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Micheline's Blog

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Micheline's Blog

Monthly Archives: February 2016

On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi

28 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Artemisia Gentileschi, Career, Carravagio, Chiaroscuro, Orazio Gentileschi, Rape and Trial

Self-portrait_as_the_Allegory_of_Painting_(La_Pittura)_-_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, 1638–9, Royal Collection (the painting may be a self-portrait)

Artemisia Gentileschi (8 July 1593 – c. 1656) was one of the finest painters of her days. She is the second woman associated with the Baroque period we are discussing. In the fine arts, the Baroque era begins in the late 16th century and ends towards the middle of the 17th century. Artemisia is a 17th-century Italian artist.

Artemisia was born in Rome and first apprenticed with her father, Orazio Gentileschi  (1536 – 1639). Orazio moved to France in 1624 at the invitation of Marie de Medici (26 April 1763 -3 July 1642), but left for England two years later, where he remained until his death.

In 1638, Artemisia would join him in England. Orazio died in 1639, but Artemisia did not leave England until she had completed her commissions. “According to her biographer Baldinucci (who appended her life to that of her father), she painted many portraits and quickly surpassed her father’s fame” (Britannica). By 1642, she was back in Italy.  

Influences

  • Orazio Gentileschi
  • Caravaggio
  • the Carracci brothers (Bologna)

There can be no doubt that her father, Orazio Gentileschi, influenced Artemisia, but her paintings are described as naturalistic and were not idealized, in which she differs from her father.

Artemisia and her father were influenced by Caravaggio (29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), the artist who inaugurated chiaroscuro (le clair-obscur) or tenebrism, the use of a dark background. Caravaggio exerted influence on several painters such as Georges de La Tour (13 March 1593 – 13 January 1652), Gerrit van Honthorst (4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) and Trophime Bigot (1579 – 1650). By and large, the word chiaroscuro is now used to describe a technique: light colours on a dark background.

Artemisia was also influenced by the brothers Carracci, by members of the Bolognese school, and by colleagues. She was a history painter who depicted scenes from the Bible and other religious subject matter. Moreover, she was a portraitist.

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Portrait of a Lady Dressed in a Gold Embroidered  Elaborate Costume, (nd) (Courtesy Britannica)

Chiaroscuro

I noted that Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552 – 11 August 1614), a portraitist mainly, who lived at approximately the same time as Artemisia Gentileschi, used aa dark background. One has the feeling that tenebrism‘s subject matter is carved out of darkness, which is a lovely thought as artists are creators, even in representatial paintings. The painting featured immediately below, young Artemisia’s first painting is not caravaggesque. But it is rather prophetic.

Susanna_and_the_Elders_(1610),_Artemisia_Gentileschi

Susanna and the Elders, 1610 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Rape

  • the impossible Nozze di Riparazione
  • Orazio presses charges
  • the marriage & Florence

In 1611, Artemisia’s father hired artist Agostino Tassi (Perugia, 1578– Rome, 1644), both as an assistant and as teacher to his daughter. Tassi raped Artemisia, but another man, Cosimo Quorli(s), was involved.

At the time of the rape, Orazio rented an upstairs apartment in his house to a woman named Tuzia or Tutio, a chaperone who befriended Artemisia. However, on the day of the rape, the woman let the men into the house and did not respond when Artemisia screamed for help.

After the rape, Artemisia continued to have sexual relations with her rapist. Her continuing to have sexual relations with Tassi may be otherwise explained, but it seems she believed he would marry her, as he promised, thereby restoring her dignity and giving her the future he had taken away. However, foremost in her father’s eyes was restoring Artemisia’s honour. This recourse was not uncommon in Artemisia’s times. In Italy, such a marriage was called nozze di riparazione (a reparation marriage). Tassi reneged on his promise and Orazio pressed charges.

The Trial

  • the trial
  • torture
  • the mariage

During the five-month trial, it was revealed that Tassi was already married, that he planned to kill his wife and that he had entered into an adulterous relationship with his wife’s sister. Tassi was found guilty of rape, but never served a day of his one-year prison sentence. In fact, he was freed. During the trial, Artemisia had to submit to a gynecological examination and was tortured: the thumbscrew, for the purpose of eliciting evidence.

A month after the trial, Orazio married his daughter to Pierantonio Stiattesi. The couple lived in Florence where, in 1618, Artemisia bore Pierantonio a daughter who was named Prudentia, after Artemisia’s mother. Three sons were born to Pierantonio, but Artemisia is reported to have given birth to one daughter and to have lived in Naples in order to be near Prudentia.

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Giuditta_decapita_Oloferne_-_Google_Art_Project

Judith slawing Holofernes (1614 – 20) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

800px-Gentileschi_judith1

Judith and her Maidservant (1613 – 14) (Photocredit: Wikipedia)

Artemisia Gentileschi’s Career

  • Florence
  • Rome & Venice
  • Naples & London

In Florence, Artemisia was associated with the Medici court and enjoyed great success. She painted an Allegory of Inclination (Allegoria dell’Inclinazione) (c. 1616) commissioned by Michelangelo Buonaratti the Younger, Michelangelo’s grandnephew, “for the series of frescoes honouring the life of Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarotti.” (Britannica). In 1616, she joined Florence’s Academy of Design (Accademia di Arte del Disegno) and was the first woman to do so. In short, “[w]hile in Florence she began to develop her own distinctive style” (Britannica).

Artemisia ran into debts because she and her husband were allowed to buy art material on credit. Pierantonio bought more than could be repaid. Creditors were at the door, so to speak. In 1621, she decided to eave for Rome, which her marriage.

Artemisia’s (1593 – 1653/6) career can be divided as follows, i.e. by naming localities:

  1. She was in Florence (1614 – 1620),
  2. in Rome and Venice (1621–1630), and
  3. in Naples and England (1630–1653).

Death

Very little is known concerning Artemisia Gentileschi’s final years and her death, but she may have been a victim of the 1656 outbreak of the plague that decimated Naples’ artistic community.

—ooo—

Artemisia Gentileschi lost her mother at the age of 12 and it appears she was not taught to read or write. Yet, in Florence (1614 -1620), she befriended Galileo Galilei, with whom she corresponded, in letters, for many years. (See Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia)

Where did she find the courage to marry Pierantonio Stiattesi, to bear him at least one child, and to give birth after a violent rape? We know that she settled in Naples to be near her daughter. She was a good mother.

Works

Judith beheading Holofernes is Artemisia’s most notorious painting. Her treatment of Judith and Holofernes, a familiar subject matter to artists, is one of the most violent and bloody to have come down to us. Artemisia produced a second Judith slaying Holofernes. But she nevertheless painted other scenes from the Bible and various religious scenes, as did her contemporaries, and she was a fine portraitist. Germaine Greer[2] points to the strength of the women she depicted: strong hands, strong bodies, flesh.

Artemisia produced paintings about Bathsheba and David. According to Britannica, Bathsheba was raped and became pregnant. Her husband, a soldier, refused to make believe he was the child’s father. David had him killed and married Bathsheba. King David is Solomon’s father. Artemisia retold rape and violence, albeit subconsciously.

Conclusion

Could it be Artemisia Gentileschi never looked upon her circumstances as potentially paralyzing and that it never occurred to her that she lived in a man’s world? The image below, considered a self-portrait, shows a strong woman playing the lute. The following image is a serene portrait of St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians whose feast day is celebrated on 22 November. Her paintings of the slaying of Holofernes are gruesome (the first one in particular) and may well reflect her experience.

Yet, although her artwork depics strong women, Artemisia drew much of her subject matter, including the slaving of Holofernes, from sources used by artists of her life and times. She did not live in seclusion, but belonged to a community of artists who may have influenced her and vice versa. Moreover, she had to make a living.

There is a lore of Artemisia Gentileschi listed in her Wikipedia entry (see Artemisia Gentileschi). Her rape is likely to attract the attention of artists, novelists and filmakers, but she was not entirely defined by her rape and the trial that ensued. Artemisia Gentileschi is the woman who corresponded with no less than Galielo Galilei, but first and foremost, she is artist Artemisia Gentileschi.

As mentioned at the top of this post Artemisia Gentileschi had female colleagues. I have discussed portraitist Lavinia Fontana  (24 August 1552 – 11 August, 1614), excluding the many little dogs featured in her paintings, but Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 – November 1625) was also a female colleague. I will discuss Sofonisba. Artemisia Gentileschi is Germaine Greer’s “Magnificent Exception,” which does not underrate her female colleagues’ art.

With kind regards to everyone. ♥

Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Self-Portrait_as_a_Lute_Player

Self-Portrait as a Lute Player (1615-17) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

800px-Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_St_Cecilia_Playing_a_Lute_-_WGA08561

St Cecilia Playing a Lute (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

Sources and Resources

  • Artemisia Gentileschi, Wikipedia
  • the Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Germaine Greer

____________________

[1] “Artemisia Gentileschi”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 27 févr.. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/biography/Artemisia-Gentileschi>.

[2] Germaine Greer, “The Magnificent Exception,” The Obstacle Race: the Fortunes of Women Painters and their Work (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), pp. 189 – 207.

 

images

© Micheline Walker
28 February 2016
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Molière’s Dom Juan

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Comedy, Commedia dell'arte, Literature, Music

≈ Comments Off on Molière’s Dom Juan

Tags

Brighella, commedia dell'arte, Dom Juan, Dramma giocoso, Faux-dévot, Molière, Noblesse oblige, Sganarelle

don-juan-illustration-1938-1_jpg!Blog
Don Juán, illustration by Carlos Saenz de Tejada, 1938
(Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

I’ve been writing a chapter on Molière‘s enigmatic Dom Juan (1665), the same Don Juán as Tirso de Molina‘s (24 March 1579 – 12 March 1648) Burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra and Mozart‘s Don Giovanni (1587) composed on a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte.

A Dramma giocoso

Molière’s Dom Juan does not seem a comedy. It lacks a young couple trying to marry despite a heavy father’s objections. However, it borrows elements from the Italian commedia dell’arte. Molière’s Dom Juan has in fact been labelled a dramma giocoso, a playful or comic drama, blending tragic and comical elements, which violates the rules of 17th-century French drama.

For instance, Sganarelle is a descendant of Brighella, a zanni in the Italian commedia dell’arte. He and Dom Juan are nearly always together, which makes for an incongruous relationship: Dom Juan is the master and Sganarelle, the valet. Molière’s play is a Saturnalia.

The Characters and other Elements

Our main characters are Dom Juan and his valet, Sganarelle (Mozart’s Leporello), played by Molière when the play premièred on 15 February 1665.

Dom Juan is Done Elvire’s husband. She has left a convent to marry him, but he no longer wishes to be her husband. He wants to be “free.” Done Elvire’s brothers, Dom Carlos and Dom Alonse, must avenge Done Elvire: (point d’honneur, point of honour), but fail to do so. When Dom Carlos speaks to Done Juan (V. iii), the latter has become a faux dévot, a man who feigns devotion to serve earthly needs. It appears Molière is meditating his Tartuffe (1664).

The play also features two peasant girls, Charlotte and Mathurine, whom Dom Juan tries to “seduce.” He’s told Charlotte that he will marry her, but her fiancé, Pierrot, puts up a fight. Dom Juan has also told Mathurine that he will marry her. However, there is no successful seduction in Molière’s play, not even a kiss, except on Charlotte’s hand, that she describes as black. This scene is the “La ci darem la mano,” of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (see video below).

Molière’s play on Don Juán is singularly devoid of eroticism. His Dom Juan is compiling conquests, as does Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. However, the catalogo Dom Juan keeps is a metaphorical rather than literal catalogo. Yet, at the beginning of the play (I. i) Sganarelle tells Gusman, Done Elvire’s escort and servant, that Dom Juan is the very devil. He is a grand seigneur [lord] méchant homme, an aristocrat, but an evil man.

Don%20Giovanni2

Don%20Giovanni%201

Don Giovanni by Angela Buscemi
www.teatrodimessina.it
 (Photo credit: Google Images)

The Plot

In fact, other than the above-mentioned events the plot of Molière’s Dom Juan consists in a series of fruitless attempts to save Dom Juan from eternal damnation. The individuals begging Dom Juan to convert are Sganarelle (1), Dom Juan’s valet, Done Elvire (2), Dom Juan’s abandoned wife, and Dom Louis (3), Dom Juan’s father.

When Sganarelle warns his master, whom he calls a pèlerin, a pilgrim, that he may be punished, he is silenced immediately, not by an angry, but verbose or quiet Dom Juan. Sganarelle falls short of words and when his master will not speak, he collapses (III. i).

Noblesse oblige

Similarly, when Dom Louis, Dom Juan’s father, bemoans the fact that aristocracy is no longer as it was, Dom Juan listens, but does not hear. When Dom Louis is finished, Dom Juan simply invites him to sit down so he can speak more comfortably (IV. iv). In 1665, the noblesse oblige of earlier years has been replaced by self-interest.

Later (IV. vi), Done Elvire implores Dom Juan to mend his ways as God is about to strike. He lets her speak, but as she is leaving, he invites her to stay overnight. It is late. Done Elvire leaves. It is as though she had not spoken a word.

Dom Juan as faux dévot

At the beginning of act V, Dom Louis returns and praises his son who now feigns devotion. Dom Louis does not notice that Dom Juan is putting on an act. Moreover, it is as a faux dévot that Dom Juan dismisses Dom Carlos. He will not live with Done Elvire as man and wife, because it is God’s will (V. iii).

Retribution

However, Dom Juan has killed a Commandeur. There is a statue of the Commandeur with whom Dom Juan is to have dinner. At the appointed hour, the statue of the Commandeur takes him by the hand which causes the earth to move and engulf Dom Juan.

Conclusion

The above is an incomplete introduction to Molière’s Dom Juan, not to say le donjuanisme. I have left out the encounter with Francisque, a poor man, and uneven fight, &c. But this is a beginning.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Bergamo: Arlecchino & Brighella (23 July 2014) ←
  • The Figaro Trilogy (14 July 2014)
  • Picasso in Paris (9 July 2014)
  • Picasso’s Harlequin (3 July 2014)
  • Arlecchino, Arlequin, Harlequin (30 June 2014)
  • Pantalone: la Commedia dell’arte (20 June 2014)

Sources and Resources

  • Dom Juan by Molière/Sganarelle
  • The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest (Wikipedia)
  • Synopsis of Don Juan
  • Don Juan, trans. by Brett B. Dodemer, Digital Commons (pdf)
  • Don Juan, ou le Festin de pierre is Gutenberg’s [Ebook #5130] FR
  • Tartuffe; or, the Hypocrite is Gutenberg’s [Ebook #2027]

Baryton Dmitri Hvorostovsky has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. He’s being treated in the best facilities, in London, England, but these are shattering news. He has a very rich voice. I hope he soon recovers.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky died on 22 November 2017. May he rest in peace.

With kind regards to all of you. ♥ 

I am not quite finished posts on Don JuaN, but this post is the starting-point.  I am gathering more information for my book. My next post is more detailed.

Love to everyone 💕

 

Don Giovanni, “La ci darem la mano”
Hvorostovsky & Fleming

DMITRI-featured-350039_960x480

Dmitri Hvorostovsky

© Micheline Walker
24 February 2016
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A Nomination : Champions’ Awards

22 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Awards, Nominations

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

21February 16, Carmontelle, Champions' Award, Hélène Grimaud, Mozart, sjhigbee

champions-awards (1)

#CHAMPIONSAWARDS

I wish to thank sjhigbee for nominating me to the Champions’ Awards.

https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/02/21/champions-blogging-award-courtesy-of-the-amazing-seumas-gallacher/

This was a lovely surprise. I will follow all the rules.

As well, I wish to congratulate my colleagues who have also been nominated for the Champions’ Award.

Hélène Grimaud plays Mozart

170px-thumbnailThe Mozart Family on Tour
Carmontelle, 1763
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Micheline Walker
21 & 22 February 2016
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Thank you Xena

22 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Awards, Nominations

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beethoven, Gratitude, Respect Award, Xena

1f3820caf93551cf32180f5a85bb6903

https://blackbutterfly7.wordpress.com/

The Respect Award

I wish to thank Xena for nominating me for a Respect award. One wonders if one deserves such an honour. However, I have been doing my best, which is perhaps all that one can do.

My posts are, at times, too long and I repeat myself or say something that may seem irrelevant.

I am therefore very grateful for this nomination and wish to congratulate other nominees.

Usually nominations come with rules. If there are rules, I will respect these rules.

Again, I thank you most sincerely.

Beethoven – Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola, Op. 25
II – Tempo ordinario d’un menuetto, Trio I & Trio II
The chamber ensemble of Symphonie Fantastique playing Beethoven’s Serenade for Flute, Violin and Viola in the church of the Teutonic Order, Vienna.

170px-thumbnail

© michelinewalker
22 February 2016
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Walls and Bridges

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Pope Francis, Sharing, United States

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Bridges vs Walls, Donald Trump, Immigrants, Israel West Bank barrier, Pope Francis, the poor

sans-titre

It is clear that Trump is not the only person who knows how to get the internet going. (Photograph: AP)

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/19/trump-is-a-fool-to-mess-with-pope-francis-he-plays-in-a-higher-league

“Someone should remind Donald Trump that Pope Francis is the religious leader of 1.2 billion Catholics and the sovereign of the Vatican City. Trump is simply a businessman running for president.” (The Guardian, UK.)

Building Walls instead of Bridges

Yes, Donald Trump is simply a businessman running for president. However, if elected to the presidency of the United States, he would prevent all Muslims from entering his country as if al Muslims were terrorists. As President Mr Trump would also build a wall separating the United States and Mexico, thereby curbing the flow of Mexicans entering the United States. In response to Mr Trump’s pronoun cements, in the plane returning him to Rome, Pope Francis stated that building “walls” instead of “bridges” was not very Christian.

When he visited the United States in September 2015, Pope Francis also “pleaded for environmental stewardship and compassion for immigrants and the poor in the halls of power.” During his stay Mexico, the Pope witnessed extreme poverty, yet immense wealth concentrated in the hands of the few.

The Pope’s message is therefore consistent with an earlier statement and although it applies to a specific fence, separating the United States and Mexico, it is relevant elsewhere.

http://www.nytimes.com/news-event/pope-francis-us-visit

pape2

Before celebrating mass at the Ciudad Juarez fairgrounds on February 17, 2016. (Photograph:  Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images)

 

imagesVH2OE1F3

Donald Trump

Israel

Indeed, Israel is building a wall: the Israel West Bank barrier. “Upon completion, its total length will be about 700 kilometres (430 mi) and separate about 9.4% of the West Bank and 23,000 Palestinians from the bulk of that territory.” (See the Israel West Bank barrier, Wikipedia.)

Palestine was partitioned so the Jews could inhabit their promised land. Although a few Jews did not leave the Middle East, the Jewish diaspora started in the 8th century BCE (See Jewish Diaspora, Wikipedia.)

“Since the first centuries CE, most Jews have lived outside the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel, better known as Palestine by non-Jews), although there has been a constant minority presence of Jews.” (See Zionism, Wikipedia and My Jewish Learning.com.)

Delegates_at_First_Zionist_Congress

The delegates at the First Zionist Congress,
held in Basel, Switzerland (1897) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The vote that created Israel took place at the United Nations, a little less than three years after Allied Forces defeated Adolf Hitler‘s Nazi, thus liberating not only Nazi-occupied countries, but Germany itself and the remaining emaciated detainees of Adolf Hitler’s death camps. After denazification, many European Jews returned to their homes in Europe and have been protected. It was the safer option. The Jews’ idea of living in the promised land had been “in the air” since the 19th century, the century associated with the rise of nationalism.

However, the vote that followed W.W. II may have been premature, due to guilt feelings generated by the Holocaust. Six million Jews were killed. At any rate, the safety of Jews was not a chief concern. Arabs opposed the partition of Palestine, but a well-intentioned US President, Harry Truman, supported the creation of Israel. (See History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Wikipedia.)

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1945-1952/creation-israel

By now, several generations of Israeli have been born in Israel and, for them, it is the only home they know. We cannot rewrite history, but the construction of a wall may be offensive to neighbouring countries and it can be halted. So, with all due respect to every party involved, please stop building that wall and build bridges.

Jesus of Nazareth did not leave a sacret text. But we know from the accounts of his disciples that his teaching can be summarized in two words: unconditional love. When will humans love one another?

Quite frankly, if anyone is to blame for the conflict generated by the partition of Palestine, it is Hitler and Naziism.

With kind regards. ♥

—ooo—

Donald Trump

trump© Micheline Walker
20 February 2016
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On Artist Lavinia Fontana

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Italy, Renaissance

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Accademia degli Incamminati, Lavinia Fontana, Pope Clement VIII, Pope Louis XIII, Prospero Fontana, Renaissance, Renaissance Academies, Woman Painter

portrait-of-a-noblewoman-1580_jpg!HalfHD

Portrait of a Noblewoman by Lavinia Fontana, 1580 (WikiArt.org)

The portrait of Pope Gregory Xlll, inserted in “Happy Valentine’s Day” is by Lavinia Fontana.

Lavinia Fontana (24 August 1552 – 11 August 1614) was a major artist, a portraitist mainly, of the Italian 16th century. In fact, so fine was her work that she was called to Rome by Pope Clement VIII (24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605) where she settled in 1603. Germaine Greer writes that “when she travelled to their estates in the Emilia, they would mount a formal reception, with soldiers lining the streets, fire salutes, as if she were a princess.”[1]

A room of one’s own

Being a woman was an obstacle as women were expected to have children and run a household. Lavinia had 11 children, but her husband Paolo Zappi gave up his profession to be her assistant. Moreover, she had an income. You may remember what importance Virginia Woolf (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) attached to having a room of one’s own. In A Room of One’s Own, published in 1929, she wrote that “[a] woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction[,]” and be an artist. In 17th-century France, widows were considered privileged women. They had time, money, and servants.

Lavinia Fontana was the daughter of painter Prospero Fontana (1512 – 1597), a prominent artist, and was raised in Bologna. There was a Bolognese School. As noted above, Lavinia Fontana did marry and gave birth to 11 children, but only three survived her. Some may have died in childhood, making for a smaller household, but causing considerable pain. The miracle is that she survived childbirth, a major risk, and was a productive artist.

Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1580
Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1580
Portrait of Ginevra Aldrovani Hercolani, 1595
Portrait of Ginevra Aldrovani Hercolani, 1595

Self-Portrait
Self-Portrait
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580

Portrait of a Lady at Court, 1590
Portrait of Ginevra Adrovan Hercolani, 1595
Self-Portrait, Lavinia Fontana at the Clavichord with a Servant, 1577
Portrait of a Noblewoman, 1580
Portrait of Minerva Dressing, 1613
(Photo credit: WikiArt.org)

Subject Matter

Lavinia Fontana’s subject matter was the same as male artists of her times. She painted scenes inspired by the newly-discovered Greek antiquity. You will remember that the Renaissance began when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Turks, which would be the year 1453. Byzantium’s Greek scholars fled to Italy. Lavinia also painted nudes. But above all, she was a fine portraitist. However, in order to earn a living, Lavinia had to paint religious scenes. As indicated in her Wikipedia entry, Lavinia “gained the patronage of the Buoncompagni family, of which Pope Gregory XIII was a member[,]” hence, perhaps, her truly magnificent portrait of him.

Schools

Lavinia Fontana’s style is called carracciesque, because of the influence of the Carracci cousins, Agostino,  Annibale  and Ludovico, Annibal in particular. They were the founders of the Accademia degli Incamminati  (walking forward). WikiArt.org classifies her work as examples of Mannerist Renaissance painting. As noted in earlier posts, the Italian Renaissance developed in Academies, hence the use of the word Accademia. There were formal academies, but others were informal, such as Count Bardi’s Florentine Camerata  where Vincenzo Galileo, astronomer Galileo Galilei’s father proposed the somewhat artificial twelve-tone equal temperament.

It has been suggested that Lavinia made paintings signed by her father. In fact, some patrons suspected as much and asked Prospero to do the work they commissionned by himself. This was no doubt a limitation for Lavinia. Her father preyed on her time and talent.

A main characteristic of her paintings is her attempt to convey feeling. Most noticeable, however, is her attention to details and the dark back drop. It be may that the greatest female artist of the Italian Renaissance is Artemisia Gentileschi  (8 July 1593 – c. 1656), but she had colleagues, Lavinia Fontana and Sofonisba Anguissola (1532 – November 1625).

LFontana

Portrait of Minerva Dressing, 1613

Some of her paintings were attributed to Guido Reni. There was a link. Both were born in Bologna and both moved to Rome.

Lavinia was considered an equal among the artists of her time and an inspiration to such painters as the afore-mentioned Guido Reni (4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642), whose remarkable “St Michael Archangel” is held in Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, Rome. I have used it in an earlier post. He too was invited to move to Rome.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • On Artist Sofonisba Anguissola (4 March 2016)
  • On Artist Artemisia Gentileschi (28 February 2016)
  • On Artist Lavinia Fontana (17 February 2016)

 

With kindest regards. ♥

188182-004-41660D65

The Holy Family with Saint Catherine of Alexandria (Photo credit: Britannica)

 

_____________
[1] Germaine Greer, The Obstacle Race (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979), p. 208.
[2] Cirici Pellicer, El barroquismo, (Barcelona: Editorial Ramón Sopena, 1963), p.75.

Vivaldi and Cecilia Bartoli 

wyr_wagy_a1_20_624x544

@ Micheline Walker
17 February 2016
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Happy Valentine’s Day

14 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Feasts

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Birds mating on 14 February, Candlemas, Geoffrey Chaucer, Lupercalia, The Months, The Seasons, Valentine's Day

320px-Les_Très_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Berry_février

Février, Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Today is Valentine’s Day: la Saint-Valentin. My best wishes to all of you. ♥

I have written several posts on Valentine’s Day and did some research again yesterday. This time, I read Wikipedia’s entry on Valentine’s day in which it is stated that there is no link between Lupercalia and Valentine’s Day. Lupercalia was replaced by Candlemas. As for Valentine’s Day, a celebration of Romantic love, it was all but invented by Chaucer who called the day “seynt” Valentine’s Day.

Chaucer was a prisoner during the Hundred Years’ War. When he was released, he took to England the French Roman de la Rose, a work of literature that epitomizes courtly love. However, it was an exchange. Charles d’Orléans, who was detained in England for 25 years during the Hundred Years’ War, took to France not only poems he had written referring to Valentine, but also the lore of Valentine’s Day as it existed in England.  Legend has it, wrote Chaucer, that birds mate on 14 February.

In The Parlement of Foules (1382), Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

[“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

Candlemas

So let us make matters as clear as possible. It is reported that Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96 CE) wanted to replace a “pagan” feast, called Lupercalia (from lupus, wolf), with a Christian feast. Candlemas was the new feast and it did not replace Lupercalia. It would be celebrated 40 days after Christmas, on 2nd February, and honour three closely-related events: 

  1. the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin
  2. the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
  3. the Meeting of the Lord (see Simeon, Gospel of Luke, Wikipedia)

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Meeting of the Lord, when Simeon’s wish came true. Simeon was an old man who wanted to see Jesus before he died and, having seen Jesus, said now you dismiss. His words are the words of a canticle (un cantique), a song of praise and joy, entitled “Nunc dimittis.” 

Let us note, however, that the above-mentioned feast is called Candlemas, la Chandeleur, which suggests a possible festival of lights. From the most remote and pagan antiquity, humans have always celebrated the degree of lightness and darkness from season to season. Carnival season ended on Ash Wednesday, or the day after Mardi Gras, a day of revelry and merriment.

Easter: the moveable feast

  • near the vernal equinox

Our next feast is Easter, which is celebrated near the vernal equinox a day when night and day are approximately of the same duration or nearly equal. Christmas is the day of the longest night. So, on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, the days are getting longer, but we have not reached the vernal equinoctial day of the year. 

St Valentine’s Day

  • Lupercalia and the Ides of February
  • Valentine’s Day and Lupercalia

Candlemas did not replace Lupercalia, a fertility ritual and a day of purification. If St Valentine’s Day (la Saint-Valentin) is the day on which birds mate, there would be a commonality between Lupercalia and Valentine’s day. But the Ides of February, which fell on 13 February, were Lupercalia. (See Lupercalia, Wikipedia.) As shown The better-known Ides are the Ides of March, “the 15th day of the Roman month of Martius[,]” a day associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar who developed the Julian Calendar. (See The Ides of March, Wikipedia.)

The Gregorian Calendar: the Ides of February

The Julian Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar, because feasts, Easter in particular, no longer matched the seasons. Gregorian refers to Pope Gregory XIII and the Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1582. Candlemas celebrated on 2 February, but the Ides of February remained the middle of February which is when Valentine’s Day is celebrated.

Gregory_XIII

Pope Gregory XIII by Lavinia Fontana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Circle_of_Adam_Elsheimer_The_Lupercalian_Festival_in_Rome

The Lupercalian Festival in Rome (ca. 1578–1610), drawing by the circle of Adam Elsheimer, showing the Luperci dressed as dogs and goats, with Cupid and personifications of fertility. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saint Valentine’s Day is listed on a page entitled: Posts on Love Celebrated. La Chandeleur, Candlemas would not be linked to Valentine’s Day. Its proper source is the commemoration of a martyr. associated with Februus, a god and Februarius a month perhaps, the Ides of February.

800px-Sousse_mosaic_calendar_February

The Soussa Mosaic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Februus panel from the 3rd-century mosaic of the months at El Djem, Tunisia (Roman Africa)

Seasons, months (see Roman calendar, Wikipedia), darkness, and light have long been celebrated in every culture. An eloquent example is Soussa Mosaic. (See Februarius, Wikipedia.)

My very best wishes! ♥

Thomas Tallis: “If ye love me”

valentinesday-hanging-hearts

© Micheline Walker
14 February 2016
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The Blogger Recognition Award

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Awards, Music, Sharing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beethoven's 7th, bonjourberlin, February 2016, Recognition Award

Blogger Recognition

I wish to thank bonjourberlin for nominating me for the Blogger Recognition award. It is a privilege to know that one’s contribution to blogosphere is appreciated.

In return I would like to thank all my readers for their wonderful posts. I keep learning and I love your art, your poems, your thoughts, all that you share with us.

Blogger Recognition Award

The following is one of my favourite movements in music: the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. It is played by the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by the now legendary Herbert von Karajan.

beethovens-piano-1344527332-article-1

© Micheline Walker
12 February 2016
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Islamic Art

12 Friday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Illustrations, Middle East

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Drawing, Islamic Art, Middle East, Paintings, Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam, Sohrab and Gordafarid

DT4800 (1).jpgPrince Riding an Elephant, painting by Khem Karan, 16th–17th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

This is such a cheerful painting. It’s a watercolour, but an opaque watercolour. After stretching his wet paper, the artist allowed it to dry before applying colours.

“Prince Riding an Elephant” is simply delightful.

Today, I am posting images depicting a playful Islam. Some of these images you have already seen. They are simply favourite images.

Princely Couple, Iran (1400-1405)
The Lovers, painting by Riza-yi `Abbasi (ca. 1565–1635)
The Stallion, painting by Habibalah of Save (active ca. 1590-1610)
Portrait of a Dervish, 16th century
Portrait of Muhammad Khan Shaibani, the Uzbek (d.1510)
Black Stork in a Landscape, 1780
Portrait of a Lady Holding a Flower, painting by Muhammadi of Herat (active Qazvin, c. 1570-1578; Herat, c. 1578-87)

(Please click on the titles above to obtain further information.)

Princely Couple
Princely Couple
The Lovers
The Lovers

DP234078

Portrait of a Dervish
Portrait of a Dervish
Muhammad Khan Shaibani
Muhammad Khan Shaibani

DP234080

 

Dance performance by Shahrokh Moshkin-Ghalam, dancer, choreographer, actor in La Comédie-Française.
Sohrab and Gordafarid

DP231337

© Micheline Walker
12 February 2016
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Islam: Power as Motivation

10 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by michelinewalker in Middle East, Terrorism

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Autocracy, Nimr al-Nimr, Petroleum, Quest for Power, Raif Badawi, Saudi Arabia, Sharia Law, Syria

_78894787_grievingnan_hero

Syria (BBC/Reuters)

Raif Badawi
Raif Badawi
Nimr al-Nimr
Nimr al-Nimr

 

A few weeks ago, I attempted to publish a post on the Syrian Civil War. I was at a bit of a loss, but one of our colleagues suggested helpful reading. I thank him sincerely.

The link below leads to a brief account of the war in Syria, produced by the BBC. It is not as fresh an account as I would like it to be, but it is a concise and, I believe, accurate account.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868

A Literal vs a Liberal Interpretation

Canada has been welcoming refugees from Syria. However, the Civil War in Syria is part of a larger problem and it has multiple origins, not all of which constitute interference and intervention on the part of the West. Much of this problem is endemic as many of these countries are autocracies where law is faith and faith is law. It’s called the Sharia law and it may be applied to oppress the innocent and the powerless who should be protected under the terms of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For instance, it can be extremely useful to dictators as well as terrorist organizations. They can destroy lives with a clear conscience by choosing a literal, not to say distorted, interpretation of Sharia law.

That is how countries in the Midde East differ from one another. Some countries choose a liberal interpretation of Sharia law. Some don’t. If the power of a leader is threatened, a literal reading of Sharia law may save him. He clamps down. In other words, the countries of the Middle East are autocracies buttressed by a legal system that is also a religion and, in certain countries, such as Saudi Arabia, empowered by money. Petrolium is a product other countries need.

Let’s take a closer look.

DP234078

 A Stallion, painting by Habibalah of Save (active ca. 1590-1610) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Metropolitan

Lady Holding a Flower, painting by Muhammadi of Herat (active Qazvin, c. 1570-1578; Herat, c. 1578-87) Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

(for further information, please click on the titles below)
The Stallion, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Portrait of a Lady Holding a Flower, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Arab Spring

  • The Islamic Revolution (late 1970s-  early 1980s)
  • The Arab Spring (2010)

The Arab Spring is our starting-point. The Arab Spring was a series of uprisings that started on 18 December 2010 in Tunisia, with the Tunisian Revolution. Muslims attacked autocracy much as it was attacked at the time of the Islamic Revolution (late 1970s early 1980s). But unlike the Islamic Revolution, which saw the demise of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Arab Spring did not invite the atavistic Islamism that has led to the growth of Isil/Daesh and the frenzied use of Sharia law in Saudi Arabia.

On the contrary, the Arab Spring invited a more liberal interpretation of Islam’s sacred texts. Religious texts are open to interpretation. They demand exegesis which is “a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, particularly a religious text.” (See Exegesis, Wikipedia.) The response to the Arab Spring was not “a critical explanation or interpretation of a text,” the Qur’an and the Hadith, but a stricter interpretation of a text.

Justice, real justice, can be served without beheadings, mutilation, torture and wrongful detention. On 21 August 2013, Bashar al-Assad allegedly ordered the use of a chemical weapon, sarin, that killed hundreds of innocent Syrians and, among them, many children. The victims may have been Sunni Muslims, but although he is an Alawite Shiite, Assad is westernized and he is married to the British-born daughter of Sunni Muslims whom he met when he was studying ophthalmology in London.

His reaction was not that of a God-loving Alawite Shia Muslim, but that of a despot. Assad dug in his heels to protect his position as President of Syria. He could have introduced some measure of democracy, but he chose otherwise and he seems to have relinquished part of Syria to the so-called Islamic State, or was it taken from him?

Members of Daesh/Isil behead, mutilate, stone to death, burn people alive, drown people alive. They crucify, torture, enslave, rape, &c, on what is still Syrian soil. How can the people of Syria survive wedged between attacks from rebel factions and raids by Daesh? Allah does not approve.

Sharia Law

  • Raif Badawi.
  • Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr

Consequently, although it may seem like a pious observance of Islam’s laws, the imprisonment of Raif Badawi and the execution in early January 2016 of Sheik Nimr al-Nimr and 46 other detainees, was not altogether deference to a prophet. King Salman of Saudi Arabia, a Whahhabi Sunni Muslim, was protecting his absolute monarchy and to do so, he put Sharia law into his own service: to rule unopposed. Raif Badawi, a Shia Muslim, imprisoned and he may be flogged again because he asked for more liberalism in Saudi Arabia. In fact, Raif Badawi may be executed. He has been moved to an area of the prison in which he is held where detainees await execution. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was also advocating more tolerance, but loudly.

As I suggested above, sharia law is a gift to dogmatic leaders in the Arab world. Making conflicts look sectarian also benefits our belligerents: Sunnis are battling Shiites and Shiites are battling Sunnis, Islam’s two main branches is very useful. It takes blame away from perpetrators. They keep Sharia law at their fingertips. Sharia law is the mask behind which these tyrants stand.

If one has read Molière’s Tartuffe (1664 to 1669), one knows that Tartuffe’s devotion is a mask he wears to seduce Orgon’s wife, using casuistry. Orgon is the name of the head of the household. All members of Orgon’s family know that Tartuffe is an impostor, but Orgon needs someone who can take sin out of sinning, which is Sharia law‘s main virtue. Tartuffe makes is possible for Orgon to be a tyrant. So does Sharia law.

Conclusion

The debate has been to determine whether the conflicts in the Middle East are secular (wordly) rather than sectarian (religious). In the Middle East, were it possible, separating faith and fate would probably help quell atrocities. But it would have to come from within. As noted above, to a large extent, Sharia law is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But it appears we have a new Hitler. 

Hitler invaded other countries and killed 6,000,000 Jews as well as people he looked upon as ‘abnormal’, by his standard. At this point, I find it very difficult not to compare the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis to atrocities perpetrated by Isil/Daesh. Nazism was a cancer and so is Daesh/Isil.

So far, fewer people have died in the conflict in Syria than Jews in Hitler’s death camps, but the life of those who have fled has been taken from them. Various countries are taking in refugees, but refugees have lost their home.

In short, although the West went on Crusades in the Middle East, although Western countries were “protectorates” and partitioned Palestine as if it were theirs to partition, at the centre of crises in the Middle East is a thirst for power and for blood. Lives do not matter. Limbs do not matter, and Allah is a mere tool in the hands of tyrants, which is a sin.

However, it remains our duty to let the countries of the Middle East determine their future, to respect their wish for self-determination as well as their culture, when it does not infringe upon basic human rights, formulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

A new Hitler and rekindled Fascism.

We do have a new Hitler and rekindled fascism: Isil/Daesh, that must be neutralized or eliminated. In an earlier post, I suggested starvation: no weapons, no food &c.  Others probably have better solutions than my humble: don’t give them weapons.

Therefore, allow me to repeat that the Prophet Muhammad’s teaching can be encapsulated in his “mercy to all the creation.”

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Islam: “Mercy to all the Creation” (30 December 2015)
  • http://www.britannica.com/story/tensions-rise-between-iran-and-saudi-arabia
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-26116868

With my kindest regards to everyone. ♥

 

Dance performance by Shahrokh Moshkin-Ghalam, dancer, choreographer, actor in La Comédie-Française
‘Faryad’ from “Dance variations on Persian themes”

_78894787_grievingnan_hero
© Micheline Walker
10 February 2016
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