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3 February 2015
Members of the Saeima at the meeting devoted to the European Semester held in Brussels.
Photo: Juris Vīgulis, Chancellery of the Saeima
Disclaimer & copyright: saeima.lv/en/copyrights
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
Arundel Cathedral, Arundel, Sussex
Pray for the souls of five devoted brothers
Lieut. Henry J Maxwell Stuart killed 9 Oct 1917 aged 30
Lieut. Edmund Maxwell Stuart killed 24 Ap 1916 aged 23
Lieut. Joseph Maxwell Stuart killed 2 March 1916 aged 19
2nd Lieut. Alfred J Maxwell Stuart died of wounds 24 Aug 1918 aged 20
Philip J Maxwell Stuart died 13 Dec 1975 aged 72 (POW Far East 1941-5)
They whom this monument represents were numbered among those who at the call of King and country left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten.
Maria Theresa of Austria ( born May 13, 1717 in Vienna ; † November 29 , 1780 there) was a princess from the House of Habsburg . The Archduchess of Austria and Queen among others, who reigned from 1740 until her death . of Hungary (with Croatia ) and Bohemia was among the formative monarchs of the era of enlightened absolutism . After the death of the Wittelsbacher Charles VII in 1745, she achieved the election and coronation of her husband Franz I Stephen as Holy Roman Emperor . Without any power of his own and without any significant military or political talent, Franz Stephan devoted himself primarily to the financial security of the imperial family, in which he was very successful. His wife ran the government of the Habsburg Monarchy alone. Like every wife of an emperor, she was titled Empress, although she was not crowned herself.
Immediately after taking power, Maria Theresa had to endure the War of the Austrian Succession . Although in the Peace of Aachen in 1748 it lost most of Silesia and the County of Glatz to Frederick II of Prussia and the duchies of Parma and Piacenza and Guastalla to Philip , Infante of Spain, it was able to preserve all other Habsburg possessions. As a result, it pursued a comprehensive reform policy in various areas. These included the state organization, the judiciary and the education system . In economic policy it pursued a newer form of mercantilism . In the spirit of enlightened absolutism, the importance of the estates and particular forces was reduced and the central state was thereby strengthened. In terms of foreign policy, Maria Theresa sought a compromise with France . After the Seven Years' War she had to finally give up Silesia. During the First Partition of Poland it acquired Galicia .
After her husband's death in 1765, she made her son Joseph II , who had already been crowned Roman-German king in 1764 as his father's designated successor , co-regent in the Habsburg hereditary lands. However, due to different political ideas, cooperation between mother and son proved to be relatively difficult. Joseph II was the first monarch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine founded by his parents , which ruled until 1918.
Early years
Archduchess Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina of Austria was born on May 13, 1717 as the second child of Emperor Charles VI. and his wife Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel were born in Vienna . Her older brother Leopold Johann was born in 1716 and died in the same year. Maria Theresa remained the eldest of three daughters of Emperor Charles VI, who was the last male descendant of the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg .
In order to secure the female succession, which was unusual on the European mainland (unlike in England and Scandinavia) according to the Salian law of succession ( Lex Salica ), Charles VI had. enacted the Pragmatic Sanction as early as 1713 . This stipulated, on the one hand, that the country could not be divided through inheritance and, on the other hand, that his eldest daughter could succeed him in the absence of a male heir to the throne. He thus abolished the succession of the Salic Law , which excluded the succession of daughters.
Maria Theresa received the usual good upbringing for female descendants of the Arch-House , but was not explicitly prepared for the role of heir to the throne. Her wet nurse and governess (Aja) was Countess Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard , called the Vixen , who became the Aja of the two archduchesses Maria Theresia and Maria Anna after the death of her husband Christoph Ernst Graf Fuchs in 1728 . How important Karoline von Fuchs-Mollard was is clear from the fact that she was the only non-Habsburg woman to be buried in the Capuchin crypt .
Maria Theresa's upbringing focused primarily on religious themes, which significantly influenced her later decisions. The fact that she viewed religion as important connected her with her predecessors and distinguished her politics from those of her two successors. The traditionally good linguistic training included lessons in Latin, Italian and French. While Italian was the preferred language in the imperial family under Leopold I , Maria Theresa preferred French and communicated with her children primarily in French. Maria Theresia herself described the shortcomings of her upbringing in her political memoranda of 1750 and 1755: “To be able to possess the experience and knowledge required for the control of such widely stratified and distributed countries, even less so, as my Mr. Vattern would never be able to please me, did not allow me to do so to be involved in external or internal business or to inform: then I suddenly found myself stripped of money, troops and advice.”
Marriage and family
Given the impending legacy, the question of Maria Theresa's marriage became an important issue in European politics. Various marriage candidates were considered. These included a son of Philip V of Spain , the later Charles III. of Spain , with the prospect of reconnecting Spain with Austria. Great Britain and the Netherlands spoke out against this , fearing a disruption in the balance of power and therefore only wanting to accept a husband from a less powerful house. Another option, particularly favored by Prince Eugen, would have been her marriage to the heir to the Bavarian Electorate . Ultimately, the decision was made by Maria Theresa herself, namely for her marriage to Franz Stephan of Lorraine . He had lived at the Viennese court for a long time, Maria Theresia knew and liked him, and Emperor Karl was not averse either. The marriage took place on February 12, 1736 in Vienna in the Augustinian Church . As part of the European equilibrium policy, Franz Stephan had to renounce his duchies of Lorraine and Bar , but received the right to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1738), which was free after the expected extinction of the Medici .
The couple shared a deep affection, partly because they valued each other before marriage. The marriage was quite happy, although Franz Stephan had various affairs. His favorites included Countess Colloredo, the wife of the Vice Chancellor, Countess Palffy, a lady-in-waiting to his wife, and Princess Maria Wilhelmina von Auersperg , a daughter of his tutor and friend Count Wilhelm Reinhard Neipperg . The marital relationship resulted in 16 descendants. Among them were the two future emperors Joseph II and Leopold II , the Elector of Cologne Maximilian Franz and Marie-Antoinette , who through her marriage to Louis XVI. became Queen of France. Maria Theresia was sometimes overprotective of her children. This did not preclude a strict training program that the mother personally developed for her large group of children. The schedule included dance lessons, theater performances, history, painting, spelling, civics, a little math and learning foreign languages. The girls were also instructed in handicrafts and conversation.
Takeover of government
After her father's death in 1740, Maria Theresa's succession to the throne was in jeopardy, despite her right to it through the Pragmatic Sanction. At the beginning of her reign, Maria Theresa continued to rely on her father's advisory staff, which included, among others, the Supreme Court Chancellor Philipp Ludwig Wenzel von Sinzendorf , the Court Chamber President Thomas Gundacker Graf von Starhemberg and the convert and Privy Secretary of State Johann Christoph Freiherr von Bartenstein . Looking back, Maria Theresia did not say very positively about most of her advisors: “All of my employees, instead of encouraging me, let it sink completely and even acted as if the situation was not desperate at all. It was I alone who retained the most courage in all these tribulations, calling on God's help with childlike trust and frequent prayer." Bartenstein, however, expressly excluded her from this criticism, even emphasizing that "he alone owes the preservation this monarchy. Without him everything would have perished.”
Austrian
→ Main article : War of the Austrian Succession
Although her father had tried everything to gain recognition for the Pragmatic Sanction in Europe, it was called into question after his death. Although Maria Theresa was elected " King of Hungary " in 1741 and " King of Bohemia " in 1743 (the offices retained their names regardless of gender), the House of Wittelsbach based its inheritance claim to Austria on a will of Ferdinand I from 1543. The Saxon dynasty claimed claims to the Bohemian crown and electorate. The Prussian King Frederick II also relied on old traditions to legitimize his claim to parts of Silesia. But above all, he saw the uncertain situation in Austria as favorable for adding Silesia to his empire. France also leaned towards war against Austria.
Taking advantage of Maria Theresa's insecure situation as heir to the throne, Frederick II of Prussia began in the year of Charles VI's death. by invading Silesia , the First Silesian War , which lasted until 1742. At the same time, Maria Theresa had to survive the War of the Austrian Succession . Opposed to it were Bavaria, Spain, Saxony, France, Sweden, Naples, the Electoral Palatinate and Electoral Cologne, whose rulers all asserted claims to at least parts of the empire. Maria Theresa only found support from her allies Great Britain and the Netherlands. Her husband advocated for a settlement right from the start of the war. But despite the desperate situation for her, Maria Theresa, as she later wrote, “acted heartily, hazadiered everything and strained all her strength.” Through this different approach, she largely pushed Franz Stephan into the political sidelines during this time.
A bright spot for her was that on the occasion of her coronation as Rex Hungariae (i.e. king; since a female functional title was not intended, queen would have meant the wife of a male king) the Hungarian She was promised support from 20,000 soldiers.
In the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, however, things looked different. For the first time in centuries, the House of Habsburg was unable to prevail in the imperial election because female office holders were not common. Instead, the Wittelsbach Charles VII was elected. However, despite his imperial dignity, his actual power was small. Just one day after his coronation as emperor in Frankfurt am Main in February 1742, his capital Munich was conquered by Austrian troops. In the same year, Maria Theresa had to cede Silesia and the county of Glatz to Prussia in the Peace of Breslau . The actual war of succession was not yet over.
In 1743, Maria Theresa's troops managed to liberate Prague from the French, who supported Bavaria. On May 12th of this year, Maria Theresa was crowned Queen of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral . At her request, the Olomouc Archbishop Jacob Ernst of Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn carried out the coronation. In 1744, Frederick II of Prussia attacked again and started the Second Silesian War, which lasted a year . After Prussian victories, Maria Theresa had to confirm the loss of Silesia in the Treaty of Dresden in 1745. The War of the Austrian Succession itself was not very successful, although the Austrian side did not suffer any serious defeats.
After the death of Charles VII in 1745, a political success was the election of Franz Stephan as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. From then on, Maria Theresa also called herself “Roman Empress”, but did not allow herself to be formally crowned as such due to her own multiple royal dignity, although this had been the custom for imperial wives since the coronation of Kunigunde in 1014.
The War of Succession ended in 1748 with the Peace of Aachen after both sides failed to achieve decisive military successes . Maria Theresa had to confirm the loss of Silesia once again, and the Habsburg Empire also lost the duchies of Parma and Piacenza and Guastalla to the Spanish Infante Philip of Chinchón . Despite the strong threat, Maria Theresa managed to establish herself as the rightful heir to the throne of Charles VI. to claim.
Reform policy
surrounded by her most important advisors such as State Chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg , State Minister Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz , Prince Josef Wenzel I of Liechtenstein and the doctor Gerard van Swieten
Even during the war, Maria Theresa focused her attention on internal reforms. Their far-reaching changes became known as the “Theresian state reform”. The actual planner was initially the administrative officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz , but since the 1760s State Chancellor Wenzel Anton Kaunitz played an increasingly important role. Also worth mentioning are the camera scientist Joseph von Sonnenfels and the physician and (like Anton de Haen ) personal physician [16] Maria Theresias Gerard van Swieten as a reformer at the University of Vienna .
The Empress was not afraid to learn from Prussia in her reforms. This applies, for example, to an administration that is detached from the estates, to military reform and to education policy. The politics was driven by the spirit of enlightened absolutism . Maria Theresa herself wrote: “So a sovereign is guilty of doing everything he can to accommodate or relieve his countries and subjects as well as their poor, but in no way to waste the collected money on merrymaking, majesty and magnificence.”
A common thread in their reform policy was that the outdated and fragmented corporate institutions should be replaced by a central, absolutist state apparatus. In fact, the importance of the estates and the nobility's right to have a say in the hereditary lands was increasingly pushed back during their reign and was ultimately essentially limited to the manorial rights.
State organization
At the beginning of their reforms in 1742 was the creation of the House, Court and State Chancellery as an authority with primarily foreign policy competences. The actual reform policy began after the end of the War of the Austrian Succession, among other things because, given the high costs of the war, the reform of state finances was particularly urgent, which is why Maria Theresa announced the imposition of additional taxes for the government and the military. This began a fundamental reorganization of the Austrian tax system. The now general tax obligation also covered the nobility and clergy for the first time. A general cadastre (“ Theresian cadastre ”) was introduced as the basis for taxation, which was also important for financial and economic policy.
In 1749 the Directory in publicis et cameralibus was founded. It had political and financial powers that previously lay with the Court Chamber . The Austrian and Bohemian Court Chancellery were absorbed into the new central authority, which centralized and strengthened the government. Below the central authorities, subordinate authorities were created in a hierarchical structure. For the individual countries, with the exception of the Austrian Netherlands and Hungary, where the previous corporate institutions were able to survive, supreme authorities and a district organization below them were created. This also served as a certain protection for the farmers from the arbitrariness of the landlords. The powers of the Directorate continued to increase and from 1756 also included the rights of the General War Commissariat. In the long run, however, the headquarters proved to be too cumbersome, so that responsibility for financial administration was outsourced again in 1761. The authority was renamed the Austrian and Bohemian Court Chancellery .
Under Kaunitz's influence, a State Council was established. This was intended to advise the rulers, but could also submit requests to them. The State Council included three members of the gentry and three members of the knighthood or scholars.
Army reform
The course of the War of the Austrian Succession had made it clear that the army was in need of reform. Maria Theresa doubled the size of her army and an army reform was carried out. The reform was primarily planned by Leopold Joseph von Daun , Karl Alexander of Lorraine and Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein . The previously imperial army became an Austrian army. The Prussian army, opponents in the War of the Austrian Succession, became an important role model. In 1751, Maria Theresia had the Theresian Military Academy built in Wiener Neustadt .
The regular army had a target strength of 108,000 men. This did not include the border guards at the military border in southeastern Europe with around 40,000 men. The Seven Years' War showed that the quality of the army had improved significantly. On the occasion of the victorious Battle of Kolin in 1758, the ruler founded the Order of Maria Theresa . From 1764 onwards, the Order of Saint Stephen was considered a civilian counterpart .
Judicial reforms
Significant reforms of the justice system took place during Maria Theresa's time. The organization of the Reichshofrat was improved and the monarch created a supreme court whose task was to uphold law in the Austrian lands. The patrimonial jurisdiction of the landlords was severely restricted, as were the powers of many city courts. The centralization of the state was opposed by the different forms of jurisprudence in the various territories. Maria Theresia had the rights of the countries collected in the Codex Theresianus published in 1769 . On this basis, legal standardization should be carried out. With the Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana, she introduced uniform criminal law for all Habsburg countries - with the exception of Hungary - for the first time. In terms of content, it was entirely influenced by traditional law. Enlightenment or natural law did not yet play a role. Only in 1776, under the influence of her son Joseph, was torture abolished.
Education policy
Education policy played an important role . The Silesian Augustinian abbot Johann Ignaz von Felbiger , who had been sent to Austria by Frederick II, took on an important role. In 1760, a central authority for educational policy was created with the “Study and Book Censorship Court Commission”. Maria Theresa regulated school operations by introducing general compulsory teaching in the general school regulations for German normal, secondary and trivial schools in all of the Imperial Royal Hereditary Lands (signed on December 6, 1774). Single-class elementary schools were set up in rural areas for children aged six to twelve.
The basic knowledge included religion, reading written and printed texts, curricular writing , arithmetic in five species, and guidance on righteousness and economics. In the (three-class) secondary schools the following were also provided: written essays, geometry, household studies, agriculture, geography and history. Even in the first Theresian school regulations, emphasis was placed on “not just seeing the memory, nor plaguing the youth with memorizing the necessity, but also enlightening their understanding.”
When Maria Theresia died, 500 of these trivial schools already existed. However, it was by no means possible to teach all children. The number of illiterate people remained relatively high. In the cities, secondary schools with three classes were set up. The teachers received their training in normal schools. There was also a reform of the higher education system. In the higher education sector, the abolition of the Jesuit order , which had also controlled the University of Vienna , in 1773 played an important role. The university now became the responsibility of the state. The medical faculty at the University of Vienna was better equipped and the university was expanded to include the New Aula . To this day, teaching continues in the former Theresianum Knight Academy in Vienna that she founded. In addition, other special schools and academies for certain professional sectors were founded. The Mining Academy was founded in Schemnitz in 1770 .
Economic reforms
In economic policy, Maria Theresa followed a younger form of mercantilism , such as that propagated by Joseph von Sonnenfels . The aim was to increase the population, secure food supply and create new earning opportunities. A thriving economy had a positive impact on tax revenues and ultimately helped maintain a large army. Competition with Prussia was also an important factor in economic policy; Maria Theresa was keen to compensate for Silesia's loss by promoting the economy in other areas.
A personal peculiarity was her preference for spinning , which was intended to prevent the population everywhere from idleness and laziness: the feudal spinning obligations were reactivated (1753), all children were supposed to learn to spin in winter (1765), even the soldiers and their families had to go through it Constant spinning shows “industriality”.
Country and city, peasantry and bourgeoisie were supposed to remain separate in their time. The city remained a place for crafts, while only the most necessary crafts remained in the countryside - this separation between city and country seemed necessary to Maria Theresa to maintain balance. However, new manufactories and similar businesses should also be located in the countryside. Initially, following the example of Charles VI. monopolies were still granted, but this was abandoned during the time of Maria Theresa because privileges were not conducive to economic development in the long term. As a result, efficient textile production developed in Bohemia and Moravia. The nobility's willingness to invest in new companies had a positive effect. This willingness was less pronounced in the German part of the monarchy. In Tyrol, the mercantile trade policy even failed because parts of the population resisted the establishment of manufacturers.
The guild regulations were abolished because they stood in the way of economic growth. In foreign trade, exports were pushed, while imports were restricted through tariffs . In the area of internal trade, customs and toll gates were dismantled with the aim of creating a unified economic area. In a customs regulation of 1775, Bohemia and the Austrian hereditary lands were combined to form a customs area. The transit areas of Tyrol, Vorarlberg and the foothills remained as before. Another customs association consisted of Hungary, the Banat and Transylvania . The remaining territories each had their own customs areas. In the area of transport, new canals and roads were built and the postal system was improved.
Maria Theresa sought relief for the farming population. Serfdom was restricted . A urbarial commission should counteract the misuse of robot work by the landlords . In 1775, 1777 and 1778, robot patents were issued that restricted forced labor .
Since 1749, so-called manufacturing tables were created for the different regions and attempts were made to record the employment of the population in the individual economic sectors. A regional division of labor should take place on the basis of an overall poor data base. Hungary was then quickly declared an agricultural region. Commercial development would therefore have been ruled out. Ultimately, this project failed due to resistance in the territories.
Population policy
Economic development also included promoting immigration to the areas of Hungary that were depopulated during the Turkish wars of the past. Most settlers came from territories of the Holy Roman Empire . The goals were multi-layered: On the one hand, the newly acquired areas were to be secured against the Ottoman Empire. On the other hand, it was also about preventing unrest in Hungary by bringing in German settlers. Maria Theresa founded the so-called Impopulation Commissions. They recruited settlers in the densely populated regions of the empire. But there were also coercive measures: Protestants from the hereditary lands, dissatisfied farmers, homeless lower classes and even prisoners of war from Prussia were transported to southeastern Europe. The new settlers not only improved agriculture, but efficient mining industries also emerged in Upper Hungary (today's Slovakia) and Transylvania . In the Temesan Banat area , the population rose from 25,000 to 300,000 between 1711 and 1780.
Religious politics
From a religious perspective , Maria Theresa's religious policy was influenced by Baroque Catholicism , but reformist trends also played a role. However, politics became increasingly more pious under the influence of Jansenism . Maria Theresa created a chastity commission to combat immorality . To the end of her life she strictly refused to exercise tolerance towards non-Catholics, which led to a serious conflict with her son Joseph. The abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773 was not her responsibility, but rather she carried out the papal ban rather reluctantly. Maria Theresa fought Protestantism, especially in Austria. The expelled Protestants were settled in distant and sparsely populated areas such as Transylvania , the Banat or the Batschka .
She also pursued a restrictive policy towards the Jews through stricter Jewish regulations (1753, 1764) , which included compulsory beards and the wearing of the yellow spot . After the First Silesian War and the end of the Prussian occupation of Prague in 1744, she had 20,000 Jews expelled from Prague and finally from all of Bohemia in the Second Silesian War before mitigating this in 1748 because the economic damage was too great. Despite Maria Theresa's policies that were anything but friendly to Jews, the foundations for the flourishing of Jewish life in the imperial capital Vienna were laid before and during her time. With the help of the payments imposed on the prospering court Jews such as Wolf Wertheimer , Marx Schlesinger , Simon Michel Preßburg, and the Hirschl family, magnificent representative buildings in Vienna such as Schönbrunn Palace , the Karlskirche or the imperial court library on Josephsplatz (today's National Library) could be paid for. The Portuguese court factor Diego d'Aguilar should be mentioned as an important financier of Maria Theresa , but he had to flee Vienna at the end of 1749.
Reich politics
Her husband, Emperor Franz I Stephan , was responsible for imperial politics . What is notable for the limited practical importance of the imperial crown is that Maria Theresa and her husband asked the conference ministers in 1749 for expert opinions on the question of whether it still made sense to hold on to the imperial crown. The answers varied. Ultimately, it was an argument from Franz Stephan that prevailed. “Just as the empire cannot be maintained without the support of the Erzhaus , the separation of the Erzhaus from the empire exposes it to many and great dangers.” In fact, the empire was still playing during the Seven Years' War , which was also fought as the Imperial War once an important role.
Foreign policy
Their domestic and foreign policy was aimed at defeating Prussia “in the field” and regaining possession of the annexed territories. The Prussian King remained their enemy. Over time, her statements about Frederick II took on almost insulting forms. She spoke of the “monster” and “wretched king.”
Against this background, Vienna focused on restructuring the alliance systems. In terms of personnel, this becomes clear when State Minister Bartenstein was replaced by Kaunitz-Rietberg in 1753. As early as 1749, Kaunitz had advocated rapprochement with France . The alliance between Prussia and Great Britain in the Westminster Convention in 1756 appeared extremely threatening. Against this background, rapprochement with France was more important for Vienna than the centuries-long hostility between the Habsburgs and the neighboring country. In the same year, an Austrian-French defensive alliance was formed. This meant the Renversement des alliances , the reversal of the previous European alliance system. This reorientation was also reflected in Marie-Antoinette 's marriage to the heir to the French throne. Russia was also allied with Austria.
Frederick II invaded Electoral Saxony – an ally of Austria – on August 29, 1756 . This began the Seven Years' War . In addition to the fight for Silesia, which Maria Theresa had not yet given up, the war was a global conflict, primarily between France and England for power overseas. The war itself dragged on for years without either side achieving decisive success in the European theater of war. The Austrians won, for example, at Kolin , Hochkirch and Kunersdorf . The Prussians won, among other things, the battles of Roßbach , Leuthen and Torgau . The war ended in 1763 with the Peace of Hubertusburg , with which Silesia finally fell to Prussia.
To at least partially compensate for the loss of Silesia, Maria Theresa took part in the first partition of Poland in 1772 . Through this she acquired Galicia and Lodomeria . This aggressive policy was difficult for the Empress, but ultimately the interests of the state prevailed. Frederick II commented: “She cried, but took.” After 1765, her son Joseph became co-regent. However, there were also differences of opinion regarding foreign policy. He also ended Maria Theresa's colonial policy . In 1773, Joseph prepared to acquire Bukovina through annexation. His willingness, after the death of the Bavarian Elector Maximilian III. Violently enforcing Austrian claims in the War of the Bavarian Succession met with criticism from Maria Theresa. After all, the Innviertel came to Austria through a treaty in 1779.
Marriage policy
The marriage to the Roman-German Emperor Franz I Stephen produced 16 children, six of whom died during their mother's lifetime. First, Maria Theresa gave birth to three daughters: Maria Elisabeth (1737–1740), Maria Anna (1738–1789) and Maria Karolina (1740–1741). The fourth child was the future Emperor Joseph II , whom his mother made co-regent in the Austrian lands in 1765. After Maria Theresa's death in 1780, he ruled the Habsburg territories alone. His mother had him married in 1760 to Princess Isabella of Parma , the daughter of Duke Philip of Parma. Joseph II's second marriage was to Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria , the daughter of Emperor Charles VII . In the next few years, the births of Maria Christina (1742–1798), Maria Elisabeth (1743–1808) and Karl Joseph followed . The ninth child was the future Emperor Leopold II (1747–1792). He took over rule in the Habsburg Monarchy in 1790 after the death of Joseph II and was married to Maria Ludovica of Spain , the daughter of King Charles III. , married. Maria Theresa's three following descendants, Maria Karolina (1748–1748), Johanna Gabriela (1750–1762) and Maria Josepha (1751–1767), did not reach adulthood. Maria Theresa's last four children were once again able to be married in a way that was advantageous for the dynasty or rose to become imperial princes themselves : Maria Karolina (1752–1814) became Queen of Naples-Sicily as the wife of Ferdinand I. Ferdinand Karl Anton (1754–1806) married Duchess Maria Beatrice d'Este , the daughter of Duke Hercules III. from Modena . Maria Theresa's youngest daughter, Marie-Antoinette , was born alongside the later Louis XVI. Queen of France. The youngest son, Maximilian Franz (1756–1801), took up the office of Archbishop and Elector of Cologne. Maria Theresa and her Minister of State Kaunitz hoped to achieve an increase in power for the House of Austria , particularly through marriages with the House of Bourbon (see also marriage policy of the Habsburgs ). The Bourbon dynasty ruled in France , Spain , Naples-Sicily and Parma. The alliance with Paris and Madrid was directed against the Prussian rival and against Frederick II .
In comparison to the smooth realization of her sons' marriage projects, Maria Theresa was confronted with numerous problems during her daughters' marriage negotiations. The eldest daughter, Archduchess Maria Anna , remained unmarried due to her poor health. The marriage project that is about to be realized, the marriage between the pretty Archduchess Marie Elisabeth of Austria and the French King Louis XV. , failed because the young archduchess had smallpox . While Archduchess Marie Christine of Austria was the only one allowed to choose her husband, Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen , Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria was married to Duke Ferdinand I of Bourbon-Parma against her will and with fierce resistance from the young woman . Archduchess Johanna Gabriela of Austria and her sister Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria both died of smallpox, so Archduchess Maria Karolina had to take the place as bride of King Ferdinand I of Naples-Sicily . The marriage of Maria Karolina's favorite sister, Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria , and the later King Louis XVI. of France was Maria Theresa's last and most ambitious marriage project.
Builder
The construction of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna is associated with the name of Maria Theresa. Charles VI had given the castle, which was designed by Fischer von Erlach and built as a hunting lodge for Joseph I from 1696 to 1701, to his daughter, and she had it rebuilt by the head of the court building department , Nikolaus von Pacassi, from 1743 to 1749. This resulted in a completely different room layout and its own theater. The upgraded Schönbrunn magnificent building became the Empress's favorite palace. She spent the summer months there with her family. Maria Theresia had the Gloriette erected in the Schönbrunn Palace Park as a memorial to commemorate the Battle of Kolin , in which Austrian troops defeated Frederick II, who was considered invincible, for the first time in an open field battle on June 18, 1757.
Pacassi designed for her, among other things: also the Redoutensaal wing of the Hofburg (1760).
In 1762, Maria Theresia acquired the Blauer Hof and the adjacent Prucknerisches Haus in Laxenburg . From 1756 onwards, a major renovation and expansion was carried out by Nikolaus von Pacassi . Around 1770 the Belvedere (paintings by Joseph Pichler ) was added to the Blue Court . Pacassi modified the building, moving the entrances from the east to the north side of the palace square. So it became the imperial summer palace and was Maria Theresa's favorite residence.
In the year of her marriage, 1736, her husband Franz Stephan acquired the Holíč Castle on the Hungarian - Moravian (today Slovak-Moravian) border; From 1749 onwards, the imperial couple had the Renaissance festivals expanded into a three-winged Theresian-style castle, set up a model estate and used the property primarily for par force hunts for big game.
In 1755, Maria Theresia acquired the Schloss Hof hunting lodge from Prince Eugen's heirs . From 1725 to 1729, under the direction of Lucas von Hildebrandt, a tranquil refuge for Prince Eugene of Savoy, which was known for its courtly celebrations, was built there. In order to create space for guests and the court, Maria Theresa had the building added another floor in 1772, essentially giving it its current appearance.
Final years and death
The most severe personal blow of fate was the death of Franz Stephan in 1765. She wrote: “I lost a husband, a friend, the only object of my love.” After his death, Maria Theresa only wore the black widow's costume . In memory of her husband she founded the women's monastery in Innsbruck. Joseph succeeded his father as emperor and was co-regent with Maria Theresa. The relationship between the two was full of conflict. Despite her willingness to reform, Maria Theresa was strongly influenced by Catholicism and the baroque tradition of the House of Habsburg. Joseph, who pursued a policy in the spirit of the Enlightenment, was completely different. Maria Theresa rejected many of Joseph's ideas as anti-church, and the son could not easily enforce his goals against his mother, who was still in charge of the state.
Maria Theresa died of pneumonia on November 29, 1780 . According to the court minutes, her burial was as follows: “The dead imperial body, which remained in the imperial room, was opened and embalmed on the 30th at 7 o'clock in the evening . The excentration lasted from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the k. k. Protomedicus Kohlhammer were present. The opening and embalming was carried out by the imperial and royal body surgeons Jos[eph] Vanglinghen, Ferdinand von Leber and Anton Rechberger, with the court pharmacist Wenzel Czerny also being used. On Friday, December 1st, early in the morning, the body was exposed in the large court chapel on a four-step-high funeral scaffold under a black canopy , dressed in the humble clothing of a clerical habit . On the right hand was the silver cup, in which was the heart; On the left on the 3rd echelon, downwards from the head, the cauldron with the entrails." The minutes also say: "On Saturday the 2nd in the afternoon, the cup with the heart was ceremoniously brought into the Loreto Chapel and after this the cauldron with the entrails the ducal crypt was brought to St. Stephan . On Sunday, December 3rd, the day designated for the solemn burial, the body was buried in the Vienna Capuchin Crypt in the “Maria Theresa Crypt” in a double sarcophagus at the side of her husband, who died in 1765. The funeral service for Maria Theresa in St. Stephen's Cathedral , organized by the Vienna city magistrate , did not take place until January 1781. Maria Theresa is one of the 41 people who received a “ separate burial ” with the body divided into all three traditional Habsburg burial sites in Vienna (Imperial Crypt, Heart Crypt, Duke's Crypt).
Title
Maria Theresia, by the grace of God, Roman Empress, Wittib , Queens of Hungary, Böheim, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Gallicia, Lodomeria, etc. etc., Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Burgundy, Steyer, Carinthia and Crain, Grand Duchess of Transylvania, Margravine of Moravia, Duchess of Braband, Limburg, Luxembourg and Geldern, Württemberg, Upper and Lower Silesia, Milan, Mantua, Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, Princess of Swabia, princes Countess of Habsburg, Flanders, Tyrol, Hainault, Kyburg, Gorizia and Gradisca, Margravine of the Holy Roman Empire of Burgau, Upper and Lower Lusatia, Countess of Namur, Woman of the Windische Mark and Mechelen etc. , widowed Duchess of Lorraine and Baar, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, etc.
Even after her husband received the imperial title in 1745, the term Empress was used by herself and others. In addition to the other titles, she was referred to as Empress Maria Theresa or Maria Theresa of Austria , the latter also often being used for Maria Teresa de Austria, Infanta of Spain, and Queen of France (1638–1683). Only after the hereditary Empire of Austria was established in 1804 was she referred to as Maria Theresia, Empress of Austria , Empress Maria Theresia of Austria or Austrian Empress Maria Theresia .
Chatteris Royal British Legion Ypres Tour – 6th August 2015.
The Menin Gate at Midnight (The Ghosts Of The Menin Gate).
Exhibits on display within the In Flanders’ Fields Museum in Ypres.
The In Flanders' Fields Museum is devoted to the study of World War I and occupies the second floor of the Ypres Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) on the market square in the centre of Ieper (Ypres), Belgium. The building was virtually destroyed by artillery during the First World War and has been reconstructed. In 1998 the original Ypres Salient Memorial Museum was refurbished and renamed In Flanders Fields Museum. Following a closure for refurbishments, the museum reopened on 11 June 2012. The curator, Piet Chielens, is a World War I historian. The museum is named for the famous poem by Canadian John McCrae.
Visitors to the museum will find no glorification of war; rather the museum suggests the futility of war, especially as seen in the West Flanders front region in World War I.
This window is devoted to the story of St Mary Magdalene, but the legendary version which was widely known in the Middle Ages. It arose from a sermon of St Gregory the Great preached on 21st sEptember 591 on the passage Luke 7:36-50 in which Jesus is at dinner in a Pharisees' house when a sinful women comes in, anoints his feet with ointment and wipes them with her hair. Gregory identified this woman with Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus and also with Mary Magdalene from whom Jesus driven out seven devils. Thus Mary Magdalene became for the Middle Ages a symbol of penitence and also of the contemplative life (Mary of Bethany). The legend was further developed at Vezelay (which claimed to possess the relics of Mary Magdalene) to claim that Mary and a number of other of Christ's disciples were, as a result of persecution, set adrift in a rudderless boat and washed up in Provence at Marseilles where Maximin, one of their number, became bishop. Maryt died, after years of living in penitential seclusion.
Sunlit Houses - United States, circa 1912-1915
John R. Grabach (United States, New Jersey, Newark, 1880-1981)
In 1912 Grabach moved to Greenfield, Massachusetts, drawn there by the landscape of this section of the Connecticut River Valley. Until he moved back to New Jersey in 1915, he devoted much of his time to painting winter landscapes -- possibly inspired by the snowy scenes of JOHN TWACHTMAN -- that were well received at the National Academy of Design annuals. During the late nineteenth century artists had begun using such images as a means to explore the potential of the color white, but by Grabach’s time such interest was more of a decorative nature. In true impressionist fashion Grabach found much color in the snowy image: a setting sun casts a golden orange on the rooftops, while cooler pastels of green and lavender describe the shadows. The impastoed brushwork is somewhat controlled in the delineation of the forms of the houses, but looser for the field of snow. The canvas is an exact square, a format popular with early twentieth-century impressionists and post-impressionists, as were a high viewpoint and brushwork that served to emphasize the picture plane. The buildings and yards are read as flat shapes in a jigsaw-puzzle arrangement. As Sunlit Houses is a view of a town, it foreshadows Grabach’s later urban images and probably was done just before he left Greenfield.
John R. Grabach determined to be an artist early on and took lessons from a local artist in New Jersey, Albert Dick, and joined the Newark Sketch Club before enrolling at the Art Students League in New York. Supporting himself as a machinist and then a designer of silverware, Grabach spent his free time painting. He began exhibiting publicly in 1913 at the National Academy of Design and in important annuals. In 1915 he returned from Massachusetts, where he had lived for three years, to settle permanently in New Jersey. In 1922 he and eleven other artists formed The Dialis for the purpose of exhibiting together.
Inspired by Ash Can school artists, Grabach became fascinated with the urban landscape. The decorative, dynamic character of his Wash Day series of the mid-1920s became the hallmark of his brand of urban realism. Toward the end of the decade his lighthearted treatment changed as he became more concerned with social conditions, and consequently during the Great Depression his urban images developed a stronger, satirical tone, and the figures were made larger and dominated the scene. At this time Grabach supported himself by working as a freelance illustrator and a teacher of life drawing at the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. Despite recognition and awards, Grabach began retreating from public attention and the mainstream art world. Thus he was all but forgotten, despite the fact that he continued to teach and paint, adopting in the 1940s a dark, Munich-inspired palette and brushwork.
collections.lacma.org/node/165537
Blue Grass, Green Skies: American Impressionism and Realism from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
JANUARY 24, 2025 - MAY 18, 2025
"It must not be assumed that American Impressionism and French Impressionism are identical. The American painter accepted the spirit, not the letter of the new doctrine." - Christian Brinton, 1916
In 1874, a group of avant-garde French artists, including Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, organized the first exhibition of the “Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc.” in Paris. Although working independently, rather than as a unified movement or school, they came to be known as the Impressionists—a term first used to disparage their works as unfinished “impressions.” Defined by their loose brushwork, vibrant color palettes, and attention to capturing the ephemeral effects of light and atmosphere, these artists rejected established academic traditions and developed innovative approaches to depicting modern life.
Impressionism’s influence was felt globally, but perhaps nowhere as profoundly or as long lasting as in the United States. American artists working abroad had opportunities to see and study Impressionist works, but it was not until 1886—when the movement had lost some of its radical edge—that the first large-scale exhibition of French Impressionism was held in the United States. The New York Tribune reported that although Impressionist pictures were often criticized for their “blue grass, violently green skies, and water with the coloring of a rainbow,” Americans would nevertheless benefit from studying the “vitality and beauty” in these works.
Over the next three decades, artists working across the United States adapted Impressionist aesthetics to depict modern American life. While their works embody the optimism and nationalism that then defined American culture, by the turn of the twentieth century, rapid urbanization and industrialization had transformed the nation, giving rise to new artistic tendencies. A group of younger artists, often described as Realists, rejected Impressionism’s colorful palette, instead portraying the grittier side of urban life. However, like their Impressionist contemporaries, they continued to paint the American scene, focusing on life in the city, the country, and the home. Drawn from the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the works in this exhibition highlight the evolution of Impressionism’s blue grass and green skies into a distinctly American art.
________________________________
"Acknowledged as the first museum in the world dedicated solely to collecting American art, the NBMAA is renowned for its preeminent collection spanning three centuries of American history. The award-winning Chase Family Building, which opened in 2006 to critical and public acclaim, features 15 spacious galleries which showcase the permanent collection and upwards of 25 special exhibitions a year featuring American masters, emerging artists and private collections. Education and community outreach programs for all ages include docent-led school and adult tours, teacher services, studio classes and vacation programs, Art Happy Hour gallery talks, lectures, symposia, concerts, film, monthly First Friday jazz evenings, quarterly Museum After Dark parties for young professionals, and the annual Juneteenth celebration. Enjoy Café on the Park for a light lunch prepared by “Best Caterer in Connecticut” Jordan Caterers. Visit the Museum Shop for unique gifts. Drop by the “ArtLab” learning gallery with your little ones. Gems not to be missed include Thomas Hart Benton’s murals “The Arts of Life in America,” “The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy, September 11, 2001” by Graydon Parrish,” and Dale Chihuly’s “Blue and Beyond Blue” spectacular chandelier. Called “a destination for art lovers everywhere,” “first-class,” “a full-size, transparent temple of art, mixing New York ambience with Yankee ingenuity and all-American beauty,” the NBMAA is not to be missed."
www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33847-d106105-Revi...
www.nbmaa.org/permanent-collection
The NBMAA collection represents the major artists and movements of American art. Today it numbers about 8,274 paintings, works on paper, sculptures, and photographs, including the Sanford B.D. Low Illustration Collection, which features important works by illustrators such as Norman Rockwell, Howard Pyle, and Maxfield Parrish.
Among collection highlights are colonial and federal portraits, with examples by John Smibert, John Trumbull, John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and the Peale family. The Hudson River School features landscapes by Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Martin Johnson Heade, John Kensett, Albert Bierstadt, and Frederic Church. Still life painters range from Raphaelle Peale, Severin Roesen, William Harnett, John Peto, John Haberle, and John La Farge. American genre painting is represented by John Quidor, William Sidney Mount, and Lilly Martin Spencer. Post-Civil War examples include works by Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, George de Forest Brush, and William Paxton, and 19 plasters and bronzes by Solon Borglum. American Impressionists include Mary Cassatt, Theodore Robinson, John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, Willard Metcalf, and Childe Hassam, the last represented by eleven oils. Later Impressionist paintings include those by Ernest Lawson, Frederck Frieseke, Louis Ritman, Robert Miller, and Maurice Prendergast.
Other strengths of the twentieth-century collection include: sixty works by members of the Ash Can School; significant representation by early modernists such as Alfred Maurer, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Max Weber; important examples by the Precisionists Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, Preston Dickinson, and Ralston Crawford; a broad spectrum of work by the Social Realists Ben Shahn, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, and Jack Levine; and ambitious examples of Regionalist painting by Grant Wood, John Steuart Curry, and Thomas Hart Benton, notably the latter’s celebrated five-panel mural, The Arts of Life in America (1932).
Works by the American Abstract Artist group (Stuart Davis, Ilya Bolotowsky, Esphyr Slobodkina, Balcomb Greene, and Milton Avery) give twentieth-century abstraction its place in the collection, as do later examples of Surrealism by artists Kay Sage and George Tooker; Abstract Expressionism (Lee Krasner, Giorgio Cavallon, Morris Graves, Robert Motherwell, Sam Francis, Cleve Gray), Pop and Op art (Andy Warhol, Larry Rivers, Robert Indiana, Tom Wesselman, Jim Dine), Conceptual (Christo, Sol LeWitt), and Photo-Realism (Robert Cottingham). Examples of twentieth-century sculpture include Harriet Frishmuth, Paul Manship, Isamu Noguchi, George Segal, and Stephen DeStaebler. We continue to acquire contemporary works by notable artists, in order to best represent the dynamic and evolving narrative of American art.
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
He is a devoted Vaishnab. Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu or his associated avatars, principally as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God. Vaishnava
theology includes the central beliefs of Hinduism such as pantheism, reincarnation, samsara, karma, and the various Yoga systems, but with a particular emphasis on devotion (bhakti) to Vishnu through the process of Bhakti yoga, often including singing Vishnu's name's (bhajan), meditating upon his form (dharana) and performing deity worship (puja).
In simpler words he is in love of "Krishna"! He is complete vegetarian. And his devotion and love to God has made him innocent like a child! You can feel a sense of peace & calm if you spend a few moments with him!
He is poor by choice, he has never gone to college. But he is lot wiser than you and me! In very few words he can
clear all of your confusions about life!
Let's spread love!
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
Our devoted boy, happy to see Mark coming back up to the trail after shooting the spider and web in the previous photos. Angus is back on track and feeling better after a week of not doing too well. Note the black spot on his tongue...part of his Newf genes! = )
Locals go crazy in celebrations when their football team wins. Hijacking the local buses & cars, and painting all over them, and cheering through the streets.
The elaborate and exquisite ancient Santi Cosma e Damiano, a minor basilica devoted to Cosmas and Damian, two brothers who were reportedly doctors, martyrs and saints. The history of this church is one of the most fascinating in Rome. It is located in a very prominent location, opposite the Roman Forum in the historic rione Monte. It is actually comprised of two ancient Roman structures, one originating in the forum. For an extended period they formed a single church until the late 19th century when they were again separated. The primary structure is now accessed from an area of what once comprised the Temple of Peace, located on the southeast part of the Imperial Fora, now along the Via dei Fori Imperiali. It was where the famous marble plan, the Forma Urbis Romae, was once displayed. The entrance to the church at one point was located via the circular temple identified as the Temple of Romulus, whose actual identity and purpose is disputed. During the medieval era, however, the Roman forum became a neighborhood resembling the densely packed Subura of ancient Rome, which, along with flooding and possible landslides led to a gradual filling in of the area, resulting in the ground level rising so much that it required another entrance. The medieval neighborhood was cleared from the area in the 16th century but until that time the main door and entrance remained below ground level. Several other important churches also occupied former Roman structures in the Middle Ages, including Mamertine Prison, which became San Giuseppe dei Alegnami, and Sant'Adriano, the former Senate House. The most famous of these is probably the Colosseum itself: it was eventually christened Santa Maria della Pieta al Colosseo.
This church was founded in 527 when Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths (acting as agent of the Emperor Justinian I who was residing at that point in Constantinople) and his daughter Amalasuntha donated two buildings to the church during the reign of Pope Felix IV. It was reportedly the first Christian church in that particular area, as much of the elite of Rome was still hostile to Christianity. It was not a titular church, but it was intended to be part of the church's charitable activities because of the association with the identical twin brother doctors. The pope united the two buildings and donated the complex to the brothers Cosmas and Damian, but also possibly to serve as a contrast to the ancient cult of Castor and Pollux, worshipped on the other side of the forum. The association with the two doctors was also something of a juxtaposition (and incorporation) of the tradition of the Asclepeion, as it was believed in the Middle Ages that an infirm person who slept overnight in the church could experience a vision which would lead to a cure.
The artwork is simply stunning. The decoration spans many periods, but the apse of the new church featured a mosaic representing the parousia of Christ. The church was further embellished by Pope Sergius I in the late 7th century and Pope Adrian I in the 8th century. Some have observed that the apse appears somewhat odd and even disproportional, as it is quite large for the still-ample room, but there was actually a height reduction of the structure in the restorations of the 17th century. On the bright side: one should actually be standing more than 20 feet below it, so it now provides a much closer view of the exquisite mosaic than actually intended. It features Christ at the parousia, or Second Coming at the End Time, set against an orange sky at dawn adorned in golden robes. He is holding a rolled scroll of the Torah. The Saints making an appearance are Peter and Paul, who are shown introducing Cosmas and Damian, depicted with martyrs' crowns. Pope Felix, to the far left, holds a model of the church. This figure was restored in the 17th century, and was thus altered under Pope Gregory XIII, but it was later restored. The other figure featured is another martyr, St. Theodore. The figures all stand in front of the Jordan river flanked by date palms, the left one also depicting a phoenix, the symbol of resurrection. The sheep represent the Lamb of God, accompanied by twelve others representing the Apostles. The Lamb appears standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem on the left and Bethlehem on the right, from which flow the Twelve Rivers of Paradise.
In terms of its other features, the choir stalls are set against the curved wall. The frescoes on the walls and ceiling date to the 17th century, and are mostly anonymous works. The ceiling is made of carved and gilded wood, and it is also adorned with the crest of the Barberini family (Pope Urban VIII) which features bees. The high altar is Baroque, created by Domenico Castelli in 1637. It features a 12th-century icon of Our Lady as the altarpiece. The ceiling fresco was executed by Marco Montagna, and there is a paschal candlestick consisting of a twisted marble column to the right of the altar. There are also seven side chapels. This church is one of the most magnificent in Rome, and as it is located to the most popular area in the heart of the city it is also highly accessible and well worth a visit.
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
Devoted to the coronation of His Majesty, the main gallery displays the coronation and Silver Jubilee chariots, gold and silver ceremonial armoury and traditional jewel-encrusted coronation crowns.
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
devoted monks prepare the temple for praying..
some old shots from last year's trip to Singapore - Malaysia.. this year we're heading to Thailand! :)) can't wait!
4 February 2015
Members of the Saeima at the meeting devoted to the European Semester held in Brussels.
Photo: Juris Vīgulis, Chancellery of the Saeima
Disclaimer & copyright: saeima.lv/en/copyrights
About The Artist: Larry's life has been devoted to one end: art. Unlike most, Larry has known his destiny from the very beginning. There were a few who knew it as well. People like Larry's fourth grade teacher who saw enough in him to leave him alone to pursue his art.
Larry is most noted for his rural America landscapes, but most recently has taken high acclaim for his Western and Southwestern works, both in oil and acrylic, depicting the present and the past... the people, cultures and the landscapes.
Larry graduated in 1959 from Famous Artists Schools. He has done a portrait for Lynden B. Johnson, and has won awards and national recognition from the Saturday Evening Post, the National Western Art Show and Auction in Ellensburg, the Gene Autry Art Show and Auction in Palm Springs, and others,
P1220521 copy
A devoted fanbase packed Record Bar on a cold night for a trio of Kansas City indie rockers. Check out my photos and video of Old Canes, The Caves & Cowboy Indian Bear.
27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
For many of the people who participate in the year celebration of the city god's birthday, it's simply a way to keep tradition alive. For many of the older people, however, it is a much more important event.
SOOC version below. Which do you like better?
Upload for 5.16.11.
Acts 2:42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Happy birthday to me! Day one of one of the greatest adventures. 20 years old today. One year closer to APU. All thanks to Grant Heinlein for inspiring me to finally accomplish this. I am devoting this year to making photography a complete act of worship. Here goes nothing.
Today's photo was just kind of something that came together pretty quick. I posted a mini blog on 500px. Feel free to check it out HERE.
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27th February 2014. Hopelessly Devoted by kate Tempest with Paines Plough at The Garage . Photo Credit ©Richard Davenport
Handed down form generation to generation the religious art of Santeros is a vibrant and important as it was centuries ago. Before the first English colonists set sail for Jamestowne on 1607, Spanish settlers arrived in northern New Mexico bringing their heritage and culture to this new world -- traditions that still exist today. Devoted to the Saints looks closely at the history, role and inspirational value of the Santos, or little saints, carved from wood and revered through the ages.
WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zTHo2xEAv4
OWN: www.knme.org/ecommerce/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/...
strange custom of the devoted Sultans of Ping fans. As their leader croons to you about the Sultans being your favourite band, the audience gets down on the ground like this.
"Turnip Fish
Out in the ocean at the bottom of the sea
There's a charming little turnip fish having his tea
All the other fish think
he's really weird 'cause all of the time he is drinking beer
That's ok it's very nice That's ok it's suger and spice
Now the little turnip fish was trying to get some sleep
Along the game the big blue whale out of the deep
He said "I am the big blue whale how do you do."
I'd like to be a turnip fish fish just like you
I'm the type of whale who likes to do my own thing
I like to rock 'n' roll to the Sultans of Ping
If all the other fish don't understand
The Sultans of ping are my favorite band
That's O.K. It's very nice
That's O.K. It's sugar and spice
That's O.K. It's very good
That's O.K. It's understood
He said I am the turnipfish I do my own thing
I'd like to rock 'n' roll to the Sultans of ping
If all the other fish don't understand
The Sultans of ping are my favorite band
That's O.K. It's very nice
That's O.K. It's sugar and spice
That's O.K. It's very good
That's O.K. It's understood
Now this is the end of my funny little tale
About the little turnip fish and the big blue whale
If all the other fish don't understand
The Sultans of ping are my favorite band
That's O.K. It's very nice
That's O.K. It's sugar and spice
That's O.K. It's very good
That's O.K. It's understood"
Gallery 6 is devoted to the craftsmanship involved in a sculptor's work. Here you see the method used in forming the plaster cast. Angry Small Boy is the example used to demonstrate the various stages in the plaster casting process, from the drawn sketch to the finished original in plaster. Also shown is the method used by Vigeland's stonecarvers in transforming an original plaster model to granite. The original tools used by Vigeland and his many helpers are exhibited here.
(From the museums web page)
I have now started a Flickr site devoted to the days of the horse drawn Mail-Coaches. "Mail-Coaching in the 18th Century"
Photo's on there include original coaches, post horns, and Coaching Inns. If you have any photo's you think people will be interested in, please post them on the site, and if you want to, become a member.
The first Mail-coach, similair to this one, went from Bath to London. The four horses used to pull the coach were changed every 10 to 15 miles. On a run to London, there were a number of horse changes.
Also the drivers would be changed along the route. The only exception was the guard, who stayed with the coach throughout the journey.
Travelling on one of these was not cheap, the ordinary man in the street , like me, for example, would not have travelled by coach.
Because of the huge investment needed in coaches, horses, and all of the other trades involved, there was a lot of opposition to the railways which came in after about thirty years, and eventually took over the Mail business.
The same people who were against the railways were also against the motor car, the result of that was for a time in Britain, a man with a red flag had to walk in front of the car.
I'm not sure how long the red flag man had to go in front of a car, but it does show the opposition against anything to do with horses. It is difficult to imagine that all of that happened only about a 120 years ago.
The first Mail-coach, similair to this one, went from Bath to London. The four horses used to pull the coach were changed every 10 to 15 miles. On a run to London, there were a number of horse changes. Also the drivers would change along the route. The only exception was the guard, who stayed with the coach throughout the journey. Travelling on one of these was not cheap, the ordinary man in the street , like me, for example, would not have travelled by coach. Because of the huge investment needed in coaches, horses, and all of the other trades involved, there was a lot of opposition to the railways which came in after about thirty years, and eventually took over the Mail business. The same people who were against the railways were also against the motor car, the result of that was for a time in Britain, a man with a red flag had to walk in front of the car. I'm not sure how long the red flag man had to go in front of a car, but it does show the opposition against anything to do with horses. It is difficult to imagine that all of that happened only about a 120 years ago.
The word Coach, come from the Hungarian town of Kocs which built a vehicle that was copied across Europe.
Virtually all Coaches of the period were built using a variety of materials.
Wood:
Ash, used for the framework of the body. It was tough, fibrous, and lacked elasticity, meaning it was unlikely to warp.
Oak, usually, the young growth was used for underframes and wheel spokes.
Elm, ideal for floor and roof planks, wheel hubs and naves. It was though, difficult to paint, due to it's strongly marked grain.
Mahogany, used for interior and exterior panels, favoured because of it's attractive wood grain and smooth surface.
Cedar, this would be used for panels that were to be covered with fabric or leather.
Metals: At first,most metal parts, hoops, stays, axles, tyres, and plates, were made of Iron.
Iron, had it's problem though, Iron tyres tended to crack and flake. As soon as it became available, Steel was used in place of Iron.
Steel, was much stronger, and was ideal for tyres.
Copper, was used for Beading, and Sheathing.
Brass, was used for Buckles, Rings, Plates, and Door handles.
Gun-Metal, was used for Wheels to Axle securing nuts.
Detail of the apse mosaic in the elaborate and exquisite ancient Santi Cosma e Damiano, a minor basilica devoted to Cosmas and Damian, two brothers who were reportedly doctors, martyrs and saints. The history of this church is one of the most fascinating in Rome. It is located in a very prominent location, opposite the Roman Forum in the historic rione Monte. It is actually comprised of two ancient Roman structures, one originating in the forum. For an extended period they formed a single church until the late 19th century when they were again separated. The primary structure is now accessed from an area of what once comprised the Temple of Peace, located on the southeast part of the Imperial Fora, now along the Via dei Fori Imperiali. It was where the famous marble plan, the Forma Urbis Romae, was once displayed. The entrance to the church at one point was located via the circular temple identified as the Temple of Romulus, whose actual identity and purpose is disputed. During the medieval era, however, the Roman forum became a neighborhood resembling the densely packed Subura of ancient Rome, which, along with flooding and possible landslides led to a gradual filling in of the area, resulting in the ground level rising so much that it required another entrance.The medieval neighborhood was cleared from the area in the 16th century but until that time the main door and entrance remained below ground level. Several other important churches also occupied former Roman structures in the Middle Ages, including Mamertine Prison, which became San Giuseppe dei Alegnami, and Sant'Adriano, the former Senate House. The most famous of these is probably the Colosseum itself: it was eventually christened Santa Maria della Pieta al Colosseo.
This church was founded in 527 when Theodoric the Great, the king of the Ostrogoths (acting as agent of the Emperor Justinian I who was residing at that point in Constantinople) and his daughter Amalasuntha donated two buildings to the church during the reign of Pope Felix IV. It was reportedly the first Christian church in that particular area, as much of the elite of Rome was still hostile to Christianity. It was not a titular church, but it was intended to be part of the church's charitable activities because of the association with the identical twin brother doctors. The pope united the two buildings and donated the complex to the brothers Cosmas and Damian, but also possibly to serve as a contrast to the ancient cult of Castor and Pollux, worshipped on the other side of the forum. The association with the two doctors was also something of a juxtaposition (and incorporation) of the tradition of the Asclepeion, as it was believed in the Middle Ages that an infirm person who slept overnight in the church could experience a vision which would lead to a cure.
The artwork is simply stunning. The decoration spans many periods, but the apse of the new church featured a mosaic representing the parousia of Christ. The church was further embellished by Pope Sergius I in the late 7th century and Pope Adrian I in the 8th century. Some have observed that the apse appears somewhat odd and even disproportional, as it is quite large for the still-ample room, but there was actually a height reduction of the structure in the restorations of the 17th century. On the bright side: one should actually be standing more than 20 feet below it, so it now provides a much closer view of the exquisite mosaic than actually intended. It features Christ at the parousia, or Second Coming at the End Time, set against an orange sky at dawn adorned in golden robes. He is holding a rolled scroll of the Torah. The Saints making an appearance are Peter and Paul, who are shown introducing Cosmas and Damian, depicted with martyrs' crowns. Pope Felix, to the far left, holds a model of the church. This figure was restored in the 17th century, and was thus altered under Pope Gregory XIII, but it was later restored. The other figure featured is another martyr, St. Theodore. The figures all stand in front of the Jordan river flanked by date palms, the left one also depicting a phoenix, the symbol of resurrection. The sheep represent the Lamb of God, accompanied by twelve others representing the Apostles. The Lamb appears standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem on the left and Bethlehem on the right, from which flow the Twelve Rivers of Paradise.
In terms of its other features, the choir stalls are set against the curved wall. The frescoes on the walls and ceiling date to the 17th century, and are mostly anonymous works. The ceiling is made of carved and gilded wood, and it is also adorned with the crest of the Barberini family (Pope Urban VIII) which features bees. The high altar is Baroque, created by Domenico Castelli in 1637. It features a 12th-century icon of Our Lady as the altarpiece. The ceiling fresco was executed by Marco Montagna, and there is a paschal candlestick consisting of a twisted marble column to the right of the altar. There are also seven side chapels. This church is one of the most magnificent in Rome, and as it is located to the most popular area in the heart of the city it is also highly accessible and well worth a visit.