
"Camm had a one-tracked mind – his aircraft were right and everybody had to work on them to get them right. If they did not, then there was hell to pay. He was a very difficult man to work for, but you could not have a better aeronautical engineer to work under. With regard to his own staff, he did not suffer fools gladly and at times many of them appeared to be fools. One rarely got into trouble for doing something either in the ideas line, or in the manufacturing line, but woe betide those who did nothing, or who put forward an indeterminate solution."
Among the engineers who worked with Camm at Hawker were Sir Frederick Page (later to design the English Electric Lightning), Leslie Appleton (later to design the advanced Fairey Delta 2 and Britain's first air-to-air missile, the Fairey Fireflash), Stuart Davies (joined Avro in 1936 and later to be chief designer of the Avro Vulcan), Roy Chaplin (became chief designer at Hawker in 1957) and Sir Robert Lickley (chief project engineer during the war, and later to be chief engineer at Fairey).
The Hawker Hurricane was designed by Sir Sydney Camm.
With the Hurricane, Sydney Camm moved from the technology of the biplane to contemporary monoplane fighter aircraft. The result was that fighters flew faster, and with the improved engine technology of the time, higher and could be made more deadly.
The Hawker engineer Frank Murdoch was responsible for getting the Hurricane into production in sufficient numbers before the outbreak of the war, after an eye-opening visit to the MAN diesel plant in Augsburg in 1936.
When the Hawker Typhoon’s design first emerged and entered squadron service, pilots became aware that there was elevator flutter and buffeting at high speeds, due to the positioning of the heavy Napier Sabre engine intake very close to the wing root.
The engineering of the aircraft to travel at higher speeds and handle compressibility effects was one of the challenges of the day, but with his small design team of one hundred members at Hawker, Camm managed to solve these problems and make the Typhoon an effective combat weapon even at these speeds. As operational requirements changed, the Typhoon was used more as a fighter-bomber, in which role its low level performance, weapon-carrying capabilities and ability to absorb damage made it very effective. It was much used in the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, in which ground-attack aircraft proved very destructive. German losses were so severe that most of France was retaken less than two weeks after the conclusion of this operation.
The lessons learned from the Hawker Typhoon were incorporated into its successor, the Hawker Tempest. As soon as the Typhoon entered service, the Air Ministry requested a new design. C amm recommended that they keep the existing design of the Typhoon for the most part, with modifications to the aerofoil. He also considered the new and powerful Napier Sabre and Bristol Centaurus engines as the powerplant. Camm decided that both engines would be used: the Tempest Mk 5 was fitted with the Napier Sabre, while the Tempest Mk 2 had the Bristol Centaurus. The design modifications to be made to the aircraft to switch from one engine type to another were minimal, so that little assistance was needed in ferrying these aircraft all the way to India and Pakistan, in the final days of the conflict.
The Sea Fury was a higher performance development of the Tempest with a reduced wing area, a Centaurus engine, and a considerably improved view for the pilot. Named the Fury, only the carrier-based Hawker Sea Fury went into service, serving with the Royal Navy from 1947 to 1955.
After the Second World War, Camm created many jet-powered designs which would become important aircraft in the Cold War era.
Notable among these are his contributions to the Hawker Siddeley P.1127 / Kestrel FGA.1, the progenitor of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier. The Harrier is a well-known vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft designed at Hawker Siddeley, which would later merge into British Aerospace, now known as BAE Systems. The Harrier was one of the radical concept aircraft which took shape in postwar Britain, which required the coming together of many important technologies, such as vectored thrust engines like the Bristol Siddeley (later Rolls-Royce) Pegasus and technologies like the Reaction Control System. Camm played a major role in determining these and other vital Harrier systems. In 1953, Camm was knighted for these and other achievements and his contribution to British Aviation. The P.1127 first flew on 21 October 1960. Working with Camm on this aircraft and the Hunter was Prof John Fozard, who became head of the Hawker design office in 1961 and would write a biography of Camm in 1991.
Camm worked on many aircraft built by Hawker before the Harrier, including what is probably his most significant aircraft after the Second World War, the Hawker Hunter. The Hawker Hunter, designed by Camm, made its first flight in 1951.
Camm was President of the Royal Aeronautical Society(RAeS) from 1954 to 1955. Since 1971 the RAeS has held the biennial Sir Sydney Camm Lecture in June, given by the current commander-in-chief of RAF Air Command.
Camm retired as chief designer at Hawker in 1965 and was succeeded by John Fozard. He, however, remained on the board of its successor, Hawker Siddeley until his death.
Before he died, Camm was planning the design of an aircraft to travel at Mach 4, having begun his life in aircraft design with the building of a man-carrying glider in 1912, just nine years after the first powered flight.
In 1966, Camm was awarded the Guggenheim Gold Medal, which had to be presented posthumously, as on 12 March 1966 he died aged 73, whilst playing golf at the Richmond Golf Club. He was buried in Long Ditton Cemetery, Long Ditton, in the County of Surrey.
Dvates contribution to a magnificent seven-panel work in Fitzroy featuring Cam Scale, Adnate, Dvate, Rone, Jason Parker, Heesco and Sofles.
Here is my contribution to the Time Isles collaboration at BrickCon, where me and several others all built floating islands depicting important events in world history. This build is based in Florence, Italy, where the Italian Renaissance started. I wanted to make the base half-circular and include an interior to a building, which was an interesting challenge. I think it turned out alright in the end, though I wish I had time to add furniture and more minifigures in the building. The bent bricks for the base were a pain, as they kept falling apart, but it was a really fun technique to use. The cathedral is based on the main cathedral in Florence; that's where I got inspiration for the white and sand green colorscheme which is pretty unusual. I also really like how the small gray building turned out, and I'm glad I got another chance to use that cool arch technique.
Let me know what you guys think, thanks for looking!
My contribution to the Dark Realm Collective, themed "Hollywood Macabre"
photography and edit: Dracorubio
Model: Macy Wiemelink
Styling and assistent: Yvette Leur Photography
Dress: Somnia Romantica
This was one of my contributions to the Isles of Aura InnovaLUG layout at Brickworld this year. While trying to come up with ideas for how to make an island that was a little different than just your average floating rock, a flash of inspiration hit. Why not make a shipwreck island? I mean, with all these rocks and boats just floating around in the sky, it seems like the odds are pretty high that it would happen eventually. So now I had a good idea! But having an idea and building it are two different matters. I wanted the ship to have split the island, so that each side was at an angle. To achieve this, I made an extremely solid technic frame, and then built out from there. I’ll be doing a build log for this in the near future, so I won’t spoil all the details, but let’s just say it was quite a challenge at times. The buildings here were extremely fun to build however! I pretty much just tried to see how many balconies I could fit on one building with the taller one. Got to put some our MDF tiles to use too. Anyways, thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoy the build – as always, C&C is very welcome!
Lots more pictures on Brickbuilt!
Tutorials | Creations | Featured Tutorials | Build Logs | Commissions
My contribution to the weekend sales are these PBR cacti in removable pots, Lovely colorful houseplants to brighten up your home, check them out -
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Lazy-Sunday-PBR-Cacti-Collec...
My contribution for Challenge 11 in Guilds of Historica. It’s a simple build that brought back a lot of memories as most of the techniques are things I used frequently years ago. Which made for a straightforward and relaxing build process.
Timber is in high demand as the guilds rebuild. Leading to many new lumber yards popping up in Mitgardia. Located along trade routes and near sawmills they constantly receive new loads of wood and in turn load caravans traveling between the guilds.
Additional photos on Brickbuilt.
My contribution to the Pixar Times and our Monsters Mash-Up online exhibition of fan art. Check it out here - pixartimes.com/2013/06/20/pixart-monsters-mash-up-round-3...
6" diameter each - dinnerware & stained glass.
These are my contributions to a Women's International Mosaic Project organized by Pam Goode
Contribution to Smile on Saturday, theme "a touch of frost".
From the archives, not much chance these days to capture this.
My monthly contribution to The Hours.
Please come take a look: thehours.org/2015/06/07/12pm-2/
To see all of my contribution images, click here: www.flickr.com/photos/oneworld_mjensen/albums/72157650887...
all of my uploaded images are low-resolution. if you would like to use or license any of my photos, please contact me via flickrmail. thank you for looking.
Copyright © 2015, All Rights Reserved
This is part of my contribution to this year's Brick to the Past model, The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne. To be fair this is a team effort with James Pegrum providing the landscape and me providing and setting up the armies. Simon Pickard also provided a load of troops.
We thought it important that we should in some way show the Scottish, and more specifically, the Highland element of the government army and the obvious choice for this was to build a small company of the 43rd Highlanders (later the 42nd Royal Highlanders), better known as The Black Watch.
The Black Watch’s history goes back to the aftermath of the 1715 rising when the British Government found itself without the resources or manpower to keep a standing army in the Highlands. Instead they kept order by recruiting men from local clans that had remained loyal to the government. This arrangement proved unsatisfactory and in 1725 General George Wade raised six Independent Highland Companies as militia to keep "watch" for crime. These companies were commonly known in Gaelic as Am Freiceadan Dubh, or the Black Watch, probably due to the dark government issue plaids they wore. Four more companies were added in 1739 and in the same year all ten were formed into the 43rd Highland Regiment of Foot.
When the ‘Forty-five’ broke out, the Black Watch saw action at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745 but then returned to England, partly to counter a feared French invasion and partly because they weren't really trusted not to join the Jacobites. However one of the regiment’s companies fought at the Battle of Culloden, where they suffered no casualties.
The key to creating a convincing LEGO Black Watch was to get the plaids right and fortunately there is a third-party company that makes kilts for minigiures in the Black Watch tartan. These, along with black bonnets rather than tri-corn hats, were placed on minifigures with the standard redcoat torso and the result is a reasonably accurate representation of the regiment’s dress during the ‘Forty-five’. Interestingly, accounts from the time appear to suggest that officers of the Black Watch could choose their own plaids and so our officer is dressed in a red tartan.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a LEGO model of a series of uprisings, rebellions and wars that occurred predominantly in Scotland, but also spread into Ireland and England, between 1689 and 1746. Following the deposition of James II of England and VII of Scotland in the Glorious Revolution, the aims of the risings were to return the Stuart monarch, and later his descendants, to the thrones of England and Scotland (and after 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain). They take their name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
While conflict broke out in 1689, 1715, and 1719, the most famous rising is probably the last, that of 1745. During the “Forty-five" Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie, led an army from the Scottish Highlands as far south as Derby before retreating north to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Culloden was the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil and marked the end of any serious attempt to restore the house of Stuart to the throne.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a Brick to the Past creation built by Dan Harris, James Pegrum, Simon Pickard, Tim Goddard and Steve Snasdell. It was unveiled for the first time at the Bricktastic in July 2017 and went on display again at The Great Western Brick Show in October. It is now on display at Stirling Castle until February 2nd 2018.
Built 1902-03.
Renowned principally because of its interior decoration, confided in its entirety to outstanding Montreal artist Guido Nincheri, who's been called ''Canada's Michelangelo''.
His notable contributions to the decoration of scores of other churches around Quebec, the Maritimes, New England and even in Vancouver, had given him a prominence that culminated in his commission to overhaul St. Leon from top to bottom starting in 1928. Over the following fifteen years, frescoes, stained glass windows, sculptures, pews, balustrades etc. were all done by him or under his supervision.
It is now considered his masterpiece. In 1997 the church was designated a National Historic Site, and in 2007 Nincheri was designated a Person of National Historic Significance.
Sunday School Erected by Voluntary Contributions 1813 is proclaimed proudly atop the building.
It was opened in April 1814 having cost £5,639; £3,000 was raised by subscription and £1,000 came from fund-raising by the scholars and teachers. Scholars were to pay 1d a week. By this time there were 1,127 boys and 1,324 girls on the roll. Scholars were expected to be at least six years old, free of any "contagious distemper" and to arrive "washed" and "combed". The trustees were prominent in the Cheshire silk industry. When John Whitaker died at the age of 47, in October 1820, his nephew Samuel Higginbotham continued as superintendent for the next 40 years. The school continued to thrive.
The Sunday school closed in September 1973. It had stopped keeping registers in 1967 when average attendance was fourteen. Funds were disbursed to various missionary organisations. Though the fabric of the building was deteriorating it was listed as a Grade II* Listed Building because of its historical significance.
A new charitable trust, The Macclesfield Sunday School Heritage Trust, was formed and funds were raised and the building restored. Essential work and fitting out the museum cost £500,000. The building now has multiple uses which include a Museum with Victorian School Room.
The auditoreum hosts concerts notably by the Northern Chamber Orchestra and regular film screenings by Cinemac and also the SilkScreen Film Society.
This is my contribution to the Rogue Ronin collab, which was presented at Bricking Bavaria in Fürth in 2024. It was inspired by Japan’s Edo period and displayed Kumamoto Town and its coastline in the vibrant colours of autumn.
My part of the model presents a scene right in front of the town’s castle’s outer wall, featuring houses typical for the Edo period and townspeople in their daily life. Probably the biggest challenge I had to conquer whilst building this was to achieve the rather steep descent while maintaining a natural appearance.
To see the whole collab with all details, click here. I also uploaded more details on my second account Piquadratsechstel.
I hope you like it!
This is part of my contribution to this year's Brick to the Past model, The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne. To be fair this is a team effort with James Pegrum providing the landscape and me providing and setting up the armies. Simon Pickard also provided a load of troops.
Attached to each infantry regiment were grenadiers; soldiers that represented the elite of the British army. Grenadiers did not wear the usual tri-corn hat of regular infantry, instead wearing a finely decorated mitre-style headpiece. While we cannot recreate the decoration, a mitre may be recreated using a headpiece found originally in Prince of Persia sets. To complete our grenadiers we have also equipped them with a satchel, which is supposed to represent the grenades they carried.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a LEGO model of a series of uprisings, rebellions and wars that occurred predominantly in Scotland, but also spread into Ireland and England, between 1689 and 1746. Following the deposition of James II of England and VII of Scotland in the Glorious Revolution, the aims of the risings were to return the Stuart monarch, and later his descendants, to the thrones of England and Scotland (and after 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain). They take their name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
While conflict broke out in 1689, 1715, and 1719, the most famous rising is probably the last, that of 1745. During the “Forty-five" Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie, led an army from the Scottish Highlands as far south as Derby before retreating north to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Culloden was the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil and marked the end of any serious attempt to restore the house of Stuart to the throne.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a Brick to the Past creation built by Dan Harris, James Pegrum, Simon Pickard, Tim Goddard and Steve Snasdell. It was unveiled for the first time at the Bricktastic in July 2017 and went on display again at The Great Western Brick Show in October. It is now on display at Stirling Castle until February 2nd 2018.
A contribution to Thorsten Bonsch's (Xenomurphy) Batman - Arkham Asylum build.
The design of this vehicle was inspired by the graphic novel Batman: Nine Lives published by DC Comics in 2002, written by Dean Motter, with art by Michael Lark.
See more of the amazing Batman - Arkham Asylum creation here: www.flickr.com/photos/xenomurphy/10581191764/
La Cattedrale di Santa Maria Fiore - Duomo, Firenze (Florença)
www.google.com/maps?q=florença%20italia&layer=c&...
Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia:
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the cathedral church of Florence, Italy. The Duomo, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.
The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.
The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is currently Giuseppe Betori.
he Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore was built on the site of an earlier cathedral dedicated to Saint Reparata.[1] The ancient building, founded in the early 5th century and having undergone many repairs, was crumbling with age, as attested in the 14th century Nuova Cronica of Giovanni Villani,[2] and was no longer large enough to serve the growing population of the city.[2] Other major Tuscan cities had undertaken ambitious reconstructions of their cathedrals during the Late Medieval period, as seen at Pisa and particularly Siena where the enormous proposed extensions were never completed.
The new church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and approved by city council in 1294. Arnolfo di Cambio was also architect of the church of Santa Croce and the Palazzo Vecchio. He designed three wide naves ending under the octagonal dome, with the middle nave covering the area of Santa Reparata. The first stone was laid on September 9, 1296 by Cardinal Valeriana, the first papal legate ever sent to Florence. The building of this vast project was to last 170 years, the collective efforts of several generations; Arnolfo's plan for the eastern end, although maintained in concept, was greatly expanded in size.
After Arnolfo died in 1302, work on the cathedral slowed for the following thirty years. The project obtained new impetus, when the relics of Saint Zenobius were discovered in 1330 in Santa Reparata. In 1331, the Arte della Lana, the [=[Guilds of Florence|guild of wool merchants]], took over exclusive patronage for the construction of the cathedral and in 1334 appointed Giotto to oversee the work. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued di Cambio's design. His major accomplishment was the building of the campanile. When Giotto died in 1337, Andrea Pisano continued the building until work was again halted due to the Black PDeath in 1348.
In 1349 work resumed on the cathedral under a series of architects, commencing with Francesco Talenti, who finished the campanile and enlarged the overall project to include the apse and the side chapels. In 1359 Talenti was succeeded by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini (1360–1369) who divided the center nave in four square bays. Other architects were Alberto Arnoldi, Giovanni d'Ambrogio, Neri di Fioravante and Andrea Orcagna. By 1375 the old church Santa Reparata was pulled down. The nave was finished by 1380, and by 1418 only the dome remained incomplete.
On 19 August 1418, the Arte della Lana announced a structural design competition for erecting Neri's dome. The two main competitors were two master goldsmiths, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, who was supported by Cosimo de Medici. Ghiberti had been winner of a competition for a pair of bronze doors for the Baptistery in 1401 and lifelong competition between the two remained acute. Brunelleschi won and received the commission.[3]
Ghiberti, appointed coadjutator, was drawing a salary equal to Brunelleschi's and, though neither was awarded the announced prize of 200 florins, would potentially earn equal credit, while spending most of his time on other projects. When Brunelleschi became ill, or feigned illness, the project was briefly in the hands of Ghiberti. But Ghiberti soon had to admit that the whole project was beyond him. In 1423 Brunelleschi was back in charge and took over sole responsibility.[4]
Work started on the dome in 1420 and was completed in 1436. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV on March 25, 1436 (the first day of the year according to the Florentine calendar). It was the first 'octagonal' dome in history to be built without a temporary wooden supporting frame: the Roman Pantheon, a circular dome, was built in 117–128 AD with support structures. It was one of the most impressive projects of the Renaissance. During the consecration service in 1436, Guillaume Dufay's similarly unique motet Nuper rosarum flores was performed. The structure of this motet was strongly influenced by the structure of the dome.
The decoration of the exterior of the cathedral, begun in the 14th century, was not completed until 1887, when the polychrome marble façade was completed to the design of Emilio De Fabris. The floor of the church was relaid in marble tiles in the 16th century.
The exterior walls are faced in alternate vertical and horizontal bands of polychrome marble from Carrara (white), Prato (green), Siena (red), Lavenza and a few other places. These marble bands had to repeat the already existing bands on the walls of the earlier adjacent baptistery the Battistero di San Giovanni and Giotto's Bell Tower. There are two lateral doors, the Doors of the Canonici (south side) and the Door of the Mandorla (north side) with sculptures by Nanni di Banco, Donatello, and Jacopo della Quercia. The six lateral windows, notable for their delicate tracery and ornaments, are separated by pilasters. Only the four windows closest to the transept admit light; the other two are merely ornamental. The clerestory windows are round, a common feature in Italian Gothic.
During its long history, this cathedral has been the seat of the Council of Florence (1439), heard the preachings of Girolamo Savonarola and witnessed the murder of Giuliano di Piero de' Medici on Sunday, 26 April 1478 (with Lorenzo Il Magnifico barely escaping death) in the Pazzi conspiracy.
Exterior
Plan and structure
The cathedral of Florence is built as a basilica, having a wide central nave of four square bays, with an aisle on either side. The chancel and transepts are of identical polygonal plan, separated by two smaller polygonal chapels. The whole plan forms a Latin cross. The nave and aisles are separated by wide pointed Gothic arches resting on composite piers.
The dimensions of the building are enormous: length 153 metres (502 ft), width 38 metres (124 ft), width at the crossing 90 metres (295 ft). The height of the arches in the aisles is 23 metres (75 ft). The height from pavement to the opening of the lantern in the dome is also 90 metres (295 ft).
Dome
By the beginning of the fifteenth century, after a hundred years of construction, the structure was still missing its dome. The basic features of the dome had been designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. His brick model, 4.6 metres (15 ft) high 9.2 metres (30 ft) long, was standing in a side isle of the unfinished building, and had long ago become sacrosanct.[5] It called for an octagonal dome higher and wider than any that had ever been built, with no external buttresses to keep it from spreading and falling under its own weight.
The Duomo viewed from the heights of Piazzale Michelangelo
The commitment to reject traditional Gothic buttresses had been made when Neri di Fioravante's model was chosen over a competing one by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini.[6] That architectural choice, in 1367, was one of the first events of the Italian Renaissance, marking a break with the Medieval Gothic style and a return to the classic Mediterranean dome. Italian architects regarded Gothic flying buttresses as ugly makeshifts, in addition to being a style favored by central Italy's traditional enemies to the north.[7] Neri's model depicted a massive inner dome, open at the top to admit light, like Rome's Pantheon, but enclosed in a thinner outer shell, partly supported by the inner dome, to keep out the weather. It was to stand on an unbuttressed octagonal drum. Neri's dome would need an internal defense against spreading (hoop stress), but none had yet been designed.
The building of such a masonry dome posed many technical problems. Brunelleschi looked to the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome for solutions. The dome of the Pantheon is a single shell of concrete, the formula for which had long since been forgotten. A wooden form had held the Pantheon dome aloft while its concrete set, but for the height and breadth of the dome designed by Neri, starting 52 metres (171 ft) above the floor and spanning 44 metres (144 ft), there was not enough timber in Tuscany to build the scaffolding and forms.[8] Brunelleschi chose to follow such design and employed a double shell, made of sandstone and marble. Brunelleschi would have to build the dome out of bricks, due to its light weight compared to stone and easier to form, and with nothing under it during construction. To illustrate his proposed structural plan, he constructed a wooden and brick model with the help of Donatello and Nanni di Banco and still displayed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The model served as a guide for the craftsmen, but was intentionally incomplete, so as to ensure Brunelleschi's control over the construction.
Brunelleschi's solutions were ingenious. The spreading problem was solved by a set of four internal horizontal stone and iron chains, serving as barrel hoops, embedded within the inner dome: one each at the top and bottom, with the remaining two evenly spaced between them. A fifth chain, made of wood, was placed between the first and second of the stone chains. Since the dome was octagonal rather than round, a simple chain, squeezing the dome like a barrel hoop, would have put all its pressure on the eight corners of the dome. The chains needed to be rigid octagons, stiff enough to hold their shape, so as not to deform the dome as they held it together.
Each of Brunelleschi's stone chains was built like an octagonal railroad track with parallel rails and cross ties, all made of sandstone beams 43 centimetres (17 in) in diameter and no more than 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) long. The rails were connected end-to-end with lead-glazed iron splices. The cross ties and rails were notched together and then covered with the bricks and mortar of the inner dome. The cross ties of the bottom chain can be seen protruding from the drum at the base of the dome. The others are hidden. Each stone chain was supposed to be reinforced with a standard iron chain made of interlocking links, but a magnetic survey conducted in the 1970s failed to detect any evidence of iron chains, which if they exist are deeply embedded in the thick masonry walls. He was also able to accomplish this by setting vertical "ribs" on the corners of the octagon curving towards the center point. The ribs had slits, where platforms could be erected out of and work could progressively continue as they worked up,a system for scaffolding.[9]
A circular masonry dome, such as that of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul can be built without supports, called centering, because each course of bricks is a horizontal arch that resists compression. In Florence, the octagonal inner dome was thick enough for an imaginary circle to be embedded in it at each level, a feature that would hold the dome up eventually, but could not hold the bricks in place while the mortar was still wet. Brunelleschi used a herringbone brick pattern to transfer the weight of the freshly laid bricks to the nearest vertical ribs of the non-circular dome.[10]
The outer dome was not thick enough to contain embedded horizontal circles, being only 60 centimetres (2 ft) thick at the base and 30 centimetres (1 ft) thick at the top. To create such circles, Brunelleschi thickened the outer dome at the inside of its corners at nine different elevations, creating nine masonry rings, which can be observed today from the space between the two domes. To counteract hoop stress, the outer dome relies entirely on its attachment to the inner dome at its base; it has no embedded chains.[11]
A modern understanding of physical laws and the mathematical tools for calculating stresses was centuries into the future. Brunelleschi, like all cathedral builders, had to rely on intuition and whatever he could learn from the large scale models he built. To lift 37,000 tons of material, including over 4 million bricks, he invented hoisting machines and lewissons for hoisting large stones. These specially designed machines and his structural innovations were Brunelleschi's chief contribution to architecture. Although he was executing an aesthetic plan made half a century earlier, it is his name, rather than Neri's, that is commonly associated with the dome.
Brunelleschi's ability to crown the dome with a lantern was questioned and he had to undergo another competition. He was declared the winner over his competitors Lorenzo Ghiberti and Antonio Ciaccheri. His design was for an octagonal lantern with eight radiating buttresses and eight high arched windows (now on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo). Construction of the lantern was begun a few months before his death in 1446. Then, for 15 years, little progress was possible, due to alterations by several architects. The lantern was finally completed by Brunelleschi's friend Michelozzo in 1461. The conical roof was crowned with a gilt copper ball and cross, containing holy relics, by Verrocchio in 1469. This brings the total height of the dome and lantern to 114.5 metres (375 ft). This copper ball was struck by lightning on 17 July 1600 and fell down. It was replaced by an even larger one two years later.
The commission for this bronze ball [atop the lantern] went to the sculptor Andrea del Verrocchio, in whose workshop there was at this time a young apprentice named Leonardo da Vinci. Fascinated by Filippo's [Brunelleschi's] machines, which Verrocchio used to hoist the ball, Leonardo made a series of sketches of them and, as a result, is often given credit for their invention.[12]
Leonardo might have also participated in the design of the bronze ball, as stated in the G manuscript of Paris "Remember the way we soldered the ball of Santa Maria del Fiore".[13]
The decorations of the drum gallery by Baccio d'Agnolo were never finished after being disapproved by no one less than Michelangelo.
A huge statue of Brunelleschi now sits outside the Palazzo dei Canonici in the Piazza del Duomo, looking thoughtfully up towards his greatest achievement, the dome that would forever dominate the panorama of Florence. It is still the largest masonry dome in the world.[14]
The building of the cathedral had started in 1296 with the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was completed in 1469 with the placing of Verrochio's copper ball atop the lantern. But the façade was still unfinished and would remain so until the nineteenth century.
Façade
Façade of the cathedral
The original façade, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio and usually attributed to Giotto, was actually begun twenty years after Giotto's death.[citation needed] A mid-15th century pen-and-ink drawing of this so-called Giotto's façade is visible in the Codex Rustici, and in the drawing of Bernardino Poccetti in 1587, both on display in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo. This façade was the collective work of several artists, among them Andrea Orcagna and Taddeo Gaddi. This original façade was only completed in its lower portion and then left unfinished. It was dismantled in 1587-1588 by the Medici court architect Bernardo Buontalenti, ordered by Grand Duke Francesco I de' Medici, as it appeared totally outmoded in Renaissance times. Some of the original sculptures are on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo, behind the cathedral. Others are now in the Berlin Museum and in the Louvre. The competition for a new façade turned into a huge corruption scandal. The wooden model for the façade of Buontalenti is on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo. A few new designs had been proposed in later years but the models (of Giovanni Antonio Dosio, Giovanni de' Medici with Alessandro Pieroni and Giambologna) were not accepted. The façade was then left bare until the 19th century.
Main portal of the cathedral
In 1864, a competition was held to design a new façade and was won by Emilio De Fabris (1808–1883) in 1871. Work began in 1876 and completed in 1887. This neo-gothic façade in white, green and red marble forms a harmonious entity with the cathedral, Giotto's bell tower and the Baptistery, but some think it is excessively decorated.
The whole façade is dedicated to the Mother of Christ.
Main portal
The three huge bronze doors date from 1899 to 1903. They are adorned with scenes from the life of the Madonna. The mosaics in the lunettes above the doors were designed by Niccolò Barabino. They represent (from left to right): Charity among the founders of Florentine philanthropic institutions, Christ enthroned with Mary and John the Baptist, and Florentine artisans, merchants and humanists. The pediment above the central portal contains a half-relief by Tito Sarrocchi of Mary enthroned holding a flowered scepter. Giuseppe Cassioli sculpted the right hand door.
On top of the façade is a series of niches with the twelve Apostles with, in the middle, the Madonna with Child. Between the rose window and the tympanum, there is a gallery with busts of great Florentine artists.
Interior
The Gothic interior is vast and gives an empty impression. The relative bareness of the church corresponds with the austerity of religious life, as preached by Girolamo Savonarola.
Many decorations in the church have been lost in the course of time, or have been transferred to the Museum Opera del Duomo, such as the magnificent cantorial pulpits (the singing galleries for the choristers) of Luca della Robbia and Donatello.
As this cathedral was built with funds from the public, some important works of art in this church honour illustrious men and military leaders of Florence:
Dante Before the City of Florence by Domenico di Michelino (1465). This painting is especially interesting because it shows us, apart from scenes of the Divine Comedy, a view on Florence in 1465, a Florence such as Dante himself could not have seen in his time.
Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood by Paolo Uccello (1436). This almost monochrome fresco, transferred on canvas in the 19th c., is painted in terra verde, a color closest to the patina of bronze.
Equestrian statue of Niccolò da Tolentino by Andrea del Castagno (1456). This fresco, transferred on canvas in the 19th c., in the same style as the previous one, is painted in a color resembling marble. However, it is more richly decorated and gives more the impression of movement. Both frescoes portray the condottieri as heroic figures riding triumphantly. Both painters had problems when applying in painting the new rules of perspective to foreshortening: they used two unifying points, one for the horse and one for the pedestal, instead a single unifying point.
Busts of Giotto (by Benedetto da Maiano), Brunelleschi (by Buggiano - 1447), Marsilio Ficino, and Antonio Squarcialupi (a most famous organist). These busts all date from the 15th and the 16th century.
Above the main door is the colossal clock face with fresco portraits of four Prophets or Evangelists by Paolo Uccello (1443). This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of the hora italica (Italian time), a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours. This timetable was used till the 18th century. This is one of the few clocks from that time that still exist and are in working order.
The church is particularly notable for its 44 stained glass windows, the largest undertaking of this kind in Italy in the 14th and 15th century. The windows in the aisles and in the transept depict saints from the Old and the New Testament, while the circular windows in the drum of the dome or above the entrance depict Christ and Mary. They are the work of the greatest Florentine artists of their times, such as Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno.
Christ crowning Mary as Queen, the stained-glass circular window above the clock, with a rich range of coloring, was designed by Gaddo Gaddi in the early 14th century.
Donatello designed the stained-glass window (Coronation of the Virgin) in the drum of the dome (the only one that can be seen from the nave).
The beautiful funeral monument of Antonio d'Orso (1323), bishop of Florence, was made by Tino da Camaino, the most important funeral sculptor of his time.
The monumental crucifix, behind the Bishop's Chair at the high altar, is by Benedetto da Maiano (1495–1497). The choir enclosure is the work of the famous Bartolommeo Bandinelli. The ten-paneled bronze doors of the sacristy were made by Luca della Robbia, who has also two glazed terracotta works inside the sacristy: Angel with Candlestick and Resurrection of Christ.
In the back of the middle of the three apses is the altar of Saint Zanobius, first bishop of Florence. Its silver shrine, a masterpiece of Ghiberti, contains the urn with his relics. The central compartment shows us one his miracles, the reviving of a dead child. Above this shrine is the painting Last Supper by the lesser-known Giovanni Balducci. There was also a glass-paste mosaic panel The Bust of Saint Zanobius by the 16th century miniaturist Monte di Giovanni, but it is now on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo.
Many decorations date from the 16th-century patronage of the Grand Dukes, such as the pavement in colored marble, attributed to Baccio d'Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo (1520–26). Some pieces of marble from the façade were used, topside down, in the flooring (as was shown by the restoration of the floor after the 1966 flooding).
It was suggested that the interior of the 45 metre (147 ft) wide dome should be covered with a mosaic decoration to make the most of the available light coming through the circular windows of the drum and through the lantern. Brunelleschi had proposed the vault to glimmer with resplendent gold, but his death in 1446 put an end to this project, and the walls of the dome were whitewashed. Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici decided to have the dome painted with a representation of The Last Judgment. This enormous work, 3,600 metres² (38 750 ft²) of painted surface, was started in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and would last till 1579. The upper portion, near the lantern, representing The 24 Elders of Apoc. 4 was finished by Vasari before his death in 1574. Federico Zuccari and a number of collaborators, such as Domenico Cresti, finished the other portions: (from top to bottom) Choirs of Angels; Christ, Mary and Saints; Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes; and at the bottom of the cuppola: Capital Sins and Hell. These frescoes are considered Zuccari's greatest work. But the quality of the work is uneven because of the input of different artists and the different techniques. Vasari had used true fresco, while Zuccari had painted in secco. During the restoration work ended in 1995, the entire pictorial cycle of the The Last Judgment was photographed with specially designed equipment and all the information collected in a catalogue. All the restoration information along with reconstructed images of the frescos were stored and managed in the Thesaurus Florentinus computer system.
Crypt
The cathedral underwent difficult excavations between 1965 and 1974. The subterranean vaults were used for the burial of Florentine bishops throughout the centuries.
Recently[when?] the archaeological history of this huge area was reconstructed through the work of Dr Franklin Toker: remains of Roman houses, an early Christian pavement, ruins of the former cathedral of Santa Reparata and successive enlargements of this church. Close to the entrance, in the part of the crypt open to the public, is the tomb of Brunelleschi. While its location is prominent, the actual tomb is simple and humble. That the architect was permitted such a prestigious burial place is proof of the high esteem he was given by the Florentines.
Also buried in the former cathedral of Santa Reparata was Conrad II of Italy.
A seguir, um texto, em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia Livre:
A Basílica di Santa Maria del Fiore é a catedral, ou Duomo[1], da Arquidiocese da Igreja Católica Romana de Florença. Notabilizada por sua monumental cúpula - obra do celebrado arquiteto renascentista Brunelleschi - e pelo campanário, de Giotto, é uma das obras da arte gótica e da primeira renascença italiana, considerada de fundamenal importância para a História da Arquitetura, registro da riqueza e do poder da capital da Toscana nos séculos XIII e XIV. Seu nome (cuja tradução é Santa Maria da Flor) parece referir-se ao lilium, símbolo de Florença, mas, documento [2] do Século XV, por outro lado, informa que “flor”, no caso, refere a Cristo.
História
O Duomo de Florença, como o vemos hoje, é o resultado de um trabalho que se estendeu por seis séculos. Seu projeto básico foi elaborado por Arnolfo di Cambio no final do século XIII, sua cúpula é obra de Filippo Brunelleschi, e sua fachada teve de esperar até o século XIX para ser concluída. Ao longo deste tempo uma série de intervenções estruturais e decorativas no exterior e interior enriqueceriam o monumento, dentre elas a construção de duas sacristias e a execução de esculturas e afrescos por Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno, Giorgio Vasari e Federico Zuccari, autor do Juízo Final no interior da cúpula. Foi construída no lugar da antiga catedral dedicada a Santa Reparata, que funcionou durante nove séculos até ser demolida completamente em 1375.
Em 1293, durante a República Florentina, o notário Ser Mino de Cantoribus sugeriu a substituição de Santa Reparata por uma catedral ainda maior e mais magnificente, de tal forma que "a indústria e o poder do homem não pudessem inventar ou mesmo tentar nada maior ou mais belo", e estava preparado para finaciar a construção. Entretanto, esperava-se que a população contribuísse, e todos os testamentos passaram a incluir uma cláusula de doação para as obras. O projeto foi confiado a Arnolfo em 1294, e ele cerimoniosamente lançou a pedra fundamental em 8 de setembro de 1296.
Arnolfo trabalhou na construção até 1302, ano de sua morte, e embora o estilo dominante da época fosse o gótico, seu projeto foi concebido com uma grandiosiddade clássica. Arnolfo só pôde trabalhar em duas capelas e na fachada, que ele teve tempo de completar e decorar só em parte. Com a morte do arquiteto o trabalho de construção sofreu uma parada. Um novo impulso foi dado quando em 1330 foi descoberto o corpo de São Zenóbio em Santa Reparata, que ainda estava parcialmente de pé. Giotto di Bondone então foi indicado supervisor em 1334, e mesmo que não tivesse muito tempo de vida (morreu em 1337) ele decidiu concentrar suas energias na construção do campanário. Giotto foi sucedido por Andrea Pisano até 1348, quando a peste reduziu a população da cidade de 90 mil para 45 mil habitantes.
Sob Francesco Talenti, supervisor entre 1349 e 1359, o campanário foi concluído e preparou-se um novo projeto para o Duomo, com a colaboração de Giovanni di Lapo Ghini: a nave central foi dividida em quatro espaços quadrangulares com duas alas retangulares, reduzindo o número de janelas planejadas por Arnolfo. Em 1370 a construção já estava bem adiantada, o mesmo se dando com o novo projeto para a abside, que foi circundada por tribunas que amplificaram o trifólio de Arnolfo. Por fim Santa Reparata terminou de ser demolida em 1375. Ao mesmo tempo continuou-se o trabalho de revestimento externo com mármores e decoração em torno das entradas laterais, a Porta dei Canonici (sul) e a Porta della Mandorla (norte), esta coroada com um relevo da Assunção, última obra de Nanni di Banco.
Contudo, o problema da cúpula ainda não fora resolvido. Brunelleschi fez seu primeiro projeto em 1402, mas o manteve em segredo. Em 1418, a Opera del Duomo, a centenária empresa administradora dos trabalhos na Catedral, anunciou um concurso que Brunelleschi haveria de vencer, mas o trabalho não iniciaria senão dois anos mais tarde, continuando até 1434. A Catedral foi consagrada pelo Papa Eugênio IV em 25 de março (o Ano Novo florentino) de 1436, 140 anos depois do início da construção. Os arremates que ainda esperavam conclusão eram a lanterna da cúpula (colocada em 1461) e o revestimento externo com mármores brancos de Carrara, verdes de Prato, e vermelhos de Siena, de acordo com o projeto original de Arnolfo.
A fachada
A fachada original, desenhada por Arnolfo di Cambio, só foi começada em meados do século XV, realizada de fato por vários artistas em uma obra coletiva, mas de toda forma só foi terminada até o terço inferior. Esta parte foi desmantelada por ordem de Francesco I de Medici entre 1587 e 1588, pois era considerada totalmente fora de moda naquela altura. O concurso que foi aberto para a criação de uma nova fachada acabou em um escândalo, e os desenhos subseqüentes que foram apresentados não foram aceitos. A fachada ficou, então, despida até o século XIX, mas estatuária e ornamentos originais sobrevivem no Museu Opera del Duomo e em museus de Paris e Berlim.
Em 1864, Emilio de Fabris venceu um concurso para uma nova fachada, que é a que vemos hoje, um enorme e magistral trabalho de mosaico em mármores coloridos em estilo neogótico, com uma volumetria dinâmica e harmoniosa. Pronta em 1887, foi dedicada à Virgem Maria, e é ricamente adornada com estatuária de elegante e austero desenho. Em 1903 terminaram-se as monumentais portas de bronze, com várias cenas em relevo e outras decorações.
Interior
Sua planta é basilical, com três naves, divididas por grandes arcos suportados por colunas monumentais. Tem 153 metros de comprido por 38 metros de largo, e 90 metros no transepto. Seus arcos se elevam até 23 metros de altura, e o cume da cúpula, a 90 metros.
Suas decorações internas são austeras, e muitas se perderam no curso dos séculos. Alguns elementos acharam abrigo no Museu Opera del Duomo, como os coros de Luca della Robbia e Donatello. Subsistem também os monumentos a Dante, a John Hawkwood, a Niccolò da Tolentino, a Antonio d'Orso, e os bustos de Giotto (de Benedetto da Maiano), Brunelleschi (de Buggiano - 1447), Marsilio Ficino, e Antonio Squarcialupi.
Sobre a porta de entrada há um relógio colossal com decoração em pintura de Paolo Uccello, e acertado de acordo com a hora italica, uma divisão do tempo comumente empregada na Itália até o século XVIII, que dava o por-do-sol como o início do dia.
Os vitrais são os maiores em seu gênero na Itália entre os séculos XIV e XV, com imagens de santos do Velho e Novo Testamento. O crucifixo é obra de Benedetto da Maiano, a talha do coro de Bartolommeo Bandinelli, e as portas da sacristia são de Luca della Robbia.
www.flickr.com/groups/1000_words
These members have received the A Thousand Words! AWARD for excellence in creativity, sensitivity and communication. The photo and comment will be featured on the main page of the group for a minimum of two weeks to honor their contribution to the group.
Desired
For her beautiful portrait called Happy Together:
Lilion
For her insights:
"there are some place in the world,
where people live in the country far from the "civilisation",
but happily. probably they do not know much about the "outside" life. they have their own special living. they have their own spirit...
i think this is a predestination for them... they look like they have one soul in two body.
beautiful documentary photo !!!"
(This is a couple living in the elderlyhome of Pashupathi Nath, Nepal (near Kathmandu)
They don't get much company because there's no family who can or will take care of them.
This couple was very friendly and incisted that i joined drinking chai (thee) with them in their little dark room.
Most of the people there are very sweet.
One old lady thought i was her daughter, it's sad that they miss their family but i also saw that they enjoyed theirselves a lot with dancing and making music!
I went back the other day :))
This is part of my contribution to this year's Brick to the Past model, The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne. To be fair this is a team effort with James Pegrum providing the landscape and me providing and setting up the armies. Simon Pickard also provided a load of troops.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a LEGO model of a series of uprisings, rebellions and wars that occurred predominantly in Scotland, but also spread into Ireland and England, between 1689 and 1746. Following the deposition of James II of England and VII of Scotland in the Glorious Revolution, the aims of the risings were to return the Stuart monarch, and later his descendants, to the thrones of England and Scotland (and after 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain). They take their name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
While conflict broke out in 1689, 1715, and 1719, the most famous rising is probably the last, that of 1745. During the “Forty-five" Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie, led an army from the Scottish Highlands as far south as Derby before retreating north to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Culloden was the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil and marked the end of any serious attempt to restore the house of Stuart to the throne.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a Brick to the Past creation built by Dan Harris, James Pegrum, Simon Pickard, Tim Goddard and Steve Snasdell. It was unveiled for the first time at the Bricktastic in July 2017 and went on display again at The Great Western Brick Show in October. It is now on display at Stirling Castle until February 2nd 2018.
This is part of my contribution to this year's Brick to the Past model, The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain's Throne. To be fair this is a team effort with James Pegrum providing the landscape and me providing and setting up the armies. Simon Pickard also provided a load of troops.
Troops provided by the French included the Royal Scots (Royal Ecossais), who were originally formed as bodyguards for Valois Charles VII of France in 1418. The Royal Scots did not arrive in Scotland until late in the Campaign, landing in Montrose on 7th December 1745.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a LEGO model of a series of uprisings, rebellions and wars that occurred predominantly in Scotland, but also spread into Ireland and England, between 1689 and 1746. Following the deposition of James II of England and VII of Scotland in the Glorious Revolution, the aims of the risings were to return the Stuart monarch, and later his descendants, to the thrones of England and Scotland (and after 1707, the Kingdom of Great Britain). They take their name from Jacobus, the Latin form of James.
While conflict broke out in 1689, 1715, and 1719, the most famous rising is probably the last, that of 1745. During the “Forty-five" Charles Edward Stuart, also known as the Young Pretender or Bonnie Prince Charlie, led an army from the Scottish Highlands as far south as Derby before retreating north to be decisively defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Culloden was the last pitched battle to be fought on British soil and marked the end of any serious attempt to restore the house of Stuart to the throne.
The Jacobite Risings: The Fight for Britain’s Throne is a Brick to the Past creation built by Dan Harris, James Pegrum, Simon Pickard, Tim Goddard and Steve Snasdell. It was unveiled for the first time at the Bricktastic in July 2017 and went on display again at The Great Western Brick Show in October. It is now on display at Stirling Castle until February 2nd 2018.
Artizen HDR
All information taken from www.wattsgallery.org.uk/ and Wikipedia
Designed and built by Mary Watts, the Chapel is a unique fusion of art nouveau, Celtic, Romanesque and Egyptian influence with Mary's own original style.
As followers of the Home Arts and Industries Association, set up by Earl Brownlow in 1885 to encourage handicrafts among the lower classes, the Chapel was the Watts's contribution to this characteristically Victorian preoccupation with social improvement through creative enlightenment. Mary passionately believed that anyone with a real interest and enthusiasm could be taught how to produce beautiful decoration, if in the process it kept them away from the 'gin palaces' of Guildford, this was surely a good thing. With this belief firmly in mind she encouraged all from the village, whatever their social status, up to their house Limnerslease for instruction in clay modelling.
The clay came from a seam that was discovered in the grounds of their house, apparently not unusual for this area. Taking this as a sign, Mary embarked upon the project with her usual determination, writing to the Parish Council in 1895 offering to build a new cemetery chapel, as the old graveyard in the village church of St Nicholas was full to capacity.
Her offer was accepted. As early as 1888 concerned parishioners had discussed the problem of space and plans were therefore already underway for land to be purchased from the Loseley Estate. Mary had produced her clay model of the new chapel by August 1895 and later that year the sale of land from William More-Molyneux was agreed.
The first clay modelling class took place at Limnerslease on Thursday 14 November 1895. All were welcome, from the local lady of the manor to her farm boys, as long as there was a genuine desire to learn, Mary was happy.
After a few weeks learning how to handle clay and modelling simple decorations, they would begin to make clay tiles from the plates Mrs Watts had prepared.
The design itself is an amalgamation of inspiration, every aspect having symbolic meaning. The Circle of Eternity with its intersecting Cross of Faith is from pre-historic times and symbolises the power of redeeming love stretching to the four quarters of the earth. The dome is traditionally seen as emblematic of heaven, the four panels on the exterior containing friezes symbolising the Spirit of Hope, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Light.
The exterior of the Chapel was finished in 1898, but the decoration of the interior took a while longer. Mary took the most talented of her craftsmen and women and together they created the stunning gesso interior, finally completing it in 1904.
The Chapel is Parish property and is open to the public daily.
George Frederic Watts, OM (23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904; sometimes spelt "George Frederick Watts") was a popular English Victorian painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolist movement.
Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as Hope (see image) and Love and Life. These paintings were intended to form part of an epic symbolic cycle called the "House of Life", in which the emotions and aspirations of life would all be represented in a universal symbolic language.
Watts was born in Marylebone, London, the delicate son of a poor piano-maker. He showed promise very early, learning sculpture from the age of 10 with William Behnes and enroling as a student at the Royal Academy at the age of 18. He came to the public eye with a drawing entitled Caractacus, which was entered for a competition to design murals for the new Houses of Parliament at Westminster in 1843. Watts won a first prize in the competition, which was intended to promote narrative paintings on patriotic subjects, appropriate to the nation's legislature. In the end Watts made little contribution to the Westminster decorations, but from it he conceived his vision of a building covered with murals representing the spiritual and social evolution of humanity.
Visiting Italy in the mid-1840s, Watts was inspired by Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel, but back in Britain he was unable to obtain a building in which to carry out his plan. In consequence most of his major works are conventional oil paintings, some of which were intended as studies for the House of Life.
In the 1860s, Watts's work shows the influence of Rossetti, often emphasising sensuous pleasure and rich color. Among these paintings is a portrait of his young wife, the actress Ellen Terry, who was nearly 30 years his junior – just seven days short of her 17th birthday when they married on 20 February 1864. When she eloped with another man after less than a year of marriage, Watts was obliged to divorce her (though this process was not completed until 1877). In 1886 at the age of 69 he re-married, to Mary Fraser-Tytler, a Scottish designer and potter, then aged 36.
Watts's association with Rossetti and the Aesthetic movement altered during the 1870s, as his work increasingly combined Classical traditions with a deliberately agitated and troubled surface, in order to suggest the dynamic energies of life and evolution, as well as the tentative and transitory qualities of life. These works formed part of a revised version of the house of life, influenced by the ideas of Max Müller, the founder of comparative religion. Watts hoped to trace the evolving "mythologies of the races [of the world]" in a grand synthesis of spiritual ideas with modern science, especially Darwinian evolution.
In 1881, having moved to London, he set up a studio at his home at Little Holland House in Kensington, and his epic paintings were exhibited in Whitechapel by his friend and social reformer Canon Samuel Barnett. Refusing the baronetcy offered him by Queen Victoria, he later moved to a house, "Limnerslease", near Compton, south of Guildford, in Surrey.
After moving into "Limnerslease" in 1891, Watts and his wife Mary arranged the building of the Watts Gallery nearby, a museum dedicated to his work – the first (and now the only) purpose-built gallery in Britain devoted to a single artist – which opened in April 1904, shortly before his death. Watts's wife Mary designed the nearby Mortuary Chapel. Many of his paintings are also held at the Tate Gallery – he donated 18 of his symbolic paintings to the Tate in 1897, and three more in 1900. He was elected as an Academician to the Royal Academy in 1867 and accepted the Order of Merit in 1902.
In his late paintings, Watts's creative aspirations mutate into mystical images such as The Sower of the Systems, in which Watts seems to anticipate abstract art. This painting depicts God as a barely visible shape in an energised pattern of stars and nebulae. Some of Watts's other late works also seem to anticipate the paintings of Picasso's Blue Period.
Watts was also admired as a portrait painter. His portraits were of the most important men and women of the day, intended to form a "House of Fame". Many of these are now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery – 17 were donated in 1895, with more than 30 more added subsequently. In his portraits Watts sought to create a tension between disciplined stability and the power of action. He was also notable for emphasising the signs of strain and wear on his sitter's faces. Sitters included Charles Dilke, Thomas Carlyle and William Morris.
During his last years Watts also turned to sculpture. His most famous work, the large bronze statue Physical Energy, depicts a naked man on horseback shielding his eyes from the sun as he looks ahead of him. It was originally intended to be dedicated to Muhammad, Attila, Tamerlane and Genghis Khan, thought by Watts to epitomise the raw energetic will to power. A cast was placed at Rhodes Memorial in Cape Town, South Africa honouring the grandiose imperial vision of Cecil Rhodes. Watts's essay "Our Race as Pioneers" indicates his support for imperialism, which he believed to be a progressive force. There is also a casting of this work in London's Kensington Gardens, overlooking the north-west side of the Serpentine.