Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Cosimo III de Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimos 53-year-long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of laws which regulated prostitution. His reign witnessed Tuscanys deterioration to previously unknown economic lows and he was succeeded by his elder surviving son, Gian Gastone, when he died, in 1723. He married Marguerite Louise dOrléans, a cousin of Louis XIV, the marriage was solemnized by proxy in the Kings Chapel at the Louvre, on Sunday,17 April 1661. It was a marriage fraught with tribulation, Marguerite Louise eventually abandoned Tuscany for the Convent of Montmartre. Together, they had three children, Ferdinando in 1663, Anna Maria Luisa, Electress Palatine, in 1667, and Gian Gastone, All Cosimos efforts to salvage the plan foundered, and in 1737, upon his younger sons death, Tuscany passed to the House of Lorraine. Cosimo de Medici was born on 14 August 1642, the eldest surviving son of Vittoria della Rovere of Urbino and their previous two children had died shortly after birth.
Grand Duke Ferdinando wished to give his son the finest scientific education available, volunnio Bandinelli, a Sienese theologian, was appointed Cosimos tutor. His character was analogous to the Grand Duchesss, as a youth, Cosimo revelled in sports. His uncle Gian Carlo once wrote to family member with news that should surprise you. The young prince has killed a goose in mid-air. Cosimo, at the age of 11, killed five pigs with five shots, the Luchese Ambassador praised the young Cosimo to the skies. His successor, noticed a different person, whom he described as melancholy. By 1659, Cosimo had ceased smiling in public and he frequently visited places of religious worship and surrounded himself with friars and priests, concerning Grand Duke Ferdinando. Cosimos only sibling, Francesco Maria de Medici, the fruit of his parents brief reconciliation, was born the next year, Marguerite Louise dOrléans, a granddaughter of Henry IV of France, was married to Cosimo by proxy on 17 April 1661 at the Palais du Louvre.
She arrived in Tuscany on 12 June, disembarking at Livorno, as a wedding gift, Grand Duke Ferdinando presented her with a pearl the size of a small pigeons egg. The marriage was unhappy from the start, a few nights following the formal entry, Marguerite Louise demanded the Tuscan crown jewels for her own personal use, Cosimo refused. The jewels that she did manage to extract from Cosimo were almost smuggled out of Tuscany by her attendants, the interest rate was lowered by 0. 75%
Dutch Republic
It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general.
This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands.
Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is a city in the Netherlands, located in South Holland, within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt river delta at the North Sea. Its history goes back to 1270 when a dam was constructed in the Rotte river by people settled around it for safety, in 1340 Rotterdam was granted city rights by the Count of Holland and slowly grew into a major logistic and economic centre. Nowadays it is home to Europes largest port and has a population of 633,471, ranking second in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam. The Greater Rijnmond area is home to approximately 1.4 million people, Rotterdam is part of the yet larger Randstad conurbation with a total population of 7,100,000. The city of Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, riverside setting, lively cultural life, the near-complete destruction of Rotterdams city centre during World War II has resulted in a varied architectural landscape including sky-scrapers, which are an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities. Rotterdam is home to some world-famous architecture from renowned architects like Rem Koolhaas, Piet Blom, Ben van Berkel and others.
Recently Rotterdam was listed eighth in The Rough Guide Top 10 Cities to Visit, the port of Rotterdam is the largest cargo port in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Rotterdams logistic success is based on its location on the North Sea. The rivers Rhine and Scheldt give waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, the extensive distribution system including rail and waterways have earned Rotterdam the nickname Gateway to Europe, conversely, Gateway to the World in Europe. The settlement at the end of the fen stream Rotte dates from at least 900 CE. A dam on the Rotte or Rotterdam was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat, on 7 July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland granted city rights to Rotterdam, which had approximately 2,000 inhabitants. The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six chambers of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872.
The city and harbor started to expand on the bank of the river. The Witte Huis or White House skyscraper, inspired by American office buildings and built in 1898 in the French Château-style, is evidence of Rotterdams rapid growth, when completed, it was the tallest office building in Europe, with a height of 45 m. During World War I the city was the worlds largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality, many spies who were arrested and executed in Britain were led by German secret agents operating from Rotterdam. MI6 had its main European office on de Boompjes, from there the British coordinated espionage in Germany and occupied Belgium. In WWI an average of 25,000 Belgian refugees lived in the city, as well as hundreds of German deserters, during World War II, the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Adolf Hitler had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, the Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate on 15 May 1940, following Hitlers bombing of Rotterdam on 14 May and threatening to bomb other Dutch cities
Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master paintings, the name Alte Pinakothek refers to the time period covered by the collection—from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. The Neue Pinakothek covers nineteenth-century art, and the recently opened Pinakothek der Moderne exhibits modern art, all three galleries are part of the Bavarian State Picture Collection, an organization of the Free state of Bavaria. King Ludwig I of Bavaria ordered Leo von Klenze to erect a new building for the gallery for the Wittelsbach collection in 1826, even the neo-renaissance exterior of the Pinakothek clearly stands out from the castle-like museum type usual in the early 19th Century. It is closely associated with the function and structure of the building as a museum, the museum galleries were designed to display Rubenss Last Judgment, one of the largest canvasses ever painted.
The museum building was damaged by bombing in World War II but was reconstructed and reopened to the public in the late 1950s. The ornate, pre-war interior including the large loggia facing the south façade in the floor were not restored. A new wall covering was created in 2008 for the rooms on the floor of the Alte Pinakothek with a woven. The new color scheme of green and red draws on the design of the rooms, Elector Maximilian I commissioned in 1616 four hunt paintings from Peter Paul Rubens and acquired many other paintings, especially the work of Albrecht Dürer. He even obtained The Four Apostles in the year 1627 due to pressure on the Nuremberg city fathers, a few years however 21 paintings were confiscated and moved to Sweden during the occupation of Munich in the Thirty Years war. Maximilians grandson Maximilian II Emanuel purchased a number of Dutch. Under Max Emanuels successors, the purchases were discontinued due to the tight budget. Also Max Emanuels cousin Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine collected Netherlandish paintings and he ordered from Peter Paul Rubens the The Big Last Judgment and received Raphaels Canigiani Holy Family as a dowry of his wife.
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria had a preference for Netherlandish paintings as well. By the late 18th century a number of the paintings were already displayed in Schleissheim Palace. Even though 72 paintings including The Battle of Alexander at Issus were taken to Paris in 1800 by the armies of Napoleon I. The Louvre held it until 1804, when Napoleon declared himself Emperor of France, when the Prussians captured the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1814 as part of the War of the Sixth Coalition, they supposedly found the painting hanging in Napoleons bathroom. Most of the paintings have not been returned, with the secularisation many paintings from churches and former monasteries entered into state hands
Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici
Anna Maria Luisa de Medici was the last lineal descent of the House of Medici. The succession of His Serene Grand Duke, Anna Maria Luisa was the only daughter of Cosimo III de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise dOrléans, a niece of Louis XIII of France. As Johann Wilhelm had syphilis the union produced no offspring, combined with her siblings barrenness, meant that the Medici were on the verge of extinction. In 1713 Cosimo III altered the Tuscan laws of succession to allow the accession of his daughter, however, in 1735, as part of a territorial arrangement, the European powers appointed Francis Stephen of Lorraine as heir, and he duly ascended the Tuscan throne in her stead. When Gian Gastone died in 1737, Francis Stephens envoy offered Anna Maria Luisa the position of regent of Tuscany. Her death, in 1743, brought the grand ducal House of Medici to an end and her remains were interred in the Medicean necropolis, the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which she helped complete. She was named after her maternal aunt Anne Marie Louise dOrléans and her parents relationship was quarrelsome, Marguerite Louise took every chance to humiliate Cosimo.
On one documented occasion, she branded him a groom in the presence of the Papal nuncio. The enmity between them continued until 26 December 1674, after all attempts at conciliation failed, a stressed Cosimo consented to his wifes departure for the Convent of Montmartre, France. The contract created that day revoked her privileges as a fille de France. Cosimo granted her a pension of 80,000 livres in compensation and she abandoned Tuscany in June 1675, Anna Maria Luisa never saw her again. Although Cosimo doted on his daughter, she was raised by her paternal grandmother, in 1669, Anna Maria Luisa was considered as a potential bride to Louis, le Grand Dauphin, the heir-apparent of Louis XIV of France. Cosimo III did not like the idea of a French marriage, Cosimo offered her to his first choice, Peter II of Portugal. Peters ministers, fearing that Princess Anna Maria Luisa would dominate Peter II and fearing she might have inherited Marguerite Louise’s manner, in fact, contemporaries thought her traits to be a combination of those of her father and paternal grandmother, Vittoria della Rovere.
Following refusals from Spain, Portugal and Savoy, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, suggested Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine. James II of England put forward his brother-in-law, Francesco II dEste, Duke of Modena, the Elector Palatine obtained the style Royal Highness from the Holy Roman Emperor for Cosimo III in February 1691. Consequently, Johann Wilhelm was ultimately chosen and he and Anna Maria Luisa were married by proxy on 29 April 1691. She departed for Düsseldorf, her husband’s capital, on 6 May 1691, accompanied by her younger brother, Johann Wilhelm surprised her at Innsbruck, where they officially married
Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Gian Gastone de Medici was the seventh and last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise dOrléans. His sister, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa, arranged his marriage to the wealthy, the couple despised each other and had no children. As Grand Prince Ferdinando, Gian Gastones elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III and his reign was marked by the reversal of his predecessors conservative policy, he abolished taxes for poorer people, repealed penal laws which restricted Jews and discontinued public executions. The Medici were wanting in male heirs, his father, Cosimo III, Charles transferred his claim to Francis Stephen of Lorraine pursuant to a preliminary peace that was finalized in 1738. Francis Stephen duly succeeded at Gian Gastones demise, on 9 July 1737, for the latter part of his reign, Gian Gastone chose to remain confined in his bed, tended by his entourage, the Ruspanti. On 24 May 1671, the first anniversary of his grandfather Ferdinando IIs death, Giovanni Battista Gastone de Medici was born in Florence to Grand Duke Cosimo III and he derived his baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Gastone, from his maternal grandfather, Duke of Orléans.
Cosimo and Marguerite Louise frequently quarreled, as a result, four years after his birth, Marguerite Louise returned home to France. Gian Gastone and his siblings were left in the care of their grandmother Vittoria della Rovere, Gian Gastone was tutored by Cardinal Henry Noris, whose company the prince hardly left. The Tuscan prince was an intellectual, being an antiquarian, a botanist. In addition, he could speak English, among other languages, Cosimo III considered compelling Gian Gastone to become a cardinal. Peter II of Portugal, had things in mind for him, he wanted Gian Gastone to marry his only daughter, Isabel Luísa. To marry her, Gian Gastone would have to convince his father to him an allowance of adequate stature. However, the Grand Duke refused and neither the nor the Portuguese marriage ever materialised. Out of sympathy, Gian Gastone befriended his unhappy sister-in-law, Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria and her husband, Grand Prince Ferdinando, thought her too ugly and too dull for him.
At the same time, Gian Gastone sank into a state of melancholy, in an attempt to rouse him from this condition, Cardinal Francesco Maria often summoned Gian Gastone to festivities at his villa, Lappeggi. However, these soirées had no effect and Gian Gastone continued to weep unceasingly in his private rooms, by 1697, Violante Beatrice and Ferdinando had been married for eight years and still lacked issue, as did Gian Gastones sister, the Electress Palatine. Concerned for the future of the dynasty, Cosimo urged the Electress to find Gian Gastone—currently the only one of his siblings unmarried—a suitable bride and she put forward Anna Maria Franziska, her brother-in-laws widow and potential heiress of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg
National Library of the Czech Republic
The National Library of the Czech Republic is the central library of the Czech Republic. It is directed by the Ministry of Culture, the librarys main building is located in the historical Clementinum building in Prague, where approximately half of its books are kept. The other half of the collection is stored in the district of Hostivař, the National Library is the biggest library in the Czech Republic, in its funds there are around 6 million documents. The library has around 60,000 registered readers, as well as Czech texts, the library stores older material from Turkey and India. The library houses books for Charles University in Prague, the library won international recognition in 2005 as it received the inaugural Jikji Prize from UNESCO via the Memory of the World Programme for its efforts in digitising old texts. The project, which commenced in 1992, involved the digitisation of 1,700 documents in its first 13 years, the most precious medieval manuscripts preserved in the National Library are the Codex Vyssegradensis and the Passional of Abbes Kunigunde.
In 2006 the Czech parliament approved funding for the construction of a new building on Letna plain. In March 2007, following a request for tender, Czech architect Jan Kaplický was selected by a jury to undertake the project, in 2007 the project was delayed following objections regarding its proposed location from government officials including Prague Mayor Pavel Bém and President Václav Klaus. Later in 2008, Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička announced the end of the project, the library was affected by the 2002 European floods, with some documents moved to upper levels to avoid the excess water. Over 4,000 books were removed from the library in July 2011 following flooding in parts of the main building, there was a fire at the library in December 2012, but nobody was injured in the event. List of national and state libraries Official website
Arnold Houbraken
Arnold Houbraken was a Dutch painter and writer from Dordrecht, now remembered mainly as a biographer of artists from the Dutch Golden Age. Houbraken was sent first to learn threadtwisting from Johannes de Haan, after two years he studied art with Willem van Drielenburch, who he was with during the rampjaar, the year 1672. He studied 9 months with Jacobus Leveck and finally, four years with Samuel van Hoogstraten, in 1685 he married Sara Sasbout, and around 1709 he moved from Dordrecht to Amsterdam. Arnold Houbraken painted mythological and religious paintings and landscapes and his first attempt at an instructive manual for artists was his Emblem book, Inhoud van t Sieraad der Afbeelding, which was meant as a guide of possible painting themes. His registered pupils were Matthijs Balen, Johan Graham, and his son Jacob and his son Jacobus Houbraken was an engraver of portraits and book illustrations, including books by his father. His daughter Antonina Houbraken became an engraver for an Amsterdam publisher and his daughter Christina Houbraken was an artist.
Arnold Houbrakens books sold well during the entire 18th century. Jacob Campo Weyerman published his version in serial form that was published as a complete set in 1769. Houbrakens engravings of the artists are in cases the only surviving portraits of these people. The first to make a sequel to Houbrakens work was Johan van Gool in 1750-51. Houbraken was very careful to check and double check his sources, excepting those cases where the artist died quite young, or whose oeuvre was lost during various wars, very few artists were included in the Schouburg who do not hang in international museums today. The first modern art historian to publish an update of his work was Adriaan van der Willigen, since he has remained a valuable resource for art historians. The Schouburgh is part of the Basic Library of the dbnl which contains the 1000 most important works in Dutch literature from the Middle Ages to today
Victorian era
The Victorian era was the period of Queen Victorias reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a period of peace, refined sensibilities. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities, the era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period. The half of the Victorian age roughly coincided with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe, culturally there was a transition away from the rationalism of the Georgian period and toward romanticism and mysticism with regard to religion, social values, and arts. The end of the saw the Boer War. Domestically, the agenda was increasingly liberal with a number of shifts in the direction of political reform, industrial reform. Two especially important figures in period of British history are the prime ministers Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone. Disraeli, favoured by the queen, was a gregarious Conservative and his rival Gladstone, a Liberal distrusted by the Queen, served more terms and oversaw much of the overall legislative development of the era.
The population of England and Wales almost doubled from 16.8 million in 1851 to 30.5 million in 1901, Scotlands population rose rapidly, from 2.8 million in 1851 to 4.4 million in 1901. However, Irelands population decreased sharply, from 8.2 million in 1841 to less than 4.5 million in 1901, mostly due to the Great Famine. Between 1837 and 1901 about 15 million emigrants departed the UK permanently, in search of a life in the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia. During the early part of the era, politics in the House of Commons involved battles between the two parties, the Whigs/Liberals and the Conservatives. These parties were led by such prominent statesmen as Lord Melbourne, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Derby, Lord Palmerston, Disraeli, Victoria became queen in 1837 at age 18. Her long reign until 1901 was mainly a time of peace, Britain reached the zenith of its economic, political and cultural power. The era saw the expansion of the second British Empire, Historians have characterised the mid-Victorian era as Britains Golden Years.
There was prosperity, as the income per person grew by half. There was peace abroad, and social peace at home, opposition to the new order melted away, says Porter. The Chartist movement peaked as a movement among the working class in 1848, its leaders moved to other pursuits, such as trade unions
Baroque
The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The aristocracy viewed the dramatic style of Baroque art and architecture as a means of impressing visitors by projecting triumph, Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. However, baroque has a resonance and application that extend beyond a reduction to either a style or period. It is yields the Italian barocco and modern Spanish barroco, German Barock, Dutch Barok, others derive it from the mnemonic term Baroco, a supposedly laboured form of syllogism in logical Scholastica. The Latin root can be found in bis-roca, in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Baroque, like most periodic or stylistic designations, was invented by critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th, the term Baroque was initially used in a derogatory sense, to underline the excesses of its emphasis.
In particular, the term was used to describe its eccentric redundancy and noisy abundance of details, although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music. Another hypothesis says that the word comes from precursors of the style, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and he did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Long despised, Baroque art and architecture became fashionable between the two World Wars, and has remained in critical favour. In painting the gradual rise in popular esteem of Caravaggio has been the best barometer of modern taste, William Watson describes a late phase of Shang-dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes of the 11th century BC as baroque. The term Baroque may still be used, usually pejoratively, describing works of art, the appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th-century Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses.
It employed an iconography that was direct, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can be found in the work of Michelangelo. Even more generalised parallels perceived by some experts in philosophy, prose style, see the Neapolitan palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace whose construction began in 1752. In paintings Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures, less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of opera, Baroque poses depend on contrapposto, the tension within the figures that move the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich, heavy detail, Baroque style featured exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from Caravaggio to Cortona, the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque was Diego Velázquez. The Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative Rococo, while the Baroque nature of Rembrandts art is clear, the label is less often used for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists.
Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while continuing to produce the traditional categories
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