1.
Aisne
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Aisne is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne, the department of Aisne is surrounded by the French departments of Nord, Somme, Oise, Ardennes, and Seine-et-Marne and borders Belgium to the northeast. The Aisne River crosses the area from east to west, where it joins the Oise River, the Marne forms part of the southern boundary of the department with the department of Seine-et-Marne. The southern part of the department is the region known as la Brie poilleuse. According to the 2003 census, the area of the department was 123,392 hectares. The landscape is dominated by masses of rock which often have steep flanks and these rocks appear all over the region, but the most impressive examples are at Laon and the Chemin des Dames ridge. The principal cities in Aisne are, Laon, pop,15,000 Condren Chauny Hirson Villers-Cotterêts La Fère Vervins Guise See also, List of the communes of the Aisne department and Brie. The Scheldt, the Aisne, the Marne, the Ourcq, the Vesle, the Somme, the Oise, in the south of the department, there is the Surmelin, the Verdonnelle, and the Dhuys. The department is crossed by numerous canals. In 1873, the department of Aisne had 10 railway companies with a length of 382 km. There is an average of 500 to 750 mm precipitation annually, weather Data for Saint Quentin - Roupy Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the provinces of Île-de-France, Picardy. Most of the old growth forests in the area were destroyed during battles in World War I, the French offensive against the Chemin des Dames in spring 1917 is sometimes referred to as the Second Battle of the Aisne. Agriculture dominates the economy, especially cereal crops, beet sugar is one of the most important industrial crops of the area. Silk, cotton, and wool weaving flourish in Saint-Quentin and other towns, saint-Gobain is known for its production of mirrors, which started in the 17th century. Guise is the centre of the northern area of Aisne. The department is a mixture of rural areas and working-class towns, the smaller cities of the northern department such as Guise, Hirson, Vervins and the railway city of Tergnier are sources of support for left-wing parties. The President of the General Council is the Socialist Yves Daudigny, Aisne is divided into five arrondissements and 21 cantons
2.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
3.
Sculpture
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Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. It is one of the plastic arts, a wide variety of materials may be worked by removal such as carving, assembled by welding or modelling, or molded, or cast. However, most ancient sculpture was painted, and this has been lost. Those cultures whose sculptures have survived in quantities include the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, India and China, the Western tradition of sculpture began in ancient Greece, and Greece is widely seen as producing great masterpieces in the classical period. During the Middle Ages, Gothic sculpture represented the agonies and passions of the Christian faith, the revival of classical models in the Renaissance produced famous sculptures such as Michelangelos David. Relief is often classified by the degree of projection from the wall into low or bas-relief, high relief, sunk-relief is a technique restricted to ancient Egypt. Relief sculpture may also decorate steles, upright slabs, usually of stone, techniques such as casting, stamping and moulding use an intermediate matrix containing the design to produce the work, many of these allow the production of several copies. The term sculpture is used mainly to describe large works. The very large or colossal statue has had an enduring appeal since antiquity, another grand form of portrait sculpture is the equestrian statue of a rider on horse, which has become rare in recent decades. The smallest forms of life-size portrait sculpture are the head, showing just that, or the bust, small forms of sculpture include the figurine, normally a statue that is no more than 18 inches tall, and for reliefs the plaquette, medal or coin. Sculpture is an important form of public art, a collection of sculpture in a garden setting can be called a sculpture garden. One of the most common purposes of sculpture is in form of association with religion. Cult images are common in cultures, though they are often not the colossal statues of deities which characterized ancient Greek art. The actual cult images in the innermost sanctuaries of Egyptian temples, of which none have survived, were rather small. The same is true in Hinduism, where the very simple. Some undoubtedly advanced cultures, such as the Indus Valley civilization, appear to have had no monumental sculpture at all, though producing very sophisticated figurines, the Mississippian culture seems to have been progressing towards its use, with small stone figures, when it collapsed. Other cultures, such as ancient Egypt and the Easter Island culture, from the 20th century the relatively restricted range of subjects found in large sculpture expanded greatly, with abstract subjects and the use or representation of any type of subject now common. Today much sculpture is made for intermittent display in galleries and museums, small sculpted fittings for furniture and other objects go well back into antiquity, as in the Nimrud ivories, Begram ivories and finds from the tomb of Tutankhamun
4.
Legion of Honour
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The Legion of Honour, full name National Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits, established 1802 by Napoléon Bonaparte. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction, Chevalier, Officier, Commandeur, Grand Officier and Grand-Croix. The orders motto is Honneur et Patrie and its seat is the Palais de la Légion dHonneur next to the Musée dOrsay, in the French Revolution, all French orders of chivalry were abolished, and replaced with Weapons of Honour. The Légion however did use the organization of old French orders of chivalry, the badges of the legion also bear a resemblance to the Ordre de Saint-Louis, which also used a red ribbon. Napoleon originally created this to ensure political loyalty, the organization would be used as a facade to give political favours, gifts, and concessions. The Légion was loosely patterned after a Roman legion, with legionaries, officers, commanders, regional cohorts, the highest rank was not a grand cross but a Grand Aigle, a rank that wore all the insignia common to grand crosses. The members were paid, the highest of them extremely generously,5,000 francs to an officier,2,000 francs to a commandeur,1,000 francs to an officier,250 francs to a légionnaire. Napoleon famously declared, You call these baubles, well, it is with baubles that men are led, do you think that you would be able to make men fight by reasoning. That is good only for the scholar in his study, the soldier needs glory, distinctions, rewards. This has been quoted as It is with such baubles that men are led. The order was the first modern order of merit, under the monarchy, such orders were often limited to Roman Catholics, and all knights had to be noblemen. The military decorations were the perks of the officers, the Légion, however, was open to men of all ranks and professions—only merit or bravery counted. The new legionnaire had to be sworn in the Légion and it is noteworthy that all previous orders were crosses or shared a clear Christian background, whereas the Légion is a secular institution. The jewel of the Légion has five arms, in a decree issued on the 10 Pluviôse XIII, a grand decoration was instituted. This decoration, a cross on a sash and a silver star with an eagle, symbol of the Napoleonic Empire, became known as the Grand Aigle. After Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804 and established the Napoleonic nobility in 1808, the title was made hereditary after three generations of grantees. Napoleon had dispensed 15 golden collars of the legion among his family and this collar was abolished in 1815. The Légion dhonneur was prominent and visible in the French Empire, the Emperor always wore it and the fashion of the time allowed for decorations to be worn most of the time
5.
David d'Angers
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Pierre-Jean David was a French sculptor and medallist. He was born in Angers in 1788 and his father was a wood carver and ornamental sculptor, who had joined the volunteer Republican army as a musketeer, fighting against the Chouans of La Vendée. He studied in the studio of Jean-Jacques Delusse and in 1808 traveled to Paris to study in the studio of Philippe-Laurent Roland, while in Paris he did work both on the Arc de Triomphe and the exterior of the Louvre. In 1810 he succeeded in taking the second prize at the École des Beaux-Arts for his Othryades. In 1811 Davids La Douleur won the competition for tête dexpression followed by his taking of the Prix de Rome for his Epaminondas in the same year. He spent five years in Rome, during which time he frequented the studio of Antonio Canova and made trips around Italy to Venice, Naples. Here John Flaxman and others took him to task for the sins of David the painter. With great difficulty he made his way to Paris again, where a comparatively prosperous career opened before him and his medallions and busts were in much request, as well as orders for monumental works. Davids fame rests firmly on his pediment of the Pantheon, his marble Wounded Philopoemen in the Louvre and his equestrian monument to General Jacques-Nicolas Gobert in Père Lachaise Cemetery. In addition to that of Gobert, he did sculptures for seven other tombs at Père Lachaise, including the bronze busts of the writer, Honoré de Balzac and physician Samuel Hahnemann. In the Musée David in Angers is an almost complete collection of his works either in the form of copies or in the original moulds, David dAngers in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
6.
Mintons
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He formed a partnership, Minton & Poulson, c.1796, with Joseph Poulson who made bone china from c.1798 in his new near-by china pottery. When Poulson died in 1808, Minton carried on alone, using Poulsons pottery for china until 1816 and he built a new china pottery in 1824. The products are often referred to as Minton, as in Minton china. Early Mintons products were mostly standard domestic tableware in blue transfer printed or painted earthenware, from c1798 production included bone china from his partner Joseph Poulsons near-by china pottery. China production ceased c1816 following Joseph Poulsons death in 1808, recommencing in a new pottery in 1824, hard white unglazed statuary porcelain, later called Parian ware due to its resemblance to Parian marble, was first introduced by Spode in the 1840s. It was further developed by Minton who employed John Bell, Hiram Powers, in 1849 Minton engaged a young French ceramic artist Léon Arnoux as art director and he remained with the Minton Company until 1892. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 gave Arnoux the opportunity to recruit the modeller Marc-Louis Solon who had developed the technique of pâte-sur-pâte at Sèvres and brought it with him to Minton. In this process the design is built up in relief with layers of liquid slip, there was great demand for Solons plaques and vases, featuring maidens and cherubs, and Minton assigned him apprentices to help the firm become the unrivaled leader in this field. Others introduced to Minton by Arnoux included the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, in 1870 Mintons opened an art pottery studio in Kensington, London directed by W. S. Coleman and encouraged both amateur and professional artists to become involved in pottery decoration and design. When the studio was destroyed by fire in 1875, it was not rebuilt, Solons early designs for Mintons were strongly influenced by the Viennese Secessionist art movement, founded by Gustav Klimt and others, and so became known as Secessionist ware. The Secessionist range covered both practical and ornamental wares including cheese dishes, plates, teapots, jugs and comports, vases, the shapes of ornamental vases included inverted trumpets, elongated cylinders and exaggerated bottle forms, although tableware shapes were conventional. The Minton factory in the centre of Stoke was rebuilt and modernised after the Second World War by the managing director, J. E. Hartill. The tableware division was always the mainstay of Mintons fortunes and the rationalisation of the British pottery industry took Mintons into a merger with Royal Doulton Tableware Ltd. By the 1980s Mintons was only producing a few different shapes, the factory, including office accommodation and a Minton Museum, was demolished in 2002 as part of rationalisation within the Royal Doulton group. Royal Doulton was taken over in turn by the Waterford Wedgwood group in January 2005, as a result of these changes, the ceramics collection formerly in the Minton Museum was partly dispersed. On the other hand, the Minton Archive has been together with help from the Art Fund. The Victorian building which used to be the Minton Hollins tileworks is on a site from the former Minton pottery. It was threatened with demolition in the 1980s but was listed and has been preserved, cumming Minton Collection Famous Potters of Stoke-on-Trent – Thomas Minton Explore historic Minton pottery online The Majolica Society Stoke Museums, home to the former Minton Museum collection
7.
Auguste Rodin
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François Auguste René Rodin, known as Auguste Rodin, was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past and he was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Pariss foremost school of art. Sculpturally, Rodin possessed an ability to model a complex, turbulent. Many of his most notable sculptures were roundly criticized during his lifetime and they clashed with predominant figurative sculpture traditions, in which works were decorative, formulaic, or highly thematic. Rodins most original work departed from traditional themes of mythology and allegory, modeled the human body with realism, Rodin was sensitive to the controversy surrounding his work, but refused to change his style. Successive works brought increasing favor from the government and the artistic community, by 1900, he was a world-renowned artist. Wealthy private clients sought Rodins work after his Worlds Fair exhibit and he married his lifelong companion, Rose Beuret, in the last year of both their lives. His sculptures suffered a decline in popularity after his death in 1917, Rodin remains one of the few sculptors widely known outside the visual arts community. Rodin was born in 1840 into a family in Paris, the second child of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin. He was largely self-educated, and began to draw at age ten, between ages 14 and 17, Rodin attended the Petite École, a school specializing in art and mathematics, where he studied drawing and painting. His drawing teacher, Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, believed in first developing the personality of his students so that they observed with their own eyes, Rodin still expressed appreciation for his teacher much later in life. It was at Petite École that he first met Jules Dalou, in 1857, Rodin submitted a clay model of a companion to the École des Beaux-Arts in an attempt to win entrance, he did not succeed, and two further applications were also denied. Given that entrance requirements at the Grande École were not particularly high, Rodins inability to gain entrance may have been due to the judges Neoclassical tastes, while Rodin had been schooled in light, 18th-century sculpture. Leaving the Petite École in 1857, Rodin earned a living as a craftsman, Rodins sister Maria, two years his senior, died of peritonitis in a convent in 1862. Rodin was anguished and felt guilty because he had introduced Maria to an unfaithful suitor, turning away from art, he briefly joined a Catholic order, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder and head of the congregation, recognized Rodins talent and, sensing his lack of suitability for the order and he returned to work as a decorator, while taking classes with animal sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye. The teachers attention to detail – his finely rendered musculature of animals in motion – significantly influenced Rodin, in 1864, Rodin began to live with a young seamstress named Rose Beuret, with whom he would stay – with ranging commitment – for the rest of his life. The couple had a son, Auguste-Eugène Beuret and that year, Rodin offered his first sculpture for exhibition, and entered the studio of Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, a successful mass producer of objets dart
8.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
9.
Brussels Stock Exchange
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The Brussels Stock Exchange, abbreviated to BSE, was founded in Brussels, Belgium, by decree of Napoleon in 1801. The most well known index on the Brussels Stock Exchange is the BEL20 and it now belongs to the NYSE Euronext group, the first global stock exchange. The building that houses the Brussels Stock Exchange does not have a distinct name and it is located on Boulevard Anspach, and is the namesake of the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein, which is, after the Grand Place, the second most important square in Brussels. As part of the covering of the river Senne for health and aesthetic reasons in the 1860s and 1870s, architect Léon-Pierre Suys, as part of his proposal for covering of the Senne, designed a building to become the centre of the rapidly expanding business sector. It was to be located on the butter market, on the newly created Anspach Boulevard. The building was erected from 1868 to 1873, and mixes elements of the Neo-Renaissance, euro. nm Euronext 100 Euronext Amsterdam Euronext Lisbon Euronext Paris A Euronext pamphlet describing the history of the Brussels Stock Exchange
10.
1862 International Exhibition
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The International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a worlds fair. William Sterndale Bennett composed music for the opening ceremony, all told, it attracted about 6.1 million visitors. Receipts were slightly above cost, leaving a profit of £790. It was held in South Kensington, London, on a site now occupied by the Natural History Museum and they were intended to be permanent, and were constructed in an un-ornamented style with the intention of adding decoration in later years as funds allowed. Much of the construction was of cast-iron,12,000 tons worth, fowke paid particular attention to lighting pictures in a way that would eliminate glare. Behind the picture galleries were the Industrial Buildings and these were composed of naves and transepts, lit by tall clerestories, with the spaces in the angles between them filled by glass-roofed courts. Above the brick entrances on the east and west fronts were two great glass domes, each 150 feet wide and 260 feet high - at that time the largest domes ever built. The timber-framed Machinery Galleries, the parts of the structure intended to be temporary. The opening took place on 1 May 1862, Queen Victoria, still in mourning for her consort Prince Albert did not attend, instead her cousin the Duke of Cambridge presided from a throne sited beneath the western dome. An opening address was delivered by the Earl Granville, chairman of Her Majestys Commissioners, an official closing ceremony took place on 1 November 1862, but the exhibition remained open to the public until 15 November 1862. Parliament declined the Governments wish to purchase the building and the materials were sold, the exhibition was a showcase of the advances made in the industrial revolution, especially in the decade since the first Great Exhibition of 1851. Among the items on display were, the telegraph, submarine cables. There was also a range of goods including fabrics, rugs, sculptures, furniture, plates, porcelain, silver and glass wares. The manufacture of ice by an early refrigerator caused a sensation, the work shown by William Morriss decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. attracted much notice. The exposition also introduced the use of caoutchouc for rubber production, benjamin Simpson showed photos from the Indian subcontinent. The images were made using the new collodion wet plate process which allowed exposure times of only a few seconds and these images provide a vivid three-dimensional record of the exhibition. They were on sale to the public in boxed sets and were delivered to the Queen by messenger so that she could experience the exhibition from her seclusion in mourning. The London and North Western Railway exhibited one of their express passenger locomotives, there was an extensive art galley designed to allow an even light without reflection on the pictures
11.
Terracotta
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Terracotta, terra cotta or terra-cotta, a type of earthenware, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic, where the fired body is porous. The term is used to refer to the natural, brownish orange color, of most terracotta. This article covers the senses of terracotta as a medium in sculpture, as in the Terracotta Army and Greek terracotta figurines, asian and European sculpture in porcelain is not covered. Glazed architectural terracotta and its version as exterior surfaces for buildings were used in Asia for some centuries before becoming popular in the West in the 19th century. In archaeology and art history, terracotta is used to describe objects such as figurines not made on a potters wheel. An appropriate refined clay is formed to the desired shape, after drying it is placed in a kiln or atop combustible material in a pit, and then fired. The typical firing temperature is around 1,000 °C, though it may be as low as 600 °C in historic and archaeological examples. In some contexts, such as Roman figurines, white-colored terracotta is known as pipeclay, as such clays were later preferred for tobacco pipes, fired terracotta is not watertight, but surface-burnishing the body before firing can decrease its porousness and a layer of glaze can make it watertight. It is suitable for use below ground to carry pressurized water, for garden pots or building decoration in many environments, most other uses, such as for tableware, sanitary piping, or building decoration in freezing environments, require the material to be glazed. Terracotta, if uncracked, will ring if lightly struck, painted terracotta is typically first covered with a thin coat of gesso, then painted. It has been widely used but the paint is only suitable for indoor positions and is much less durable than fired colors in or under a ceramic glaze. Terracotta sculpture was rarely left in its raw fired state in the West until the 18th century. Terracotta/earthenware was the known type of ceramic produced by Western and pre-Columbian people until the 14th century. Terracotta has been used throughout history for sculpture and pottery as well as for bricks, in ancient times, the first clay sculptures were dried in the sun after being formed. They were later placed in the ashes of open hearths to harden, however, only after firing to high temperature would it be classed as a ceramic material. Terracotta female figurines were uncovered by archaeologists in excavations of Mohenjo-daro, along with phallus-shaped stones, these suggest some sort of fertility cult and a belief in a mother goddess. The Burney Relief is a terracotta plaque from Ancient Mesopotamia of about 1950 BC. In Mesoamerica, the majority of Olmec figurines were in terracotta
12.
The Abduction of Hippodameia
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The Abduction of Hippodamia, is a work by the 19th-century French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, modeled c.1877 and cast thereafter. The centaur Eurytus attempted to carry off the bride, and a battle between the humans and the centaurs ensued, an earlier similar work, cast in silver, was commissioned by the Jockey Club to be a trophy at the Bois de Boulogne horse races in 1874. Because the trophy was contracted to be unique, the work was remodeled with slight changes to the positioning of Hippodamia, the sculptures theme of struggle between the rational and the bestial, expressed in a mythological setting, was a popular one and not unusual in 19th-century European art. Its execution sets it apart, however, and it is by some considered one of the finest examples of its kind in the late 19th century
13.
Centaur
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A centaur, or occasionally hippocentaur, is a mythological creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse. The centaurs were usually said to have born of Ixion. Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus and this Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithes, ancestor of the Lapiths, Centaurs were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Another tribe of centaurs was said to have lived on Cyprus, according to Nonnus, they were fathered by Zeus, who, in frustration after Aphrodite had eluded him, spilled his seed on the ground of that land. Unlike those of mainland Greece, the Cyprian centaurs were horned, there were also the Lamian Pheres, twelve rustic daimones of the Lamos river. They were set by Zeus to guard the infant Dionysos, protecting him from the machinations of Hera, the Lamian Pheres later accompanied Dionysos in his campaign against the Indians. Centaurs subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary and they remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. The strife among these cousins is a metaphor for the conflict between the lower appetites and civilized behavior in humankind, theseus, a hero and founder of cities, who happened to be present, threw the balance in favour of the right order of things, and assisted Pirithous. The Centaurs were driven off or destroyed, another Lapith hero, Caeneus, who was invulnerable to weapons, was beaten into the earth by Centaurs wielding rocks and the branches of trees. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as wild as untamed horses, like the Titanomachy, the defeat of the Titans by the Olympian gods, the contests with the Centaurs typify the struggle between civilization and barbarism. The Centauromachy is most famously portrayed in the Parthenon metopes by Phidias, a painted terracotta centaur was found in the Heros tomb at Lefkandi, and by the Geometric period, centaurs figure among the first representational figures painted on Greek pottery. An often-published Geometric period bronze of a warrior face-to-face with a centaur is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in Greek art of the Archaic period, centaurs are depicted in three different forms. Some centaurs are depicted with a human torso attached to the body of a horse at the withers, where the neck would be. Class B centaurs are depicted with a body and legs, joined at the waist with the hindquarters of a horse. A third type, designated Class C, depicts centaurs with human forelegs terminating in hooves, Baur describes this as an apparent development of Aeolic art, which never became particularly widespread. At a later period, paintings on some amphoras depict winged centaurs, Centaurs were also frequently depicted in Roman art. The most common theory holds that the idea of centaurs came from the first reaction of a culture, as in the Minoan Aegean world
14.
Baroque
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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, power, 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 also 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 later 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 later 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, craft, 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, simple, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can also 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 later 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
15.
Rococo
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Rococo artists and architects used a more jocular, florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was ornate and used light colours, asymmetrical designs, curves, unlike the political Baroque, the Rococo had playful and witty themes. By the end of the 18th century, Rococo was largely replaced by the Neoclassic style. In 1835 the Dictionary of the French Academy stated that the word Rococo usually covers the kind of ornament, style and design associated with Louis XVs reign and it includes therefore, all types of art from around the middle of the 18th century in France. The word is seen as a combination of the French rocaille and coquilles, the term may also be a combination of the Italian word barocco and the French rocaille and may describe the refined and fanciful style that became fashionable in parts of Europe in the 18th century. The Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts led some critics to say that the style was frivolous or merely modish, when the term was first used in English in about 1836, it was a colloquialism meaning old-fashioned. While there is some debate about the historical significance of the style to art in general. Italian architects of the late Baroque/early Rococo were wooed to Catholic Germany, Bohemia and Austria by local princes, an exotic but in some ways more formal type of Rococo appeared in France where Louis XIVs succession brought a change in the court artists and general artistic fashion. By the end of the long reign, rich Baroque designs were giving way to lighter elements with more curves. These elements are obvious in the designs of Nicolas Pineau. During the Régence, court life moved away from Versailles and this change became well established, first in the royal palace. The delicacy and playfulness of Rococo designs is seen as perfectly in tune with the excesses of Louis XVs reign. The 1730s represented the height of Rococo development in France, the style had spread beyond architecture and furniture to painting and sculpture, exemplified by the works of Antoine Watteau and François Boucher. The Rococo style was spread by French artists and engraved publications, william Hogarth helped develop a theoretical foundation for Rococo beauty. Though not intentionally referencing the movement, he argued in his Analysis of Beauty that the lines and S-curves prominent in Rococo were the basis for grace. The development of Rococo in Great Britain is considered to have connected with the revival of interest in Gothic architecture early in the 18th century. The beginning of the end for Rococo came in the early 1760s as figures like Voltaire and Jacques-François Blondel began to voice their criticism of the superficiality, Blondel decried the ridiculous jumble of shells, dragons, reeds, palm-trees and plants in contemporary interiors. By 1785, Rococo had passed out of fashion in France, replaced by the order, in Germany, late 18th century Rococo was ridiculed as Zopf und Perücke, and this phase is sometimes referred to as Zopfstil
16.
Pierre Carrier-Belleuse
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Pierre-Gérard Carrier-Belleuse was a French painter. His first studies were with his father, the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, later he studied with Alexandre Cabanel and Pierre Victor Galland at the École des Beaux-Arts. He exhibited at the Salon in 1875 and won a medal at the Exposition Universelle. He also produced drawings and lithographs for Le Figaro Illustré, best known for his ballet scenes and pastels, he also did landscapes, portraits and genre works. Most of his paintings are in private collections, the painter Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse was his brother. Twenty artists played a role in its production, although many more made contributions. It was exhibited in a specially constructed building next to the Hôtel des Invalides. Later, it made its way to the United States, and it was his second such work, following the much smaller Panorama de Notre-Dame de Lourdes from 1881. Sociétés de Beaux-Arts, @ Open Library Arcadja, More works by Carrier-Belleuse
17.
Pavillon de Flore
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The Pavillon de Flore, part of the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France, stands at the southwest end of the Louvre, near the Pont Royal. It was originally constructed in 1607–1610, during the reign of Henry IV, the pavilion was entirely redesigned and rebuilt by Hector Lefuel in 1864–1868 in a highly decorated Second Empire Neo-Baroque style. The most famous sculpture on the exterior of the Louvre, Jean-Baptiste Carpeauxs The Triumph of Flora, was added below the pediment of the south facade at this time. The Tuileries Palace was destroyed by fire in 1871, and a north facade, currently, the Pavillon de Flore is part of the Musée du Louvre. The Pavillon de Flore is in central Paris, on the Right Bank and is connected to the Louvre and it is directly adjacent to the Pont Royal on the Quai François Mitterrand, which is between the Passerelle Léopold-Sédar Senghor and the Pont du Carrousel. Its geographic coordinates are 48°51′40″N 2°19′50″E, the Pavillon de Flore was part of a larger plan, devised during the reign of King Henry IV, to connect the Palais du Louvre and Palais des Tuileries via two long wings at their north and south ends. First, the Petite Galerie, running south from the Palais du Louvre to the River Seine, was connected to the Grande Galerie. The latter was constructed east to west along the Seine until it reached the Tuileries, the cornerstone of the pavilion was laid in 1607. Its design has traditionally been assigned to Jacques Androuet II du Cerceau, the Palais des Tuileries was extended south from the Pavillon Bullant to the Pavillon de Flore via the Petite Galerie des Tuileries. Work on the Grand Design was abandoned following the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, however, by this time, the building of the Grande Galerie, the Petite Galerie des Tuileries, and the Gros Pavillon de la Rivière had been completed. King Louis XIV danced in Isaac de Benserades Ballet royal de Flore in February 1669 at the Tuileries and it has been suggested that this is when the name Pavillon de Flore came into use, although the earliest known written mention is in 1726. Pavillon de Flore is the name used today, although other names have been used in between, for several years, the apartments of Marie Antoinette were located within the structure. During the French Revolution, the Pavillon de Flore was renamed Pavillon de lÉgalité, under its new name, it became the meeting point for several of the Committees of the period. Many other committees of the Revolutionary Government occupied the Palais des Tuileries during the time of the National Convention, notable occupiers included the Monetary Committee, the Account and Liquidation Examination Committee. However, the most famous was the Committee of Public Safety, the Committee of Public Safety was the principal and most renowned body of the Revolutionary Government, forming the de facto executive branch of France during the Reign of Terror. Run by the Jacobins under Robespierre, the group of twelve centralized denunciations, trials, the committee was responsible for the deaths of thousands, mostly by guillotine. The executive body was installed in the apartments of Marie-Antoinette, situated on the first floor. The governing body met twice a day and the executions themselves were carried out across the gardens
18.
Vichy
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Vichy is a city in the Allier department of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the seat of government of Vichy France from 1940 to 1944, the term Vichyste indicated collaboration with the Vichy regime, often carrying a pejorative connotation. Today, the inhabitants are called Vichyssois. Up until the 18th century they were more known as les Vichois which stems from the Occitan name of the town. The writer Valery Larbaud uses the term Vicaldiens after the Ancient Roman Latin name for the community, the city enjoys an inland oceanic climate that incorporates some characteristics of a mountain climate because of the nearby Massif Central and Alps. Heavy snows in the Massif Central often make roads impassable, rainfall is moderate around Vichy, averaging about 779.5 millimetres annually. Vichy lies on the banks of the Allier River, the source of the Allier is in the nearby Massif Central plateau which lies only a few miles to the south, near the regions capital, Clermont-Ferrand. The historical existence of volcanic activity in the Massif Central is somewhat visually evident, volcanic eruptions have happened for at least 150,000 years, but all volcanoes there have been dormant for at least 112 years. Volcanic activity in the area is the cause of the many thermal springs that exist in. This city is accessible from departmental road 2209, former route nationale 209, the RD 906e, former RD906 from Thiers, Vichy is situated 20 km from the A719 autoroute and 35 km from the A89 autoroute. Currently, this city has no expressways, the expressway A719 and the northwest and west loops will be the first to directly connect to Vichy. The inclusion of access to the A719 expressway, opened in 1997, in 2014, only regional two-lane highways pass through the urban ring of Vichy. The RD67 is a loop to the north of the city created to limit traffic jams, Vichy is served by the following train lines, TER and Intercités to destinations, Paris Gare de Lyon/Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand/Lyon Part-Dieu and by TER, Vichy/Pont-de-Dore/Arlanc. MobiVie is the network of transport for 6 communes of Vichy Val dAllier intercommunality. This network is composed of nine lines as of 2014, mobival is an on-call transportation service for Vichy and its neighborhood. This service offers the local communes a reliable service for areas that are not served by the MobiVie network. Created in October 2004, it has 10 lines, Vichy is 5 kilometres from Vichy — Charmeil Airport, and 90 kilometres from the larger Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport. In 52 BC, on returning from their defeat at the Battle of Gergovia by the Gallic legions of Vercingetorix and these Roman settlers had acknowledged the therapeutic value of the springs in the area and were eager to exploit them
19.
Antoine-Nicolas Bailly
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Antoine-Nicolas Louis Bailly was a French architect. From 1834, upon his fathers retirement, Bailly found himself responsible as the breadwinner for the entire family, in 1850, with the support of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Bailly became the architect of the dioceses of Bourges, Valencia and Digne. From 1875 to 1886, he served as architect of Limoges. In 1854 Bailly was appointed inspector of works in Paris, as such he participated in the completion of the Old Town Hall and the construction of the Fontaine Molière under Louis Visconti. In 1860, Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann commissioned Bailly with the building for the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Its business courts are organized around a glass atrium reaching the height of the building. The exterior features architectural sculpture by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Bailly was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1853, Officer in 1868, and promoted to Commander in 1881. Architect Ernest Sanson began his career as a draftsman in Baillys firm, and took over the office in 1865
20.
Palais Garnier
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The Palais Garnier is a 1, 979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet, the Palais Garnier has been called probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica. This opinion is far from unanimous however, the 20th-century French architect Le Corbusier once described it as a lying art, the Palais Garnier is a building of exceptional opulence. The style is monumental and considered Second-Empire Beaux-Arts style with axial symmetry in plan and these include very elaborate multicolored marble friezes, columns, and lavish statuary, many of which portray deities of Greek mythology. The principal facade is on the side of the building, overlooking the Place de lOpéra. Fourteen painters, mosaicists and seventy-three sculptors participated in the creation of its ornamentation, the two gilded figural groups, Charles Gumerys LHarmonie and La Poésie, crown the apexes of the principal facades left and right avant-corps. They are both made of gilt copper electrotype, the facade also incorporates other work by Gumery, Alexandre Falguière, and others. On the left and right lateral returns of the front facade are busts of the librettists Eugène Scribe and Philippe Quinault, when the Empire fell, work stopped, leaving unfinished dressed stonework. It is covered by a 13.5 metre diameter dome, two pairs of obelisks marking the entrances of the Rotunda to the north and the south. The interior consists of interweaving corridors, stairwells, alcoves and landings allowing the movement of large numbers of people, rich with velvet, gold leaf, and cherubim and nymphs, the interior is characteristic of Baroque sumptuousness. The building features a ceremonial staircase of white marble with a balustrade of red and green marble. Its design was inspired by Victor Louiss grand staircase for the Théâtre de Bordeaux, the pedestals of the staircase are decorated with female torchères, created by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. When they were first fixed in two months before the opening of the building it was obvious to Garnier that they were too dark for the space. With the help of two of his students, Pils had to rework the canvases while they were in place overhead on the ceiling and, at the age of 61, he fell ill. His students had to finish the work, which was completed the day before the opening and this hall 18 meters high,154 meters long and 13 meters wide was designed to act as a drawing room for Paris society. Its ceiling was painted by Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry and represents various moments in the history of music, the foyer opens into an outside loggia at each end of which are the Salon de la Lune and Salon du Soleil. The auditorium has a traditional Italian horseshoe shape and can seat 1,979, the stage is the largest in Europe and can accommodate as many as 450 artists. The canvas house curtain was painted to represent a draped curtain, complete with tassels, the ceiling area, which surrounds the chandelier, was originally painted by Jules Eugène Lenepveu
21.
Gabriel Davioud
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Jean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud was a French architect. Davioud was born in Paris and studied at the École des Beaux-Arts under Léon Vaudoyer, after winning a Second Grand Prix de Rome, he was named inspector general for architectural works in Paris, and chief architect for its parks and public spaces. His mandate was interrupted when he was appointed capitaine du génie during the Franco-Prussian War, noted for his work in Paris, he built a single villa in Houlgate, La Brise, on the Route de Caumont. Placzek, Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects, Collier Macmillan,1982, structurae entry Marcel Miocque, Huguette Vernochet, Alain Bertaud, Lise Dassonville-Agron
22.
Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral
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The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located in the city center, overlooking Plaza de Mayo, on the corner of San Martín and Rivadavia streets and it is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and the primatial church of Argentina. The Cathedral of Buenos Aires was rebuilt several times since its origins in the 16th century. The present building is a mix of styles, with an 18th-century nave and dome. The interior keeps precious 18th-century statues and altarpieces, as well as abundant Neo-Renaissance, during the definitive foundation of Buenos Aires by Juan de Garay in 1580, part of a block facing the main square was reserved for the major church of the town. This is still the location of the current Cathedral, which is the last building in a series of churches that occupied the site. At the time of its foundation, the town depended on the diocese of Asunción, the first main church of Buenos Aires was a modest building made of wood and adobe, and was replaced by a new one in 1605 by Governor Hernandarias. This second building was also in danger of collapse by 1616 and had to be rebuilt again, in 1620, Buenos Aires was made seat of a bishopric by Pope Paul V. Its main church now had the status of a cathedral, after 1662, the cathedral was again rebuilt under bishop Cristóbal de la Mancha y Velazco and governor José Martínez de Salazar, being re-inaugurated in 1671. The cathedral now had three naves covered by a roof and a tower. Due to the bad quality of its materials, the tower. The whole church was rebuilt, starting in 1684, under bishop Azcona Imberto. In 1695 the building was almost finished, with the towers of the façade. In the early 18th century the works were slow, and the first tower was finished only around 1721, the second tower was begun in 1722 and finished around 1725. The main façade was redesigned between 1725 and 1727 by the Italian Jesuit Giovanni Bianchi, the design of the new façade was directly inspired by Italian Mannerist architecture. On the night of May 23,1752, the nave of the cathedral collapsed, the only portions still standing were the façade and towers, but the rest of the building needed to be completely rebuilt once again. Italian architect Antonio Masella was put in charge of the project, Masella designed a majestic church, much larger than the previous structure, with a three-aisled nave covered with barrel vaulting and lateral chapels. A dome was to sit over the crossing, upon completion of the dome, however, fissures in the structure were detected and it had to be rebuilt
23.
Mihai Viteazul
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Michael the Brave was the Prince of Wallachia, Prince of Moldavia and de facto ruler of Transylvania. He is considered one of Romanias greatest national heroes and he is seen by the Romanian historiography as the first author of Romanian unity and his rule over Wallachia began in the autumn of 1593. Two years later, war with the Ottomans began, a conflict in which the Prince fought the Battle of Călugăreni, the war continued until a peace finally emerged in January 1597, but this lasted for only a year and a half. Peace was again reached in late 1599, when Michael was unable to continue the war due to lack of support from his allies, in 1599, Michael won the Battle of Şelimbăr and soon entered Alba Iulia, becoming the imperial governor of Transylvania. A few months later, Michaels troops invaded Moldavia and reached its capital, the Moldavian leader Ieremia Movilă fled to Poland and Michael was declared Prince of Moldavia. Michael kept the control of all three provinces for less than a year before the nobles of Transylvania and certain boyars in Moldavia and Wallachia rose against him in a series of revolts. Thereafter, Michael allied with the Imperial General Giorgio Basta and defeated an uprising of the Hungarian nobility at Gurăslău in Transylvania, immediately after this victory, Rudolf ordered the assassination of Michael, an action carried out on 9 August 1601 by Bastas men. Michael was born under the name of Pătraşcu. In 1601, during a stay in Prague, he was portrayed by the painter Aegidius Sadeler, who mentioned on the portrait the words aetatis XLIII, Very little is known about his childhood and early years as an adult. His mother was Theodora Kantakouzene, a member of the Kantakouzenoi, a noble family present in Wallachia and Moldavia, the latter had him swear before 12 boyars that he was not of princely descent. Still, in May 1593 conflict did break out between Alexandru and Michael, who was forced to flee to Transylvania and he was accompanied by his half-brother Radu Florescu, Radu Buzescu and several other supporters. He was supported by the English ambassador in the Ottoman capital, Edward Barton, Michael was invested Prince by Sultan Murad III in September 1593 and started his effective rule on 11 October. He was considered a traitor as he had forced to purchase the title of Domnitor. Not long after Michael became Prince of Wallachia, he turned against the Ottoman Empire, Mihai continued his attacks deep within the Ottoman Empire, taking the forts of Nicopolis, Ribnic, and Chilia and even reaching as far as Adrianople. In 1595, Sigismund Báthory staged a plot and had Aaron the Tyrant, voivode of Moldavia. Ştefan Răzvan arrested Aron on charges of treason on the night of 24 April and sent him to the Transylvanian capital at Alba Iulia with his family, Aron would die poisoned by the end of May in the castle of Vinc. Sigismund was forced to justify his actions before the European powers, later on, in the same city of Alba Iulia, Wallachian boyars signed a treaty with Sigismund on Michaels behalf. According to the treaty, a council of 12 great boyars was to take part alongside the voivode in the rule of the country
24.
Bucharest
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Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, at 44°25′57″N 26°06′14″E, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km north of the Danube River, Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture and its architecture is a mix of historical, interbellum, communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the citys elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of Little Paris. Although buildings and districts in the city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic, in 2016, the historical city centre was listed as endangered by the World Monuments Watch. According to the 2011 census,1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits, the urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of about 1.9 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has an urban zone of 2,183,091 residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million, Bucharest is the sixth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the industrial centres. The city has big convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional shopping arcades, the Romanian name București has an uncertain origin. Tradition connects the founding of Bucharest with the name of Bucur, who was a prince, an outlaw, a fisherman, in Romanian, the word stem bucurie means joy, and it is believed to be of Dacian origin. Other etymologies are given by scholars, including the one of an Ottoman traveler, Evliya Çelebi. A native or resident of Bucharest is called a Bucharester, Bucharests history alternated periods of development and decline from the early settlements in antiquity until its consolidation as the national capital of Romania late in the 19th century. First mentioned as the Citadel of București in 1459, it became the residence of the famous Wallachian prince Vlad III the Impaler, the Ottomans appointed Greek administrators to run the town from the 18th century. A short-lived revolt initiated by Tudor Vladimirescu in 1821 led to the end of the rule of Constantinople Greeks in Bucharest, the Old Princely Court was erected by Mircea Ciobanul in the mid-16th century. Under subsequent rulers, Bucharest was established as the residence of the royal court
25.
Manuel Belgrano
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Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano, usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina and he is regarded as one of the main Libertadores of the country. Belgrano was born in Buenos Aires, the child of Italian businessman Domingo Belgrano y Peri. He came into contact with the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment while at university in Spain around the time of the French Revolution and this rejection led him to work towards a greater autonomy for his country from the Spanish colonial regime. He favoured the May Revolution, which removed the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros from power on 25 May 1810 and he was elected as a voting member of the Primera Junta that took power after the ouster. As a delegate for the Junta, he led the ill-fated Paraguay campaign and his troops were defeated by Bernardo de Velasco at the battles of Campichuelo and Paraguarí. Though he was defeated, the initiated the chain of events that led to the Independence of Paraguay in May 1811. He retreated to the vicinity of Rosario, to fortify it against a possible royalist attack from the Eastern Band of the Uruguay River, while there, he created the flag of Argentina. The First Triumvirate did not approve the flag, but because of communications, Belgrano would only learn of that many weeks later. His counter-offensive at the Battle of Tucumán resulted in a key strategic victory, by then, the Asamblea del Año XIII had approved the use of Belgranos flag as the national war flag. Belgrano then went on a mission to Europe along with Bernardino Rivadavia to seek support for the revolutionary government. He returned in time to part in the Congress of Tucumán. He promoted the Inca plan to create a monarchy with an Inca descendant as Head of State. This proposal had the support of San Martín, Martín Miguel de Güemes, and many provincial delegates, the Congress of Tucumán approved the use of his flag as the national flag. When Buenos Aires was about to be invaded by José Gervasio Artigas and Estanislao López, he moved the Army southwards, Belgrano died of dropsy on 20 June 1820. His last words reportedly were, ¡Ay, Patria mía. Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano was born in Buenos Aires on 3 June 1770, at his fathers house. It was located near the Santo Domingo convent, at Santo Domingo street, though the city was still rather small, the Belgranos lived at one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods. Manuel Belgrano was baptised at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral the following day, as he was born in the Americas he was considered a criollo, a social class below the Peninsulars
26.
Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires is the capital and most populous city of Argentina. The city is located on the shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata. The city of Buenos Aires is neither part of Buenos Aires Province nor the Provinces capital, rather, in 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalized and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores, the 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Its citizens first elected a chief of government in 1996, previously, Buenos Aires is considered an alpha city by the study GaWC5. Buenos Aires quality of life was ranked 81st in the world and one of the best in Latin America in 2012 and it is the most visited city in South America, and the second-most visited city of Latin America. Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its preserved Spanish/European-style architecture, Buenos Aires held the 1st Pan American Games in 1951 as well as hosting two venues in the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Buenos Aires will host the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics and the 2018 G20 summit, Buenos Aires is a multicultural city, being home to multiple ethnic and religious groups. Several languages are spoken in the city in addition to Spanish, contributing to its culture, the hill was known to them as Buen Ayre, as it was free of the foul smell prevalent in the old city, which is adjacent to swampland. During the siege of Cagliari, the Aragonese built a sanctuary to the Virgin Mary on top of the hill, in 1335, King Alfonso the Gentle donated the church to the Mercedarians, who built an abbey that stands to this day. In the years after that, a story circulated, claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary was retrieved from the sea after it miraculously helped to calm a storm in the Mediterranean Sea, the statue was placed in the abbey. Spanish sailors, especially Andalusians, venerated this image and frequently invoked the Fair Winds to aid them in their navigation, a sanctuary to the Virgin of Buen Ayre would be later erected in Seville. Pedro de Mendoza called the city Holy Mary of the Fair Winds, mendoza’s settlement soon came under attack by indigenous people, and was abandoned in 1541. For many years, the name was attributed to a Sancho del Campo, a second settlement was established in 1580 by Juan de Garay, who sailed down the Paraná River from Asunción. Garay preserved the name chosen by Mendoza, calling the city Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María del Buen Aire. The short form Buenos Aires became the common usage during the 17th century, the usual abbreviation for Buenos Aires in Spanish is Bs. As. It is common as well to refer to it as B. A. or BA /ˌbiːˈeɪ/ bee-AY), while BA is used more by expats residing in the city, the locals more often use the abbreviation Baires, in one word. Seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, navigating in the name of Spain, was the first European to reach the Río de la Plata in 1516 and his expedition was cut short when he was killed during an attack by the native Charrúa tribe in what is now Uruguay
27.
Bernardo O'Higgins
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Bernardo OHiggins Riquelme was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a landowner of Spanish and Irish ancestry. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile, he is considered one of Chiles founding fathers and his mother was Isabel Riquelme, a prominent local, the daughter of Don Simón Riquelme y Goycolea, a member of the Chillán Cabildo, or council. OHiggins spent his years with his mothers family in central-southern Chile, and later he lived with the Albano family. At age 15, OHiggins was sent to Lima by his father and he had a distant relationship with Ambrosio, who supported him financially and was concerned with his education, but the two never met in person. At the time of his sons birth, Ambrosio was only a military officer. Two years later, Isabel married Don Félix Rodríguez, a friend of her father, OHiggins used his mothers surname until the death of his father in 1801. Bernardos father continued his rise and became Viceroy of Peru. There, studying history and the arts, OHiggins became acquainted with American ideas of independence and he met Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan idealist and believer in independence, and joined a Masonic Lodge established by Miranda, dedicated to achieving the independence of Latin America. In 1798 OHiggins went to Spain from Great Britain, his return to the Americas delayed by the French Revolutionary Wars and his father died in 1801, leaving OHiggins a large piece of land, the Hacienda Las Canteras, near the Chilean city of Los Ángeles. OHiggins returned to Chile in 1802, adopted his fathers surname. In 1806, he was appointed to the cabildo as the representative of Laja, in 1808 Napoleon took control of Spain, triggering a sequence of events in South America. On 18 September 1810, OHiggins joined the revolt against the now French dominated Spanish government and this date is now recognized as Chiles Independence Day. OHiggins was a friend of Juan Martínez de Rozas, an old friend of his father. OHiggins strongly recommended that a national congress be created, and was elected a deputy to the first National Congress of Chile in 1811 as a representative of the Laja district. Tensions between the royalist and increasingly pro-independence factions, to which OHiggins remained attached as a junior member, the anti-Royalist camp in Chile was deeply split along lines of patronage and personality, by political beliefs, and by geography. José Miguel Carrera, the most prominent member of the Carrera family, enjoyed a power base in Santiago, that of de Rozas, and later OHiggins, lay in Concepción. As a result, OHiggins was to find himself increasingly in political and military competition with Carrera—although early on, de Rozas initially appointed OHiggins to a minor military position in 1812, possibly because of his illegitimate origins, poor health, or lack of military training
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Santiago
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Santiago de Chile, or simply Santiago, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chiles largest and the most densely populated conurbation, the city is entirely located in the countrys central valley, at an elevation of 520 m above mean sea level. Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a core of 19th century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic. Santiagos cityscape is shaped by several hills and the fast-flowing Mapocho River. The Andes Mountains can be seen from most points in the city and these mountains contribute to a considerable smog problem, particularly during winter. The city outskirts are surrounded by vineyards and Santiago is within a few hours of both the mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Santiago is the cultural, political and financial center of Chile and is home to the regional headquarters of many multinational corporations. The Chilean executive and judiciary are located in Santiago, but Congress meets mostly in nearby Valparaíso, Santiago is named after the biblical figure St. James. In Chile, there are entities which bear the name of Santiago that are often confused. The Commune of Santiago, sometimes referred to as downtown or Central Santiago, is a division that comprises roughly the area occupied by the city during its colonial period. The city and regions demonym is santiaguinos and santiaguinas, according to certain archaeological investigations, it is believed that the first human groups of the X millennium settled in the Santiago basin. The groups were mainly nomadic hunter-gatherers, who traveled from the coast to the interior in search of guanacos during the time of the Andean snowmelt. The villages established in the belonging to picunches groups or promaucaes, were subject to the Inca Empire throughout the late fifteenth century. The Incas settled in the valley of mitimaes, the main installation settled in the center of the present city, with strengths as Huaca de Chena, the area would have served as a basis for the failed Inca expeditions southward road junction as the Inca Trail. Having been sent by Francisco Pizarro from Peru and having made the journey from Cuzco. The hosts of Valdivia camped by the river in the slopes of the Tupahue hill, the natives accepted and even recommended the foundation of the town on a small island between two branches of the river next to a small hill called Huelén. On 12 February 1541, Valdivia officially founded the city of Santiago del Nuevo Extremo in honor of St. James, patron saint of Spain, near the Huelén, renamed by the conqueror as St. Lucia. Following colonial rule, Valdivia entrusted the layout of the new town to master builder Pedro de Gamboa, in the center of the city, Gamboa designed a Plaza Mayor, around which various plots for the Cathedral and the governors house were selected
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Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
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Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
