View allAll Photos Tagged individualization
©2012 Julia Forsyth, Ruby Red Raven, Jr., block printing ink and acrylic on acid-free paper, 4" x 6"
www.facebook.com/juliaforsythart
www.etsy.com/shop/JuliaForsythArt
So, I looked with an unforgiving eye at different color to surround the raven with since I've already done a red raven and a red eagle owl, but after seriously evaluating all my other acrylic colors (standard and hand-mixed) and polling some important people whose artistic input I trust, it was unanimous that red is the perfect foil for classic black and white. So red it is once again!
One big, painful mistake I made on the previous #twitterartexhibit was NOT spraying the water-soluble linocut with fixative before trying to coat the whole thing with varnish. That's the short cut to a gigantic, black-smeared, messy heartbreak. I'm one coat of fixative in - two more to go tonight. Then comes varnish time.
I am a little scared that it still might smear on me still, but I'm betting (literally betting hours of work and the time it took me to get this far already) that it will hold up after 3 coats. Cross your fingers!!
If you've fallen in love with Ruby Red Raven, Jr., stop by Exhale Unlimited Gallery in LA and snatch up! It's for sale as part of the #twitterartexhibit fundraiser.
Want to donate some art to Art Division for the #twitterartexhibit? They're an organization dedicated to training and supporting underserved youth (18-25) in L.A.’s Rampart District, an at-risk group within one of Los Angeles’ most densely populated and underserved communities. Through focused instruction, individualized tutoring and personal support, each student is given the tools they need to pursue higher education, achieve self-sufficiency and obtain careers in the arts. Here's more info: twitterartexhibit.org/callforartists. There's still time! www.artdivision.org
Opening night of the exhibit: Saturday, January 12, 2013 | 7-10PM
Show runs January 12 – February 10, 2013
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, January 4th, 2013
WHERE
Exhale Unlimited (E.U.) Gallery
953 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Hope to see you there!
***Update - this piece sold on opening night! Very excited to be a part of a fundraiser for some deserving young artists at Art Division.***
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
The Imp class of light cargo freighters was produced by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. The base freighter design, like many CEC ships, was modular and came with many options. The 'Besther' model, named for the project lead, featured individualized cargo pods which could be customized to accommodate specific needs.
The Besther Imp XIV was made in the first production run and has faired decently in its 34 years of service. Many non-essential systems no longer function well or at all, and it's space-worthiness is in doubt, but it works well as a planetside-only cargo transport.
Name: "Besther" Imp XIV
Manufacturer: Corellian Engineering Corporation
Model #: IMP-1492013299
Length: 40 meters
Width: 12 meters
Height: 7 meters
Hyperdrive rating: Class 0.8*
Crew: 3 (Pilot, co-pilot, astromech droid*)
Cargo capacity: Variable, up to 750 metric tons
Escape pods: 2
Defense systems: Light shields*
Armament: Ballistic escape pods.
Sensors: Standard cargo class*
*System damaged or inoperable
The Lucasarts game "1313" was shaping up to be a brand new style of game for the Star Wars brand and a fantastic look at another side of the SW universe. Unfortunately, when Disney bought Lucasfilm they shuttered the Lucasarts game department. While not official, 1313 appears to have been effectively cancelled.
For SHIPtember I decided to pay tribute to what could have been. This ship features prominently in the trailer/demo video for the game, and appears to represent the opening act of the game.
While simple in shape, the detachable cargo pods were what first intrigued me enough to start this project. The ship is, to my best estimate, full minifigure scale. Though similar in looks, this ship would actually be dwarfed by the nearly four-times longer Tantive IV.
The full size of this model is 131.3 studs long, 42 studs wide, and 19 bricks tall. It took two weeks to create, start to finish.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
SoulRider.222 / Eric Rider © 2020
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has five Super Bowl rings. He will not, however, have a Tom Brady special edition Aston Martin sports car that he helped design.
Those cars will go to 12 other people who will pay about $360,000 each for the dark blue convertibles.
The (take a deep breath) Aston Martin Vanquish S Volante Tom Brady Signature Edition costs roughly $50,000 more than your run-of-the-mill Aston Martin Vanquish S Volante. The Vanquish S Volante is an open-topped version of Aston Martin's Vanquish S sports car. It's powered by a 6.0-liter 580-horsepower V12.
For the extra money, buyers will get a number of special features. Besides Tom Brady's signature on the metal door sill plates, the car will get "Ultramarine Black" exterior paint, a very dark blue, and "Dark Knight" interior leather, which is, basically, black. There are also exposed carbon fiber aerodynamic features on the exterior and gold Aston Martin badges along with Tom Brady's TB12 logo just behind the front wheels.
The number 12 is significant here. Besides being the number of cars being offered, it's Brady's jersey number. All 12 cars are expected to be quickly spoken for, according to an Aston Martin spokesperson.
Brady himself helped to choose the color combination, according to an announcement by Aston Martin.
Aston Martin draws record $22.6 million
"Going through the process of curating a unique Aston Martin has been fascinating," Brady said in the announcement. "We started with a blank canvas and finished with this beautiful car."
Brady is a long-time Aston Martin customer who already owns an Aston Martin DB11. He signed on as the company's official endorser earlier this year.
The Tom Brady version was created by Aston Martin's new "Q by Aston Martin" customization division, a department that works with customers to create individualized color and trim packages for their cars. The department's name is a reference to the James Bond character Q who created special gadgets and cars -- sometimes Aston Martins - for the fictional British super-spy.
Athletes usually make such deals with more mainstream car brands like Ford (F) or Toyota (TM), but there are exceptions. Basketball player Stephen Curry, for instance, recently became a "brand ambassador" for Infiniti, Nissan's (NSANF) luxury division.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
According to the sculpture of that time (ca. 270 BC), the human figure, now distanced from the idealistic portraiture of the Classical age, moves towards realism. Unlike the idealized and impersonal features of the Thessalian athletes and military officers of the Daochos monument, his features are individualized. His massive, exaggeratedly round head with its high, protruding brow, sparse hair, sunken eyes beneath arched eyebrows, and the mouth partially hidden by a moustache that merges with the unruly curls of his beard all create a physiognomy with unique personal characteristics — a portrait, in other words. The artist, no longer interested in providing an image of the eternal and immutable man, is now interested in rendering the particular person without idealizing his features or modifying the signs of age. The sparse hair and lined, withered cheeks, as well as the stooped shoulders, flabby chest, and other anatomical details clearly compromised by age, all testify without flattery to the subject's advanced years.
Source: Rosina Colonia, “The Archaeological Museum of Delphi”
Marble votive statue
Early Hellenistic period
Ca. 270 BC
Delphi, Archaeological Museum
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
“Quartier Schützenstrasse” consists of a classical Friedrichstadt block defined by the Schützenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, and Charlottenstrasse.
Aldo Rossi’s used the historical urban structure of the division of land into small plots as his concept for Quartier Schützenstrasse. The individualized houses signal individual plots but the total number of facades exceeds the number of houses standing independently of each other. While two of the buildings are reserved exclusively for residential apartments the rest provide for a mixture of residential and commercial use.
The Quartier Schützenstrasse is a collage of icons and archetypes with several obvious references to other Rossi buildings as well as historical references. Schützenstrasse 8 is a copy of the courtyard facade of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built in 1516 by Antonio Sangallo, that was modified by Michelangelo. The court yard facade copies three of the centre line of windows of the Palazzo Farnese. The path through the smallest, ornamental courtyard behind the Palazzo Farnese.
The intense colorfulness, inspired by the colors of antique architecture, tie the block together and draws attention to the allotment structure, which distinguishes the individual houses. Rossi used particular colors for particular facade materials; the more “artificial” the material, the more “vivid” the color. Blaring green and bright red signal aluminum. Muted colors; egg yolk yellow, carmine red and cornflower blue are all stucco. The earthy tones shading into red- brown or yellow indicate bricks. The pale facades are two kinds of natural stone; light and dark gray, sand and pink. The silver-grey sheet metal stays as is.
The urge towards a multiplicity of forms is unmistakable, the efforts beyond variations in color and material impressive. The varying window shapes, the appointment of the attics, the plastic development of the facades through extroverted and reticent sections, through sills and parapet; the sometimes expressly horizontal, other times explicitly vertical division of the mostly axial-symmetric facades; and finally their own, lightly staggered order all contribute to this effect.
The great pains Rossi took with the design of his city-within-a-city were only initially devoted to the plausibility of its lots structure. Rather, the “city” was mainly dedicated to what he called a monument, so that it may have sovereignty over its use, just as it is sovereign over its environment.
/ Mathias Remmele
The lower heart moves like a strong, powerful commander who despises the Heavenly ruler because of his weakness, and has seized for himself the leadership of the affairs of state. But when the primordial castle can be fortified and defended, then it is as if a strong and wise ruler sat upon the throne. The two eyes start the Light circulating like two ministers at the right and left who support the ruler with all their might. When the ruler in the center is thus in order, all those rebellious heroes will present themselves with lances reversed ready to take orders.Master Lu Tzu said: In comparison with Heaven and earth, man is like a mayfly. But compared to the Great Meaning, Heaven and earth, too, are like a bubble and a shadow. Only the primordial spirit and the true essence overcome time and space.
The power of the seed, like Heaven and earth, is subject to mortality, but the primordial spirit is beyond the polar differences. Here is the place whence Heaven and Earth derive their being. When students understand how to grasp the primordial spirit, they overcome the polar opposites of Light and darkness and tarry no longer in the three worlds. But only he who has looked on essence in its original manifestation is able to do this.
When men are set free from the womb the primordial spirit dwells in the square inch (between the eyes), but the conscious spirit dwells below in the heart. This lower fleshly heart has the shape of a large peach: it is covered by the wings of the lungs, supported by the liver, and served by the bowels. This heart is dependent on the outside world. If a man does not eat for one day even, it feels extremely uncomfortable. If it hears something terrifying it throbs; if it hears something enraging it stops; if its is faced with death it becomes sad; if it sees something beautiful it is dazzled. But the Heavenly Heart in the head, when would it have been in the leased moved? Dost thou ask: Can the Heavenly Heart not be moved? Then I answer: How could the true thought in the square inch be moved? If it really moves, it is not well. For when ordinary men die, then it moves, but that is not good. It is best indeed if the Light has already fortified itself in a spirit body and its life force gradually penetrated the instincts and movements. But that is a secret which has not been revealed for thousands of years.
The lower heart moves like a strong, powerful commander who despises the Heavenly ruler because of his weakness, and has seized for himself the leadership of the affairs of state. But when the primordial castle can be fortified and defended, then it is as if a strong and wise ruler sat upon the throne. The two eyes start the Light circulating like two ministers at the right and left who support the ruler with all their might. When the ruler in the center is thus in order, all those rebellious heroes will present themselves with lances reversed ready to take orders.
The way to the Elixir of life recognizes as supreme magic, seed-water, spirit-fire, and thought-earth; these three. What is seed-water? It is the true, one power (eros) of former Heaven. Spirit-fire is the Light (logos). Thought-earth is the Heavenly Heart of the middle house (intuition). Spirit-fire is used for effecting, thought-earth for substance, and seed-water for the foundation. Ordinary men make their bodies through thoughts. The body is not only the 7 ft. tall outer body. In the body is the anima. The anima, having produced consciousness, adheres to it. Consciousness depends for its origin on the anima. The anima is feminine, the substance of consciousness. As long as this consciousness is not interrupted, it continues to beget from generation to generation, and the changes of form of the anima and the transformations of substance are unceasing.
But, besides this, there is the animus in which the spirit shelters. The animus lives in the daytime in the eyes; at night it houses in the liver. When living in the eyes, it sees; when housing itself in the liver, it dreams. Dreams are the wanderings of the spirit through all nine Heavens and all the nine earths. But whoever is dull and moody on waking, and chained to his bodily form, is fettered by the anima. Therefore the concentration of the animus is effected by the circulation of the Light, and in this way the spirit is protected, the anima subjected, and consciousness is annulled. The method used by the ancients for escaping from the world consisted in burning out completely the slag of darkness in order to return to the purely creative. This is nothing more than a reduction of the anima and a bringing to perfection of the animus. And the circulation of the Light is the magical means of limiting the dark powers and gaining mastery of the anima. Even if the work is not directed toward bringing back the creative, but confines itself to the magical means of the circulation, one returns to the creative, If this method is followed, plenty of seed-water will be present of itself; the spirit-fire will be ignited, and the thought-earth will solidify and crystallize. And thus can the holy fruit mature. The scarab rolls his ball and in the ball there develops life as the effect of the undivided effort of his spiritual concentration. If now and embryo can grow in manure, and shed its skin, why should not the dwelling place of our Heavenly Heart also be able to create a body if we concentrate the spirit upon it?
The one effective, true essence (logos united with life), when it descends into the house of the creative, divides into animus and anima. The animus is in the Heavenly Heart. It is of the nature of light; it is the power of lightness and purity. It is that which we have received from the great emptiness, that which has form from the very beginning. The anima partakes of the nature of darkness. It is the power of the heavy and the turbid; it is bound to the bodily, fleshly heart. The animus loves life. The anima seeks death. All sensuous pleasures and impulses to anger are effects of the anima; it is the conscious spirit which after death is nourished on blood, but which, during life, is in direst need. Darkness returns to darkness and like things attract each other. But the pupil understands how to distill the dark anima so that it transforms itself into Light.
Despite the varieties of impressions, interpretation and opinion expressed by translators, the meditation technique described by The Secret of the Golden Flower is a straightforward, silent method; the book's description of meditation has been characterized as "Zen with details". The meditation technique, set forth in poetic language, reduces to a formula of sitting, breathing, and contemplating.[citation needed] Sitting primarily relates to a straight posture. Breathing is described in detail, primarily in terms of the esoteric physiology of the path of qi (also known as chi or ki), or breath energy. The energy path associated with breathing has been described as similar to an internal wheel vertically aligned with the spine. When breathing is steady, the wheel turns forward, with breath energy rising in back and descending in front.[1] Bad breathing habits (or bad posture, or even bad thoughts) may cause the wheel not to turn, or move backward, inhibiting the circulation of essential breath energy. In contemplation, one watches thoughts as they arise and recede. The meditation technique is supplemented by descriptions of affirmations of progress in the course of a daily practice, suggesting stages that could be reached and phenomenon that may be observed such as a feeling of lightness, like floating upward or slight levitation. Such benefits are ascribed to improved internal energy associated with breath energy circulation, improvements that alleviate previously existing impediments. Several drawings portray imagery relevant to the personal evolution of a meditation practitioner, images that may be somewhat confusing in terms of pure rational analysis. "Only after one hundred days of consistent work, only then is the light genuine; only then can one begin to work with the spirit-fire." The first such illustration represents the first one hundred days, or "gathering the light". The second one represents an emergence of meditative consciousness. The third stage represents a meditative awareness that exists even in mundane, daily life. Stage four represents a higher meditative perception, where all conditions are recognized. Then, varied conditions are portrayed as separately perceived, yet each separate perception is part of a whole of awareness.yoga practice. The followers of this method, in contradistinction to the European " yogis " to whom these Eastern practices are only a form of sport, achieve almost without exception the central experience. Thus it can be said that, as far as the Chinese mentality is concerned, a completely assured method of attaining definite psychic experiences is commanded. (It must be noted that, as C. G. Jung very correctly points out, Chinese mentality, at least up to very recent times, has been essentially different in some fundamental respects from that of Europeans.) Besides the release from the fetters of an
illusory outer world, there are many other goals striven
for by the different sects. Those on the highest level
use this release by meditation, for the purpose of seeking
the Buddhist Nirvana, or, as for example in the present
book, they teach that by the union of the spiritual principle
in men to the correlated psychogenetic forces one can
prepare for the possibility of life after death, not only
as a shadow-being doomed to decay, but as a conscious
spirit. In addition, and often in connection with this
idea, there are schools of thought which try by means
of this meditation to exert a psyehic influence on certain
vegetative animal processes. (As Europeans we w r ould
speak here of the endocrine gland-system.) This influence
is intended to strengthen, rejuvenate, and normalize the
life-processes, so that even death will be overcome in
such a way that it fits in as a harmonious ending of life.
The spiritual principle, now fitted for an independent
continuation of life in the spirit-body, created out of its
own forces, deserts the earthly body, which remains
behind as a drying shell like that abandoned by a cicada.
The lower strata of these sects sought in this way to
acquire magic powers, the ability to banish evil spirits
and disease, and here talismans, word and written charms yoga practice. The followers of this method, in contra-
distinction to the European " yogis " to whom these
Eastern practices are only a form of sport, achieve almost
without exception the central experience. Thus it can
be said that, as far as the Chinese mentality is concerned,
a completely assured method of attaining definite psychic
experiences is commanded. (It must be noted that, as
C. G. Jung very correctly points out, Chinese mentality,
at least up to very recent times, has been essentially
different in some fundamental respects from that of
Europeans.) Besides the release from the fetters of an
illusory outer world, there are many other goals striven
for by the different sects. Those on the highest level
use this release by meditation, for the purpose of seeking
the Buddhist Nirvana, or, as for example in the present
book, they teach that by the union of the spiritual principle
in men to the correlated psychogenetic forces one can
prepare for the possibility of life after death, not only
as a shadow-being doomed to decay, but as a conscious
spirit. In addition, and often in connection with this
idea, there are schools of thought which try by means
of this meditation to exert a psyehic influence on certain
vegetative animal processes. (As Europeans we w r ould
speak here of the endocrine gland-system.) This influence
is intended to strengthen, rejuvenate, and normalize the
life-processes, so that even death will be overcome in
such a way that it fits in as a harmonious ending of life.
The spiritual principle, now fitted for an independent
continuation of life in the spirit-body, created out of its
own forces, deserts the earthly body, which remains
behind as a drying shell like that abandoned by a cicada.
The lower strata of these sects sought in this way to
acquire magic powers, the ability to banish evil spirits
and disease, and here talismans, word and written charms yoga practice. The followers of this method, in contra-
distinction to the European " yogis " to whom these
Eastern practices are only a form of sport, achieve almost
without exception the central experience. Thus it can
be said that, as far as the Chinese mentality is concerned,
a completely assured method of attaining definite psychic
experiences is commanded. (It must be noted that, as
C. G. Jung very correctly points out, Chinese mentality,
at least up to very recent times, has been essentially
different in some fundamental respects from that of
Europeans.) Besides the release from the fetters of an
illusory outer world, there are many other goals striven
for by the different sects. Those on the highest level
use this release by meditation, for the purpose of seeking
the Buddhist Nirvana, or, as for example in the present
book, they teach that by the union of the spiritual principle
in men to the correlated psychogenetic forces one can
prepare for the possibility of life after death, not only
as a shadow-being doomed to decay, but as a conscious
spirit. In addition, and often in connection with this
idea, there are schools of thought which try by means
of this meditation to exert a psyehic influence on certain
vegetative animal processes. (As Europeans we w r ould
speak here of the endocrine gland-system.) This influence
is intended to strengthen, rejuvenate, and normalize the
life-processes, so that even death will be overcome in
such a way that it fits in as a harmonious ending of life.
The spiritual principle, now fitted for an independent
continuation of life in the spirit-body, created out of its
own forces, deserts the earthly body, which remains
behind as a drying shell like that abandoned by a cicada.
The lower strata of these sects sought in this way to
acquire magic powers, the ability to banish evil spirits
and disease, and here talismans, word and written charms play their part. Sometimes this sort of thing results in
mass-psyehoses which then find expression in religious
or political unrest, as, for example, the Boxer movement.
Recently, the unmistakable syncretist tendency of
Taoism is shown in the fact that within its institutions
members of all of the five world-religions (Confucianism,
Taoism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, and Christianity —
even Judaism comes in occasionally for special mention)
are included without having to break away from their
respective religious communities. Master Lii Tzu said : That which exists through itself is called Meaning (Tao). Meaning has neither name nor force. It is the one essence, the one primordial spirit.
Essence and life cannot be seen. It is contained in the
Light of Heaven. The Light of Heaven cannot be seen.
It is contained in the two eyes. To-day I will be your
guide and will first reveal to you the secret of the Golden
Flower of the Great One, and, starting from that, I will
explain the rest in detail.
The Great One is the term given to that which has
nothing above it. The secret of the magic of life consists
in using action in order to achieve non-action. One must
not wish to leave out the steps between and penetrate
directlv. The maxim handed down to us is to take in
hand the work on the essence. In doing this it is important,
not to follow the wrong road.
The Golden Flower is the Light. What colour has
the Light ? One uses the Golden Flower as an image.
It is the true power of the transcendent Great One. The
phrase, " The lead of the water-region has but one taste,"
refers to it. In the Book of Changes it is said r : Heaven created water through the One. That is the true power of the Great One. If a man attains this One he becomes alive ; if he misses it he dies.
But even if a man lives in the power (air, prana) he does not see the power (air), just as fishes live in water but do not see the water. A man dies when he has no life-air, just as the fishes are destroyed when deprived of water. Therefore the adepts have taught the people to hold fast to the primal and to guard the One ; it is the circular course of the Light and the protection of the centre. If one guards this true power, one can prolong the span of life, and can then apply the methods of creating an immortal body by " melting and mixing ".
The work on the circulation of the Light depends
entirely on the backward-flowing movement, so that the
thoughts are gathered together (the place of Heavenly
Consciousness, the Heavenly Heart). The Heavenly
Heart lies between sun and moon (i.e. the two eyes).
The Booh of the Yellow Castle says : In the field
of the square inch of the house of the square foot, life
can be regulated. The house of the square foot is the
face. The field of the square inch in the face : what
could that be other than the Heavenly Heart ? In the
middle of the square inch dwells the splendour. In the
purple hall of the city of jade dwells the god of utmost
emptiness and life. The Confucians call it the centre
of emptiness ; the Buddhists, the terrace of life ; the
Taoists, the ancestral land, or the yellow castle, or the
dark pass, or the space of former Heaven. The Heavenly
Heart is like the dwelling place, the Light is the master.
Therefore when the Light circulates, the powers of
the whole body arrange themselves before its throne, just
as when a holy king has taken possession of the capital
and has laid down the fundamental rules of order, all
the states approach with tribute; or, just as when the
master is quiet and calm, men-servants and maids obey
his orders of their own accord, and each does his work.
Therefore you only have to make the Light circulate :
that is the deepest and most wonderful secret. The Light
is easy to move, but difficult to fix* If it is allowed to
go long enough in a circle, then it crystallizes itself : that
is the natural spirit-body. This crystallized spirit is
formed beyond the nine Heavens. It is the condition of which it is said in the Book of the Seal of the Heart :
Silently in the morning thou fiiest upward.
In carrying out this fundamental truth you need to
seek for no other methods, but must only concentrate your
thoughts on it. The book Ling Yen (2) says : By
collecting the thoughts one can fly and will be born in
Heaven. Heaven is not the wide blue sky, but the
place where the body is made in the house of the creative.
If one keeps this up for a long time, there develops quite
naturally in addition to the body, yet another spirit-body.
The Golden Flower is the Elixir of Life (Chin Tan,
literally, golden ball, golden pill). All changes of spiritual
consciousness depend upon the Heart. Here is a secret
charm, which, although it works very accurately, is yet
so fluent that it needs extreme intelligence and clarity,
and complete absorption and calm. People without
this highest degree of intelligence and understanding do
not find the way to apply the charm ; people without this
utmost capacity for concentration and calm cannot keep
fast hold of it.
This section explains the origin of the Great Meaning of the world (Too). The Heavenly Heart is the germinal root of the Great Meaning. If a man can be absolutely quiet then the Heavenly Heart will manifest itself. When the feeling springs up and flows -out in the natural course, the person is created as primordial creature. This creature abides between conception and birth in* true space. When the One note of individuation enters into birth, essence and life are divided in two. From this time on, if the utmost peace is not achieved, essence and life never see each other again.
Therefore it is said in the plan of the Great Pole : The Great
One includes within itself true power (prana), seed, spirit, animus, and anima. If the thoughts are absolutely quiet so that the Heavenly Heart can be seen, the spiritual intelligence reaches the source unaided. This essence lives indeed in true space, but the splendour of the Light dwells in the two eyes. Therefore the Master teaches the circulation of the Light so that the true essence may be reached. The true essence is the primordial spirit. The primordial spirit is precisely essence and life, and if one accepts what is real in it, it is the primordial power. And the Great Meaning is just this thing. Master Lu Tzii said : In comparison with Heaven and Earth, man is like a mayfly. But compared to the Great Meaning, Heaven and Earth, too, are like a bubble and a shadow. Only the primordial spirit and the true essence overcome time and space.
The power of the seed, like Heaven and Earth, is
subject to mortality, but the primordial spirit is beyond the polar differences. Here is the place whence Heaven
and Earth derive their being. When students under-
stand how to grasp the primordial spirit they overcome
the polar opposites of Light and Darkness and tarry
no longer in the three worlds (3). But only he who has
looked on essence in its original manifestation is able
to do thisl
When men are set free from the womb the primordial
spirit dwells in the square inch (between the eyes), but
the conscious spirit dwells below in the heart. This lower
fleshly heart has the shape of a large peach : it is covered
by the wings of the lungs, supported by the liver, and
served by the bowels. This heart is dependent on the
outside world. If a man does not eat for one day even,
it feels extremely uncomfortable. If it hears something
terrifying it throbs ; if it hears something enraging it
stops ; if it is faced with death it becomes sad ; if it sees
something beautiful it is dazzled. But the Heavenly
Heart in the head, when would it have been in the least
moved ? Dost thou ask : Can the Heavenly Heart not be
moved ? Then I answer : How could the true thought
in the square inch be moved ? If it really moves, it is
not well. For when ordinary men die, then it moves,
but that is not good. It is best indeed if the Light has .
already fortified itself in a spirit-body and its life-force
gradually penetrated the instincts and movements. But
that is a secret which has not been revealed for thousands
of years.
The lower heart moves like a strong, powerful com-
mander who despises the Heavenly ruler because of his
weakness, and has seized for himself the leadership of the
affairs of state. But when the primordial castle can be
fortified and defended, then it is as if a strong and wise
ruler sat upon the throne. The two eyes start the Light circulating like two ministers at the right and the left
who support the ruler with all their might. When the
ruler in the centre is thus in order, all those rebellious
heroes will present themselves with lances reversed ready
to take orders. The way to the Elixir of Life recognizes as supreme magic, seed-water, spirit-fire, and thought-earth : these three. What is seed- water ? It is the true, one power
(eros) of former Heaven. Spirit-fire is the Light (logos).
Thought-earth is the Heavenly Heart of the middle house
(intuition). Spirit-fire is used for effecting, thought-earth
for substance, and seed- water for the foundation. Ordinary
men make their bodies through thoughts. The body is
not only the 7 ft. tall outer body. In the body is the anima. The anima, having produced consciousness, adheres to it. Consciousness depends for its origin on the anima. The anima is feminine (yin), the substance of consciousness. As long as this consciousness is not interrupted, it continues to beget from generation to generation, and the changes of form of the anima and the transformations of substance are unceasing.
Master Lu Tzu said: Since when has the expression “circulation of the Light” been revealed? It was revealed by the “true men of the beginning of form”. When the Light is allowed to move in a circle, all the powers of Heaven and earth, of the light and the dark, are crystallized. That is what is described as seed-like, or purification of the power, or purification of the concept. When one begins to apply this magic, it is as if, in the middle of one’s being, there was a non-being. When in the course of time the work is finished, and beyond the body is another body, it is as if, in the middle of the non-being, there were a being. Only after a completed work of a hundred days will the Light be real, then only will it become spirit-fire. After a hundred days, there develops by itself in the middle of the Light, a point of the true Light-pole. Suddenly there develops a seed pearl. It is as if man and woman embraced and a conception took place. Then one must be quite still in order to await it. The circulation of the Light is the epoch of fire.
In the midst of primal becoming, the radiance of the Light is the determining thing. In the physical world it is the sun; in man the eye. The emanation and dissemination of spiritual consciousness is chiefly brought about by this power when it is directed outward (flown downward). Therefore the meaning of the Golden Flower depends wholly on the backward-flowing method.
Circulation of the Light is not only a circulation of the seed-blossom of the body, but it is, in the first place, a circulation of the true, creative, formative powers. It has to do, not with a momentary fantasy, but with the exhaustion of the circular course (soul wanderings) of all the eons. Therefore a breath-pause means a year – according to human reckoning – and a hundred years measured by the long night of the nine paths (of reincarnation).
After a person has the one tone of individualization behind them, they will be born outward according to the circumstances, and not until he is old will he turn a single time to the backward-flowing way. The force of the Light exhausts itself and trickles away. That brings the nine-fold darkness (of rebirths) into the world. In the book Leng Yen it is said: By concentrating the thoughts, one can fly; by concentrating the desires, one falls. When a pupil takes little care of his thoughts and much care of his desires, he gets into the path of depravity. Only through contemplation and quietness does true intuition arise; for that, the backward-flowing method is necessary.
In the book of the Secret Correspondences, it is said: Release is in the eye. In the Simple Questions of the Yellow Ruler, it is said: The seed-blossom of the human body must be concentrated upward in the empty space. That refers to it. Immortality is contained in this sentence and also the overcoming of the world is contained in it. That is the common goal of all religions.
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
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From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
Two Photo's same conditions
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Canon Speedlite 580EXII Flash
Manual in RAW
Adobe Bridge RAW Converter
Photoshop CS5
Alien Skin Exposure 5
PocketWizard Mini TT1 + Flex TT5
Remote triggered
Canon 580EXII Flash on stand eye high leftfront side
2 1/3 less power @ manual
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.
History
Some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people, who were not kings or emperors, are the funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypt's Fayum district. These are almost the only paintings from the classical world that have survived, apart from frescos, though many sculptures survive, and portraits on coins.
The art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of an idealized symbol of what that person looked like. (Compare the portraits of Roman Emperors Constantine I and Theodosius I at their entries.) In the Europe of the Early Middle Ages representations of individuals are mostly generalized. True portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late Middle Ages, in tomb monuments, donor portraits, miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and then panel paintings.
Moche culture of Peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits. These works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. The individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a written reference to their names. The individuals portrayed were members of the ruling elite, priests, warriors and even distinguished artisans.
They were represented during several stages of their lives. The faces of gods were also depicted. To date, no portraits of women have been found. There is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdresses, hairstyles, body adornment and face painting.
One of the best-known portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting titled Mona Lisa, which is a painting of Lisa del Giocondo. The world's oldest known portrait was found in 2006 in the Vilhonneur grotto near Angoulême and is thought to be 27,000 years old.
Self-portrait
When the artist creates a portrait of him- or herself, it is called a self-portrait. Identifiable examples become numerous in the late Middle Ages, but if the definition is extended the first was by the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten's sculptor Bak, who carved a representation of himself and his wife Taheri c. 1365 BC. However, it seems likely that self-portraits go back to the cave paintings, the earliest representational art, and literature records several classical examples that are now lost.
Portrait photography is a popular commercial industry all over the world. Many people enjoy having professionally made family portraits to hang in their homes, or special portraits to commemorate certain events, such as graduations or weddings. Since the dawn of photography, people have made portraits. The popularity of the daguerreotype in the middle of the 19th century was due in large part to the demand for inexpensive portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some cranking out more than 500 plates a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever else could be reflected with mirrors.
As photographic techniques developed, an intrepid group of photographers took their talents out of the studio and onto battlefields, across oceans and into remote wilderness. William Shew's Daguerreotype Saloon, Roger Fenton's Photographic Van and Mathew Brady's What-is-it? wagon set the standards for making portraits and other photographs in the field.
Portret
Een portret is een artistieke voorstelling van een persoon of een groep. Dit kan bijvoorbeeld een schilderij, een foto of een gebeeldhouwde weergave van iemands hoofd of buste zijn.
Portretten zijn vaak eenvoudige afbeeldingen van het gezicht zonder veel creativiteit (zoals pasfoto's). De opzet is te tonen hoe de persoon eruit ziet, met soms wat artistiek inzicht in zijn of haar persoonlijkheid. Meestal is herkenbaarheid van het gezicht het belangrijkst.
Een portret waar twee personen op zijn afgebeeld wordt een dubbelportret genoemd, een met meer dan twee personen een groepsportret. Als een kunstenaar een portret van zichzelf maakt, wordt het een zelfportret genoemd.
Portretten worden vaak gemaakt naar aanleiding van een gebeurtenis (de klassenfoto, een familieportret bij een jubileum) of ter herinnering (burgemeestersportret). Portretfotografie is een commerciële industrie in de hele wereld. Een kunstschilder die gespecialiseerd is in portretten wordt een portretschilder genoemd.
Portretten van leiders en staatshoofden (staatsieportretten) zijn vaak symbolen voor een staat. In de meeste landen is het gebruikelijk een portret van het staatshoofd op te hangen in belangrijke overheidsgebouwen. Overmatig gebruik van het portret van een leider kan een teken zijn van persoonsverheerlijking. Voorbeelden hiervan zijn de portretten van Adolf Hitler en Saddam Hoessein tijdens hun bewind.
Portretrecht is het recht van ieder individu om wel of niet in te stemmen met publicatie van zijn of haar portret.
In de literatuur en de media wordt met de term 'portret' een geschreven dan wel audiovisueel vormgegeven beschrijving of analyse van een persoon of onderwerp bedoeld. Een dergelijk portret kan een diep inzicht opleveren.
Geschiedenis
Enkele van de vroegste portretten van mensen die geen koningen of keizers waren, zijn de Fayum-portretten (mummieportretten) die bewaard zijn gebleven in het droge klimaat van de regio Fayum in Egypte. Dit zijn de enige schilderijen uit de Romeinse periode die bewaard zijn gebleven, afgezien van fresco's.
Portretkunst bloeide in Romeinse beeldhouwwerken, waarvan de geportretteerden eisten dat ze realistisch waren, zelfs de minder knappe. Tijdens de 4e eeuw verloor het portret terrein aan een verheerlijkt symbool van hoe de persoon eruit zag. Echte portretten van het werkelijke uiterlijk van individuen verschenen opnieuw in Europa in de late middeleeuwen, in Bourgondië en Frankrijk.
Een van de bekendste portretten in de Westerse wereld is Leonardo da Vinci's schilderij Mona Lisa, een schilderij van een onbekende vrouw.
Het vroegst bekende geschilderde zelfportret was dat van de Franse kunstenaar Jean Fouquet rond 1450, maar als de definitie wordt uitgebreid, is het eerste zelfportret dat van een Egyptenaar, farao Akhnaton's beeldhouwer Bak, die een voorstelling van zichzelf en zijn vrouw Taheri hakte rond 1365 v.Chr. Toch lijkt het aannemelijk dat zelfportretten teruggaan tot de rotstekeningen.
Sinds het begin van de fotografie hebben mensen fotoportretten laten maken. De populariteit van het daguerreotype in het midden van de 19e eeuw werd voornamelijk veroorzaakt door de vraag naar goedkope portretten. In steden overal ter wereld verschenen fotostudio's, waar soms meer dan 500 platen per dag werden geschoten. De stijl van deze vroege werken geeft de technische uitdagingen weer die samenhangen met 30-seconden belichtingstijden en de esthetiek van die tijd. Geportretteerden werden over het algemeen neergezet gezeten tegen een effen achtergrond en belicht met het zachte licht van een hoog raam en alles wat met spiegels gereflecteerd kon worden. Met de zich ontwikkelende fotografische technieken namen enkele fotografen hun talenten mee naar buiten de fotostudio: naar slagvelden, overzee, en naar de wildernis. Ook daar werden voortaan portretfoto's genomen.
Location: Düsseldorf - 1234km from home.
Fully individualizable Swedish license plate (up to 7 letters).
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
Homemade Christmas card made by mom for Granny in 1986.
For some reason in 1986, mom decided to make Christmas cards. She made, I think, about 40 cards, each one individualized for its recipient. They were hand cross-stitched designs and then sewn to this material and, I think, hot-glued to red card stock.
Inside, each one has a handwritten verse, and some have original poems written for the individual.
Needless to say, we kept our cards and put them on display every year. I do not know for sure what happened to all of the others. I think one of my aunts still has hers.
Thought I should post a picture of my 29 year-old Christmas cards.
Mom gone for three Christmases now (as of 2015); she was always proud that we kept them out and on display.
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
Nina Benson
National American Miss Pageant Finalist Photo Shoot - Native American Theme - 08092015-0277
© George C. Benson, Jr. 2015, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Red Road is the Oglala Lakota’s concept of the right path of life and is often refered to in a spiritual way. Native Americans' spiritual teachings are diverse. And while the spiritual teaching of many Native American tribes and nations share common elements in their beliefs, they’re quite diverse, and the cultures are highly individualized.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
The Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe marries cutting-edge technology with a beautifully proportioned, muscular body that exudes power and style. Agile, long-legged, and virtually silent, the Phantom Coupe is created using the most advanced technology and the finest craftsmanship. Touch the start button, and the engine breathes to life with a whisper. Once underway, the Coupe is composed and confident as it carries you on any roads you choose. Whether you undertake a daylong sojourn of great distance, or a serene and silent traverse though mountain passes with suitable haste, the Phantom Coupe is capable of delivering the driving experience you require.
Combining superior power with poise, the 6.75-liter 12-cylinder power plant features direct fuel injection with variable valve lift and timing, designed to develop massive lowdown torque. This V-12 develops 453 horsepower and 531 lb.-ft. of torque and delivers 75 percent of its maximum torque at just 1,000 rpm, giving the smooth, unstressed performance associated with Rolls-Royce cars.
At the core of the Coupe is an all-aluminum space frame. Manufactured to within a tolerance of just 0.004 inch, each space frame is constructed by hand and then checked by computer to ensure accuracy.
Customers may choose from 44,000 exterior colors and specify other individualized features via the Bespoke Program. Initial customer deliveries will occur in November 2008
Location: Berlin - 657km from home.
Belgian Individual series 2010. Individual plates (2010) feature "9" as first digit, the following three letters and digits are individualizable. Price is 1000€.
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
It was a major accomplishment to discover the title of this work. I wasn't able to identify the artist, nor could I find a discussion of the piece.
======================
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
Konstructive Cycles Berlin
Further details via Revolution Sports Distribution. www.revolutionsports.eu
WHO
Konstructive Cycles is a German cycling brand. Konstructive Custom Dream Bikes and accessories are designed in Berlin, Germany and hand made by the best craftsmen in Europe. Konstructive Cycles Berlin are distributed by RevolutionSports.eu.
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Get more information and start to configure your ultimate Dream Bike on our Website: www.konstructive.de.
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WER
Konstructive Cycles ist eine deutsche Marke Konstructive Cycles Berlin Produkte werden in Berlin entwickelt und gestaltet (Design Made in Germany) und von den besten Handwerkern in Europa gefertigt (Made in Europe). Die Firma RevolutionSports.eu vertreibt die hochwertige Dream Bikes (Traumbikes) und Zubehörprodukte.
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Konstructive Cycles entwickelt Hochleistungs-Bikes aus Carbon und Stahl, Komponenten sowie exklusives Zubehör und Funktionsbekleidung. Zu den Bike-Kategorien zählen Rennräder, Cyclo-Cross Bikes, Mountain Bikes und zahlreiche Sonderlösungen. Wir bieten komplette Bikes mit vielfältigen Ausstattungsoptionen und einzelne Rahmen an. Unsere Produkte werden für Bike-Enthusiasten entwickelt, die besonderen Wert auf Qualität und ein niedriges Gewicht ihres Bikes legen.
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Abraxas is a Gnostic god who existed long before Christ.
Jung-Hesse: A Record of Two Friendships
Abraxas
Although Life is an Affair of light and shadows, we never accept it as such.
We are always reaching towards the light and the high peaks.
From childhood, through early religious and academic training, we are given values which correspond only to an ideal world.
The shadowy side of real life is ignored, and Western Christianity provides us with nothing which can be used to interpret it.
Thus the young men of the West are unable to deal with the mixture of light and shadow of which life really consists; they have no way of linking the facts of existence to their preconceived notions of absolutes.
The links connecting life with universal symbols are therefore broken, and disintegration sets in.
In the Orient, and especially in India, the situation is very different.
There, an ancient civilization based on nature accepts a cosmos of multi-faceted gods; and thus the Easterner can realize the simultaneous existence of light and shadow and of good and evil.
Absolutes do not exist, and if God is thus disarmed, so is the devil. But the price of such an understanding a direct tribute to nature itself. Consequently the Hindu finds himself less individualized than the Westerner; he is little more than a part of nature, one element in the collective soul.
The question which the Western Christian now has to face in whether, without losing his individuality, he can accept the coexistence of light and shadow and of God and the devil.
To do so, he will have to discover the God who was Christian before the personalized Christ and who can continue in a viable form after him.
Such a deity would be the Christ of Atlantis, who once existed publicly, and who still continues to exist–even though submerged under the deep waters of our present civilization. Such a god would also be Abraxas, who is God and the devil at the same time.
The first time I heard of Abraxas by name was in Demian, but I had really known about him from my childhood days.
I had sensed his existence in the heart of the Cordillera of the Andes and in the unfathomable depths of the Pacific Ocean which beats against our coasts. This ignis fatuus, the flames of heaven and hell which exist in him, flickered even in the foam of these waves.
Abraxas is a Gnostic god who existed long before Christ.
He may be equated too with the Christ of Atlantis, and is known by other names by the aborigines of the Americas, amongst them the Indians who inhabited my country.
Hermann Hesse speaks of him in this way:
Contemplate the fire, contemplate the clouds, and when omens appear and voices begin to sound in your soul, abandon yourself to them without wondering beforehand whether it seems convenient or good to do so.
If you hesitate, you will spoil your own being, you will become little more than the bourgeois facade which encloses you, and you will become a fossil.
Our god is named Abraxas, and he is both god and the devil at the same time.
You will find in him both the world of light and of shadows.
Abraxas is not opposed to any of your thoughts or to any of your dreams, but he will abandon you if you become normal and unapproachable.
He will abandon you and look for another pot in which to cook his thoughts.
The modern Christian and the Western world as a whole has now reached a point of crisis, and the choices open seem less than attractive.
We neither want one of those apocalyptic catastrophes which have so disfigured our past history, nor do we want the de-humanizing path of the Orient which would result in an irremediable lowering of our standards.
Perhaps then the· only possibility that remains is Abraxas, that is to say, ·’ projection of our souls both outwards and inwards, both to the light and to the deep shadows of our biographical roots, in hopes of finding in the combination of the two the pure archetype.
This pure archetype would be the authentic image of the god which is within ourselves and which has been sunk for so long, like Atlantis, under the waters of our consciousness.
Thus Abraxas would also come to mean Total Man. ~Miguel Serrano, Jung and Hesse A Record of Two Friendships, Page 5-7Jungian psychology books
Carl Jung Depth Psychology
Carl Jung on Instagram
24e28 abraxas2bstone
carljungdepthpsychologysite.blog/2021/05/17/abraxas-2/
abraxas, sequence of Greek letters considered as a word and formerly inscribed on charms, amulets, and gems in the belief that it possessed magical qualities. In the 2nd century ad, some Gnostic and other dualistic sects, which viewed matter as evil and the spirit as good and held that salvation came through esoteric knowledge, or gnosis, personified Abraxas and initiated a cult sometimes related to worship of the sun god. Basilides of Egypt, an early 2nd-century Gnostic teacher, viewed Abraxas as the supreme deity and the source of divine emanations, the ruler of all the 365 heavens, or circles of creation—one for each day of the year. The number 365 corresponds to the numerical value of the seven Greek letters that form the word abraxas.
www.britannica.com/topic/abraxas-sequence-of-Greek-letters
Abraxas, the God described by ancient Gnostics as the ‘God above all Gods’, remains elusive and mysterious despite the ever-presence of its name in mystic traditions, occultism and even popular culture.
Abraxas captured the imagination and interest of many of the twentieth century's great thinkers, musicians and artists from Carl Jung to Hermann Hesse and even figures like Carlos Santana. His name became synonymous with the desire to pursue individuation. The Jungian method of integrating all conscious and unconscious aspects of the Self.
The name Abraxas is woven into our mythic cultural imagination and yet clear information about its nature is hard to come by. Described as a demon by some, and the highest of Gods by others, it is partly their enigmatic and esoteric nature that makes the mystery of their origin and symbolism so enticing.
Much of the uncertainty is due, at least in part, to the censorship and eradication of many Gnostic texts by early Christians who saw them as heretical. However, even for the most curious reader with a grasp of how Abraxas has been understood, it has to be said that there is something inherently ineffable and abstruse about them.
I will draw heavily on Carl Jung’s study of Gnosticism and Abraxas specifically, as his access to direct texts and his years of study have provided me with the clearest picture of this somewhat ineffable deity.
The Seven Sermons to the Dead
Here is an excerpt from Jung’s Seven Sermons to the Dead from the Red Book which perhaps gives the clearest picture of the nature of Abraxas.
Abraxas is the sun, and at the same time the eternally sucking gorge of the void, the belittling and dismembering devil.
The power of Abraxas is twofold; but ye see it not, because for your eyes the warring opposites of this power are extinguished.
What the god-sun speaketh is life.
What the devil speaketh is death.
But Abraxas speaketh that hallowed and accursed word which is life and death at the same time.
Abraxas begetteth truth and lying, good and evil…
medium.com/indian-thoughts/who-is-abraxas-2a94ce549262
This description sounds radically different from the modern Christian conception of an omnibenevolent God. Abraxas instead incorporates all. He/she is total unity between everything that we differentiate. They are both the highest good and the most frightful evil, masculine and feminine, truth and lie, light and dark. The word Abraxas (or Abrasax or Abracax) was engraved on certain antique stones, called Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms by Gnostic sects. Amulets and seals bearing the figure of Abraxas were popular in the 2nd century, and were used also in the 13th century in some of the seals of the Knights Templar. By medieval times, Abraxas was relegated to the ranks of demons. The image most associated with Abraxas is that of a composite creature with the head of a rooster, the body of a man, and legs made of serpents or scorpions. He carries a whip and shield, called wisdom and power. Occasionally Abraxas is depicted driving a chariot drawn by four horses, probably representing the elements.
templars.fandom.com/wiki/Abraxas
Abraxas was a grotesque creature with a twin tail – similar to the twin tailed mermaids known as “melusines” in the Middle Ages. So why did this bizarre beast appear on Knight Templar seals?
In a charter in France dating from the year 1214, the Templar grand master used a seal with an image of the demon Abraxas. Normally, the Templars used seals with the Lamb of God or the characteristic Templar cross – so why use such a strange and un-Christian visual?
READ MORE: Find out about Oak Island and the Knights Templar
Abraxas – a gnostic creation known to the Templars
The hideous Abraxas appears on Templar seals and was presumably a cult picked up in the east as Templar knights went to fight in outremer. The origins of Abraxas seems to lie in gnostic beliefs in an overarching deity more powerful than all other gods.
Abraxas seems to have played a central role in the gnostic cult of Basilides in the second century AD. This Alexandrian mystic was teaching at a time of huge religious ferment when Christianity hadn’t completely defined itself in the way that we know it today.
So Basilides did believe in a kind of disembodied Jesus – gnostics didn’t like the idea of an incarnated God – and that the only way to know Jesus was through a process of intense meditation, for want of a better word, called ‘gnosis’.
How Abraxis fitted in to this is probably as some kind of master-god above other divine and semi-divine entities. The head of Abraxis sometimes resembles that of a Basilisk – the cockerel crested serpent head of that legendary beast. The trunk is normally that of a man and then legs of snakes and feet which seem to resemble scorpions.
To find out more about the mysteries of the Knights Templar, get yourself a copy of this book: The Knights Templar – History & Mystery – by Tony McMahon – published by Pen & Sword – available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, WHSmith, and Waterstones.
thetemplarknight.com/2010/11/10/templar-abraxas/
This is my opinion only, based on my own experiences mixed with some reading of Jung and mentions in the texts.
Abraxas is Life. Its job is to keep life going, and it doesn’t care whether that life is “good” or “evil”. It doesn’t care if we suffer through or enjoy our lives, so long as there are lives to Live.
Abraxas is neither “good” or “evil”. If you are not beneficial to Life overall he will discard you, if you contribute towards Life, he (using “he” for simplicity) will reward you.
The masses worship the different faces of Abraxas, but I see it as more like a cosmic, super-intelligent beast. I don’t think he is malicious, and we are all forced to negotiate with him on some level in order to survive in this world. He does not care if you worship him or not, he cares about wether or not you can contribute to the continuance of Life. Only you can really answer that for yourself, but for me the answer to “how do you contribute to life?” is I use my skills for articulation to share Truth as I understand it, otherwise I do various things like cultivating mushrooms (literally creating the circumstances for a life form to survive) or spending time working on local farms, making sure the animals are living in appropriate conditions, etc.
So what does it mean? It just means that Life itself is this thing that is bigger than any one individual, and the existence of Life is what allows all of us to exist, so if you appreciate existence, you should contribute towards the betterment, growth, and survival of Life.
It’s really unfortunate that “work” is something we all do just because we’re told you have to if you want to make money and survive, as opposed to doing something because you believe you can make the world a better place by doing it. ...
The simplest way to put it is: if the Monad is the transcendental concept of united opposites, complementary dualism, everything and nothingness, which are concepts the psyche relates to the unconscious, then Abraxas is basically the consciousness of the universe but a higher consciousness operating on a philosophy so foreign to most that it seems like madness.
Is it greater or lesser than the monad? If it’s so alien then it should be greater right? What I mean is if the monad is what is and isn’t and abraxas is something beyond understanding would the monad be superior because the alien philosophy is still within everything? Or is this alien philosophy superior to the monad as it’s outside everything and nothing?
www.reddit.com/r/Gnostic/comments/tidwmz/who_or_what_is_a...
Dans la pénombre entre le bien et le mal, un nom ancien résonne : Abraxas. Enfouie dans les pages cryptiques de textes gnostiques interdits, cette entité énigmatique hante les confins du savoir humain depuis des siècles. Abraxas est un paradoxe cosmique : représenté avec une tête de coq, un corps d’homme et des jambes de serpent, il incarne une force où la lumière et les ténèbres se rencontrent. Certains murmurent que cet être mystérieux détient la clé des 365 cieux, commandant les royaumes angéliques et démoniaques comme une seule puissance unifiée.
Rejoignez-nous pour un voyage cinématographique au-delà du voile de la compréhension ordinaire, dévoilant la tradition cryptique d’Abraxas et le savoir interdit qu’elle recèle. Dans cette exploration immersive, nous décortiquons les couches du symbolisme ancien et abordons les profondes questions qu’Abraxas soulève sur la nature de la réalité, l’équilibre du bien et du mal, et l’essence du divin. Que vous soyez un chercheur occasionnel ou un étudiant assidu de l'occulte, cette histoire remettra en question vos perceptions et stimulera votre imagination. N'hésitez pas à aimer, partager et vous abonner pour découvrir d'autres voyages vers la connaissance interdite.
#Abraxas #Gnosticisme #Ésotérique #Occulte #Mysticisme #Connaissance interdite #Sagesse ancienne #Mythologie #Mystères anciens #Spiritualité
“Quartier Schützenstrasse” consists of a classical Friedrichstadt block defined by the Schützenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, and Charlottenstrasse.
Aldo Rossi’s used the historical urban structure of the division of land into small plots as his concept for Quartier Schützenstrasse. The individualized houses signal individual plots but the total number of facades exceeds the number of houses standing independently of each other. While two of the buildings are reserved exclusively for residential apartments the rest provide for a mixture of residential and commercial use.
The Quartier Schützenstrasse is a collage of icons and archetypes with several obvious references to other Rossi buildings as well as historical references. Schützenstrasse 8 is a copy of the courtyard facade of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built in 1516 by Antonio Sangallo, that was modified by Michelangelo. The court yard facade copies three of the centre line of windows of the Palazzo Farnese. The path through the smallest, ornamental courtyard behind the Palazzo Farnese.
The intense colorfulness, inspired by the colors of antique architecture, tie the block together and draws attention to the allotment structure, which distinguishes the individual houses. Rossi used particular colors for particular facade materials; the more “artificial” the material, the more “vivid” the color. Blaring green and bright red signal aluminum. Muted colors; egg yolk yellow, carmine red and cornflower blue are all stucco. The earthy tones shading into red- brown or yellow indicate bricks. The pale facades are two kinds of natural stone; light and dark gray, sand and pink. The silver-grey sheet metal stays as is.
The urge towards a multiplicity of forms is unmistakable, the efforts beyond variations in color and material impressive. The varying window shapes, the appointment of the attics, the plastic development of the facades through extroverted and reticent sections, through sills and parapet; the sometimes expressly horizontal, other times explicitly vertical division of the mostly axial-symmetric facades; and finally their own, lightly staggered order all contribute to this effect.
The great pains Rossi took with the design of his city-within-a-city were only initially devoted to the plausibility of its lots structure. Rather, the “city” was mainly dedicated to what he called a monument, so that it may have sovereignty over its use, just as it is sovereign over its environment.
/ Mathias Remmele
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
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www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette (in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” di uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato (la Chiesa Madre e la chiesa di Sant’Agata).
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
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-----------------------------------------------------------------
click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
---------------------------------------------------------------
In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
Siri is a virtual assistant part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS operating systems. The assistant uses voice queries and a natural-language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Internet services. The software adapts to users' individual language usages, searches, and preferences, with continuing use. Returned results are individualized.
One of the more notorious examples was made public last year during the murder trial of a 20-year-old Florida man who reportedly told Siri, “I need to hide my roommate” and in return was given a list of potential places to get rid of a body, such as swamps, reservoirs, metal foundries, and dumps. (The same inquiry now returns the cheeky response, “I used to be able to answer this question.”)
The owner of this beautiful 930 slantnose thought R6.00 was too much to pay for parking, so he parked in the middle of the drop-off zone instead. When I came back 2 hours later it was still there.
According to Wikipedia: Porsche offered a "Flachbau" ("slantnose") 930 under the "Sonderwunschprogramm" (special order program) beginning in 1981, an otherwise normal 930 with a 935-style slantnose instead of the normal 911 front end. Each Flachbau unit was handcrafted by remodeling the front fenders. So few were built that the slantnose units often commanded a high premium over sticker, adding to the fact that they required a premium of up to 60 per cent (highly individualized cars even more) over the standard price. Several sources claim the factory built 948 units. The Flachbau units delivered in Europe usually featured the 330 hp (246 kW) performance kit.
Claudius and Agrippina
Claudius' head is worked more carefully and in much greater detail than the rest of the panel. A different, specialist sculptor for the imperial portrait seems likely here. The portrait is a well-individualized and immediately recognizable version of Claudius' main physiognomical type. It has his usual broad brow (here slightly furrowed), middle-aged face with pronounced lines from nose to mouth, and a sagging under-chin. The sharp regular brows are usual, but the enlarged eyes are an ideal element considerably exaggerated here. The forehead hair is carefully carved with large regular locks curving to each side from a slightly off-centre parting over the left eye.
Though weathered and damaged, Agrippina's head seems less well carved and finished than that of Claudius. In style it is stiffer and less subtly modelled. The identification is secured by the context and the hair arrangement.
The hair is centre-parted and brushed to the side, where it turns into three tiers of tight curls: a row of five curls below and two rows of four curls above.
The whole panel makes a convincing, imperial, dynastic composition, but probably not one taken directly from a Roman monument. The design seems to combine or conflate two themes and compositions in a way that seems unlikely at Rome. First, there is the theme of concord in the imperial house, an elevated representation of domestic harmony between the emperor and his wife; and second, there ist the (public) crowning of the emperor with the corona civica, awarded for the saving of citizens' lives ('ob cives servatos'), nominally in battle, but metaphorically in the widest sense.
Source: Smith R.R.R., “The Imperial Reliefs from the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias”, The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 77 (1987).
Roman bas-relief
Claudius – early Nero age (41 – 58 AD)
Aphrodisias, Archaeological Museum
Aphrodisias, Caria, Turkey
This is the best I could do by way of an explanation of this statue in the St. Peter and St. Paul. It comes from a site that sells religious objects.
THIS ITEM:
A beautiful statue of the Crucified Christ embracing St. Francis of Assisi. Inspired by the classic 1668 depiction by Bartoleme Esteban Murillo.
St. Francis of Assisi was the first saint to receive the stigmata. Receiving the five wounds of Christ into his own flesh, he understood that martyrdom was more than simply dying for Christ, but rather the conforming of one’s mind and heart with that of the Lord. In other words, one could say he understood that Jesus wanted the classic “inside job”, something real and personal, not merely exterior. And the image here is quite “personal”, suggesting that to be a true follower of the Crucified One, sooner or later it means a personal encounter with the Cross.
Such images are poetry to the eyes. They not only instruct, but they also inspire.
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St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
========================================================
From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
In an effort to distance itself from the mainstream executive saloons of the day like the BMW 5-Series of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Renault developed the five-door Vel Satis (and two-door Avantime) as alternatives for the individualistic shopper. Although I always appreciated Renault's efforts for individualization, the market was not so kind to the automaker, with poor sales dooming the concepts. The Vel Satis only lasted one generation as a more conventional saloon, the Latitude, took its place in Renault's lineup for 2010.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese:) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were in 1941 merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces". Both air branches transferred their equipment, installations and personnel to the new force. In World War II, the Brazilian Air force made important contributions to the Allied war efforts, especially as part of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) on the Italian front, and operated a number of American types like P-38, P-40 and P-47 fighters as well as A-20 and A-31 bombers, which were partly kept in service after the war had ended.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was originally designed in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals for a twin-engine, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." The P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
During its successful career, the P-38 was not only used for interception, but also for dive bombing, level bombing, ground attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance, radar and visual pathfinding for bombers and evacuation missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings. The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, since the exhaust was muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too low for it to excel as a serious dogfighter.
The P-38 was operated by the USAAF throughout the country’s engagement in WWII and in all major conflict zones. Beyond the USAAF, the type was also tested or operated by allies, e. g. France, Great Britain (only an export version was tested and rejected) and Brazil. The Brazilian Air Force received its first P-38Js relatively late in WWII. In December 1944, a total of 109 aircraft were delivered to FEB forces in Italy, where the machines were primarily used as fighter bombers (armed with bombs and unguided missiles) and sometimes as long range escort fighter for American bomber raids. After the war, most of these machines were abandoned and scrapped on site, but the P-38 had a very good service record and had been popular among the crews. In order to modernize its home defense, Brazil procured in 1946 another 55 P-38L from US stock and surplus production. These were distributed among three interceptor squadrons and the type’s long range proved to be very effective over the country’s vast ranges along the borders, and also over the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of the aircraft’s career remained peaceful, but towards the end of the FAB P-38’s career, while the Lightning was already about to be gradually phased out, the machines became in 1961-63 involved in hot military action during the so-called “Lobster War”, a dispute over spiny lobsters with France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French maintained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. During this conflict, the P-38s carried out long range patrols over the Southern Atlantic and flew escort missions for Brazilian long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which shadowed (and threatened) French civil and military vessels. More than once the FAB aircraft flew low-level phantom attacks and fired their guns into the open sea as threatening gestures. There were no casualties, though, and the dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.
The last FAB P-38 was eventually retired in 1965 and the type was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which themselves were later replaced by the MB-326, Mirage III and Northrop F-5 jets.
General characteristics.
Crew: One
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30.43 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 23016 / NACA 4412
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,800 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,940 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268
Drag area: 8.78 ft² (0.82 m²)
Aspect ratio: 8.26
Powerplant:
2× Allison V-1710-111/113 V-12 piston engine,
each delivering 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) WEP at 60 inHg, 3,000 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h)
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km) with internal fuel
1,770 mi (3,640 km) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (260.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 13.5
Armament:
1× Hispano M2 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds
4× M2 Browning 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg
Inner underwing hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks each;
Outer hardpoints for up to 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity
Aircraft Rockets)
The kit and its assembly:
This lightning is another hardware rendition of a fictional profile drawing, once more created by Czech fellow user PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, originally posted in late Feb. 2019. Brazil never operated the P-38, but I found, due to the type’s long range, the idea quite plausible. And the paint scheme depicted in the profile was interesting, too. So I dug out a Matchbox P-38 from the pile (primarily in order to reduce its volume; if I had bought a dedicated P-38 kit for this build, I’d probably have used the Hobby Boss model) and started work.
The Matchbox P-38 is certainly not the best kit of this iconic aircraft. Its biggest selling point is that it goes together relatively well and yields a solid, even though simple model. It has many weak points, though:
- It features a wild mix of raised and engraved details on the surface.
- The cockpit only consists of a simple floor panel and a pilot seat, which rather looks like an armchair from a Seventies living room.
- The landing gear is very simple, too, and the landing gear wells show no interior detail at all
- The turbocharger fairings are (relatively) nicely detailed, but their fit is abysmal and their complex shape makes blending them with the surroundings a tiresome (if not futile) affair.
Since all wing and fuselage elements come in separate sections, aligning everything is not easy - expect some serious PSR work! At least, the real life P-38 had handed propellers, and this detail is actually reflected by the Matchbox kit.
Since this build was rather about fiction and the livery than details, I only made minor improvements. I left the cockpit closed, with the OOB pilot inside, but replaced the wacky seat and added a board with a radio to cover the empty space behind it. Any available space in the central pod and in the tail booms’ front ends was filled with lead, in hope to get the model on its three wheels. It actually worked!
The propellers received new and longer axes as well as matching adapter tubes inside of the engines, so that they could be attached after the model was otherwise finished. The primitive landing gear was taken OOB, I just pimped the struts with hydraulic hoses, made from thin wire.
The flaps under the inner wing sections were lowered and I used the OOB drop tanks. The “tree” HVAR launchers were omitted and their attachment points under the wings hidden under styrene profiles. On the nose, I added machine gun barrels to the otherwise empty openings, and, as a final cosmetic move, I added wire antennae between the tail booms and the canopy.
Painting and markings:
The more creative part. I tried to stay true to PantherG’s inspiring profile, even though I made some minor changes which appeared more plausible to me and added some more color. The three-tone camouflage pattern (inspired by Guatemaltecan P-51s?) reflects typical Brazilian jungle landscape well and was made of USAAF WWII colors (Dark Olive Drab 41 (ANA 613), Medium Green 42 (ANA 612), Sand 49 (ANA 616) and Neutral Grey 43.
Painting was done with Tamiya XF-62, Humbrol 195 and 237 on the upper surfaces, and underneath I used FS 36314 from Modelmaster, since I find “true” Neutral Grey (FS 36173) to look very murky on/under a 1:72 model. Painting was done with brushes, as per usual.
The cockpit interior was painted in zinc chromate green, while the landing gear wells’ interior became chrome yellow. Landing gear struts, wheel discs and drop tanks became Humbrol 156, similar to the aircraft’s undersides.
Concerning the FAB markings I deviated from PantherG’s profile drawing: I gave the Lightning post-WWII FAB roundels which consist only of the stylized star and lack the blue USAAF disc background or the “bars”. AFAIK, these markings were only used during WWII, when American aircraft were quickly “Brazilianized” through simply overpainting the original US insignia’s white star from the factories. Furthermore, I individualized the aircraft with post WWII FAB squadron markings in the form of medium blue bands around the tail booms with the Southern Cross star constellation from the Brazilian flag.
Another FAB post WWII era detail is the use of a color code for the different groups within a squadron, which were carried on propeller spinners and thin fuselage bands. In this case, the aircraft belonged to the “Blue Group”, adding some more color to the camouflaged aircraft.
The Brazilian roundels come from an FCM Decals T-33/F-80 sheet. The same source also provided the small stars that appear on the light blue fuselage band (created with generic decal sheet). The Brazilian fin flashes were created with yellow paint and green decal sheet material. The tactical codes in USAF 45° font come from a Hasegawa Japanese F-4E decal sheet, and for a better contrast I placed them on a silver background (again generic decal sheet material), as if they had been spared when the aircraft received its camouflage.
Some light panel shading as well as weathering/dry-brushing on the leading edges and around the cockpit was done, and finally the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
An interesting result – the Brazilian P-38 does not look spectacular, but quite plausible. The three-tone camouflage creates an interesting look on the P-38, which normally only comes in olive drab/grey, NMF or all-black liveries. In the beauty pics over a rainforest landscape, it even proves to be quite effective at medium and low altitude! And while the Matchbox kit is certainly not the best P-38 model around, it “does the job” and is a pleasant, quick build.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Brazilian Air Force (Portuguese:) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Army and Navy air branch were in 1941 merged into a single military force initially called "National Air Forces". Both air branches transferred their equipment, installations and personnel to the new force. In World War II, the Brazilian Air force made important contributions to the Allied war efforts, especially as part of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) on the Italian front, and operated a number of American types like P-38, P-40 and P-47 fighters as well as A-20 and A-31 bombers, which were partly kept in service after the war had ended.
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was originally designed in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals for a twin-engine, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." The P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
During its successful career, the P-38 was not only used for interception, but also for dive bombing, level bombing, ground attack, night fighting, photo reconnaissance, radar and visual pathfinding for bombers and evacuation missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings. The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, since the exhaust was muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too low for it to excel as a serious dogfighter.
The P-38 was operated by the USAAF throughout the country’s engagement in WWII and in all major conflict zones. Beyond the USAAF, the type was also tested or operated by allies, e. g. France, Great Britain (only an export version was tested and rejected) and Brazil. The Brazilian Air Force received its first P-38Js relatively late in WWII. In December 1944, a total of 109 aircraft were delivered to FEB forces in Italy, where the machines were primarily used as fighter bombers (armed with bombs and unguided missiles) and sometimes as long range escort fighter for American bomber raids. After the war, most of these machines were abandoned and scrapped on site, but the P-38 had a very good service record and had been popular among the crews. In order to modernize its home defense, Brazil procured in 1946 another 55 P-38L from US stock and surplus production. These were distributed among three interceptor squadrons and the type’s long range proved to be very effective over the country’s vast ranges along the borders, and also over the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of the aircraft’s career remained peaceful, but towards the end of the FAB P-38’s career, while the Lightning was already about to be gradually phased out, the machines became in 1961-63 involved in hot military action during the so-called “Lobster War”, a dispute over spiny lobsters with France. The Brazilian government refused to allow French fishing vessels to catch spiny lobsters 100 miles off the Brazilian northeast coast, arguing that lobsters "crawl along the continental shelf", while the French maintained that "lobsters swim" and that therefore they might be caught by any fishing vessel from any country. During this conflict, the P-38s carried out long range patrols over the Southern Atlantic and flew escort missions for Brazilian long-range reconnaissance aircraft, which shadowed (and threatened) French civil and military vessels. More than once the FAB aircraft flew low-level phantom attacks and fired their guns into the open sea as threatening gestures. There were no casualties, though, and the dispute was resolved unilaterally by Brazil, which extended its territorial waters to a 200-mile zone, taking in the disputed lobsters' bed.
The last FAB P-38 was eventually retired in 1965 and the type was replaced by the F-80C and TF-33A, which themselves were later replaced by the MB-326, Mirage III and Northrop F-5 jets.
General characteristics.
Crew: One
Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.53 m)
Wingspan: 52 ft 0 in (15.85 m)
Height: 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Wing area: 327.5 ft² (30.43 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 23016 / NACA 4412
Empty weight: 12,800 lb (5,800 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,500 lb (7,940 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 21,600 lb (9,798 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0268
Drag area: 8.78 ft² (0.82 m²)
Aspect ratio: 8.26
Powerplant:
2× Allison V-1710-111/113 V-12 piston engine,
each delivering 1,600 hp (1,193 kW) WEP at 60 inHg, 3,000 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 414 mph (666 km/h)
Cruise speed: 275 mph (443 km/h)
Stall speed: 105 mph (169 km/h)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km) with internal fuel
1,770 mi (3,640 km) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 44,000 ft (13,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,750 ft/min (24.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 53.4 lb/ft² (260.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 13.5
Armament:
1× Hispano M2 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds
4× M2 Browning 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns with 500 rpg
Inner underwing hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs or drop tanks each;
Outer hardpoints for up to 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs or 10× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs (High Velocity
Aircraft Rockets)
The kit and its assembly:
This lightning is another hardware rendition of a fictional profile drawing, once more created by Czech fellow user PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, originally posted in late Feb. 2019. Brazil never operated the P-38, but I found, due to the type’s long range, the idea quite plausible. And the paint scheme depicted in the profile was interesting, too. So I dug out a Matchbox P-38 from the pile (primarily in order to reduce its volume; if I had bought a dedicated P-38 kit for this build, I’d probably have used the Hobby Boss model) and started work.
The Matchbox P-38 is certainly not the best kit of this iconic aircraft. Its biggest selling point is that it goes together relatively well and yields a solid, even though simple model. It has many weak points, though:
- It features a wild mix of raised and engraved details on the surface.
- The cockpit only consists of a simple floor panel and a pilot seat, which rather looks like an armchair from a Seventies living room.
- The landing gear is very simple, too, and the landing gear wells show no interior detail at all
- The turbocharger fairings are (relatively) nicely detailed, but their fit is abysmal and their complex shape makes blending them with the surroundings a tiresome (if not futile) affair.
Since all wing and fuselage elements come in separate sections, aligning everything is not easy - expect some serious PSR work! At least, the real life P-38 had handed propellers, and this detail is actually reflected by the Matchbox kit.
Since this build was rather about fiction and the livery than details, I only made minor improvements. I left the cockpit closed, with the OOB pilot inside, but replaced the wacky seat and added a board with a radio to cover the empty space behind it. Any available space in the central pod and in the tail booms’ front ends was filled with lead, in hope to get the model on its three wheels. It actually worked!
The propellers received new and longer axes as well as matching adapter tubes inside of the engines, so that they could be attached after the model was otherwise finished. The primitive landing gear was taken OOB, I just pimped the struts with hydraulic hoses, made from thin wire.
The flaps under the inner wing sections were lowered and I used the OOB drop tanks. The “tree” HVAR launchers were omitted and their attachment points under the wings hidden under styrene profiles. On the nose, I added machine gun barrels to the otherwise empty openings, and, as a final cosmetic move, I added wire antennae between the tail booms and the canopy.
Painting and markings:
The more creative part. I tried to stay true to PantherG’s inspiring profile, even though I made some minor changes which appeared more plausible to me and added some more color. The three-tone camouflage pattern (inspired by Guatemaltecan P-51s?) reflects typical Brazilian jungle landscape well and was made of USAAF WWII colors (Dark Olive Drab 41 (ANA 613), Medium Green 42 (ANA 612), Sand 49 (ANA 616) and Neutral Grey 43.
Painting was done with Tamiya XF-62, Humbrol 195 and 237 on the upper surfaces, and underneath I used FS 36314 from Modelmaster, since I find “true” Neutral Grey (FS 36173) to look very murky on/under a 1:72 model. Painting was done with brushes, as per usual.
The cockpit interior was painted in zinc chromate green, while the landing gear wells’ interior became chrome yellow. Landing gear struts, wheel discs and drop tanks became Humbrol 156, similar to the aircraft’s undersides.
Concerning the FAB markings I deviated from PantherG’s profile drawing: I gave the Lightning post-WWII FAB roundels which consist only of the stylized star and lack the blue USAAF disc background or the “bars”. AFAIK, these markings were only used during WWII, when American aircraft were quickly “Brazilianized” through simply overpainting the original US insignia’s white star from the factories. Furthermore, I individualized the aircraft with post WWII FAB squadron markings in the form of medium blue bands around the tail booms with the Southern Cross star constellation from the Brazilian flag.
Another FAB post WWII era detail is the use of a color code for the different groups within a squadron, which were carried on propeller spinners and thin fuselage bands. In this case, the aircraft belonged to the “Blue Group”, adding some more color to the camouflaged aircraft.
The Brazilian roundels come from an FCM Decals T-33/F-80 sheet. The same source also provided the small stars that appear on the light blue fuselage band (created with generic decal sheet). The Brazilian fin flashes were created with yellow paint and green decal sheet material. The tactical codes in USAF 45° font come from a Hasegawa Japanese F-4E decal sheet, and for a better contrast I placed them on a silver background (again generic decal sheet material), as if they had been spared when the aircraft received its camouflage.
Some light panel shading as well as weathering/dry-brushing on the leading edges and around the cockpit was done, and finally the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
An interesting result – the Brazilian P-38 does not look spectacular, but quite plausible. The three-tone camouflage creates an interesting look on the P-38, which normally only comes in olive drab/grey, NMF or all-black liveries. In the beauty pics over a rainforest landscape, it even proves to be quite effective at medium and low altitude! And while the Matchbox kit is certainly not the best P-38 model around, it “does the job” and is a pleasant, quick build.
Homemade Christmas card made by mom for brother in 1986.
My brother would always sing the song, "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" so mom made him a snowman and printed that.
For some reason in 1986, mom decided to make Christmas cards. She made, I think, about 40 cards, each one individualized for its recipient. They were hand cross-stitched designs and then sewn to this material and, I think, hot-glued to red card stock.
Inside, each one has a handwritten verse, and some have original poems written for the individual.
Needless to say, we kept our cards and put them on display every year. I do not know for sure what happened to all of the others. I think one of my aunts still has hers.
Thought I should post a picture of my 29 year-old Christmas cards.
Mom gone for three Christmases now (as of 2015); she was always proud that we kept them out and on display.
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ; (25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Spanish Catalan architect from Reus/Riudoms and the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect an individualized and distinctive style. Most are located in Barcelona, including his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.
Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. Gaudí considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces.
Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and molding the details as he conceived them.
Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaudí's Roman Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname "God's Architect" and led to calls for his beatification.
On 7 June 1926, Gaudí was taking his daily walk to the Sant Felip Neri church for his habitual prayer and confession. While walking along the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes between Girona and Bailén streets, he was struck by a passing tram and lost consciousness. Assumed to be a beggar because of his lack of identity documents and shabby clothing, the unconscious Gaudí did not receive immediate aid. Eventually a police officer transported him in a taxi to the Santa Creu Hospital, where he received only rudimentary care. By the time that the chaplain of the Sagrada Família, Mosén Gil Parés, recognised him on the following day, Gaudí's condition had deteriorated too severely to benefit from additional treatment. Gaudí died on 10 June 1926 at the age of 73 and was buried two days later.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Francisco de Zurbarán -
Santa_Casilda [~1635]
Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza -
original photo by courtesy of Romain Guilloux
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Saint Casilda has been identified in some publications as Saint Elizabeth of Hungary as both of these saints have roses as their traditional attribute. The absence of a crown on her head, typically found in depictions of Elizabeth, led Jonathan Brown to identify this saint as Casilda, who here wears a gold and pearl headband.
Daughter of an Arab king, Casilda was martyred in 1087. She had left the Islamic faith and converted to Christianity, taking food to her father’s Christian prisoners. Surprised by her father during one of these risky visits, a miracle occurred and the food hidden about her body was transformed into roses, the traditional attribute of this saint.
Richly dressed both with regard to her jewellery and costly, jewel-embroidered gown, the saint is modelled with a strong light that emphasises her monumental stature and highlights the strong colours of her clothes against a simple, graduated background. Zurbarán paid particular emphasis to the textures of her clothes and to the gold embroidery and jewellery. The notably individualized features of some of these martyr saints has led to the formulation of the concept of the “retrato a lo divino”, in which these saints would be portraits of real women, depicted with holy attributes.
The present canvas has been compared to other similar ones such as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, and Saint Margaret in the National Gallery, London.
Mar Borobia
St. Peter and St. Paul's Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the Antakalnis neighbourhood of Vilnius, Lithuania.
Construction was begun in 1688 and the decorative works were completed in 1704.
It is the centerpiece of a former monastery complex of the Canons Regular of the Lateran.
Its interior has masterful compositions of some 2,000 stucco figures by Giovanni Pietro Perti and ornamentation by Giovanni Maria Galli and is unique in Europe.
The church is considered a masterpiece of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque.
The interior of the church changed relatively little since that time.
The major change was the loss of the main altar. The wooden altar was moved to the Catholic church in Daugai in 1766.[4]
The altar is now dominated by the Farewell of St. Peter and St. Paul, a large painting by Franciszek Smuglewicz, installed there in 1805.
The interior was restored by Giovanni Beretti and Nicolae Piano from Milan in 1801–04.[11]
At the same time, a new pulpit imitating the ship of Saint Peter was installed.
In 1864, as reprisal for the failed January Uprising, Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky closed the monastery and converted its buildings into military barracks.[11]
There were plans to turn the church into an Eastern Orthodox church, but they never materialized.[11] In 1901–05, the interior was restored again. The church acquired the boat-shaped chandelier and the new pipe organ with two manuals and 23 organ stops.[12]
The dome was damaged during World War II bombings, but was rebuilt true to its original design.[12]
When in 1956 Vilnius Cathedral was converted into an art museum by Soviet authorities, the silver sarcophagus with sacred relics of Saint Casimir was moved to the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church.[13] The sarcophagus was returned to its place in 1989.
Despite religious persecutions in the Soviet Union, extensive interior restoration was carried out in 1976–87.[11]
About the Decorative Scheme
St. Peter and St. Paul's is one of the most studied churches in Lithuania.[19]
Its interior has over 2,000 different decor elements that creates a stunning atmosphere.[20]
The main author of the decor plan is not known. It could be the founder Pac, monks of the Lateran, or Italian artists.
No documents survive to explain the ideas behind the decorations, therefore various art historians attempted to find one central theme: Pac's life and Polish–Lithuanian relations, teachings of Saint Augustine, Baroque theater, etc.[19]
Art historian Birutė Rūta Vitkauskienė identified several main themes of the decor: structure of the Church as proclaimed at the Council of Trent with Saint Peter as the founding rock, early Christian martyrs representing Pac's interest in knighthood and ladyship, themes relevant to the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and themes inherited from previous churches (painting of Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and altar of Five Wounds of Christ).[21]
The decor combines a great variety of symbols, from local (patron of Vilnius Saint Christopher) to Italian saints (Fidelis of Como),[22] from specific saints to allegories of virtues.
There are many decorative elements – floral (acanthus, sunflowers, rues, fruits), various objects (military weapons, household tools, liturgical implements, shells, ribbons), figures (puttos, angels, soldiers), fantastical creatures (demons, dragons, centaurs), Pac's coat of arms, masks making various expressions – but they are individualized, rarely repeating.[23]
The architects and sculptors borrowed ideas from other churches in Poland (Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Sigismund's Chapel of Wawel Cathedral) and Italy (St. Peter's Basilica, Church of the Gesù).[22]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Peter_and_St._Paul,_V...
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From the Church's Brochure
The church was erected after the Russian invasion that devastated Vilnius in the mid-17th century.
Barely a dozen years passed, and the capital of Lithuania began to recover.
In 1668 Mykolas Kazimieras Pacas, Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and wojewode of Vilnius, embarked upon the Antakalnis.
The church is decorated by the stucco mouldings of two excellent Italian sculptors, Giovanni Pietro Petri and Giovanni Maria Galli.
The interior of the church consists of the main nave, six chapels on both sides, and the transept.
Americus, GA (Sumter County) Copyright 2003 D. Nelson
The Windsor opened on June 16, 1892, to attract Northerners in search of warmer climates. It featured 100 rooms and as well as elevators and individualized silverware. However, as a result of the economic depression of 1893, the tourist trade took a dive and a few years later the hotel went bankrupt. In1899, James Fricker, the jeweler who had supplied the silverware, bought the hotel for $ 40,000 - a steal, considering the fact that it had cost $ 150,000 to build. In 1910, the building was equipped with new elevators, electric lights and steam heat. The hotel changed hands again in 1930s but was finally closed in 1974; by then in a sad state, it was donated to the even sadder dying city of Americus in 1978 and the plan was to demolish it (imagine that!) which thankfully did not happen. It was restored with the use of $ 400,000 worth of inmate labor (the total price tag for its revival was $ 5.8 million) and reopened on September 20, 1991.
Closeup of the image that I previously posted.
This dazzling bust of a young man with a luxuriant head of curls and an expanse of chest that evokes Classical bronze sculpture of the fifth century BCE was created in Athens during the mid-second century CE to memorialize a beautiful youth by identifying his image with those of ancient Greek mythological heroes. In the Antonine period, elaborate coiffures such as this one were fashionable among the jeunesse dorée. The two portraits of the emperor Lucius Verus, on view near this figure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, demonstrate the deeply drilled carving style that was developed in Rome to convey the light and dark effects within such curls. Greek sculptors sought a more plastic rendering; each lock on this head varies and ends with an individualized snail-like curl. Not only fashionable, the full head of hair, the sharp turn of the head, nude chest, casually draped cloak, and ribbon-like sword belt all evoked associations with images of the Homeric heroes and the glorious past of Classical Greece. The mid-second century CE was a period in which the Greeks attempted to bring new life to their ancient cultural traditions. The fusion of contemporary and heroic in this portrait bust has created an unforgettable masterpiece.
OK, so that's all the info that the Met provides on this loaned bust - problematically, it was loaned as a 'promised gift' by Leon Levy and Shelby White, ultra-wealthy donors who have had much of their collection confiscated by the NYC DA as looted artifacts. What's quite obvious from the reddish tinge of the marble is that this was almost certainly looted from the ancient city of Cyrene in Libya, the only place where *all* of the marble gets stained by in this way. A veiled head of a woman was recently confiscated from the Met by the New York DA and returned to Libya, and it was in the same style and had the same staining as this portrait bust.
Roman, Antonine period
ca. 161-180 CE
Met Museum (on loan: L.2007.8.12)
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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In Italy, in the first three decades of the nineteenth century, cholera began to penetrate into Europe, the states involved in commercial traffic (such as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies) established tight maritime health checks, placing great importance on the days of quarantine for all those boats that came from the infected areas (in this case the measures taken were those already tested at the time of the black plague), but it was not always so ... in fact other States like Genoa, Livorno and Venice, to avoid repercussions on the trade ... they avoided to adopt these measures giving weight to the "anti-contagion theories" (they accused the unhealthy air, the dirt, the bad diet, rather than giving importance to the contact): only in 1882 the vibrio of the cholera will be individualized by Robert Koch, the science up to at that time it was divided between "those who gave credit to the contagion" and "those who gave credit to environmental conditions", and also the Church gave its indications, invoking "hygiene of the soul", supporting the need to avoid debauchery, including food and sexual excesses. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1837 was affected by popular revolts carried out against the Bourbons, accused of having commissioned the "infectors" to kill the people. We are in 1854, in the city of Messina a devastating cholera epidemic breaks out, in just two months cholera leads to the death of about 30,000 people, the town of Castroreale not far away, seems to be immune from this disaster, until two of its fellow citizens, husband and wife, return to Castroreale from Messina, the lady shows the cholera symptoms very seriously ... the country is terrified fearing the spread of the contagion to the whole community: which Saint to vote themself then? To Saint Rosalia who had freed Palermo from the plague? To Saint Sebastiano protector from epidemics? In Castroreale it was thought to immediately ask for help to the Holy Crucifix (in the odor of being miraculous) whose life-size Christ, papier-mâché made by anonymous, was thus fixed on top of a 12-meter long pole, thus obtaining two advantages when carried in procession, the sick kept in quarantine on the highest floors of the houses, could have enjoyed the direct vision of Christ through the windows, but at the same time the religious could stay at a safe distance (!). The story goes that the lady suddenly recovered, Castroreale had no case of cholera: since then, on August 25th, the day of the miracle, the Holy Crucifix is celebrated (also called the feast of the Christ Long, in the dialect, feast of Cristu Longu or Signuri Longu). The pole on which the Christ is hoisted, presents at regular distances pins driven into the wood, to avoid the sliding of the long "perches with hairpins", with which the "hairpin masters" support the very high Crucifix during the procession that proceeds along the streets of the town, and to allow its lowering and raising through the entrance of the two churches (the Mother Church and the church of Saint Agatha) in which it is carried.
Small note in closing: in the Mother Church is the Chapel of the Assumption where the statuary complex of the Virgin Mary Assumed (1848) is located, whose author is Matteo Mancuso from Messina, to whom a son died while working on the statue, so he personified his son in the little angel with his eyes closed at the feet of the Virgin Mary; at the foot of the statue there is the statuette of the seventeenth century of baby Virgin Mary, which is carried in procession on 8th September by children receiving first communion.
Ezio Famà
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In Italia, nelle prime tre decadi dell’ottocento, il colera iniziò a penetrare in Europa, gli Stati interessati dai traffici commerciali (come il Regno delle Due Sicilie) istituirono dei serrati controlli sanitari marittimi, ponendo grande importanza ai giorni di quarantena per tutte quelle imbarcazioni che provenivano dalle zone infette, ed in questo caso i provvedimenti presi erano quelli già sperimentati ai tempi della peste nera), ma non sempre fu così…infatti altri Stati come Genova, Livorno e Venezia, per evitare ripercussioni sui commerci…evitarono di adottare tali provvedimenti dando peso alle “teorie anticontagioniste” (esse accusavano l’aria malsana, la sporcizia, la cattiva alimentazione, piuttosto che dare importanza al contatto): solo nel 1882 il vibrione colerico verrà individuato da Robert Koch, la scienza fino ad allora era divisa tra “contagionisti” ed “epidemiologi”, ed anche la Chiesa ci metteva del suo, invocando “l’igiene dell’anima”, sostenendo la necessità di evitare gli stravizi, inclusi gli eccessi alimentari e sessuali. Il Regno delle Due Sicilie nel 1837 fu interessato da rivolte popolari attuate contro i Borboni, accusati di aver incaricato gli “untori” per uccidere il popolo. Siamo nel 1854, nella città di Messina scoppia una devastante epidemia di colera, in soli due mesi il colera porta a morte circa 30.000 persone, la cittadina di Castroreale non molto distante, sembra essere immune da tale iattura, fino a quando due suoi concittadini, marito e moglie ritornano al paese provenienti da Messina, la signora mostra in forma gravissima i sintomi colerici…il paese è terrorizzato temendo il propagarsi del contagio a tutta la comunità: a quale Santo votarsi dunque? A Santa Rosalia che aveva liberato Palermo dalla Peste? A San Sebastiano protettore dalle epidemie? A Castroreale si pensò di chiedere subito aiuto al Santissimo Crocifisso (in odore di essere miracoloso) il cui Cristo, in grandezza naturale, realizzato da anonimo in cartapesta, venne così fissato in cima ad un palo lungo 12 metri, ottenendo così due vantaggi quando portato in processione, i malati tenuti in quarantena nei piani più alti delle abitazioni, avrebbero potuto godere della visione diretta del Cristo attraverso le finestre, ma al contempo i religiosi potevano mantenersi a debita distanza (!). La storia racconta che la signora improvvisamente guarì, Castroreale non ebbe nessun caso di colera: da allora, il 25 di Agosto, il giorno del miracolo, si festeggia il Santissimo Crocifisso (detta anche festa del Cristo Lungo, in dialetto, del Cristu Longu o Signuri Longu). Il palo sul quale viene issato il Cristo, presenta a distanze regolari dei perni infissi nel legno, per evitare lo scivolamento delle lunghe “pertiche con forcine” , con le quali i “maestri di forcina” sostengono l’altissimo Crocifisso durante la processione che procede lungo le strade della cittadina, ma anche per consentirne l’abbassamento e l’innalzamento attraverso l’ingresso delle due chiese nelle quali viene portato.
Piccola nota in chiusura: nella Chiesa Madre si trova la Cappella dell’Assunzione ove è sito il complesso statuario della Madonna Assunta (1848), il cui autore è il messinese Matteo Mancuso, al quale, durante la lavorazione della statua, morì un figlio che egli impersonò nell’angioletto con gli occhi chiusi ai piedi della Madonna; in basso sotto la statua si trova la statuetta del seicento di Maria Bambina, che viene portata in processione l’otto settembre dai bambini che ricevono la prima comunione.
Ezio Famà
We arrived in Bordeaux late the night before and all was dark. Today we were away very early to have a quick looks around Bordeaux by coach with a short stop at the fountain. Then we made our way to Bilbao in Spain, with w stop at Biarritz for lunch. Day 13 of our Cosmos tour, October 12, 2012 France.
While the column itself is beautiful, it is the fountains on the sides which often get the most attention. The fountains are based around massive bronze sculptures. On the south side of the column stands “Le triomphe de la République” – “the triumph of the Republic”, and on the other side, “Le triomphe de la Concorde”- “the triumph of Agreements”.
The sea-horse drawn chariots symbolize peace and happiness while the men getting overthrown in front of the chariots symbolize lies and ignorance. The combination of the flowing water and sculptures full of life, gives an impression that the sea-horses are leaping out of the water towards you in a spectacular fashion. The two incredible fountains form a worthy addition to Bordeaux’s incredible cityscape.
The bronze statues were dismantled by German troops in search of metal during the Second World War. These statues were however found in 1944 in the French city of Angers. They were then brought back to Bordeaux and later reinstalled.
La Fontaine Bartholdi is a fountain sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and realised in 1889 by Gaget & Gautier. It was erected at the Place des Terreaux, in the 1st arrondissement of Lyon, in September 1892.
On 20 April 1857, the Bordeaux city council decided to hold a competition to create a fountain for Place Quinconces. Frédéric Bartholdi, then aged 23, won the contest. However, the city hall of Bordeaux decided not to carry out his project. After Bartholdi had made the Statue of Liberty in New York in 1886, the mayor of Bordeaux contacted him, but his new project was canceled after much hesitation. It was finally achieved in 1888, but it was deemed as too expensive and therefore was sold to Lyon. The fountain was eventually put at the Place des Terreaux and is currently still there.
The fountain depicts France as a female seated on a chariot controlling the four great rivers of France, represented by wildly rearing and plunging horses, highly individualized but symmetrically arranged, with bridles and reins of water weeds. weighs 21 tons and is made of lead supported by a frame of iron and was presented as the Exposition Universelle of 1889. It has been classified as monument historique since 29 September 1995.
In 2013, the fountain will be removed temporarily for restoration.
Taken from and for more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontaine_Bartholdi
Constructed in 1940 and remaining essentially unaltered, the Goetsch-Winckler House is significant as the second of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian house designs to have been built. The house is the quintessential example of Wright's early design philosophy for the construction of moderate income housing and the end product of his first opportunity to design a community based on his Broadacre City principles. The house exemplifies Wright's vision of promoting democracy through individualized designs within rural communities and his attempt to deal with the housing needs of the Depression era.
The Goetsch-Winkler House is a modest, one-story Usonian house. It embodies Frank Lloyd Wright's trademark design elements such as, organic relationship to the site, horizontal planes, cantilever roofs, and innovative construction techniques. The house's long axis extends from east-southeast to west-northwest. The building is situated to allow for maximum privacy, as well as a free flowing interplay of nature and building. The Goetsch-Winkler house is horizontally oriented with only a brick fireplace stack providing any sense of verticality. The house appears low to the ground, and the use of a flat roof and broad cantilevers and eaves further emphasizes the horizontality. There are two roof planes with the cantilevered carport roof being the most dominant. From the driveway the carport is the first visible part of the house with the mass of the structure located behind it. The horizontal roof planes seem to hover above the house, which is perched on the edge of an incline. Structural support is provided by brick walls, while wood sided walls serve as partitioning only. The interior and exterior walls are constructed of layers of plywood sandwiched together with tarpaper. The wood siding is a horizontal board and batten pattern. The interior is primarily a central open living core with a bedroom wing extending away from the living core to the northwest and the kitchen and fireplace alcove tucked into the southeast edge of the open core.
For more information on the Goetsch-Winckler House, and Michigan's other modernist buildings, visit www.michiganmodern.org.