+++ 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.

~*Photography Originally Taken By: www.CrossTrips.Com Under God*~

 

Love represents a range of emotions and experiences related to the senses of affection and sexual attraction.[1] The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure to intense interpersonal attraction. This diversity of meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

 

As an abstract concept love usually refers to a strong, ineffable feeling towards another person. Even this limited conception of love, however, encompasses a wealth of different feelings, from the passionate desire and intimacy of romantic love to the nonsexual. Love in its various forms acts as a major facilitator of interpersonal relationships and, owing to its central psychological importance, is one of the most common themes in the creative arts.

 

Spiritual love, or longing for God, is highly valued and sought after by many religions of both Eastern and Western origin.

 

Definitions

 

The English word love can have a variety of related but distinct meanings in different contexts. Often, other languages use multiple words to express some of the different concepts which English relies mainly on love to encapsulate; one example is the plurality of Greek words for "love". Cultural differences in conceptualizing love thus make it doubly difficult to establish any universal definition.[2] American psychologist Zick Rubin try to define love by the psychometrics. His work states that three factors constitute love: attachment, caring and intimacy.[3][4]

 

Although the nature or essence of love is a subject of frequent debate, different aspects of the word can be clarified by determining what isn't "love". As a general expression of positive sentiment (a stronger form of like), love is commonly contrasted with hate (or neutral apathy); as a less sexual and more emotionally intimate form of romantic attachment, love is commonly contrasted with lust; and as an interpersonal relationship with romantic overtones, love is commonly contrasted with friendship, though other definitions of the word love may be applied to close friendships in certain contexts. When discussed in the abstract, love usually refers to interpersonal love, an experience felt by a person for another person. Love often involves caring for or identifying with a person or thing, including oneself (cf. narcissism).

 

In addition to cross-cultural differences in understanding love, ideas about love have also changed greatly over time. Some historians date modern conceptions of romantic love to courtly Europe during or after the Middle Ages, though the prior existence of romantic attachments is attested by ancient love poetry.[5] Because of the complex and abstract nature of love, discourse on love is commonly reduced to a thought-terminating cliché, and there are a number of common proverbs regarding love, from Virgil's "Love conquers all" to The Beatles' "All you need is love". Bertrand Russell describes love as a condition of "absolute value", as opposed to relative value. Theologian Thomas Jay Oord said that to love is to "act intentionally, in sympathetic response to others, to promote overall well-being".[6]

 

A person can be said to love a country, principle, or goal if they value it greatly and are deeply committed to it. Similarly, compassionate outreach and volunteer workers' "love" of their cause may sometimes be borne not of interpersonal love, but impersonal love coupled with altruism and strong political convictions. People can also "love" material objects, animals, or activities if they invest themselves in bonding or otherwise identifying with that item. If sexual passion is also involved, this condition is called paraphilia.

 

Interpersonal love

 

Interpersonal love refers to love between human beings. It is a more potent sentiment than a simple liking for another. Unrequited love refers to those feelings of love which are not reciprocated. Interpersonal love is most closely associated with interpersonal relationships. Such love might exist between family members, friends, and couples. There are also a number of psychological disorders related to love, such as erotomania.

 

Scientific views

 

Throughout history, philosophy and religion have done the most speculation on the phenomenon of love. In the last century, the science of psychology has written a great deal on the subject. In recent years, the sciences of evolutionary psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, neuroscience, and biology have added to the understanding of the nature and function of love.

 

Chemistry

 

Biological models of sex tend to view love as a mammalian drive, much like hunger or thirst.[8] Helen Fisher, a leading expert in the topic of love, divides the experience of love into three partly-overlapping stages: lust, attraction, and attachment. Lust exposes people to others, romantic attraction encourages people to focus their energy on mating, and attachment involves tolerating the spouse long enough to rear a child into infancy.

 

Lust is the initial passionate sexual desire that promotes mating, and involves the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and estrogen. These effects rarely last more than a few weeks or months. Attraction is the more individualized and romantic desire for a specific candidate for mating, which develops out of lust as commitment to an individual mate forms. Recent studies in neuroscience have indicated that as people fall in love, the brain consistently releases a certain set of chemicals, including pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which act similar to amphetamines, stimulating the brain's pleasure center and leading to side-effects such as an increased heart rate, loss of appetite and sleep, and an intense feeling of excitement. Research has indicated that this stage generally lasts from one and a half to three years.[9]

 

Since the lust and attraction stages are both considered temporary, a third stage is needed to account for long-term relationships. Attachment is the bonding which promotes relationships that last for many years, and even decades. Attachment is generally based on commitments such as marriage and children, or on mutual friendship based on things like shared interests. It has been linked to higher levels of the chemicals oxytocin and vasopressin than short-term relationships have.[9] In 2005, Italian scientists at Pavia University found that a protein molecule known as the nerve growth factor (NGF) has high levels when people first fall in love, but these levels return to as they were after one year. Specifically, four neurotrophin levels, i.e. NGF, BDNF, NT-3, and NT-4, of 58 subjects who had recently fallen in love were compared with levels in a control group who were either single or already engaged in a long-term relationship. The results showed that NGF levels were significantly higher in the subjects in love than as compared to either of the control groups.

 

Psychology

 

Psychology depicts love as a cognitive and social phenomenon. Psychologist Robert Sternberg formulated a triangular theory of love and argued that love has three different components: intimacy, commitment, and passion. Intimacy is a form in which two people share confidences and various details of their personal lives. Intimacy is usually shown in friendships and romantic love affairs. Commitment, on the other hand, is the expectation that the relationship is permanent. The last and most common form of love is sexual attraction and passion. Passionate love is shown in infatuation as well as romantic love. All forms of love are viewed as varying combinations of these three components.

 

Following developments in electrical theories, such as Coulomb's law, which showed that positive and negative charges attract, analogs in human life were developed, such as "opposites attract". Over the last century, research on the nature of human mating has generally found this not to be true when it comes to character and personality; people tend to like people similar to themselves. However, in a few unusual and specific domains, such as immune systems, it seems that humans prefer others who are unlike themselves (e.g. with an orthogonal immune system), since this will lead to a baby which has the best of both worlds.[11] In recent years, various human bonding theories have been developed described in terms of attachments, ties, bonds, and affinities.

 

Some Western authorities disaggregate into two main components, the altruistic and the narcissistic. This view is represented in the works of Scott Peck, whose works in the field of applied psychology explored the definitions of love and evil. Peck maintains that love is a combination of the "concern for the spiritual growth of another", and simple narcissism.[12] In combination, love is an activity, not simply a feeling.

 

Comparison of scientific models

 

Biological models of love tend to see it as a mammalian drive, similar to hunger or thirst.[citation needed] Psychology sees love as more of a social and cultural phenomenon. There are probably elements of truth in both views — certainly love is influenced by hormones (such as oxytocin), neurotrophins (such as NGF), and pheromones, and how people think and behave in love is influenced by their conceptions of love. The conventional view in biology is that there are two major drives in love — sexual attraction and attachment. Attachment between adults is presumed to work on the same principles that lead an infant to become attached to its mother. The traditional psychological view sees love as being a combination of companionate love and passionate love. Passionate love is intense longing, and is often accompanied by physiological arousal (shortness of breath, rapid heart rate). Companionate love is affection and a feeling of intimacy not accompanied by physiological arousal.

 

Studies have shown that brain scans of those infatuated by love display a resemblance to those with a mental illness. Love creates activity in the same area of the brain that hunger, thirst, and drug cravings create activity in. New love, therefore, could possibly be more physical than emotional. Over time, this reaction to love mellows, and different areas of the brain are activated, primarily ones involving long-term commitments. Dr. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist, suggests that this reaction to love is so similar to that of drugs because without love, humanity would die out.

 

Persian

 

Even after all this time

The sun never says to the earth "you owe me".

Look what happens with a Love like that!

- It lights the whole Sky. (Hafiz)

 

Rumi, Hafez and Sa'di are icons of the passion and love that the Persian culture and language present. The Persian word for love is eshgh, deriving from the Arabic ishq. In the Persian culture, everything is encompassed by love and all is for love, starting from loving friends and family, husbands and wives, and eventually reaching the divine love that is the ultimate goal in life. Over seven centuries ago, Sa'di wrote:

 

The children of Adam are limbs of each other

Having been created of one essence.

When the calamity of time afflicts one limb

The other limbs cannot remain at rest.

If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others

You are not worthy to be called by the name of "man".

 

Chinese and other Sinic cultures

 

In contemporary Chinese language and culture, several terms or root words are used for the concept of "love":

 

* Ai (愛) is used as a verb (e.g. Wo ai ni, "I love you") or as a noun, especially in aiqing (愛情), "love" or "romance." In mainland China since 1949, airen (愛人, originally "lover," or more literally, "love person") is the dominant word for "spouse" (with separate terms for "wife" and "husband" originally being de-emphasized); the word once had a negative connotation, which it retains among many on Taiwan.

 

* Lian (戀) is not generally used alone, but instead as part of such terms as "being in love" (談戀愛, tan lian'ai—also containing ai), "lover" (戀人, lianren) or "homosexuality" (同性戀, tongxinglian).

 

* Qing (情), commonly meaning "feeling" or "emotion," often indicates "love" in several terms. It is contained in the word aiqing (愛情); qingren (情人) is a term for "lover".

 

In Confucianism, lian is a virtuous benevolent love. Lian should be pursued by all human beings, and reflects a moral life. The Chinese philosopher Mozi developed the concept of ai (愛) in reaction to Confucian lian. Ai, in Mohism, is universal love towards all beings, not just towards friends or family, without regard to reciprocation. Extravagance and offensive war are inimical to ai. Although Mozi's thought was influential, the Confucian lian is how most Chinese conceive of love.

 

Gănqíng (感情), the "feeling" of a relationship, vaguely similar to empathy. A person will express love by building good gănqíng, accomplished through helping or working for another and emotional attachment toward another person or anything.

 

Yuanfen (緣份) is a connection of bound destinies. A meaningful relationship is often conceived of as dependent strong yuanfen. It is very similar to serendipity. A similar conceptualization in English is, "They were made for each other," "fate," or "destiny".

 

Zaolian (Simplified: 早恋, Traditional: 早戀, pinyin: zǎoliàn), literally, "early love," is a contemporary term in frequent use for romantic feelings or attachments among children or adolescents. Zaolian describes both relationships among a teenaged boyfriend and girlfriend, as well as the "crushes" of early adolescence or childhood. The concept essentially indicates a prevalent belief in contemporary Chinese culture that due to the demands of their studies (especially true in the highly competitive educational system of China), youth should not form romantic attachments lest their jeopardize their chances for success in the future. Reports have appeared in Chinese newspapers and other media detailing the prevalence of the phenomenon and its perceived dangers to students and the fears of parents.

 

Japanese

 

In Japanese Buddhism, ai (愛) is passionate caring love, and a fundamental desire. It can develop towards either selfishness or selflessness and enlightenment.

 

Amae (甘え), a Japanese word meaning "indulgent dependence", is part of the child-rearing culture of Japan. Japanese mothers are expected to hug and indulge their children, and children are expected to reward their mothers by clinging and serving. Some sociologists have suggested that Japanese social interactions in later life are modeled on the mother-child amae.

 

Ancient Greek

 

Greek distinguishes several different senses in which the word love is used. For example, Ancient Greek has the words philia, eros, agape, storge and xenia. However, with Greek as with many other languages, it has been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words totally. At the same time the Ancient Greek text of the Bible has examples of the verb agapo being used with the same meaning as phileo.

 

Agape (ἀγάπη agápē) means love in modern day Greek. The term s'agapo means I love you in Greek. The word agapo is the verb I love. It generally refers to a "pure", ideal type of love rather than the physical attraction suggested by eros. However, there are some examples of agape used to mean the same as eros. It has also been translated as "love of the soul".

 

Eros (ἔρως érōs) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. The Greek word erota means in love. Plato refined his own definition. Although eros is initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Eros helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty, and contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth. Lovers and philosophers are all inspired to seek truth by eros. Some translations list it as "love of the body".

 

Philia (φιλία philía), a dispassionate virtuous love, was a concept developed by Aristotle. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity. Philia is motivated by practical reasons; one or both of the parties benefit from the relationship. Can also mean "love of the mind".

 

Storge (στοργή storgē) is natural affection, like that felt by parents for offspring.

 

Xenia (ξενία xenía), hospitality, was an extremely important practice in Ancient Greece. It was an almost ritualized friendship formed between a host and their guest, who could previously be strangers. The host fed and provided quarters for the guest, who was only expected to repay with gratitude. The importance of this can be seen throughout Greek mythology, in particular Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.

 

Turkish (Shaman & Islamic)

 

In Turkish the word "love" comes up with several meanings. A person can love the god, a person, the parents or the family. But that person can "love" just one person from the opposite sex which they call the word "ask". Ask is a feeling for to love, as it still is in Turkish today. The Turks used this word just for their romantic loves in a romantic or sexual sense. If a Turk says that he is in love (ask) with somebody, it is not a love that a person can feel for his or her parents; it is just for one person and it indicates a huge infatuation.

 

Ancient Roman (Latin)

 

The Latin language has several different verbs corresponding to the English word 'love'.

 

Amare is the basic word for to love, as it still is in Italian today. The Romans used it both in an affectionate sense, as well as in a romantic or sexual sense. From this verb come amans, a lover, amator, 'professional lover', often with the accessory notion of lechery, and amica, 'girlfriend' in the English sense, often as well being applied euphemistically to a prostitute. The corresponding noun is amor, which is also used in the plural form to indicate 'love affairs' or 'sexual adventures'. This same root also produces amicus, 'friend', and amicitia, 'friendship' (often based on mutual advantage, and corresponding sometimes more closely to 'indebtedness' or 'influence'). Cicero wrote a treatise called On Friendship (de Amicitia) which discusses the notion at some length. Ovid wrote a guide to dating called Ars Amatoria (The Art of Lovers), which addresses in depth everything from extramarital affairs to overprotective parents.

 

Complicating the picture somewhat, Latin sometimes uses amare where English would simply say to like; this notion, however, is much more generally expressed in Latin by placere or delectare, which are used more colloquially, and the latter of which is used frequently in the love poetry of Catullus.

 

Diligere often has the notion 'to be affectionate for', 'to esteem', and rarely if ever is used of romantic love. This word would be appropriate to describe the friendship of two men. The corresponding noun diligentia, however, has the meaning 'diligence' 'carefulness' and has little semantic overlap with the verb.

 

Observare is a synonym for 'diligere'; despite the cognate with English, this verb and its corresponding noun 'observantia' often denote 'esteem' or 'affection'.

 

Caritas is used in Latin translations of the Christian Bible to mean 'charitable love'. This meaning, however, is not found in Classical pagan Roman literature. As it arises from a conflation with a Greek word, there is no corresponding verb.

 

Religious views

 

Christian

 

The Christian understanding is that love comes from God. The love of man and woman, eros in Greek, and the unselfish love of others, agape, are often contrasted as 'ascending' and 'descending' love, respectively, but are ultimately the same thing. [13]

 

There are several Greek words for Love that are regularly referred to in Christian circles.

 

* Agape - In the New Testament, agapē is charitable, selfless, altruistic, and unconditional. It is parental love seen as creating goodness in the world, it is the way God is seen to love humanity, and it is seen as the kind of love that Christians aspire to have for one another.

* Phileo - Also used in the New Testament, Phileo is a human response to something that is found to be delightful. Also known as "brotherly love".

* Two other words for love in the Greek language, Eros (sexual love) and Storge (child-to-parent love) were never used in the New Testament.

 

Christians believe that to Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength and Love your neighbor as yourself are the two most important things in life (the greatest commandment of the Jewish Torah, according to Jesus - c.f. Gospel of Mark chapter 12, verses 28-34). Saint Augustine summarized this when he wrote "Love God, and do as thou wilt".

 

Paul the Apostle glorified love as the most important virtue of all. Describing love in the famous poem in 1 Corinthians he wrote, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." - 1 Cor. 13:4-7 (NIV)

 

John the Apostle wrote, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." - John 3:16-18 (NIV)

 

John also wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8 (NIV)

 

Saint Augustine says that one must be able to decipher the difference between love and lust. Lust, according to Saint Augustine, is an over indulgence, but to love and be loved is what he has sought for his entire life. He even says, “I was in love with love.” Finally, he does fall in love and is loved back, by God. Saint Augustine says the only one who can love you truly and fully is God, because love with a human only allows for flaws such as, “jealousy, suspicion, fear, anger, and contention.” According to Saint Augustine to love God is “to attain the peace which is yours.” (Saint Augustine Confessions)

 

Christian theologians see God as the source of love, which is mirrored in humans and their own loving relationships. Influential Christian theologian C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Four Loves.

 

Benedict XVI wrote his first encyclical on God is love. He said that a human being, created in the image of God who is love, is able to practice love: to give himself to God and others (agape), by receiving and experiencing God's love in contemplation (eros). This life of love, according to him, is the life of the saints such as Teresa of Calcutta and the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is the direction Christians take when they believe that God loves them.[14]

 

Buddhist

 

In Buddhism, Kāma is sensuous, sexual love. It is an obstacle on the path to enlightenment, since it is selfish.

 

Karuṇā is compassion and mercy, which reduces the suffering of others. It is complementary to wisdom, and is necessary for enlightenment.

 

Adveṣa and maitrī are benevolent love. This love is unconditional and requires considerable self-acceptance. This is quite different from the ordinary love, which is usually about attachment and sex, which rarely occur without self-interest. Instead, in Buddhism it refers to detachment and unselfish interest in others' welfare.

 

The Bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana Buddhism involves the complete renunciation of oneself in order to take on the burden of a suffering world. The strongest motivation one has in order to take the path of the Bodhisattva is the idea of salvation within unselfish, altustic love for all sentient beings.

 

Indic and Hindu

 

In Hinduism kāma is pleasurable, sexual love, personified by the god Kamadeva. For many Hindu schools it is the third end (artha) in life. Kamadeva is often pictured holding a bow of sugarcane and an arrow of flowers: he may ride upon a great parrot. He is usually accompanied by his consort Rati and his companion Vasanta, lord of the spring season. Stone images of Kaama and Rati can be seen on the door of the Chenna Keshava temple at Belur, in Karnataka, India. Maara is another name for kāma.

 

In contrast to kāma, prema or prem refers to elevated love. Karuna is compassion and mercy, which impels one to help reduce the suffering of others. Bhakti is a Sanskrit term meaning 'loving devotion to the supreme God'. A person who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. Hindu writers, theologians, and philosophers have distinguished nine forms of bhakti which can be found in the Bhagavatha-Purana and works by Tulsidas. The philosophical work Narada Bhakti Sutras written by an unknown author (presumed to be Narada) distinguishes eleven forms of love.

 

Arabic and Islamic views

 

In a sense, love does encompass the Islamic view of life as universal brotherhood which applies to all who hold the faith. There are no direct references stating that God is love, but amongst the 99 names of God (Allah), there is the name Al-Wadud or 'the Loving One', which is found in Surah 11:90 as well as Surah 85:14. It refers to God as being "full of loving kindness". All who hold the faith have God's love, but to what degree or effort he has pleased God depends on the individual itself.

 

Ishq, or divine love, is the emphasis of Sufism. Sufis believe that love is a projection of the essence of God to the universe. God desires to recognize beauty, and as if one looks at a mirror to see oneself, God "looks" at itself within the dynamics of nature. Since everything is a reflection of God, the school of Sufism practices to see the beauty inside the apparently ugly. Sufism is often referred to as the religion of Love. God in Sufism is referred to in three main terms which are the Lover, Loved, and Beloved with the last of these terms being often seen in Sufi poetry. A common viewpoint of Sufism is that through Love humankind can get back to its inherent purity and grace. The saints of Sufism are infamous for being "drunk" due to their Love of God hence the constant reference to wine in Sufi poetry and music.

 

Jewish

 

In Hebrew Ahava is the most commonly-used term for both interpersonal love and love of God. Other related but dissimilar terms are Chen (grace) and Hesed, which basically combines the meaning of "affection" and "compassion" and is sometimes rendered in English as "loving-kindness".

 

Judaism employs a wide definition of love, both between people and between man and the Deity. As for the former, the Torah states: "Love your neighbor like yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). As for the latter, one is commanded to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5), taken by the Mishnah (a central text of the Jewish oral law) to refer to good deeds, willingness to sacrifice one's life rather than commit certain serious transgressions, willingness to sacrifice all one's possessions and being grateful to the Lord despite adversity (tractate Berachoth 9:5). Rabbinic literature differs how this love can be developed, e.g. by contemplating Divine deeds or witnessing the marvels of nature.

 

As for love between marital partners, this is deemed an essential ingredient to life: "See life with the wife you love" (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The Biblical book Song of Songs is considered a romantically-phrased metaphor of love between God and his people, but in its plain reading reads like a love song.

 

The 20th century Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler is frequently quoted as defining love from the Jewish point-of-view as "giving without expecting to take" (from his Michtav me-Eliyahu, vol. 1). Romantic love per se has few echoes in Jewish literature, although the Medieval Rabbi Judah Halevi wrote romantic poetry in Arabic in his younger years (he appears to have regretted this later).

+++ 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.

The medical science of six centuries of progress had learned how to freeze a man at the instant of dying, hold him in the slow, dreamless calm of liquid helium chambers and bring him back to life with all his mortal wounds healed. He might die again but the same science that had brought him back to life once could do it again, and again, and again ...

 

So there was no escaping one's sins, anxieties, debts, scorned females bent on vengeance, and especially not one's creditors. It was a world which lived on easily identifiable individualized credit cards. You couldn't move anywhere, or call anyone, or buy anything without revealing your exact location to the authorities. Charles Forrester had just awakened into such a world after dying in a fire five centuries earlier.

Gerard Dou ( (auch Gerard Douw oder Gerrit Dou), Leiden 1613 - 1675

Katze auf der Fensterbank eines Küstlerateliers / Cat Crouching on the Window Ledge of an Artist's Atelier (1657)

The Leiden Collection, New York

 

Gerrit Dou, consummate master of artifice, was renowned for the illusionism of his niche pictures. As in this remarkable painting, Dou would place figural elements within the opening of a niche, a motif that served both as a framing device and an illusionistic construct. Dou not only situated these niches at the very front of the picture plane, but he also placed pictorial elements, like the tail of the cat in this picture, so that they extended into the viewer’s realm.

 

To reinforce the connection to the external world, Dou always placed his light source so that it appeared to illuminate the front of the niche, generally from the upper left. The niche motif, thus, allowed Dou to examine issues of reality and illusionism that were central to his artistic concerns, ones that he reinforced in the meticulous rendering of different materials and textures, ranging from hard stone to soft fur.

 

In this striking painting Dou portrayed a grey-and-white-striped cat crouching in profile on a stone niche opening into an artist’s studio, a subject that is unique in the artist’s oeuvre. The cat’s individualized character and the specificity of the portrayal suggest that it was modeled after a particular animal. Using a brush consisting of only a few bristles, Dou applied countless minuscule strokes of multicolored paint to create the cat’s plush fur. With its tail that seems to twitch, alert eyes, and unmistakable curiosity animating its presence, the cat appears alive as it focuses its attention on something to the right of the picture plane.

 

Source: The Leiden Collection

Components of Individuation 1: What is individuation?

Components of Individuation:

  

Dear Hughes ,

 

I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you, because I’m incredibly excited!

 

Why? Well, because I have a life-altering message to share with you today.

 

I know, I know… Perhaps it sounds too good to be true. But believe me, Hughes . This is something you’ll want to see. So, stay with me now.

 

You’ve only recently been introduced to your archetype – The ruler.

 

And you’re probably wondering…

 

“How on earth did they know this about me?!”

 

It’s flabbergasting, isn’t it?

 

Fret not, Hughes . We’re about to reveal all there is to know about how archetypes work, and exactly what you can do with that information.

 

Hughes , Archetypes Represent The Original Model Of A Person...

…A personality pattern that resides within the collective unconscious…

  

And when we seek to align ourselves to our archetypes, we’ll ultimately attain a profound and enlightened understanding of ourselves – and the world. Or what we know as, individuation.

 

That’s right, Hughes – you guessed it! Individuation encompasses literally all aspects of what it means to be a human being. Whether it’s health, wealth, or even love!

 

Imagine possessing an intrinsic compass within your soul – one that guides you towards making the right choices, and leads you towards a life of spiritual healing and instinctive guidance.

 

Now Hughes , Remember What I Said Earlier About A Life-Altering Message?

 

Well, here it is…

 

Hughes . You have been chosen.

 

You have been handpicked by the Collective Unconscious to embark on a journey of epic proportions…

 

…A journey that will lead to a lifetime of rewards.

 

A journey that will elevate you to the realm of infinite abundance.

 

A journey of self-discovery, and universal understanding.

 

This journey, Hughes , is otherwise known as the Archetypal Initiation Cycle.

 

And without even realizing it, you’ve already taken the first step.

 

I’m sure you can recall the Archetype Reading that you received, Hughes .

 

And within that reading, I left a few little hints about your destiny.

 

I’m sure you’ve picked up on this already. Even if you didn’t, it’s nothing to worry about.

 

Because either way, Hughes , regardless of your thoughts and the decisions that you’ve made, you are exactly where you need to be.

 

Right at this very moment, and right at this very second.

 

…I know what you’re thinking, Hughes .

 

“I’m not so sure about this… Maybe there’s been some sort of mistake… How do I know if this is even real?”

 

You Were Introduced To Your Archetype For A Reason...

I trust that you’re familiar with the traits of spiritual emergence.

 

Few people have been fortunate enough to be in the position that you’re in right now, Hughes .

 

In fact, few have even had the opportunity to encounter their archetypes in the first place.

 

This is a journey that has the potential to massively transform your life!

 

There exists an intense amount of archetypal energy deep within your archetype, Hughes .

 

And by embarking on your Archetypal Initiation Cycle, you will be able to tap into that pool of archetypal energy to overcome the greatest obstacles that stand before you…

 

Hughes , That Includes Your Past, Present, And Future...

I’m sensing that the immediate challenges that stand before you revolve around one thing…

 

…A lack of motion.

 

Perhaps you’ve achieved everything you’ve wanted in life, and you’re not sure where to go or what to do next.

 

Perhaps you’re uncertain about taking a risk with your relationships or your work.

 

Or perhaps you’re even fearful of the future, which is why you prevent yourself from moving forward.

 

You have nothing to fear, Hughes .

 

You see, Hughes , your Archetypal Initiation Cycle is the optimal period for you to embark on something new…

 

To explore the unexplored.

 

It is a period for you to step out of your comfort zone… To become a better version of who you are, and to grow closer to who you were meant to be.

 

…And it all begins with your archetype – The Archetype.

 

But as the saying goes…

 

“Without Knowledge, Action Is Useless. And Without Action, Knowledge Is Futile”

 

It’s time for you to translate everything you’ve known about your archetype into action, Hughes .

 

Because I know for a fact that’s your path towards creating life-altering opportunities for yourself.

 

I’ve said this once, and I’ll say it again, Hughes …

 

You are destined for greatness.

 

And I have a gift that will lead you towards your destiny…

 

…A gift of opportunity, guidance, and revelations.

 

Allow me to introduce to you your Personalized Sacred Archetypal Collection.

 

This collection comprises 2 alluring and life-enhancing materials that will help you take the plunge into your archetype, The ruler, and integrate it completely into your subconscious.

 

Your Archetypal Affirmations

 

One of these materials is the Archetypal Affirmations Guide – a series of 21 potent affirmations that have been customized to your archetype.

 

Each affirmation is to be recited each day, and leverages on the optimal period of 21 days for forming positive habits.

 

Do not underestimate the power of affirmations, Hughes .

 

Affirmitive actions begin with affirmitive thoughts. And affirmitive thoughts, originate from affirmations.

 

Each affirmation in this guide has been masterfully crafted by actualized individuals belonging to your Archetypal family.

 

Each sentence and saying has been carefully strung together to be absorbed by your subconscious, and ingested by your soul.

 

Hughes , I have no doubt that the Archetypal Affirmations Guide is the very first step that you must take towards integrating your archetype into your existence, and continuing the journey of your Archetypal Initiation Cycle.

 

…It will annihilate your weaknesses, enhance your strengths, and create lasting behavioural changes deep within you.

 

Your Archetypal Love Compatibility Guide

 

Your archetype isn’t one that struggles with seeing right through people. However, you are sometimes blindsided by the people you trust most… Betrayed, even.

 

Hughes , that’s because your Archetype has yet to be fully integrated into your life, and you’re unable to tap into your pool of archetypal energy.

 

And that’s what your Archetypal Love Compatibility Guide will teach you.

 

This is a highly detailed guide that gives you all the information you need to determine how you interact with people of other archetypes, and whether they’re compatible with you at a fundamental level.

 

If you’ve already found “the one” for you, this guide will give you the exact confirmation you need to know that you’re with the right person; your perfect partner.

 

This is a guide that’s unlike any other, and I have no doubt that you will gain immense value from its insights.

 

You’ll finally be able to instantly and accurately recognize potential partners, and sift out the ones whose thoughts, desires, and actions do not resonate with your archetype.

 

Imagine all the time and heartache you’ll save! And although the Archetypal Love Compatibility Guide speaks primarily about love, it can also be interpreted and applied to non-romantic relationships as well.

 

Hughes , believe me, having all of this information in your backpocket is bound to unlock sizeable rewards for you…

 

But That’s Only If You Choose To Trust In The Process, Hughes .

Within the Sacred Archetypal Collection, you will discover (among other things):

 

Exactly what you need to do to become a Master of your archetype – The Caregiver

Your definitive path towards tapping into your archetypal energy

The exact steps for you to encounter your archetype at a profound and intimate level

The most effective way of determining ideal, potential partners in both love and life

Now, here’s what I want you to do, Hughes .

 

As we’ve already seen from your Archetypal Initiation Cycle, the next 21 days are going to be detrimental to your journey. And the time for you to act is now… Before it’s too late.

 

There is no reason for you to wait any longer.

  

Hughes , I want you to imagine the life of your dreams floating before you... A ball of energy that manifests all of your life’s dreams and desires.

 

It’s larger than life, more colourful than rainbows, and it glows brighter than the sun…

 

A truly magnificent sight to behold, isn’t it, Hughes ?

 

…But here’s the thing, Hughes …

 

Each day that you choose to say “no” to an opportunity that allows you to unleash that energy, that ball shrinks. And as it shrinks, it also dims. It grows smaller, and smaller, and smaller…

 

…Until it eventually vanishes.

 

I know that’s not what you want, Hughes . I don’t want you to be part of the skeptics and the cynics either – because that’s not who you are.

 

You are an optimistic and lively being. I see that in you. I see that in your archetype. In fact, I know that you see that in yourself too…

  

Receive Your Sacred Archetypal Collection For Just $17.00

NAME:

Hughes

EMAIL:

huguessonge@yahoo.fr

ARCHETYPE:

Ruler

Claim Your Sacred Archetypal Collection!

After clicking on the "Order Now" button, you will be taken to a secure checkout area to reserve and purchase this premium product. Once again, your purchase is protected by our 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee.

Archetypal Initiation Cycles Are Not To Be Taken Lightly, Hughes …

But your once in a life time cycle is gradually fleeting – slipping between your fingers.

 

You must grasp now before it’s too late, Hughes .

 

In just moments, you can commence your Archetypal Journey and witness positive events unfold in your days to come…

 

In just minutes, you can witness life-changing phases with each passing day with your Archetypal Affirmations Guide.

 

In just seconds, you can possess the confidence to understand your relationships at a profound level.

 

And soon, you will be grateful for trusting in your Archetypal Initiation Cycle.

 

Everything you’ve ever desired – your happiness and joy, resides within your hands, Hughes .

 

This is the opportunity that you’ve been waiting for. And I promise you this, Hughes , you will be well taken care of.

 

If you’re still reading this, I just want you to know that I understand your hesitance. You have a myriad of doubts, uncertainties, and questions racing through your head.

 

Part I—What is Individuation?

 

“Individuation” is a term often associated with Jung and his psychology. In this four-part essay we are going to define “individuation” and discuss some of the benefits, elements and requirements for achieving individuation (Part I). Then we’ll examine several components of it, specifically the locus of control (Part II), the locus of authority (Part III) and the locus of security (Part IV).

 

What is “Individuation”?

 

Our English word comes from the Latin individuus, meaning “undivided” or “individual.”[1] The dictionary defines “individuation” as “the process leading to individual existence, as distinct from that of the species.”[2] This definition applies the term to both animals,humans and????? Architecture????

 

. Jung’s usage focused on humans and the concept became central to his approach to psychology.[3]

 

Jung recognized the importance he placed on individuation in his 1921 definition of the term:

 

The concept of individuation plays a large role in our psychology. In general, it is the process by which individual beings are formed and differentiated; in particular, it is the development of the psychological individual… as a being distinct from the general, collective psychology. Individuation, therefore, is a process of differentiation… having for its goal the development of the individual personality.[4]

 

In later years, Jung amplified his definition in a series of essays, describing “individuation” as

 

… the process by which a person becomes a psychological “in-dividual,” that is a separate, indivisible unity or “whole.”[5]

 

…the better and more complete fulfillment of the collective qualities of the human being,…[6]

 

… practically the same as the development of consciousness out of the original state of identity…. It is thus an extension of the sphere of consciousness, an enriching of conscious psychological life.[7]

 

… becoming an “in-dividual,” and, in so far as “individuality” embraces our innermost, last, and incomparable uniqueness, it also implies becoming one’s own self. We could therefore translate individuation as “coming to selfhood,” or “self-realization.” [8]

 

Jung felt this process of “self-realization” was a “natural transformation,”[9] something that “the unconscious had in mind,”[10] something meant to develop our individual personality.

 

Jung also regarded “individuation” as a solution to what he considered one of the major problems facing modern people: How to link up consciousness to the unconscious; how to bring our ego mind (consciousness) into a working relationship with our inner terra incognita, our unknown inner terrain.[11] Concern about this problem was not unique to Jung: thousands of years ago Taoist and Buddhist practitioners had also seen its significance. Jung recognized this when he noted that “… the individuation process … forms one of the main interests of Taoism and of Zen Buddhism.”[12] Coming from a Christian background, as the son of a Protestant minister, Jung also recognized a Christian relevance to the concept, when he described individuation as “… the primitive Christian idea of the Kingdom of Heaven which ‘is within you’.”[13]

 

Aware of Western culture’s vaunting of individualism, Jung took pains to stress the difference between “individualism” and “individuation.” The former concept is ego-driven and fosters selfishness and lack of concern for others. (Think of the bumper sticker that celebrates “Looking out for #1!”). Individuation is very much the opposite: Over the years of inner work the process requires, the person experiences repeated crucifixions of the ego as the ego confronts and assimilates contents of the unconscious. This long-term process

 

… brings to birth a consciousness of human community precisely because it makes us aware of the unconscious, which unites and is common to all mankind. Individuation is an at-one-ment with oneself and at the same time with humanity, since oneself is a part of humanity.[14]

 

So, far from being selfish, an individuated person feels deeper responsibility to support and serve others and to foster peace, wholeness and integrity in the world.

 

Some Requirements of the Process of Individuation

 

Mention of crucifying the ego brings up the subject of what individuation entails. It’s challenging, a task for heroes,[15] not for the faint of heart or for those who can’t stand against the crowd and be different. Divisio (being divided not only from others but also within oneself), separatio (being separated not only from family, friends and collective society, but also from the person you used to be), solutio (watching the structures of your life dissolve), discrimination, self-knowledge, “a positive torture”[16]—these are just a few of the hardships likely to be faced in this work. Jung was being honest about the task when he warned “…as always every step forward along the path of individuation is achieved only at the cost of suffering.”[17]

 

Why such difficulty? Jung gives several reasons. First, we grow up under parents and society, striving to become what is expected of us and the result is what Jung called the development of the “persona,” or mask. In many cases, the persona is not our true self. We have had to compromise, adapt, even, in extreme cases, betray our authentic nature. The process of individuation requires getting wise to this mask, that is, we have to face the fact that for years (if not decades) we have been living a lie.[18] And then we have to give up this lie, put down the mask and begin to change our life so as to live more aligned with our authentic being. Such change almost inevitably elicits remarks (maybe even protests) from those who know us best, those most deeply invested in how we used to be, those likely to be most affected by our shifting the parameters of daily life, i.e. our family and closest friends.[19]

 

Second, individuation requires heroism because it is hard to be different, to step out of the mainstream conventional reality and march to one’s own drummer. The work is not a herd phenomenon. You aren’t going to find many people doing it.[20] For this reason Extraverts, who tend to resonate with the collective and appreciate group activities, find the process harder than Introverts.

 

A third difficulty comes from the self-knowledge that is part of the process. “Self-knowledge” means becoming conscious of the unconscious: facing our shadow and becoming aware of the reality of our “inner partner,” the animus (for women) or the anima (for men).[21] The work of individuation takes us through the “swamplands of the soul”[22] in the nigredo phase mentioned in an earlier essay.[23] While Jung was clear that the unconscious takes to us the attitude we take to it,[24] for most people it takes a while (if it ever happens at all!) to develop a cheerful attitude toward the unconscious.

 

By this point you might well be wondering “Why bother?” Yes, Jung put great emphasis on achieving individuation but if it’s so difficult, why make the effort? Jung suggests multiple benefits.

 

Benefits of Achieving Individuation

 

Let’s mention the personal benefits first. Jung was explicit that the work of individuation was

 

… absolutely indispensable because, through his contamination with others, [the human being] falls into situations and commits actions which bring him into disharmony with himself…. there is begotten a compulsion to be and to act in a way contrary to one’s own nature. Accordingly a man … feels himself to be in a degrading, unfree, unethical condition…. deliverance from this condition will come only when he can be and act as he feels is conformable with his true self.[25]

 

Achieving individuation allows us to be and act in conformity with our true self.

 

There are other personal benefits. If we stay on the path, stick with the work, we come to enjoy a widened circle of consciousness.[26] Our sense of separateness ends and we gain broader, more intense relationships with others.[27]

 

We also experience the apocatastasis mentioned in the previous blog essay—that “restoration” or reconstitution of our being that makes the travail of the apocalypse seem well worth the suffering.[28] Life works better. We feel deep in our bones that what we are doing, how we are living, with whom we are living (our new circle of friends) is what our soul intends for us. The quality of the people we draw into our life is better (“like finds like”). We know that the employment we take up has purchase on our soul. Our values mesh with our lifestyle and our actions speak our soul purpose.

 

We feel liberated from the unconsciousness of our parents, which permits our feeling “… a genuine sense of … true individuality.”[29] At the same time as we experience a greater feeling of freedom from our past, we also experience an “… absolute, binding and indissoluble communion with the world at large.”[30]

 

Which brings us to the societal benefits of individuation. Time and again Jung stressed in his work that individuals matter (see the essay on “Jung’s Timelessness” in the archive of this blog). Anyone of us could be “the makeweight that tips the scales,”[31] and so, in our taking up the task of individuating, each of us is undertaking “… a healing with with universal impact” and “… laying up an infinitesimal gram in the scales of humanity’s soul.”[32] Given the critical nature of our time (as described in earlier essays), Jung would regard no individual activity to be more meaningful and useful than becoming individuated.

 

In the second part of this essay, we will examine one of the most basic components—a prerequisite—for individuation: internalizing a locus of control.

  

jungiancenter.org/components-of-individuation-1-what-is-i...

 

Exodus 4 Moses told that the Israelites wouldn't believe that God had sent him to liberate them from Egypt. So Moses was given three miraculous signs to illustrate God's power. For the first, Moses was to cast his staff upon the ground. When he did When Moses grasped it by the tail it became a staff again. For the second sign Moses was told to put his hand on his chest beneath his cloak. When he took it out it was full of leprosy, but when he put it under the cloak and drew it out again the hand was healed. For the third sign, Moses was to take the river and pour it upon the dry ground, where it would turn to blood However, Moses was still troubled because he felt he wasn't an eloquent speaker. God grew angry at Moses' reluctance and appointed Aaron as Moses' spokesperson Having sought the permission of his father-in-law, Jethro, his wife and sons, put them upon an ass, and returned to Egypt with "the rod of God in his hand." However, God then told Moses that when he went to Egypt to liberate the Israelites, God would harden Pharaoh's against On the journey to Egypt, when Moses was at an inn, God met him and sought to kill him. Moses' wife Zipporah then circumcised her son, and told Moses that "a bloody husband thou art." As they traveled on, Aaron met them near the mountain of God, and Moses told him all that had happened In Egypt, Moses and Aaron met with the elders of Israel, and Aaron told them all that God had said to Moses. When Moses showed the people the signs, the people believed and they bowed down in worship.

 

The Staff and the Serpent In this chapter the symbol of the serpent is once more introduced narrative, in which it is made to play an entirely supernatural part. God the staff of Moses turn into a serpent, and then back again into a staff. A most deeply esoteric revelation, which in those days was completely confined to the sanctuaries, is made in this and later chapters; for the actual is revealed by which the Soul or noumenon of both universe and humanity is extricated from entrapment in matter The symbol of the serpent can be interpreted in many ways-both exoteric and esoteric. In general, it is the symbol both of wisdom and of the wise, who in the sacred language are frequently referred to as serpents. The (serpents) of Hindu literature are none other than the ancient rishis, liberated yogis, Adepts. The serpent is chosen as the symbol of wisdom for various reasons. It glides secretly and for the most part unseen on the surface of the globe, just as wisdom-whether revealed from God or inborn-is a concealed power potent to either illumine, if rightly employed, or destroy if misused. The smooth sinuosity of the snake and of its movements aptly portrays the harmonious and rhythmic self-expression of wisdom in both the universe and the human in whom it is awake and moving. This person is enlightened from within, or secretly The serpent regularly sloughs its skin. Despite this seasonal change the reptile itself is unchanged, but appears in a new and glistening covering. wisdom, while remaining ever the same in essence, is self-manifest in ever new forms, none being able to hold it permanently. The serpent's tongue is forked or bipolar. So also is wisdom, being capable of degradation into low cunning employed for meanest motives, or of elevation into lofty intuition according to unselfish ideals. Snake venom can destroy or heal according to its use and dosage; wisdom, when degraded, poisons the Soul, but when rightly used it an antidote for many ills. The eyes of the serpent compelling, hypnotic. Wisdom, once awake in an individual, brooks no resistance, breaks all bonds and ultimately rules with impelling power. The wise, also, are irresistible in their might, even though appearing to be lowly and making no claim to high regard. Nevertheless they live near to the source of life, just as the serpent lives near to the roots and seeds of living things. When the serpent's tail is in its mouth an endless circle is made, implying the eternity of wisdom, and even eternity itself. Esoterically, however, processes of cosmogenesis are indicated by the union of a symbolized positive and negative, or the entry of the tail into the mouth. All generative processes are, indeed, indicated in that form, which leads to the deeply esoteric significance of the serpent-namely as a symbol of the universal, divine, creative, ever-active life-force. This is Fohat in its dual polarity, sometimes symbolized not as one serpent with tail in mouth, but as two mutually intertwined. Here are indicated the laws of electricity, under which all formative processes occur The driving force from within which leads to inceptive activity in organic forms, and to chemical affinity in inorganic ones, is indeed bipolar. The aptness of the choice of the serpent as a symbol for this power would seem to be supported by the fact that its tongue is forked. A reference is thus made 'to the positive and negative currents of the great breath, continually breathed forth as Fohat into and through every atom of every world, to become omnipresent and perpetually active throughout the whole universe. This fact was both concealed and revealed in ancient allegories, in which Jupiter and other male creative deities changed themselves into snakes for the purpose of seducing goddesses. Their progeny were the demigods, many of whom later attained full deification. A serpent with tail in mouth, two serpents intertwined, or one encircling a rod, staff or pillar all symbolize the electric energy of Fohat in action in the material universe and therefore in humanity, the microcosmic temple of the In humans the rod or staff refers both to the spinal cord and to a canal or etheric and superphysical channel in its center, passing from the root of the cord in the sacrum along its whole length and into the medulla oblongata and brain. This canal is the vehicle for the primordial life-force, a measure of which plays down from above in the generative act. The current is unipolar, or evern of neutral polarity, since it plays upon and produces its effects in both the male and the female organism. The historic esoteric name for this canal is Sushumna, but generally that name is only used when by esoteric means the same neutral force is made to play not downwards, but upwards along the spinal cord. Before such reversal of the flow of originative energy can be achieved, the positive and negative currents must be aroused and must themselves, like twin serpents, flow upwards, intertwining as they flow to induce an ascent of the accompanying neutral energy Entering the brain, this triple power so illumines the human mind of that he or she becomes as a god (possessed of theurgic powers). As discussed earlier in this volume, this fact is revealed in Chapters Two and Three of Genesis, where a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, represent the oppositely polarized currents; the tree of knowledge of good and evil (especially the trunk) corresponds to the staff, and the tempting serpent to Sushumna. Thus Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat of the fruit of this tree, since by so doing they would become as gods. The intensely heightened vibrations of the brain, the glands, the cells and the substance in the ventricles cause the brain and cranium to be responsive to egoic and Monadic life and consciousness. Spirit then predominates in the individual; matter loses its power. Symbolically, through the agency of an interchangeable serpent and staff, the Israelites are freed from bondage in Egypt . In verse three of this chapter of Exodus the order given upon the ground, after which it became a serpent. The shaft of Atmic fire which forms the core of the force which plays along the Sushumna is brought down to the densest physical level, or symbolically is cast upon the ground. When that occurs the relatively dormant, positive-negative life-force resident in the sacrum is awakened into activity. Each polarity then pursues a mutually intertwining, serpentine path around the Sushumna canal. Symbolically stated the staff or rod becomes the serpent. Again as previously discussed, this process may produce a certain shock and some pain. The initiate momentarily shrinks from it, but persists. Moses is therefore made to flee before the serpent. When, however, he unites his own will with that of the hierophant and sublimates the creative force, compelling it to flow upwards from the pelvis, it becomes in his hand the magician's wand of wer. Symbolically, as in verse four, Moses takes the serpent by the tail and it becomes a staff again in his hand. As portrayed in Egyptian art in which serpents are intertwined around rods or pillars, the tail is at the foot of the pillar, meaning in the sacrum. The head of the serpent is at the upper end, where frequently a lotus flower is blooming. This, too, is a universally used symbol. The opening of the force-centers in the superphysical bodies, consequent upon the arousing and the upward flow of the serpent power, is depicted by such emblems. The historic esoteric names for the positive and negative currents are pingala and ida, and the triple upward flow is most perfectly revealed by the Greek symbol of the caduceus. The Greek god Hermes is the Moses of the Greeks, in that he is both messenger from God to humanity by virtue of holding in his hand the caduceus just as Moses held in his hand the rod-and deliverer of Persephone from Hades, just as Moses delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt. The holding of the caduceus (or staff or serpent) in the hand is itself a symbol implying mastery of a power, and the possession of knowledge and skill in its employment. Note that the transmutation of staff into serpent could only occur at the command of the Deity and by his or her magical power. Actually, the descent of the Monadic Atma through all the vehicles and down the spinal cord into the sacrum is essential to the premature full awakening of the triple creative fire, and its successful sublimation and use as a magical tool. To bring this power of Atma down is one part of the office of the hierophant of the greater Mysteries. Since after this transformation a new life is begun, the act has always been correctly termed initiation. The initiate is one in whom has been aroused the power to liberate herself or himself from the limitation of matter, desire, and self-separateness into the freedom of universal consciousness, life and power This is part of the inner meaning of the strange story of the magical power by which Moses overcame the resistance of Pharaoh to the departure of the Israelites. In the first three-and a half phases of all cycles this power drives life and consciousness downward into matter, into generation, and in organic life to generative activity. It is therefore presented as evil, or contrary to the highest good. Temporarily this is true, since pure Spirit, unsullied life and innocent consciousness become stained and aware of passion as a result of the serpent- inspired descent. Ultimately, however, the self-same force liberates Spirit, life and consciousness, individualized humans, from grip and stain of material life and physical generative processes. In the Garden of Eden, representing the period of the downward arc, the serpent is the devil and his temptations lead to the generative act, and to loss of innocence and banishment from Eden. In the initiate and the Adept (typified by Moses and Christ) the serpent force, transmuted and spiritually employed becomes the redeeming power. This, in part, is the revelation of the serpent symbol in the book of Exodus. It represents both the creative and the redeeming agencies (the dark and the light serpents of the caduceus) in nature and in humanity.

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...

============================================

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.

A Makie is a 3-D-printed doll.

 

She is about 24 cm/9,5 inches tall.

 

A Makie can be individualized on their homepage

 

mymakie.com

 

I stayed close to the basic model with my choices.

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).

 

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.

Built c. 1860 at no. 129 Victoria Street.

 

"Niagara-On-The-Lake National Historic Site of Canada is an early-19th century Loyalist town located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, near the United States border. The historic district covers 25 city blocks and includes more than 90 residential, commercial, ecclesiastical and institutional buildings constructed between 1815 and 1859. The majority of the buildings are constructed in the British Classical Tradition, producing similarities in design, materials and scale. The wide, tree-lined streets within the district follow a late-18th century grid plan. The district also includes a city park and two early-19th-century cemeteries. The landscape is gently rolling in places, with a creek running through part of the district. The official recognition refers to the approximately 41 hectares of related buildings and landscapes within the district boundaries.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake was established in 1779 as a supply depot for British Loyalist forces. By the end of the 18th century it had developed into a major military and cultural centre and served briefly as the capital of Upper Canada. The town’s grid plan, laid out in 1794, was based on the Imperial model plan for new colonial towns. Niagara-on-the-Lake was destroyed by fire in 1813, and then rebuilt by Loyalist settlers. The streets retain their original arrangement, proportions and edge treatments. Between 1831 and 1859, the town prospered as a major shipping and shipbuilding port, and residents built or enlarged their houses and commercial buildings.

 

The district is dominated by the classically-designed buildings erected during the period from1815 to 1859. Most buildings retain their original siting close to the road and are of similar design, materials and scale, and the majority of buildings have been restored to resemble their original appearance. The commercial section of Queen Street, largely built between 1813 and 1840, illustrates the informal features of commercial streets characteristic of that period. The historic district is distinguished from later 19th-century streetscapes by the individualized façades and the clear differentiation between buildings.

 

The residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake were among the earliest citizen’s groups in Canada to make a strong commitment to the restoration of their built heritage. The Niagara Historical Society, established by residents in 1896, collected artifacts and documents relating to local history and published local histories. Beginning in the mid-1950s, individuals began to restore private properties to their 19th-century appearance and to promote conservation. In 1962 they formed the Niagara Foundation, a local advocacy and fundraising group dedicated to preserving the town’s landmarks. The Niagara Foundation was instrumental in restoring several major buildings in the town. Niagara-on-the-Lake was one of the first Ontario municipalities to appoint a Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee to advise on local heritage. The town was designated as a provincial Heritage Conservation District in 1986." - info from Historic Places.

 

"Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of Ontario and is the only town in Canada that has a lord mayor. It had a population of 19,088 as of the 2021 Canadian census.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake is important in the history of Canada: it served as the first capital of the province of Upper Canada, the predecessor of Ontario. It was called Newark from 1792 to 1797. During the War of 1812, the town, the two former villages of St. David's and Queenston, and Fort George were the sites of numerous battles following the American invasion of Upper Canada, and the town was razed. Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to the oldest Catholic church, the second-oldest Anglican church in Ontario, and the oldest surviving golf course in North America.

 

Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake draws tourists with its colonial-style buildings, the Shaw Festival, Fort George, wineries, an outlet mall on the highway, and its proximity to Niagara Falls. The Niagara Region has the second-highest percentage of seniors in Ontario." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Late June to early July, 2024 I did my 4th major cycling tour. I cycled from Ottawa to London, Ontario on a convoluted route that passed by Niagara Falls. During this journey I cycled 1,876.26 km and took 21,413 photos. As with my other tours a major focus was old architecture.

 

Find me on Instagram.

Lyon - Fountain Bartholdi - 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.

 

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. The fountain weighs 21 tons and is made of lead supported by a frame of iron

 

Bartholdi made the Statue of Liberty in New York in 1886,

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.

*Please note: this is NOT my photo. I did not take it.

 

WWW.MSGREENCLEAN.COM

 

Ms. Green-Clean has partnered with one of New York's top Feng Shui Lifestyle Experts to provide Feng Shui Consultations and Environmental Space Clearings.

 

Feng Shui is a time-honored, Chinese aesthetic healing tradition whose practitioners seek to achieve harmony & balance in clients' lives by properly arranging their homes and business environments.

 

Though ancient, the practical philosophy of Feng Shui remains current today and pulls greatly from what we would term "green" or "eco-friendly" ideals by seeking effective design solutions that encourage holistic coexistence with nature.

 

Ask yourself these questions regarding your home and/or work environment:

 

*

 

Does it support your life goals?

*

 

Does it express personal desires?

*

 

Does it nurture, energize, enrich & enhance your spirit?

*

 

Does your home represent your unique style & sense of beauty?

*

 

Do you have enough creative expression in your life?

*

 

Do you feel in balance & harmony?

*

 

Does your work fulfill you?

*

 

Does your relationship have the joy, commitment & depth of intimacy you desire?

*

 

Do you have a supportive family and community?

 

Depending on client's needs and space, the Feng Shui Consultant will utilize an individualized combination of approaches drawn from the following philosophies: form school, compass school, 5-element theory, ming qua, lo shoi portents, and flying star.

 

Space Clearing or Environmental Cleansing is a powerful participatory ceremony to remove impurities from your home or business. In honoring the earth, clearing a space is a technique effective in promoting health and encouraging a balanced and fulfilling life.

 

Environmental Cleansings can be used to initiate a change or mark a life transition, to promote health, prosperity and success.

 

Environmental Cleansings are especially effective at opening up new opportunities and creating more abundance in every day life.

Visit: www.msgreenclean.com/clearing.html

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.

   

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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 Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on FlickeFlu

  

Qi Bo's photos on PICSSR

 

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

 

---------------------------------------------------------------

  

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

 

Marble, Antonine, ca. 161-180 C.E.

 

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 B.C.E. was created in Athens during the mid-second century C.E. 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 doree. The two portraits of the emperor Lucius Verus, on view to the left beyond this figure, 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 C.E. 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.

 

(L.2007.8.12)

 

Text from the Metropolitan Museum card.

"Niagara-On-The-Lake National Historic Site of Canada is an early-19th century Loyalist town located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, near the United States border. The historic district covers 25 city blocks and includes more than 90 residential, commercial, ecclesiastical and institutional buildings constructed between 1815 and 1859. The majority of the buildings are constructed in the British Classical Tradition, producing similarities in design, materials and scale. The wide, tree-lined streets within the district follow a late-18th century grid plan. The district also includes a city park and two early-19th-century cemeteries. The landscape is gently rolling in places, with a creek running through part of the district. The official recognition refers to the approximately 41 hectares of related buildings and landscapes within the district boundaries.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake was established in 1779 as a supply depot for British Loyalist forces. By the end of the 18th century it had developed into a major military and cultural centre and served briefly as the capital of Upper Canada. The town’s grid plan, laid out in 1794, was based on the Imperial model plan for new colonial towns. Niagara-on-the-Lake was destroyed by fire in 1813, and then rebuilt by Loyalist settlers. The streets retain their original arrangement, proportions and edge treatments. Between 1831 and 1859, the town prospered as a major shipping and shipbuilding port, and residents built or enlarged their houses and commercial buildings.

 

The district is dominated by the classically-designed buildings erected during the period from1815 to 1859. Most buildings retain their original siting close to the road and are of similar design, materials and scale, and the majority of buildings have been restored to resemble their original appearance. The commercial section of Queen Street, largely built between 1813 and 1840, illustrates the informal features of commercial streets characteristic of that period. The historic district is distinguished from later 19th-century streetscapes by the individualized façades and the clear differentiation between buildings.

 

The residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake were among the earliest citizen’s groups in Canada to make a strong commitment to the restoration of their built heritage. The Niagara Historical Society, established by residents in 1896, collected artifacts and documents relating to local history and published local histories. Beginning in the mid-1950s, individuals began to restore private properties to their 19th-century appearance and to promote conservation. In 1962 they formed the Niagara Foundation, a local advocacy and fundraising group dedicated to preserving the town’s landmarks. The Niagara Foundation was instrumental in restoring several major buildings in the town. Niagara-on-the-Lake was one of the first Ontario municipalities to appoint a Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee to advise on local heritage. The town was designated as a provincial Heritage Conservation District in 1986." - info from Historic Places.

 

"Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of Ontario and is the only town in Canada that has a lord mayor. It had a population of 19,088 as of the 2021 Canadian census.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake is important in the history of Canada: it served as the first capital of the province of Upper Canada, the predecessor of Ontario. It was called Newark from 1792 to 1797. During the War of 1812, the town, the two former villages of St. David's and Queenston, and Fort George were the sites of numerous battles following the American invasion of Upper Canada, and the town was razed. Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to the oldest Catholic church, the second-oldest Anglican church in Ontario, and the oldest surviving golf course in North America.

 

Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake draws tourists with its colonial-style buildings, the Shaw Festival, Fort George, wineries, an outlet mall on the highway, and its proximity to Niagara Falls. The Niagara Region has the second-highest percentage of seniors in Ontario." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Late June to early July, 2024 I did my 4th major cycling tour. I cycled from Ottawa to London, Ontario on a convoluted route that passed by Niagara Falls. During this journey I cycled 1,876.26 km and took 21,413 photos. As with my other tours a major focus was old architecture.

 

Find me on Instagram.

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).

 

Sculpture projects Münster 1997, Curators Kasper König and Klaus Bussmann).

www.skulptur-projekte-archiv.de/en-us/1997/projects/107/

 

For the part of the project titled “Ontology, or Things that Might Have Been” Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs from various selected objects: tools and materials which were used by different artists in a project for production of their artworks. These found objects were considered as finished art works, as sculptures. Images of each object were printed as black-and-white posters in multiple editions and were distributed around the city in various combinations. At the time of the photographs’ distribution, the objects no longer existed in their documented form.

For the part of her project titled “Travels and Leaves Behind,” over the period of one month Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs of various objects at the sites where they were found: tools and materials which were used by construction workers during the restoration of the Westfälisches Landesmuseum in Münster. All these objects were mass-produced and originally were identical in form to countless others. When they were photographed, however, their original forms had been altered by use and, thus, subjected to a process of “individualization” in which each object became absolutely unique in its new form. All of these objects were also exhibited in the museum as sculptures. Black-and-white photographs of these sculptural works were later exhibited during the Sculpture Project at the museum.

For the catalog, Svetlana Kopystiansky used texts from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie from their entries concerning “Sculpture.”

LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster, Germany

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

www.lwl.org/skulptur-projekte-download/muenster/97/kopyst...

 

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

Artists: Kim Adams, Carl Andre, Michael Asher, Georg Baselitz, Alighiero e Boetti, Christine Borland, Daniel Buren, Janet Cardiff, Maurizio Cattelan, Eduardo Chillida, Stephen Craig, Richard Deacon, Mark Dion, Stan Douglas, Maria Eichhorn, Ayse Erkmen, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Paul-Armand Gette, Jef Geys, Douglas Gordon, Dan Graham, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Hans Haacke, Raymond Hains, Georg Herold, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rebecca Horn, Huang Yong Ping, Bethan Huws, Fabrice Hybert, Ilya Kabakov, Tadashi Kawamata, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Jeff Koons, Svetlana Kopystiansky, Sol LeWitt, Atelier van Lieshout, Olaf Metzel, Reinhard Mucha, Maria Nordmann, Claes Oldenburg / Coosje van Bruggen, Gabriel Orozco, Tony Oursler, Nam June Paik, Jorge Pardo, Hermann Pitz, Marjetica Potrc, Charles Ray, Tobias Rehberger, Ulrich Rückriem, Allen Ruppersberg, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Kurt Ryslavy, Karin Sander, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Roman Signer, Andreas Slominski, Yutaka Sone, Diana Thater, Bert Theis, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Eulàlia Valldosera, Herman de Vries, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Rachel Whiteread, Andrea Zittel, Heimo Zobernig

James Stephen Brown (born 1981)

Back, 2011

Acrylic on plyboard

23 2/3 x 27 1/2 in. (60 x 70 cm)

 

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James describes his process thus: “The image was a figure standing in a field of puddles forming a fragmented reflection. It was a response to the fact that Nathan and James were so similar in nature, and in general how nice it was to find so much in common with someone from the other side of the world.

 

He also loved the idea of Ingrid Boberg’s displaced animals in a landscape, and wanted to draw from the idea of directing attention to place through displacement of figure. A narrative formed around the central image of a space traveler who has just crashed back on his home planet after an adventure on a neighboring planet. The character is looking back at the planet where he has come back from with his back facing the viewer – hence the title “Back.”

 

“I’ve drawn my whole life, in fact most of my earliest memories are of drawing. I developed a talent at a very young age and discovered a love for painting in high school.

 

“I have worked full time as a video director / editor for the past seven years. While filming a documentary in Africa about the role of art in youth development I rediscovered my love of painting and began furiously painting and drawing once again. I entered a number of competitions with a series of works with a science fiction illustrative style.” - James Brown.

 

The fantastical landscapes, dramas and illusionistic diversions created by Auckland artist James Brown lead the viewer down many weird and wonderful paths. Brown’s juxtapositions of the real, the imagined, the sublime and the visceral bring together things usually only seen in the heightened world of the graphic novel. But these are paintings, bright, luscious, oils and enamels, unexplainable, driven by the imagination, formed by intuition, individualized by skill.

 

The paintings in this first show are rich and explosively fanciful explorations of the worlds beyond us, behind us and beside us. From the burning red skies of apocalyptic beginnings, to the space suited frontiers of the future, the past and the imagined collapsing, rearranging and reforming before our eyes on our computers and on our movie screens.

 

The worlds of wonder we become a part of are in the end celebrations of image making. They are theatres of the ritual madness and ecstasy worthy of the Dionysus Greek god of wine and the ultimate patron of drama whom we pay homage to in these paintings.

 

Biography:

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, James Brown received a scholarship in Art History at secondary school then went on to study at the Elam School of Fine Arts where he was awarded the Denise Gerald Scholarship. While working as a video director and editor, James has won a Wallace award twice and achieved runner-up at the Empire Arts Youth Art competition.

 

He is represented by the OrexArt gallery in Auckland.

 

www.orexgallery.co.nz/artist_pages/Brown_EmpireofIdols.htm

 

newzealand.usembassy.gov

 

Sir James Jebusa Shannon

(1862-1923)

 

Shannon was born in America. He moved to Canada as a child and left for London in 1878 at sixteen to attend the National Art Training School at South Kensington. As Barbara Gallati has noted, Shannon's teacher, Sir Edward John Poynter, studied in the atelier of Charles Gleyre. Shannon, therefore, benefited from his teacher's interest in the French method of drawing and painting from a live model ("James Jebusa Shannon," Antiques Magazine 134 [November 1988}: 1135). As an aspiring young art student, Shannon was awarded the opportunity to paint a portrait of one of Queen Victoria's attendants, the Honorable Horatia Stopford. The portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1881 at the Queen's request, and catapulted Shannon into the English artistic limelight.

 

"Portrait of a Dutch Girl" dates from the period 1891-1896. It was painted during the course of one of Shannons regular summer visits to the flourishing Dutch art colony in Egmond aan Zee, where he was a close friend of the American expatriate painter George Hitchcock. Like John Singer Sargent, Shannon's sitters are usually the epitome of wealth and elegance. This work features a portrait of Shannons Dutch-born servant Dirkje. The artists energized brushstroke, transcription of fabrics and textures, along with the individualization of the figure underscore Barbara Gallati's observation that Shannon creates not "just a likeness but an image of beauty" (Barbara Dayer Gallati, op. cit., p. 1138). During the period 1880-1900, Shannon explored a variety of styles and subjects, and this and several other works dating from the time are distinguished by their mood and psychology.

 

www.berry-hill.com/artists/sir-james-jebusa-shannon

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.

 

WHAT

Konstructive Cycles develops high performance carbon and steel Bikes, components, high-end accessories and functional clothing. The bike categories include Road Bikes, Cyclo-Cross Bikes, Mountain Bikes as well as niche products. We offer complete bicycles with various build kit options and individual frames. Our products are for bike enthusiasts and weight conscious riders and racers (weight weenies).

 

WHY

Konstructive Cycles offers quality instead of quantity and focuses on the most important details. The era of individualization has started. Konstructive Cycles Berlin would like to build your exclusive Dream Bike tailored to your specific needs.

 

HOW

Get more information and start to configure your ultimate Dream Bike on our Website: www.konstructive.de.

 

Get in touch with us and support products made in Germany and Europe!

  

KONSTRUCTIVE CYCLES BERLIN

 

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.

 

WAS

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.

 

WARUM

Konstructive Cycles bietet Klasse anstatt Massenware und legt großen Wert auf alle wichtigen Details. Für uns hat die Ära der Individualisierung begonnen. Konstructive Cycles fertigt Ihr individuelles Traumbike, zugeschnitten auf Ihre persönlichen Wünsche.

 

WIE

Nutzen Sie die Informationen auf unserer Website und konfigurieren Sie Ihr ultimatives Traumbike:

www.konstructive.de

 

Nehmen Sie Kontakt zu uns auf und unterstützen Sie Produkte aus Deutschland und Europa!

The catalog:

“Igor & Svetlana Kopystiansky: The Day before Tomorrow.” With introduction by René Block and Loretta Yarlow and texts by Adam D. Weinberg, Barry Schwabsky, Andreas Bee, Anthony Bond, Kai-Uwe Hemken. (English and German), Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel and Fine Arts Centre of UMass, Amherst, Massachusetts. 2005

 

Sculpture Project Münster 1987. Participating artists: Kim Adams, Carl Andre, Michael Asher, Georg Baselitz, Alighiero e Boetti, Christine Borland, Daniel Buren, Janet Cardiff, Maurizio Cattelan, Eduardo Chillida, Stephen Craig, Richard Deacon, Mark Dion, Stan Douglas, Maria Eichhorn, Ayse Erkmen, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Paul-Armand Gette, Jef Geys, Douglas Gordon, Dan Graham, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Hans Haacke, Raymond Hains, Georg Herold, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rebecca Horn, Huang Yong Ping, Bethan Huws, Fabrice Hybert, Ilya Kabakov, Tadashi Kawamata, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Jeff Koons, Svetlana Kopystiansky, Sol LeWitt, Atelier van Lieshout, Olaf Metzel, Reinhard Mucha, Maria Nordmann, Claes Oldenburg / Coosje van Bruggen, Gabriel Orozco, Tony Oursler, Nam June Paik, Jorge Pardo, Hermann Pitz, Marjetica Potrc, Charles Ray, Tobias Rehberger, Ulrich Rückriem, Allen Ruppersberg, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Kurt Ryslavy, Karin Sander, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Roman Signer, Andreas Slominski, Yutaka Sone, Diana Thater, Bert Theis, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Eulàlia Valldosera, Herman de Vries, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Rachel Whiteread, Elin Wikström, Wolfgang Winter / Berthold Hörbelt, Jeffrey Wisniewski, Andrea Zittel, Heimo Zobernig

 

For the part of the project titled “Ontology, or Things that Might Have Been” Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs from various selected objects: tools and materials which were used by different artists in a project for production of their artworks. These found objects were considered as finished art works, as sculptures. Images of each object were printed as black-and-white posters in multiple editions and were distributed around the city in various combinations. At the time of the photographs’ distribution, the objects no longer existed in their documented form.

For the part of her project titled “Travels and Leaves Behind,” over the period of one month Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs of various objects at the sites where they were found: tools and materials which were used by construction workers during the restoration of the Westfälisches Landesmuseum in Münster. All these objects were mass-produced and originally were identical in form to countless others. When they were photographed, however, their original forms had been altered by use and, thus, subjected to a process of “individualization” in which each object became absolutely unique in its new form. All of these objects were also exhibited in the museum as sculptures. Black-and-white photographs of these sculptural works were later exhibited during the Sculpture Project at the museum.

For the catalog, Svetlana Kopystiansky used texts from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie from their entries concerning “Sculpture.”

  

This painting commemorates the visit of Pope John Paul II to the Baltic states in 1993. Here is his itinerary:

  

Apostolic journey to Lithuania,

Latvia and Estonia

(September 4-10, 1993)

  

Welcome ceremony at the international airport of Vilnius in Lithuania (September 4, 1993)

[Italian]

 

To the clergy, religious and seminarians at the Cathedral of Saint Stanislaw in Vilnius (September 4, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Recitation of the Holy Rosary at Our Lady Gate of Dawn Shrine in Vilnius (September 4, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Prayer at the tombs of the martyrs of independence in Vilnius (September 5, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Conferral of the sacraments of Christian initiation at Vingio Parkas in Vilnius (September 5, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Recitation of the Angelus in Vilnius (September 5, 1993)

[Italian, Spanish]

 

To the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Lithuania (September 5, 1993)

[English, French, Italian, Spanish]

 

To the academic and cultural world gathered in the Chapel of the University of Vilnius (September 5, 1993)

[Italian]

 

To the Polish community in the church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius (September 5, 1993)

[Italian, Polish]

 

Holy Mass for the faithful of the Archdiocese of Kaunas (September 6, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Meeting with the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Lithuania at the Archbishopric of Kaunas (September 6, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Meeting with the young people of Lithuania at Darius ir Gireno stadium in Kaunas (September 6, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Mass at the Mount of Crosses in Šiauliai (September 7, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Liturgy of the Word at the Marian Shrine of Šiluva (September 7, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Greeting to the faithful at the Apostolic Nunciature of Vilnius (September 7, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Farewell ceremony at the international airport of Vilnius (September 8, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Welcome ceremony at the international airport of Riga in Latvia (September 8, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Visit to the Catholic Cathedral of Riga (September 8, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Ecumenical meeting of prayer with the other Christian communities at the Lutheran Cathedral of Riga (September 8, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Holy Mass at Mežaparkā in Riga (September 8, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Holy Mass at the Marian Shrine of Aglona (September 9, 1993)

[Italian]

 

To the academic world in the Aula Magna of the University of Riga (September 9, 1993)

[Italian]

 

To the representatives of the academic and cultural world in the University of Riga (September 9, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Farewell ceremony at the international airport of Riga (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Welcome ceremony at the international airport of Tallinn in Estonia (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Visit to the church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Tallinn (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Ecumenical meeting of prayer with the other Christian confessions in the Lutheran church of St. Nicholas in Tallinn (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Message to the world of culture and science of Estonia (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Eucharistic celebration in Tallinn (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

Farewell ceremony at the international airport of Tallinn (September 10, 1993)

[Italian]

 

======================

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.

Italian postcard. Maria Jacobini and Alfonso Cassini in the Italian silent film La preda (Guglielmo Zorzi, 1921). G.B. Falci, Milano, No. 153.

 

The explorer Cesare Colleoni (Amleto Novelli) returns to Italy after a long stay in Africa. At his father's place he meets his three cousins Anna (Mara Cassano), Maria (Maria Jacobini) and Gioietta (Carmela Bonicatti aka Carmen Boni), whom he all courts at the same time. He gets engaged with Anna, but right on the day before his wedding he tries to seduce Maria. She resists, though. Afterwards, when Cesare has married Anna, Maria discovers he has managed her youngest sister Gioietta to hopefully fall in love with him and wanting to elope with him. She doesn't hesitate and kills him.

 

The film produced by the Roman company Fert, premiered in Rome on 10 January 1922. The Naples journal La Cine-fono praised Jacobini's acting but thought the characters were not individualized enough and the script had better be used for a stage play, where the interior dilemma of the female protagonist would have been expressed better. Instead, the Turin journal La vita cinematografica praised both director and actors - Jacobini in the first place - and thought only the cinematography could have been better. NB while Martinelli mentions Mara Cassano playing Anna, one postcard suggests this could have been Maria Moreno.

 

Source: Vittorio Martinelli, Il cinema muto italiano 1921-1922 (1981), pp. 255-257.

 

Among the Italian divas, Maria Jacobini (1892 - 1944) was an island of serenity, as film historian Vittorio Martinelli expressed it. She was the personification of goodness, of simple love. Her weapon was her sweet and gracious smile. However, in some Italian, and later also in German films, she could as well play the vivacious lady, the femme fatale, the comedienne, the hysterical victim, or the suffering mother or wife. See filmstarpostcards.blogspot.nl/2014/06/maria-jacobini.html

With both the Mini and the Alfa Romeo MiTo showing the market potential of stylish, premium small cars, Citroën decided to create an alternative of its own and revived the iconic DS name. I have been a fan of the DS3 since the first time I saw it at the IAA in 2009, particularly the way in which each car can be individualized. It should be noted that since 2016 the car is sold under the DS sub-brand and no longer carries the Citroën name.

Alexander the great - Azara herm in profil to left

Roman copy of a greek original by Lysippos

Louvre Lens Ma234 -

wm; Leonidas Argyraspid

 

This work takes the form of a herm: a pillar whose upper part has been sculpted in the shape of a head. It shows a young man, his head slightly lifted. The features are idealized, but there is a a degree of individualization in his inspired expression, and the mane of hair falling in strands on his forehead.

The authenticity of the antique inscription - which identifies the bust as that of Alexander the Great - is open to discussion, but the physiognomy of the figure leaves no doubt. The particular arrangement of the hair is well attested in other images of the Macedonian conqueror.

 

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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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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

 

Tomb of Queen Louise of Prussia 1811-14 Marble

 

Directly after the queen of Prussia, Louise died in 1810, King Frederick William III asked Humboldt to invite the Rome-based sculptors Thorvaldsen, Canova and Rauch to submit designs for a memorial tomb for the queen for the mausoleum in Charlottenburg. The client wanted to see his deceased wife depicted on her sarcophagus in the form of death as eternal sleep, merely dozing, and ready to be wakened any moment. When he came to see the tomb executed by Rauch, the King "broke into a flood of tears as he saw the head of his beloved deceased wife laid down for sleep, so eloquently lifelike did he find her."

 

In this monument Rauch succeeded in combining two trends in Neoclassical sculpture of his day to make a new visual language. On the one side were the individualizing traits in the sculpture of his Berlin teacher Schadow, on the other the canonically idealized images of his Roman friend Thorvaldsen By developing a kind of synthesis of these two approaches, Rauch succeeded in creating one of the masterpieces of Neoclassical sculpture, which received unqualified admiration.

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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

 

“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;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on FlickeFlu

  

Qi Bo's photos on PICSSR

 

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 (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

 

Unknown artist active in Catalonia, c. 1600

Polychromed wood (altarpiece structure), tempera and oil on board

 

Monasterio de Pedralbes, Barcelona

 

This richly polychromed altarpiece exemplifies the influence of late Italian Mannerism on Catalan religious art around 1600. Likely the work of a foreign artist working in Catalonia, it is distinguished by the individualized portrayal of saints and a structured architectural framing typical of post-Tridentine retablos. The topmost scene depicts the Annunciation, with the Archangel Gabriel greeting the Virgin Mary beneath the dove of the Holy Spirit. Below, the saints are arranged in tiers: Saint Jerome with his lion and skull (penance), Saint Catherine with her broken wheel (intellect and martyrdom), and Saint Lucy or Agatha with symbolic instruments of their ordeals. The middle row shows Saint Francis in devotion (poverty and stigmata), Saint Margaret with the dragon (triumph over evil), and Saint Agnes with a lamb (purity). The predella below features smaller bust-length portraits of additional saints.

 

Commissioned likely by or for a female religious community, this retable reflects the Counter-Reformation’s emphasis on clear, emotionally engaging sacred imagery. Its iconographic program would have been guided by ecclesiastical authorities or monastic patrons, aligning with the devotional needs and spiritual identity of the institution.

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Living Icons: How Pre-Modern Spain Viewed Religious Art

 

Although today this altarpiece is viewed as part of Spain’s artistic and cultural patrimony, its original significance was entirely religious and functional. In early modern Spain, objects like this were not considered “art” but sacred instruments—meant to inspire devotion, teach doctrine, and reinforce the spiritual authority of the Church and its institutions. Their value lay in their theological clarity, emotional power, and ability to connect the faithful to the divine.

 

Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, the custodians of such works—monastic communities, parish clergy, and diocesan authorities—maintained them not for historical preservation but for liturgical and devotional efficacy. While monasteries and churches kept inventories of sacred objects, these served practical and legal purposes rather than historical or aesthetic ones. There were no curators or conservators in the modern sense; repainting or modifying artworks to keep them visually compelling and spiritually potent was routine and uncontroversial.

 

Even by 1800, centuries-old works like this altarpiece were still active components of religious life. A 15th- or 16th-century painting would have been revered, but not preserved as a relic of the past—it was simply a durable part of a living devotional culture. The idea of protecting such objects for their age, style, or authorship emerged only after the widespread state seizure of Church property during the Desamortización—a series of liberal reforms beginning in 1835 under Juan Álvarez Mendizábal and continuing through the 1850s and beyond. These confiscations dissolved monasteries, auctioned their assets, and led to the relocation of countless artworks to newly founded provincial museums. It was in this rupture—born of reform, revolution, and Romantic nationalism—that sacred art began to be reframed as historical heritage.

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Afterlives of Devotion: The Journey of a Monastic Altarpiece

 

The precise origins of this altarpiece remain unknown, but it was likely created around 1600 for a monastic or parish setting in Catalonia. It may have been commissioned for the Monasterio de Pedralbes itself or brought here later from another religious house. Like many works of sacred art in Spain, it survived centuries not because it was considered a cultural treasure, but because it remained in use—serving devotional and liturgical purposes for generations.

 

Beginning in 1835, the liberal Spanish government enacted the Desamortización, a sweeping confiscation of Church property aimed at weakening ecclesiastical power and raising state revenue. Thousands of monasteries were closed, their contents seized or dispersed, often without record. While many sacred objects were lost, destroyed, or sold into private hands, others—especially in regions like Catalonia—were quietly preserved in local churches or recovered by municipal and diocesan efforts in later decades.

 

This altarpiece’s survival suggests that it remained either under the protection of a religious community, possibly the nuns of Pedralbes, or was later returned as part of 20th-century efforts to reclaim and display Spain’s religious heritage. Today, it stands not only as a witness to centuries of faith, but as a survivor of the profound rupture between Church and State that reshaped Spain’s cultural landscape.

 

This text is a collaboration with Chat GPT.

Photo-One was begging me for new photos, so here's one which though 8 years old I haven't shared before. I found it interesting, so different from our individualized pissoirs here in North America.

 

At a men's toilet in Belturbet, Co. Cavan, Ireland.

Location: Berlin - 591km from home.

 

Luxembourg cars are super common here, most of them feature no individual plates, or individualized plates that cannot be recoginzed as vanity plates, like this one here. The plate doesn't make much sense to me, though.

Sculpture projects Münster 1997, Curators Kasper König and Klaus Bussmann).

www.skulptur-projekte-archiv.de/en-us/1997/projects/107/

 

For the part of the project titled “Ontology, or Things that Might Have Been” Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs from various selected objects: tools and materials which were used by different artists in a project for production of their artworks. These found objects were considered as finished art works, as sculptures. Images of each object were printed as black-and-white posters in multiple editions and were distributed around the city in various combinations. At the time of the photographs’ distribution, the objects no longer existed in their documented form.

For the part of her project titled “Travels and Leaves Behind,” over the period of one month Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs of various objects at the sites where they were found: tools and materials which were used by construction workers during the restoration of the Westfälisches Landesmuseum in Münster. All these objects were mass-produced and originally were identical in form to countless others. When they were photographed, however, their original forms had been altered by use and, thus, subjected to a process of “individualization” in which each object became absolutely unique in its new form. All of these objects were also exhibited in the museum as sculptures. Black-and-white photographs of these sculptural works were later exhibited during the Sculpture Project at the museum.

For the catalog, Svetlana Kopystiansky used texts from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie from their entries concerning “Sculpture.”

LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster, Germany

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

www.lwl.org/skulptur-projekte-download/muenster/97/kopyst...

 

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

Artists: Kim Adams, Carl Andre, Michael Asher, Georg Baselitz, Alighiero e Boetti, Christine Borland, Daniel Buren, Janet Cardiff, Maurizio Cattelan, Eduardo Chillida, Stephen Craig, Richard Deacon, Mark Dion, Stan Douglas, Maria Eichhorn, Ayse Erkmen, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Paul-Armand Gette, Jef Geys, Douglas Gordon, Dan Graham, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Hans Haacke, Raymond Hains, Georg Herold, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rebecca Horn, Huang Yong Ping, Bethan Huws, Fabrice Hybert, Ilya Kabakov, Tadashi Kawamata, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Jeff Koons, Svetlana Kopystiansky, Sol LeWitt, Atelier van Lieshout, Olaf Metzel, Reinhard Mucha, Maria Nordmann, Claes Oldenburg / Coosje van Bruggen, Gabriel Orozco, Tony Oursler, Nam June Paik, Jorge Pardo, Hermann Pitz, Marjetica Potrc, Charles Ray, Tobias Rehberger, Ulrich Rückriem, Allen Ruppersberg, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Kurt Ryslavy, Karin Sander, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Roman Signer, Andreas Slominski, Yutaka Sone, Diana Thater, Bert Theis, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Eulàlia Valldosera, Herman de Vries, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Rachel Whiteread, Andrea Zittel, Heimo Zobernig

 

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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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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

 

Location: Berlin - 525km from home.

 

Individualized Austrian license plate with at least one letter and one number. The first (two) letter(s) denote(s) the registration location.

 

S = Salzburg

Khafre Enthroned is a funerary statue of the Pharaoh Khafre, who reigned during the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (c. 2570 BCE). It is now located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The construction is made of anorthosite gneiss (related to diorite), a valuable, extremely hard, and dark stone brought 400 miles down the Nile River from royal quarries. This highlights Khafre's importance and power as a ruler. The statue was carved for the Pharaoh's valley temple near the Great Sphinx, a part of the necropolis (funerary city) used in funeral rituals. This Old Kingdom statue has an important function in Egyptian tombs as substitute abodes for the Pharaoh's ka—the life force that accompanied a person with a kind of other self. After death, the ka leaves the body into the afterlife, but still needs a place to rest: the statue.[citation needed]

 

This sculpture, depicted in-the-round (versus relief sculpture), shows Khafre seated, one of the basic formulaic types used during the Old Kingdom to show the human figure. Mummification played a huge role in the Egyptian culture, a 70-day process to ensure immortality for the pharaoh. Starting in the 3rd millennium BCE, if the pharaoh's mummy was damaged, a ka statue was created to "ensure immortality and permanence of the deceased's identity by providing a substitute dwelling place for the ka".

 

Khafre rigidly sits in his royal throne, gazing off into the distance. The pharaoh wears a linen nemes headdress, which cover most of his forehead and folds over his broad shoulders. This royal headdress depicts the uraeus, or cobra emblem, on the front along with the royal false beard attached at the end of his chiseled chin.[3] Khafre wears a kilt covering his waist, revealing his idealized upper body and muscle definition.[citation needed] The Egyptian idealized portraiture is not meant to record individualized features, but instead proclaim the divine nature of Egyptian kingship. Two stylized lions' bodies form the throne Khafre sits on, creating a sturdy base. Lotus plants (symbolic of Upper Egypt) and papyrus plants (symbolic of Lower Egypt) grow between the legs of the throne, referring to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt which ended the Egyptian Pre-Dynastic period. The god Horus, depicted as a falcon, protects the backside of Khafre's head with his wings, another reference to the united Egypt. Besides the striking view of the falcon (unseen from the front) resting behind Khafre's head, Khafre's feet are emplaced upon a flat platform, engraved with nine archery bows, representing the king's and kingdom's dominance over foreign/domestic enemy tribes, the nine bows.

 

The symmetrical pharaoh shows no movement or change, suppressing all motion and time to create an eternal stillness; his strong build and permanent stance demonstrate no notion of time—Khafre is timeless, and his power will exist even in the afterlife. The statue is based upon compactness and solidity with few projecting parts; Khafre's block-like body is attached to the throne to last for eternity, creating one single structure. His arms rest on his thighs, directly facing the viewer in a rigid, frontal pose. The bilaterally symmetric statue, symbolizing order and control in the pharaoh, is the same on either side of the vertical axis of the statue, only differing in Khafre's clenched right fist.[citation needed] The tight profile and block-like aspect represent Khafre as a permanent being and part of the stone to keep his ka safe. Khafre will always exist, on earth and in the afterlife. The pharaoh's sculpture can be described as absolutely frontal, utterly immobile, and perfectly calm: the characteristics of Egyptian block statue.

 

Creating Khafre Enthroned

In order to create this sculpture in-the-round, the sculptor used the subtractive method. He began with a cube-shaped stone block of diorite. First, the sculptor drew the front, back, and two profile views of Khafre on the four vertical faces of the stone. After the sketched plans were made, the sculptor chiseled away the excess stone on all four sides until the plans came together, meeting at right angles. The last step was sculpting specific details of Khafre's body and face, carving the falcon god Horus, and other designs on the throne. The subtractive method allows the sculptor to create a block-like look for Khafre's ka statue, a standard for Egyptian sculpture during this time period. In addition to the subtractive method, abrasion, rubbing or grinding the surface was used to finish the product off. The diorite statue stands at a final height of five foot six.

 

Khafre's ka statue, which would have been located in the Valley temple of Khafre, was only one part of an extremely intricate system used in Egyptian funerary rituals. Located at the Pyramids of Gizeh, the necropolis included the Valley Temple of Khafre, a mortuary temple, the Great Sphinx, and a causeway leading to the pyramid of Khafre.

 

The Great Pyramids of Gizeh (Pyramids of Giza), located on the outskirts of present-day Cairo, are three enormous pyramids for three Egyptian pharaohs with multiple smaller ones, housing the mummies of the royal family and nobles. From largest to smallest, the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure are the most famous and dedicated to each god, respectively. Khafre's pyramid and tomb were designed as an eternal home for his mummy, where the serdab (chamber room) in the Valley Temple was meant to keep his ka statue. Unlike previous pyramids, such as the Stepped Pyramid of Djoser designed by the first known architect Imhotep, the Great Pyramids of Gizeh were not based upon the mastaba structure, a rectangular structure. The new, smoothly inclined surface of the tomb derives from a rectangular base, which is aligned by the four cardinal directions of the compass. The four sides finish at a pointed tip, referring to the emblem of the sun Re (Ra), called the ben-ben. These symbolic pyramids allowed the pharaoh's spirit to ascend to the heavens using the rays of the sun.

 

The funeral procession carrying the pharaoh's mummy began east of the Nile River, where the sun is reborn every morning and where the Egyptian citizens live. Khafre's mummy would have crossed the Nile River, which was the ribbon of life separating the east from the west.[citation needed] The Nile was extremely important in Egyptian culture, for it provided fertility of the land and represented life for the people who used it. Because of its importance and symbol of life, it was used as part of the procession to bury the pharaoh. Khafre's body would then meet at the west side of the Nile, or the land of the dead. Every night, the sun sets and dies, which is why the western section of the city was dedicated to burying the dead.[citation needed] The horizontal axis of east to west was symbolic to the Egyptians, representing the cycle of life and eternalness of their leaders; every day the sun is born in the east and dies at night in the west, yet is again reborn in the east the next morning. The rhythm of the horizontal axis used in the funeral procession parallels with eternalness of the pharaoh.[citation needed]

 

Once on the west bank of the Nile, Khafre's mummy would travel along the causeway, or pathway, passing by the Valley Temple of Khafre where the Khafre Enthroned statue would be located. Next along the causeway is the Great Sphinx, a creature with a Pharaoh head and cat body carved out of the living/natural rock of the area. Many believe that the face of the sphinx is actually Khafre, further honoring the Pharaoh in the funeral procession. Continuing along the causeway, the mummy and procession enter the Mortuary Temple of Khafre adjoining the pharaoh's pyramid. This is where offerings were made to the deceased pharaoh and further ceremonies performed. Sealing the mummy in the tomb of Khafre's pyramid, where his body and ka would peacefully rest for eternity, completed the funeral ritual.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Museum

 

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (Arabic: المتحف المصري, romanized: al-Matḥaf al-Miṣrī, Egyptian Arabic: el-Matḥaf el-Maṣri [elˈmætħæf elˈmɑsˤɾi]) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world. It houses over 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display. Located in Tahrir Square in a building built in 1901, it is the largest museum in Africa. Among its masterpieces are Pharaoh Tutankhamun's treasure, including its iconic gold burial mask, widely considered one of the best-known works of art in the world and a prominent symbol of ancient Egypt.

 

History

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities contains many important pieces of ancient Egyptian history. It houses the world's largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities. The Egyptian government established the museum built in 1835 near the Ezbekieh Garden and later moved to the Cairo Citadel. In 1855, Archduke Maximilian of Austria was given all of the artifacts by the Egyptian government; these are now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

 

A new museum was established at Boulaq in 1858 in a former warehouse, following the foundation of the new Antiquities Department under the direction of Auguste Mariette. The building lay on the bank of the Nile River, and in 1878 it suffered significant damage owing to the flooding of the Nile River. In 1891, the collections were moved to a former royal palace, in the Giza district of Cairo. They remained there until 1902 when they were moved again to the current museum in Tahrir Square, built by the Italian company of Giuseppe Garozzo and Francesco Zaffrani to a design by the French architect Marcel Dourgnon.

 

In 2004, the museum appointed Wafaa El Saddik as the first female director general.

 

During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the museum was broken into, and two mummies were destroyed. Several artifacts were also shown to have been damaged and around 50 objects were stolen. Since then, 25 objects have been found. Those that were restored were put on display in September 2013 in an exhibition entitled "Damaged and Restored". Among the displayed artifacts were two statues of King Tutankhamun made of cedar wood and covered with gold, a statue of King Akhenaten, ushabti statues that belonged to the Nubian kings, a mummy of a child, and a small polychrome glass vase.

 

The museum was reportedly used as a torture site during the 2011 Revolution, with protestors forcibly and unlawfully detained and allegedly abused, according to reports, videos and eyewitness accounts. Activists state that "men were being tortured with electric shocks, whips and wires," and "women were tied to fences and trees." Prominent singer and activist Ramy Essam was among those detained and tortured at the museum.

 

Sale room for antiquities

The Department of Antiquities (Service d'Antiquités Egyptien) operated a sale room (Salle de ventes) in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo from 1902 in room 56 on the ground floor, where original ancient Egyptian artworks and other original artefacts were sold. In addition, until the 1970s, dealers or collectors could bring antiquities to the Cairo Museum for inspection on Thursdays, and if museum officials had no objections, they could pack them in ready-made boxes, have them sealed and cleared for export. Many objects now held in private collections or public museums originated here. After years of debate about the strategy for selling the antiquities, the sale room was closed in November 1979.

 

Interior design and collections

There are two main floors in the museum, the ground floor and the first floor. On the ground floor is an extensive collection of large-scale works in stone including statues, reliefs and architectural elements. These are arranged chronologically in clockwise fashion, from the pre-dynastic to the Greco-Roman period. The first floor is dedicated to smaller works, including papyri, coins, textiles, and an enormous collection of wooden sarcophagi.

 

The numerous pieces of papyrus are generally small fragments, owing to their decay over the past two millennia. Several languages are found on these pieces, including Greek, Latin, Arabic, and ancient Egyptian. The coins found on this floor are made of many different metals, including gold, silver, and bronze. The coins are not only Egyptian, but also Greek, Roman, and Islamic. This has helped historians research the history of Ancient Egyptian trade.

 

Also on the ground floor are artifacts from the New Kingdom, the time period between 1550 and 1069 BC. These artifacts are generally larger than items created in earlier centuries. Those items include statues, tables, and coffins (sarcophagi). It contains 42 rooms; with many items on view from sarcophagi and boats to enormous statues.

 

On the first floor are artifacts from the final two dynasties of Egypt, including items from the tombs of the Pharaohs Thutmosis III, Thutmosis IV, Amenophis II, Hatshepsut, and the courtier Maiherpri, as well as many artifacts from the Valley of the Kings, in particular the material from the intact tombs of Tutankhamun and Psusennes I.

 

Until 2021, two rooms contained a number of mummies of kings and other royal family members of the New Kingdom. On April 3, 2021, twenty-two of these mummies were transferred to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat in a grand parade dubbed The Pharaohs' Golden Parade.

 

Collections are also being transferred to the not-yet-open Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, including all the artifacts found inside Tutankhamun's tomb. "Among the reasons that the GEM itself was conceived, the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir has been criticized for being overcrowded, displaying pieces in a way that is said to make the experience cumbersome for visitors."

 

Memorial to famous Egyptologists

In the garden adjacent to the building of the museum, is a memorial to famous egyptologists of the world. It features a monument to Auguste Mariette, surrounded by 24 busts of the following egyptologists: François Chabas, Johannes Dümichen, Conradus Leemans, Charles Wycliffe Goodwin, Emmanuel de Rougé, Samuel Birch, Edward Hincks, Luigi Vassalli, Émile Brugsch, Karl Richard Lepsius, Théodule Devéria, Vladimir Golenishchev, Ippolito Rosellini, Labib Habachi, Sami Gabra, Selim Hassan, Ahmed Kamal, Zakaria Goneim, Jean-François Champollion, Amedeo Peyron, Willem Pleyte, Gaston Maspero, Peter le Page Renouf and Kazimierz Michałowski.

“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

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598 - 1680) was just twenty-three years old when he received one of his first commissions to make a full-sized bust of Pope Paul V, the recently deceased uncle of his most important patron, Cardinal Scipione Borghese.

 

In this two-and-a-half foot marble portrait, Bernini depicts the pope almost bareheaded, his hair styled in the "tonsure of St. Peter," a practice that signified the renunciation of worldly fashion, and dressed in traditional pontifical vestments. The thick cope covering his shoulders is richly decorated with embroidery of the patron saints of Rome, the Apostles Peter (holding his keys and a book) and Paul (holding the sword of his martyrdom and a book).

 

While he is robed in the garments of the papacy, Pope Paul V gazes at the viewer with a natural expression, his face individualized by the slight turn of his head, the delicate contours of his forehead and the tiny wrinkles carved around his eyes.

 

At this time, Bernini is already making the dynamic sculptures for which he will become famous, yet here his subject requires restraint. The artist's subdued dynamism can best be seen in the folds of drapery at the sitter's left shoulder, suggesting his body moves underneath.

 

This bust was kept in the Villa Borghese in Rome until 1893 and then sold. Its whereabouts have been unknown until its rediscovery in late 2014.

Sculpture projects Münster 1997, Curators Kasper König and Klaus Bussmann).

www.skulptur-projekte-archiv.de/en-us/1997/projects/107/

 

For the part of the project titled “Ontology, or Things that Might Have Been” Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs from various selected objects: tools and materials which were used by different artists in a project for production of their artworks. These found objects were considered as finished art works, as sculptures. Images of each object were printed as black-and-white posters in multiple editions and were distributed around the city in various combinations. At the time of the photographs’ distribution, the objects no longer existed in their documented form.

For the part of her project titled “Travels and Leaves Behind,” over the period of one month Svetlana Kopystiansky made 40 photographs of various objects at the sites where they were found: tools and materials which were used by construction workers during the restoration of the Westfälisches Landesmuseum in Münster. All these objects were mass-produced and originally were identical in form to countless others. When they were photographed, however, their original forms had been altered by use and, thus, subjected to a process of “individualization” in which each object became absolutely unique in its new form. All of these objects were also exhibited in the museum as sculptures. Black-and-white photographs of these sculptural works were later exhibited during the Sculpture Project at the museum.

For the catalog, Svetlana Kopystiansky used texts from the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Brockhaus Enzyklopädie from their entries concerning “Sculpture.”

LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Münster, Germany

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

www.lwl.org/skulptur-projekte-download/muenster/97/kopyst...

 

Skulptur. Projekte in Münster 1997

 

Artists: Kim Adams, Carl Andre, Michael Asher, Georg Baselitz, Alighiero e Boetti, Christine Borland, Daniel Buren, Janet Cardiff, Maurizio Cattelan, Eduardo Chillida, Stephen Craig, Richard Deacon, Mark Dion, Stan Douglas, Maria Eichhorn, Ayse Erkmen, Peter Fischli / David Weiss, Isa Genzken, Paul-Armand Gette, Jef Geys, Douglas Gordon, Dan Graham, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Hans Haacke, Raymond Hains, Georg Herold, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rebecca Horn, Huang Yong Ping, Bethan Huws, Fabrice Hybert, Ilya Kabakov, Tadashi Kawamata, Martin Kippenberger, Per Kirkeby, Jeff Koons, Svetlana Kopystiansky, Sol LeWitt, Atelier van Lieshout, Olaf Metzel, Reinhard Mucha, Maria Nordmann, Claes Oldenburg / Coosje van Bruggen, Gabriel Orozco, Tony Oursler, Nam June Paik, Jorge Pardo, Hermann Pitz, Marjetica Potrc, Charles Ray, Tobias Rehberger, Ulrich Rückriem, Allen Ruppersberg, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Kurt Ryslavy, Karin Sander, Thomas Schütte, Richard Serra, Roman Signer, Andreas Slominski, Yutaka Sone, Diana Thater, Bert Theis, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Eulàlia Valldosera, Herman de Vries, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Rachel Whiteread, Andrea Zittel, Heimo Zobernig

Scanned from slides taken by my grandparents when they visited my parents in California

CDV, 1870s, around 1873-75

Photographer: A. F. Czihak (1840 - 1883)

Wien (Vienna)

I. Bezirk (district)

Graben 22.

Activity: 1860s-1883

Gift from a dear Flickr-friend

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lewinsky

"Joseph Lewinsky, born Sept. 20, 1835, in Vienna; died there Feb. 27, 1907. Austrian actor.

Lewinsky began acting in 1855 in Austrian provincial theaters and made his debut in 1858 in the role of Franz Moor (The Robbers by Schiller) at the Vienna Burgtheater, where he worked for the rest of his career. He brought a philosophical approach to the villains and hypocrites he usually played, men who embodied the destructive force of evil—for example, Wurm in Cabal and Love by Schiller; Iago, Richard III, Polonius, and Shylock in Shakespeare’s Othello, Richard III, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice; Mephistopheles in Faust by Goethe; and Bishop Nicholas in The Pretenders by Ibsen.

Lewinsky stressed the importance of harmony between external and inner expressiveness and of speech patterns as part of precise and individualized characterizations. He toured Russia in 1895 and 1898 (St. Petersburg and Moscow) and praised the realistic art of the Malyi Theater.

References: Richter, H. J. Lewinsky. Vienna, 1926."

Battle Road Press

(more than) 500 pieces, used and complete

18x24 in

aka The Flemish Fair

aka A Village Landscape at the Water with Animal Market

 

From the box base:

"Fifteenth and sixteenth century Netherlandish art reveals the artist's concern for and delight in the appearance of things. These Flemish Masters observed and studied the visible world, its air, light, and spatial relationships, forever altering the Northern art tradition.

Jan Brueghel was born in Brussels in 1568 into a family of artists. He was the son of Pieter Bruegel, the Elder (1528/9-1569), the great sixteenth century Flemish master known for his keen observation and interpretation of peasant life. Called "Peasant Bruegel", referring to his subject matter and not his upbringing, Pieter was the most important satirist in the Netherlands after Bosch and one of its greatest landscape painters. His finest works are genre scenes and religious subjects set in vast landscapes. His paintings reveal the artist's keen interest in peasant customs yet not without a satirical jibe to their habits: drunkenness, gluttony, and other sins. Jan and his older brother Pieter the Younger (1564-1637/8) studied their father's works of these pious peasant scenes and highly detailed panoramic landscapes.

Jan first studied with Marie de Bessemers, the widow of Pieter Coueck van Alost, who was Pieter the Elder's teacher. Jan later studied under Pieter Goetkind, a landscape and figure painter, and under whom Jan quickly established his reputation as a still life painter of flowers and fruit. In 1589, Jan travelled to Cologne and then to Rome where he met Paul Bril (1554-1626), a Flemish landscape painter and miniaturist working in Rome under papal patronage. It was under Bril's influence that Jan came to specialize in landscape painting and thereby found his first major patron, Cardinal Borromen who said Jan's landscapes had the ''lightness of nature itself.''

In 1597, Jan returned to Flanders. He settled in Antwerp where he was admitted as a master in the artist's guild. In 1602, he was appointed dean of the guild. By 1618, Jan was a very successful painter of landscapes; the Archduke Albert and his wife Isabella were loyal patrons and granted Jan many privileges, including ''remission of taxes, exemption from the payment of duty on paintings shipped abroad, and... the right to study rare plants and animals in the botanical and zoological gardens of the Palace.''

Being from an artistic family, Jan continued the tradition and filled his homes with artists for the next generation. In 1599, he married Isabella Jode, the daughter of a copperplate engraver. They had three children, including Jan the Younger (1601-1678), painter known primarily as an imitator and copier of his father's works. In 1605, two years after Isabella died, Jan married Catharina van Marienberghe. Their daughter Anna later married the Flemish artist David Teniers, the Younger (1610-1690). Moreover, Jan associated and often collaborated with other artists, including Hendrik van Balen (1575-1632). Johann Rottenhammer (1564-1625), and Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).

Jan's works are characterized by panoramic scenes with an almost microscopic attention to detail, a careful concern for correct perspective, and a delight for brilliant color. 'A Flemish Fair', an oil on copper plate dated 1613, is representative of Jan's paintings. It is an outdoor genre scene. The setting is a Flemish village on the banks of a canal. Off to the right is the village church. Further in the distance, one sees several boats on the canal and a distant village. In the foreground, a crowd of villagers, arriving by foot, by boat, and by cart, assemble in the village green to trade gossip and to barter their livestock and other goods. The bright blues, reds, and greens of the clothing are scattered throughout the scene and their clarity is in sharp contrast with the more tonal and atmospheric browns, blues, and greens of the landscape. The artist's concern for minute detail is evident in his treatment of the architecture with its shimmering glass and clearly defined bricks, the individualized leaves on the trees, and even the delicate delineation of animal fur.

The Arnot Art Museum is located in Elmira, N.Y. in the Finger Lakes district of the state. Established over 75 years ago in 1913, it is one of the oldest art museums in New York State. The Matthias H. Arnot Collection, which forms the nucleus of the Museum's Permanent Collection, represents the taste of a 19th century American collector. This collection is one of the last extant private collections formed in the past century still housed intact in its original showcase. It includes works by 17th century masters: Claude, Murillo, Brueghel, Honthorst, Teniers, and Van de Velde; 19th century French Academic artists: Breton Gerome, Bouguereau and Messionier; six French Barbizon painters: Daubigny, De la Pena, Jacque, Rousseau, Troyon, and Millet, as well as the Realist, Courbet."

 

I found this little gem just the other day; costing slightly more than we like to pay for a 500pc but worth every penny. A very similar cut and 'feel' to old Springbok and Waddingtons vari-piece puzzles and in great condition, box included. It hadn't been spoiled by sellotape either!

A keeper :o)

 

2021 piece count: 75999

Puzzle 85

     

There’s a lot you should know about Palenque, a Mayan site on the Northern edge of the Chiapas highlands, but I’m probably not the one to tell you.

 

Heavy hitters [1] have written books and papers and shared research about the place known to the classic Mayan as B’aakal, or Bone: about its art, its architecture, its friendly terms with Tikal, its antagonistic relations with Calakmul, Tonina and Piedras Negras.

 

At minimum you should know about K’inich Janaab’ Pakal and his cinnabar saturated jade strewn burial in the heart of the plaza. About how he was found at the bottom of a smooth bending stairway of ochre colored stone 22 meters deep in the Temple of the Inscriptions, barricaded by rubble from the world and connected only by a psychoduct through which his descendants could play telephone with their ancestor. About the marvelous greenstone mosaic that masked his face in death; about the jade sphere that his corpse clutched in his left hand; the jade cube that he clutched in his right.

 

About the marvelous inscription on the lid of his sarcophagus in which he’s resurrected from the underworld, Xibalba (which is wonderfully delicious to say out loud: she-BALL-bah), as a rapturous maize god; about his ancestors who line the sides of the monumental coffin (so tightly pinched into that small tomb that I asked a friend, who knows something about these things, “they carved it in situ? but how? the detail is so fine.” and he suggested that perhaps, instead, the massive temple was built around the stone container only after it had been carved.) who each bear a headdress that aligns them with an important crop -- cacoa (chocolate), nance, guayaba, chicozapote, mamey, and aguacate (avocado) -- crops that are passed from one generation to the next through inheritance. Like kingship. [2] Each gorgeous line etched to tell the story, to assert that I, Pakal, belong here. This was my job to do and I did it magnificently. And baby: I've *still* got your back. I'm an *ancestor* now.

 

You should know that the traffic down the stairwell since it was excavated by Alberto Ruz Lhuillier in 1952, that the heat and breath and humidity of curious souls, threatened to destroy the treasure, and most folks can only see it now in a poorly rendered reproduction in the site museum at Palenque, or a little bit better reproduction at the Museo Nacional in Mexico City, where too the original jade mask is kept, along with the sphere and the cube and a cache of other precious grave goods.

 

You might be interested to know that one late night in a rainy December I had a chance to descend the ochre steps and peek into the tomb, and its an experience I’ll never forget. But that I didn’t this time: our host no longer working at Palenque, after a falling out with INAH.

 

You should know too about the beautiful pieces that are still being excavated, some in just the last five years or so: About the jaw dropping details of the thrones from Temples 19 and 21, the figures so individualized, so finely incised, you can almost hear their conversation.

 

You should know that in 1973 Merle Greene Robertson, who made magnificent rubbings of the stuccos and bas-relief of Palenque and other sites (preserving many of them before they were diminished by the ash of a nearby volcanic eruption and the relentless worry of acid rain) started the Mesa Redonda, or Palenque Roundtable, in the living room of her home on the street that is now named (and misspelled) in her honor.

 

How scholars and regular folks with an interest in Mayan glyphs got together to try to crack what they were all about; to uncover the stories; started telling them again. How Linda Schele was there, and her passion for that place sparked a strange and wonderful populist movement that lends a curious slant to Mayan scholarship today -- academics and independent scholars and hobbyists all working through ancient glyphic texts, with variable results, but all working, and adding their decipherings to the pile.

 

And maybe its peevish of me to mention that ten years after its founding, and ten Roundtables into it, INAH took over the Mesa Redonda and restarted the count back at one, because that’s how INAH does things.

 

It might too be of interest to learn that Merle Greene celebrated her 95th birthday at this year’s Roundtable; that our trip was timed to coincide with the conclusion of the festivities so that our host, Nick, could share a few margaritas with the birthday girl.

 

And for those who have been reading detritus for awhile it might matter to know that the last day of our visit at the historic site we lit a candle in the Cathedral to commemorate the second of anniversary of the night that Kathryn died in Palenque, too young, but in a place she knew as home. In a place she dearly loved.

  

[1] A few heavy hitters worth looking at:

Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya, Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube

 

Maya Cosmos, David Freidel, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker

 

The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque, David Stuart

 

Living with the Ancestors: Kin and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society, Patricia A. Mcanany

 

[2] Living with the Ancestors, p 43

As seen in Japantown, San Francisco.