1.
Titian
–
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian /ˈtɪʃən/, was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno, during his lifetime he was often called da Cadore, taken from the place of his birth. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, during the course of his long life, Titians artistic manner changed drastically, but he retained a lifelong interest in color. Although his mature works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his pieces, their loose brushwork. The exact date of Titians birth is uncertain, when he was an old man he claimed in a letter to Philip II, King of Spain, to have been born in 1474, but this seems most unlikely. Other writers contemporary to his old age give figures that would equate to birthdates between 1473 and after 1482 and he was the son of Gregorio Vecelli and his wife Lucia. His father was superintendent of the castle of Pieve di Cadore, Gregorio was also a distinguished councilor and soldier. Many relatives, including Titians grandfather, were notaries, and the family of four were well-established in the area, at the age of about ten to twelve he and his brother Francesco were sent to an uncle in Venice to find an apprenticeship with a painter. At that time the Bellinis, especially Giovanni, were the artists in the city. There Titian found a group of men about his own age, among them Giovanni Palma da Serinalta, Lorenzo Lotto, Sebastiano Luciani. Francesco Vecellio, his brother, later became a painter of some note in Venice. A fresco of Hercules on the Morosini Palace is said to have one of Titians earliest works. Others were the Bellini-esque so-called Gypsy Madonna in Vienna, and the Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth, now in the Accademia, a Man with a Quilted Sleeve is an early portrait, painted around 1509 and described by Giorgio Vasari in 1568. Scholars long believed it depicted Ludovico Ariosto, but now think it is of Gerolamo Barbarigo, Rembrandt borrowed the composition for his self-portraits. Titian joined Giorgione as an assistant, but many contemporary critics found his work more impressive—for example in exterior frescoes that they did for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi. Their relationship evidently contained a significant element of rivalry, distinguishing between their work at this period remains a subject of scholarly controversy. A substantial number of attributions have moved from Giorgione to Titian in the 20th century, one of the earliest known Titian works, Christ Carrying the Cross in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, depicting the Ecce Homo scene, was long regarded as by Giorgione. In 1507–1508 Giorgione was commissioned by the state to create frescoes on the re-erected Fondaco dei Tedeschi, Titian and Morto da Feltre worked along with him, and some fragments of paintings remain, probably by Giorgione
Titian
–
Self-Portrait, c. 1567;
Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Titian
–
A Man with a Quilted Sleeve, an early portrait, c. 1509,
National Gallery, London.
Titian
–
Salome with the Head of John the Baptist c. 1515, (
Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome), or
Judith; this religious work also functions as an idealized portrait of a beauty, a genre developed by Titian, supposedly often using Venetian
courtesans as models.
Titian
–
Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1520-1523.
2.
National Gallery
–
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
National Gallery
National Gallery
–
The Raising of Lazarus by
Sebastiano del Piombo, from the collection of
John Julius Angerstein. This became the founding collection of the National Gallery in 1824. The painting has the
accession number NG1, making it officially the first painting to enter the Gallery.
National Gallery
–
100
Pall Mall, the home of the National Gallery from 1824 to 1834.
National Gallery
–
The Baptism of Christ by
Piero della Francesca, one of Eastlake's purchases.
3.
Oil painting
–
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. Commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, poppy seed oil, walnut oil, the choice of oil imparts a range of properties to the oil paint, such as the amount of yellowing or drying time. Certain differences, depending on the oil, are visible in the sheen of the paints. An artist might use different oils in the same painting depending on specific pigments and effects desired. The paints themselves also develop a particular consistency depending on the medium, the oil may be boiled with a resin, such as pine resin or frankincense, to create a varnish prized for its body and gloss. Its practice may have migrated westward during the Middle Ages, Oil paint eventually became the principal medium used for creating artworks as its advantages became widely known. In recent years, water miscible oil paint has come to prominence and, to some extent, water-soluble paints contain an emulsifier that allows them to be thinned with water rather than paint thinner, and allows very fast drying times when compared with traditional oils. Traditional oil painting techniques often begin with the artist sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint, Oil paint is usually mixed with linseed oil, artist grade mineral spirits, or other solvents to make the paint thinner, faster or slower-drying. A basic rule of oil paint application is fat over lean and this means that each additional layer of paint should contain more oil than the layer below to allow proper drying. If each additional layer contains less oil, the painting will crack. This rule does not ensure permanence, it is the quality and type of oil leads to a strong. There are many media that can be used with the oil, including cold wax, resins. These aspects of the paint are closely related to the capacity of oil paint. Traditionally, paint was transferred to the surface using paintbrushes. Oil paint remains wet longer than other types of artists materials, enabling the artist to change the color. At times, the painter might even remove a layer of paint. This can be done with a rag and some turpentine for a time while the paint is wet, Oil paint dries by oxidation, not evaporation, and is usually dry to the touch within a span of two weeks. It is generally dry enough to be varnished in six months to a year, art conservators do not consider an oil painting completely dry until it is 60 to 80 years old
Oil painting
–
Mona Lisa,
Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503–06
Oil painting
–
Self-portrait, at work,
Anders Zorn, 1897
Oil painting
–
Self-portrait of
Rembrandt, 1630. An example of oil painting on copper.
Oil painting
–
Flax seed is the source of linseed oil.
4.
Palazzo
–
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which housed the Imperial residences, in many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy. Many historic palaces are now put to uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels. The word is sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions. The word palace comes from Old French palais, from Latin Palātium, the original palaces on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power while the capitol on the Capitoline Hill was the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a residential area. Emperor Caesar Augustus lived there in a purposely modest house only set apart from his neighbours by the two trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his Golden House, enlarged the house, the word Palātium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighbourhood on top of the hill. Palace meaning government can be recognized in a remark of Paul the Deacon, AD790 and describing events of the 660s, When Grimuald set out for Beneventum, he entrusted his palace to Lupus. At the same time, Charlemagne was consciously reviving the Roman expression in his palace at Aachen, in the 9th century, the palace indicated the housing of the government too, and the constantly travelling Charlemagne built fourteen. In the Holy Roman Empire the powerful independent Electors came to be housed in palaces and this has been used as evidence that power was widely distributed in the Empire, as in more centralized monarchies, only the monarchs residence would be a palace. In modern times, the term has been applied by archaeologists and historians to large structures that housed combined ruler, court, in informal usage, a palace can be extended to a grand residence of any kind. The earliest known palaces were the residences of the Egyptian Pharaohs at Thebes, featuring an outer wall enclosing labyrinthine buildings. Other ancient palaces include the Assyrian palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, the Minoan palace at Knossos, the Brazilian new capital, Brasília, hosts modern palaces, most designed by the citys architect Oscar Niemeyer. The Alvorada Palace is the residence of the Brazils president. The Planalto Palace is the official workplace, the Jaburu Palace is the official residence of Brazils vice-president. In Canada, Government House is a given to the official residences of the Canadian monarchy. The use of the term Government House is a custom from the British Empire
Palazzo
–
Schwerin Palace in
Germany, historical
ducal residence of
Mecklenburg since 1348.
Palazzo
–
Palace of Versailles, the center of
French absolutism from 1682 on.
Palazzo
–
Ambavilas Palace, famous as
Mysore Palace, the official residence of
Maharajas of Mysore since 1400.
Palazzo
–
The
Planalto Palace, in
Brasília,
Brazil
5.
Raphael
–
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running a large workshop and, despite his death at 37. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, the best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings and he was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region and his poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture, growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a humanistic education however, it is unclear how easily he read Latin. His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1,1494 by his father, Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven, his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master and he had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been a great help to his father. A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity and his fathers workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter, and Luca Signorelli, according to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice despite the tears of his mother. The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, an alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters, the Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a master, that is to say fully trained and his first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was named in the commission
Raphael
–
Presumed Portrait of Raphael
Raphael
–
Self-portrait with a friend (1518 circa),
Louvre,
Paris
Raphael
–
Giovanni Santi, Raphael's father; Christ supported by two angels, c.1490
Raphael
–
The
Mond Crucifixion, 1502–3, very much in the style of
Perugino
6.
Catullus
–
Not to be confused with Romans named Catulus, see Catulus. Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote in the style of poetry. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry, Catullus poems were widely appreciated by other poets. He greatly influenced poets such as Ovid, Horace, and Virgil, after his rediscovery in the late Middle Ages, Catullus again found admirers. His explicit writing style has shocked many readers, indeed, Catullus work was never canonical in schools, although his body of work is still frequently read from secondary school to graduate programs across the world. Gaius Valerius Catullus was born to an equestrian family of Verona. The social prominence of the Catullus family allowed the father of Gaius Valerius to entertain Julius Caesar when he was the Promagistrate of both Gallic provinces. Catullus was raised primarily by his mother, Blandus, who exposed him to poetry, in a poem, Catullus describes his happy homecoming to the family villa at Sirmio, on Lake Garda, near Verona, he also owned a villa near the resort of Tibur. Catullus appears to have spent most of his adult years in Rome. He appears to have been acquainted with the poet Marcus Furius Bibaculus, a number of prominent contemporaries appear in his poetry, including Cicero, Caesar and Pompey. In his poems Catullus describes several stages of their relationship, initial euphoria, doubts, separation, and his wrenching feelings of loss. Clodia had several partners, “From the poems one can adduce no fewer than five lovers in addition to Catullus, Egnatius, Gellius, Quintius, Rufus. Yet, a sensitive and passionate Catullus could not relinquish his flame for Clodia, regardless of her obvious indifference to his desire for a deep, in his poems, Catullus wavers between devout, sweltering love and bitter, scornful insults that he directs at her blatant infidelity. His passion for her is unrelenting— yet it is unclear when exactly the couple split up for good, Catulluss poems about the relationship display striking depth and psychological insight. He spent the provincial command year summer 57 to summer 56 BC in Bithynia on the staff of the commander Gaius Memmius, while in the East, he traveled to the Troad to perform rites at his brothers tomb, an event recorded in a moving poem. There survives no ancient biography of Catullus, his life has to be pieced together from scattered references to him in ancient authors. Thus it is uncertain when he was born and when he died, st. Jerome says that he died in his 30th year, and was born in 87 BC. But the poems include references to events of 55 and 54 BC, other authors suggest 52 or 51 BC as the year of the poets death
Catullus
–
Modern bust of Catullus on the Piazza Carducci,
Sirmione.
Catullus
–
Catullus at Lesbia's by Sir
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
7.
Ovid
–
Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists and he enjoyed enormous popularity, but, in one of the mysteries of literary history, was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea, where he remained until his death. Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error, a poem and a mistake and his poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology, Ovid talks more about his own life than most other Roman poets. Information about his biography is drawn primarily from his poetry, especially Tristia 4.10, other sources include Seneca the Elder and Quintilian. Ovid was born in Sulmo, in an Apennine valley east of Rome, to an important equestrian family and that was a significant year in Roman politics. He was educated in rhetoric in Rome under the teachers Arellius Fuscus and Porcius Latro with his brother who excelled at oratory and his father wanted him to study rhetoric toward the practice of law. According to Seneca the Elder, Ovid tended to the emotional, after the death of his brother at 20 years of age, Ovid renounced law and began travelling to Athens, Asia Minor, and Sicily. Ovids first recitation has been dated to around 25 BC, when he was eighteen and he was part of the circle centered on the patron Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, and seems to have been a friend of poets in the circle of Maecenas. 4.10. 41–54, Ovid mentions friendships with Macer, Propertius, Horace, Ovid was very popular at the time of his early works, but was later exiled by Augustus in AD8. He married three times and divorced twice by the time he was thirty years old and he had one daughter, who eventually bore him grandchildren. His last wife was connected in some way to the influential gens Fabia, the first 25 years of Ovids literary career were spent primarily writing poetry in elegiac meter with erotic themes. The chronology of early works is not secure, tentative dates. 2.18. 19–26 that seems to describe the collection as a published work. The authenticity of some of these poems has been challenged, between the publications of the two editions of the Amores can be dated the premiere of his tragedy Medea, which was admired in antiquity but is no longer extant. Ovid may identify this work in his poetry as the carmen, or song. The Ars Amatoria was followed by the Remedia Amoris in the same year and this corpus of elegiac, erotic poetry earned Ovid a place among the chief Roman elegists Gallus, Tibullus, and Propertius, of whom he saw himself as the fourth member
Ovid
–
Statue (1887) by
Ettore Ferrari commemorating Ovid's exile in Tomis (present-day
Constanța, Romania)
Ovid
–
A second statue of Ovid by
Ettore Ferrari in the Piazza XX Settembre,
Sulmona, Italy.
Ovid
–
Ovid Banished from Rome (1838) by
J.M.W. Turner.
Ovid
–
Medea in a fresco from
Herculaneum.
8.
The Feast of the Gods
–
It is one of the few mythological pictures by the Venetian artist. Completed in 1514, it was his last major work and it is now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D. C. which calls it one of the greatest Renaissance paintings in the United States. The painting is the first major depiction of the subject of the Feast of the Gods in Renaissance art and it has several similarities to another, much less sophisticated, treatment of the 1490s by the Florentine artist Bartolomeo di Giovanni, now in the Louvre. The painting is signed by an inscription on the paper attached to the wooden tub at lower right, joannes bellinus venus / p MDXIIIII. Later commissions were four large Titians, and ten works by Dosso Dossi. The three surviving Titians painted for the room are Bacchus and Ariadne, The Bacchanal of the Andrians, but this view was based on a misunderstanding of the early x-rays taken in 1956. It is now thought that the figures are as originally painted by Bellini, a more thorough reworking by Titian in about 1529 added more landscape, overpainting the earlier changes. But all the work on the figures remains Bellinis, a pheasant in a tree on the right, above Priapus, may have been painted by Alfonso himself, an amateur painter. The painting shows the incident of the rape of Lotis. She was a nymph mentioned by Ovid, the daughter of Neptune or Nereus, the subject had been depicted in the first illustrated edition of Ovid in Italian, published in Venice in 1497. Some of the figures may be portraits of people at the Ferrara court, including Alfonso, if he is still Neptune, this would make her Amphitrite. The work was a departure from his usual subject-matter of religious scenes and portraits for Bellini. He had previously been reluctant to paint mythological stories, wriggling out of a commission from Isabella dEste, Alfonsos sister and he was perhaps then reluctant to compete with his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, who specialized in classical subjects. But Mantegna had died in 1506, as the first work produced foCamerino, Bellini determined many elements of the style for the cycle, which Titian needed to harmonize with in his later canvases. And presented figures from classical mythology as laymen engaged in lay pursuits of love and war, the pictures in the Camerino were perhaps the crucial stage in this revolution. The paintings stayed in the room for which they were painted until 1598 when they were confiscated, the group was separated in 1623, and the Feast left the Aldobrandini family in 1796–97, passing to the Camuccini family. The painting left Italy for England in 1853 and was bought by the 4th Duke of Northumberland, then sold in 1916 by the 7th Duke to the London dealer Thomas Agnew and it was bought in 1922 by the estate of the American magnate Peter A. B. Widener and in 1942 entered the National Gallery of Art in Washington and it was exhibited in 1856 at the British Institution in London
The Feast of the Gods
–
The Feast of the Gods
The Feast of the Gods
–
This detail of Mercury shows the earliest known depiction of
Chinese porcelain in European painting
The Feast of the Gods
–
Priapus and Lotis
The Feast of the Gods
–
Silenus with his ass and the infant Bacchus
9.
Giovanni Bellini
–
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini and he is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it towards a more sensuous and colouristic style. Through the use of clear, slow-drying oil paints, Giovanni created deep, rich tints and his sumptuous coloring and fluent, atmospheric landscapes had a great effect on the Venetian painting school, especially on his pupils Giorgione and Titian. Giovanni Bellini was born in Venice and he was brought up in his fathers house, and always lived and worked in the closest fraternal relation with his brother Gentile. Up until the age of nearly thirty we find in his work a depth of religious feeling and his paintings from the early period are all executed in the old tempera method, the scene is softened by a new and beautiful effect of romantic sunrise color. Giovannis early works have often been linked both compositionally and stylistically to those of his brother-in-law, Andrea Mantegna, none of the masters works of this kind, whether painted for the various schools or confraternities or for the ducal palace, have survived. As is the case with a number of his brother, Gentiles public works of the period, the still more famous altar-piece painted in tempera for a chapel in the church of S. Giovanni e Paolo, where it perished along with Titians Peter Martyr, after 1479–1480 much of Giovannis time and energy must also have been taken up by his duties as conservator of the paintings in the great hall of the Doges Palace. Of the other, the class of his work, including both altar-pieces with many figures and simple Madonnas, a considerable number have fortunately been preserved. The old intensity of pathetic and devout feeling gradually fades away and gives place to a noble, if more worldly, serenity, the full splendour of Venetian color invests alike the figures, their architectural framework, the landscape and the sky. An interval of years, no doubt chiefly occupied with work in the Hall of the Great Council, seems to separate the San Giobbe Altarpiece. Formally, the works are similar, so a comparison between serves to illustrate the shift in Bellinis work over the last decade of the 15th century. Both pictures are of the Holy Conversation type, both show the Madonna seated on a throne, between classicizing columns. Both place the holy figures beneath a golden mosaicked half dome that recalls the Byzantine architecture in the basilica of St. Mark. Stylistically, the lighting in the San Zaccaria piece has become so soft, Giovannis use of the oil medium had matured, and the holy figures seem to be swathed in a still, rarefied air. The San Zaccaria is considered perhaps the most beautiful and imposing of all Giovannis altarpieces, and is dated 1505, the last ten or twelve years of the masters life saw him besieged with more commissions than he could well complete. In 1505 she endeavoured through Cardinal Bembo to obtain from him another picture, what the subject of this piece was, or whether it was actually delivered, we do not know. In 1513 Giovannis position as master in charge of the paintings in the Hall of the Great Council was threatened by one of his former pupils
Giovanni Bellini
–
Self-portrait
Giovanni Bellini
–
St. Jerome in the Desert, c. 1455; Tempera on panel;
Barber Institute, Birmingham
Giovanni Bellini
–
Christ Blessing, 1500; Tempera, oil, and gold on panel;
Kimbell Art Museum, Texas.
Giovanni Bellini
–
Madonna and Child, c. 1480; oil;
Indianapolis Museum of Art
10.
National Gallery of Art
–
The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D. C. located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress. Andrew W. Mellon donated an art collection and funds for construction. The Gallery often presents temporary special exhibitions spanning the world and the history of art and it is one of the largest museums in North America. In 1930 Mellon formed the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, when quizzed by Abbot, he explained that the project was in the hands of the Trust and that its decisions were partly dependent on the attitude of the Government towards the gift. Designed by architect John Russell Pope, the new structure was completed and accepted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on behalf of the American people on March 17,1941. Neither Mellon nor Pope lived to see the completed, both died in late August 1937, only two months after excavation had begun. At the time of its inception it was the largest marble structure in the world, as anticipated by Mellon, the creation of the National Gallery encouraged the donation of other substantial art collections by a number of private donors. The Gallerys East Building was constructed in the 1970s on much of the land left over from the original congressional joint resolution. It was funded by Mellons children Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon Bruce, designed by famed architect I. M. Pei, the contemporary structure was completed in 1978 and was opened on June 1 of that year by President Jimmy Carter. The new building was built to house the Museums collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures. The design received a National Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1981, the final addition to the complex is the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Completed and opened to the public on May 23,1999, the National Gallery of Art is supported through a private-public partnership. The United States federal government provides funds, through annual appropriations, to support the museums operations, all artwork, as well as special programs, are provided through private donations and funds. The museum is not part of the Smithsonian Institution, noted directors of the National Gallery have included David E. Finley, Jr. John Walker, and J. Carter Brown. Rusty Powell III is the current director, entry to both buildings of the National Gallery of Art is free of charge. From Monday through Saturday, the museum is open from 10 a. m. –5 p. m. it is open from 11 –6 p. m. on Sundays and it is closed on December 25 and January 1. The museum comprises two buildings, the West Building and the East Building linked by an underground passage
National Gallery of Art
–
National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
–
The East Building
National Gallery of Art
–
Exhibitions in the West Building
National Gallery of Art
–
Exhibitions in the East Building
11.
The Bacchanal of the Andrians
–
The Bacchanal of the Andrians is an oil painting by Titian. It is signed TICIANUS F. and is dated to 1523–1526, the painting is now held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, but it was commissioned by Alfonso I dEste for his Camerini dalabastro in Ferrara. The decorative programme included other major paintings celebrating Bacchus and Venus, the Bacchanal of the Andrians has been admired by other artists including Rubens who copied it
The Bacchanal of the Andrians
–
The Bacchanal of the Andrians
12.
The Worship of Venus
–
The Worship of Venus is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist Titian completed between 1518–1519, housed at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. It describes a Roman rite of worship conducted in honour of the goddess Venus each 1 April, on this occasion, women would make offerings to representations of the goddess so as to cleanse every blemish on their bodies. In Titians work, two nymphs, one young and one matronly, are situated to the right of the ceremony, the shrine is surrounded by votive tablets. The older woman checks on the decorations with the use of a mirror which she holds high in her right hand. A dam is shown in the background, near a sunlit meadow. The far distance is decorated with a mountain and blue sky, Titian based the image on the writings of the Greek sophist Philostratus. Hope, Charles & Fletcher, Jennifer & Dunkerton, Jill, ISBN 0-554-38327-6 Francesco Valcanover, Lopera completa di Tiziano, Rizzoli, Milano 1969. Stefano Zuffi, Tiziano, Mondadori Arte, Milano 2008
The Worship of Venus
–
The Worship of Venus
The Worship of Venus
–
Titian paintings on display in the
Museo del Prado (from left to right:
Danaë and the Shower of Gold, The Worship of Venus, Bacchanal of the Andrians, and Venus and Adonis)
13.
Museo del Prado
–
The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings,7,600 paintings,4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums. The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012 and it is one of the largest museums in Spain. The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez, Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museums fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside of Italy. The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos and their efforts and determination led to the Royal Collection being enriched by some of the masterpieces now to be seen in the Prado. In addition to works from the Spanish royal collection, other holdings increased and enriched the Museum with further masterpieces, such as the two Majas by Goya. Among the now closed museums whose collections have been added to that of the Prado were the Museo del la Trinidad in 1872, in addition, numerous legacies, donations and purchases have been of crucial importance for the growth of the collection. Upon the deposition of Isabella II in 1868, the museum was nationalized and acquired the new name of Museo del Prado, the building housed the royal collection of arts, and it rapidly proved too small. The first enlargement to the museum took place in 1918, particularly important donations include Barón Emile dErlangers gift of Goyas Black Paintings in 1881. Between 1873 and 1900, the Prado helped decorate city halls, new universities, during the Second Spanish Republic from 1931 to 1936, the focus was on building up provincial museums. The art had to be returned across French territory in night trains to the museum upon the commencement of World War II, during the early years of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, many paintings were sent to embassies. The main building was enlarged with short pavilions in the rear between 1900 and 1960, in 1993, an extension proposed by the Prados director at the time, Felipe Garin, was quickly abandoned after a wave of criticism. In the late 1990s, a $14 million roof work forced the Velázquez masterpiece Las Meninas to change galleries twice, in 1998, the Prado annex in the nearby Casón del Buen Retiro closed for a $10 million two-year overhaul that included three new underground levels. In 2007, the finally executed Rafael Moneos project to expand its exposition room to 16,000 square meters. A glass-roofed and wedge-shaped foyer now contains the shops and cafeteria
Museo del Prado
–
Museo del Prado (Main wing)
Museo del Prado
–
Museo Nacional del Prado
Museo del Prado
–
In the main exhibition hall, first floor
Museo del Prado
–
Francisco de Goya,
La maja desnuda, oil on canvas, (circa 1797–1800)
14.
Madrid
–
Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
Madrid
–
From upper left: view of business districts of
AZCA and
CTBA,
Gran Vía street and
Metropolis Building, the
Palace of Communication, view of
Royal Palace and
Almudena Cathedral.
Madrid
Madrid
–
Plaza Mayor
Madrid
–
Puerta de Alcalá
15.
Ariadne
–
Ariadne, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Minos, King of Crete, Son of Zeus and his queen Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios. She is mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and her father put her in charge of the labyrinth where sacrifices were made as part of reparations, later, she helped Theseus overcome the Minotaur and save the potential sacrificial victims. In other stories, she became the bride of the god Dionysus, since ancient Greek myths are passed down through oral tradition, many variations of this and other myths exist. According to an Athenian version of the legend, Minos attacked Athens after his son was killed there, the Athenians asked for terms, and were required to sacrifice seven young men and seven maidens to the Minotaur every seven or nine years. One year, the party included Theseus, the son of King Aegeus. Ariadne fell in love at first sight, and helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of thread, so that he could find his way out of the Minotaurs labyrinth. She eloped with Theseus after he achieved his goal, but according to Homer he had no joy of her, for ere that, Artemis slew her in seagirt Dia because of the witness of Dionysus. Homer does not expand on the nature of Dionysuss accusation, in Hesiod and most other accounts, Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, and Dionysus rediscovered and wedded her. The vase-painters of Athens often showed Athena leading Theseus from the sleeping Ariadne to his ship. With Dionysus, she was the mother of Oenopion, the personification of wine, Staphylus, Thoas, Peparethus, Phanus, Eurymedon, Enyeus, Ceramus, Maron, Euanthes, Latramys and her wedding diadem was set in the heavens as the constellation Corona Borealis. Ariadne remained faithful to Dionysus but was killed by Perseus at Argos. In other myths she hanged herself from a tree, like Erigone and the hanging Artemis, some scholars have posited, due to her thread-spinning and winding associations, that she was a weaving goddess, like Arachne, supporting this theory with the mytheme of the Hanged Nymph. Dionysus descended into Hades and brought her and his mother Semele back and they then joined the gods in Olympus. Karl Kerenyi and Robert Graves theorize that Ariadne was a Great Goddess of Crete, Kerenyi notes a Linear B inscription from Knossos, to all the gods, honey. To the mistress of the honey in equal amounts, suggesting to him that the Mistress of the Labyrinth was a Great Goddess in her own right. Professor Barry Powell has suggested she was Minoan Cretes Snake Goddess, in a kylix by the painter Aison Theseus drags the Minotaur from a temple-like labyrinth, but the goddess who attends him, in this Attic representation, is Athena. Theseus, attempting to secure the ship, was swept out to sea. The Cypriote women cared for Ariadne, who died in childbirth and was memorialized in a shrine, Theseus, overcome with grief upon his return, left money for sacrifices to Ariadne and ordered two cult images, one of silver and one of bronze, set up
Ariadne
–
Bacchus and Ariadne by
Titian: Dionysus discovers Ariadne on the shore of
Naxos. The painting also depicts the constellation named after Ariadne
Ariadne
–
Ariadne as the consort of Dionysos: bronze appliqué from
Chalki,
Rhodes, late fourth century BCE, (
Louvre)
Ariadne
–
The
Vatican Sleeping Ariadne, long called Cleopatra, a Roman marble in late Hellenistic taste
16.
Naxos (island)
–
Naxos is a Greek island—at 429 km2 the largest of the Cyclades island group in the Aegean. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture, the island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern time was one of the best abrasives available. The largest town and capital of the island is Chora or Naxos City, the main villages are Filoti, Apiranthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos and Glinado. Climate is Mediterranean, with mild winters and very warm summers. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is Csa, according to Greek mythology, the young Zeus was raised in a cave on Mt. Zas. Homer mentions Dia, literally the sacred island of the Goddess, dionysus who was the protector of the island, met Ariadne and fell in love with her. But eventually Ariadne, unable to bear her separation from Theseus, either killed herself, the Naxos portion of the Ariadne myth is also told in the Richard Strauss opera Ariadne auf Naxos. Zas Cave, inhabited during the Neolithic era, contained objects of stone from Melos and copper objects including a dagger, the presence of gold and other objects within the cave indicated to researchers the status of the inhabitant. Emery was sourced during the time to other islands, during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Naxos dominated commerce in the Cyclades. Naxos was the first Greek city-state to attempt to leave the Delian League circa 476 BC, Athens quickly squashed the notion, Athens then demanded all future payments from Naxos in the form of gold rather than military aid. Herodotus describes Naxos circa 500 BC as the most prosperous Greek island, under the Byzantine Empire, Naxos was part of the thema of the Aegean Sea, which was established in the mid-9th century. Of all the islands, only on Naxos was there any opposition to Sanudo, to steel his bands resolve, Sanudo burnt his galleys and bade his companions to conquer or die. The pirates surrendered the castle after a five weeks siege, Naxos became the seat of Sanudos realm, which he ruled with the title of Duke of Naxia, or Duke of the Archipelago. Twenty-one dukes in two dynasties ruled the Archipelago, until 1566, Venetian rule continued in scattered islands of the Aegean until 1714, under Venetian rule, the island was called by its Italian name, Nasso. The Ottoman administration remained essentially in the hands of the Venetians, very few Turks ever settled on Naxos, and Turkish influence on the island is slight. Under Ottoman rule the island was known as Turkish, Nakşa, Ottoman sovereignty lasted until 1821, when the islands revolted, Naxos finally became a member of the Greek state in 1832. Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several ruins and it has a number of beaches, such as those at Agia Anna, Agios Prokopios, Alikos, Kastraki, Mikri Vigla, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, most of them near Chora. As other cycladic islands, Naxos is considered a place perfect for windsurfing
Naxos (island)
–
Port of
Naxos (city)
Naxos (island)
–
Landscape of the island
Naxos (island)
–
Apollo Temple's entrance (Portara)
Naxos (island)
–
Temple of Demeter
17.
Theseus
–
Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order. As Heracles was the Dorian hero, Theseus was a hero, considered by Athenians as their own great reformer, his name comes from the same root as θεσμός. The myths surrounding Theseus—his journeys, exploits, and family—have provided material for fiction throughout the ages, Theseus was responsible for the synoikismos —the political unification of Attica under Athens, represented emblematically in his journey of labours, subduing ogres and monstrous beasts. Because he was the king, Theseus built and occupied a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis that may have been similar to the palace that was excavated in Mycenae. Pausanias reports that after the synoikismos, Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite Pandemos, Plutarchs vita of Theseus makes use of varying accounts of the death of the Minotaur, Theseus escape, and the love of Ariadne for Theseus. Plutarchs sources, not all of whose texts have survived independently, included Pherecydes, Demon, Philochorus, Aegeus, one of the primordial kings of Athens, was childless. Desiring an heir, he asked the oracle at Delphi for advice and her cryptic words were Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief. Aegeus did not understand the prophecy and was disappointed and he asked the advice of his host Pittheus, king of Troezen. Pittheus understood the prophecy, got Aegeus drunk, and gave Aegeus his daughter Aethra, but following the instructions of Athena in a dream, Aethra left the sleeping Aegeus and waded across to the island of Sphairia that lay close to Troezens shore. There she poured a libation to Sphairos and Poseidon, and was possessed by the sea god in the night. The mix gave Theseus a combination of divine as well as mortal characteristics in his nature, such double paternity, with one immortal, after Aethra became pregnant, Aegeus decided to return to Athens. In Athens, Aegeus was joined by Medea, who had left Corinth after slaughtering the children she had borne, priestess and consort together represented the old order in Athens. Thus Theseus was raised in his mothers land, when Theseus grew up and became a brave young man, he moved the rock and recovered his fathers tokens. His mother then told him the truth about his fathers identity, young, brave, and ambitious, Theseus decided to go alone by the land route and defeated a great many bandits along the way. At the Isthmian entrance to the Underworld was a robber named Sinis and he would capture travelers, tie them between two pine trees that were bent down to the ground, and then let the trees go, tearing his victims apart. Theseus killed him by his own method and he then became intimate with Siniss daughter, Perigune, fathering the child Melanippus. In another deed north of the Isthmus, at a place called Crommyon, he killed an enormous pig, some versions name the sow herself as Phaea. The Bibliotheca described the Crommyonian Sow as an offspring of Typhon, near Megara, an elderly robber named Sciron forced travellers along the narrow cliff-face pathway to wash his feet
Theseus
–
Greek Mythology
Theseus
–
Theseus Slaying Minotaur (1843), bronze sculpture by
Antoine-Louis Barye
Theseus
–
Theseus and Aethra, by
Laurent de La Hyre
Theseus
–
The deeds of Theseus, on an
Attic red-figured kylix, c. 440–430 BCE (
British Museum)
18.
Dionysus
–
Dionysus is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy in ancient Greek religion and myth. Wine played an important role in Greek culture, and the cult of Dionysus was the religious focus for its unrestrained consumption. He may have been worshipped as early as c, 1500–1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks, traces of Dionysian-type cult have also been found in ancient Minoan Crete. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms, some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, in some cults, he arrives from the east, as an Asiatic foreigner, in others, from Ethiopia in the South. He is a god of epiphany, the god that comes and his festivals were the driving force behind the development of Greek theatre. The earliest cult images of Dionysus show a male, bearded and robed. He holds a staff, tipped with a pine-cone and known as a thyrsus. Later images show him as a beardless, sensuous, naked or half-naked androgynous youth, in its fully developed form, his central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized. His procession is made up of female followers and bearded satyrs with erect penises, some are armed with the thyrsus. The god himself is drawn in a chariot, usually by exotic beasts such as lions or tigers and this procession is presumed to be the cult model for the followers of his Dionysian Mysteries. He is also known as Bacchus, the adopted by the Romans. His thyrsus, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. As Eleutherios, his wine, music and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care and those who partake of his mysteries are possessed and empowered by the god himself. The cult of Dionysus is also a cult of the souls, his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings and he is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god. Some scholars believe that Dionysus is a syncretism of a local Greek nature deity, Dionysus had a strange birth that evokes the difficulty in fitting him into the Olympian pantheon. His mother was a woman, Semele, the daughter of king Cadmus of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. Zeus wife, Hera, discovered the affair while Semele was pregnant, appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that Zeus was the actual father of the baby in her womb. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semeles mind, curious, Semele demanded of Zeus that he reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his godhood
Dionysus
–
2nd-century Roman statue of Dionysus, after a
Hellenistic model (ex-coll.
Cardinal Richelieu,
Louvre)
Dionysus
–
Marble sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons. Roman ca. AD 260–270
Dionysus
–
Birth of Dionysus, on a small sarcophagus that may have been made for a child (
Walters Art Museum)
Dionysus
–
Hermes and the Infant Dionysus by
Praxiteles, (
Archaeological Museum of Olympia).
19.
Cheetah
–
The cheetah /ˈtʃiːtə/ is a large felid of the subfamily Felinae that occurs mainly in eastern and southern Africa and a few parts of Iran. The only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, the cheetah was first described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1775. The cheetah is characterised by a body, deep chest, spotted coat, a small rounded head, black tear-like streaks on the face, long thin legs. Its lightly built, slender form is in sharp contrast with the robust build of the big cats, the cheetah reaches nearly 70 to 90 cm at the shoulder, and weighs 21–72 kg. Though taller than the leopard, it is smaller than the lion. Basically yellowish tan or rufous to white, the coat is uniformly covered with nearly 2,000 solid black spots. Cheetahs are active mainly during the day, with hunting their major activity, adult males are sociable despite their territoriality, forming groups called coalitions. Females are not territorial, they may be solitary or live with their offspring in home ranges, carnivores, cheetah mainly prey upon antelopes and gazelles. They will stalk their prey to within 100–300 metres, charge towards it and kill it by tripping it during the chase, the cheetahs body is specialised for speed, it is the fastest land animal. Cheetahs are induced ovulators, breeding throughout the year, gestation is nearly three months long, resulting in a litter of typically three to five cubs. Weaning occurs at six months, siblings tend to stay together for some time, Cheetah cubs face higher mortality than most other mammals, especially in the Serengeti region. Cheetahs inhabit a variety of habitats – dry forests, scrub forests, thanks to its prowess at hunting, the cheetah was tamed and used to kill game at hunts in the past. The animal has been depicted in art, literature, advertising. Classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, several African countries have taken steps to improve the standards of cheetah conservation. The vernacular name cheetah is derived from the Hindi word चीता, the first recorded use of this word has been dated back to 1610. An alternative name for the cheetah is hunting leopard, the scientific name of the cheetah is Acinonyx jubatus. The generic name Acinonyx could have originated from the combination of two Greek words, akinetos means motionless, and onyx means claw, a rough translation of the word would be non-moving claws, a reference to the limited retractability of the claws of the cheetah relative to other cats. The specific name jubatus means maned in Latin, referring to the dorsal crest of this animal, the cheetah is the only extant species of the genus Acinonyx
Cheetah
Cheetah
–
Illustration of Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus)
Cheetah
–
Exhibit of
Sudan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii)
Cheetah
–
South African cheetah (A. j. jubatus), also called the Namibian cheetah
20.
Tiger
–
The tiger is the largest cat species, most recognisable for their pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside. The species is classified in the genus Panthera with the lion, leopard, jaguar, Tigers are apex predators, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and bovids. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements and this, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans. Tigers once ranged widely across eastern Eurasia, from the Black Sea in the west, to the Indian Ocean in the south, today, they range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands and tropical mangrove swamps. The remaining six tiger subspecies have been classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a 2016 global census estimated the population of wild tigers at approximately 3,890 individuals. Major reasons for decline include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation. The extent of area occupied by tigers is estimated at less than 1,184,911 km2, in 2016, wildlife conservation group at WWF declared that worlds count of wild tigers has risen for the first time in a century. Tigers are among the most recognisable and popular of the charismatic megafauna. They have featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continue to be depicted in modern films and they appear on many flags, coats of arms, and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger is the animal of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia. In 1758, Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae, in 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris. The derivation from Greek pan- and ther may be folk etymology, the specific epithet, tigris, as well as the common name, tiger, come from the Middle English tigre and the Old English tigras, both used for the animal. These derive from the Old French tigre, itself a derivative of the Latin word tigris and the Greek word tigris. The original source may have been the Persian tigra meaning pointed or sharp, the tigers closest living relatives were previously thought to be the lion, leopard and jaguar, all of which are classified under the genus Panthera. The oldest remains of an extinct relative, called Panthera zdanskyi or the Longdan tiger, have been found in the Gansu province of northwestern China. This species is considered to be a taxon to the extant tiger and lived about 2 million years ago. It was smaller than the tiger, being the size of a jaguar. Despite being considered more primitive, the Longdan tiger was functionally and possibly ecologically similar to its modern cousin, as Panthera zdanskyi lived in northwestern China, that may have been where the tiger lineage originated
Tiger
Tiger
Tiger
–
Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris), also called the Indian tiger
Tiger
–
Indochinese tiger (P. t. corbetti), also called
Corbett's tiger
21.
Corona Borealis
–
Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy and its brightest stars form a semicircular arc. Its Latin name, inspired by its shape, means northern crown, in classical mythology Corona Borealis generally represented the crown given by the god Dionysus to the Cretan princess Ariadne and set by him in the heavens. Other cultures likened the pattern to a circle of elders, an eagles nest, Ptolemy also listed a southern counterpart, Corona Australis, with a similar pattern. The brightest star is the magnitude 2.2 Alpha Coronae Borealis, T Coronae Borealis, also known as the Blaze Star, is another unusual type of variable star known as a recurrent nova. Normally of magnitude 10, it last flared up to magnitude 2 in 1946, ADS9731 and Sigma Coronae Borealis are multiple star systems with six and five components respectively. Five star systems have found to have Jupiter-sized exoplanets. Abell 2065 is a highly concentrated galaxy cluster one billion light-years from the Solar System containing more than 400 members, covering 179 square degrees and hence 0. 433% of the sky, Corona Borealis ranks 73rd of the 88 modern constellations by area. Its position in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere means that the constellation is visible to observers north of 50°S. It is bordered by Boötes to the north and west, Serpens Caput to the south, the three-letter abbreviation for the constellation, as adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1922, is CrB. The official constellation boundaries, as set by Eugène Delporte in 1930, are defined by a polygon of eight segments. In the equatorial coordinate system, the right ascension coordinates of these borders lie between 15h 16. 0m and 16h 25. 1m, while the coordinates are between 39. 71° and 25. 54°. It has a counterpart—Corona Australis—in the Southern Celestial Hemisphere, the seven stars that make up the constellations distinctive crown-shaped pattern are all 4th-magnitude stars except for the brightest of them, Alpha Coronae Borealis. The other six stars are Theta, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, the German cartographer Johann Bayer gave twenty stars in Corona Borealis Bayer designations from Alpha to Upsilon in his 1603 star atlas Uranometria. Zeta Coronae Borealis was noted to be a star by later astronomers and its components designated Zeta1. John Flamsteed did likewise with Nu Coronae Borealis, classed by Bayer as a single star and he named them 20 and 21 Coronae Borealis in his catalogue, alongside the designations Nu1 and Nu2 respectively. Chinese astronomers deemed nine stars to make up the asterism, adding Pi, within the constellations borders, there are 37 stars brighter than or equal to apparent magnitude 6.5. Alpha Coronae Borealis appears as a star of magnitude 2.2
Corona Borealis
–
The constellation Corona Borealis as it can be seen by the naked eye
Corona Borealis
–
List of stars in Corona Borealis
Corona Borealis
–
X-ray image of galaxy cluster
Abell 2142
Corona Borealis
–
Hercules and Corona Borealis, as depicted in
Urania's Mirror (c. 1825)
22.
Ultramarine
–
Ultramarine is a deep blue color and a pigment which was originally made by grinding lapis lazuli into a powder. The name comes from the Latin ultramarinus, literally beyond the sea, Ultramarine was the finest and most expensive blue used by Renaissance painters. It was often used for the robes of the Virgin Mary and it remained an extremely expensive pigment until a synthetic ultramarine was invented in 1826. The pigment consists primarily of a mineral containing small amounts of polysulfides. It occurs in nature as a component of lapis lazuli containing a blue cubic mineral called lazurite. The pigment color code is P, the major component of lazurite is a complex sulfur-containing sodium-silicate, which makes ultramarine the most complex of all mineral pigments. Some chloride is present in the crystal lattice as well. The blue color of the pigment is due to the S−3 radical anion, the preparation is typically made in steps. The first part of the takes place at 700 to 750 °C in a closed furnace, so that sulphur, carbon. This yields a yellow-green product sometimes used as a pigment, in the second step air or sulphur dioxide at 350 to 450 °C is used to oxidise sulphide sulphur in the intermediate product to S2 and Sn chromophore molecules, resulting in the blue pigment. The mixture is heated in a kiln, sometimes in brick-sized amounts, the resultant solids are then ground and washed as per any other insoluble pigment manufacturing process. The chemical reaction produces large amounts of sulfur dioxide, meaning that flue-gas desulfurization is an part of its manufacture to comply with pollution regulations. Large chimneys were used to disperse sulfur dioxide produced in the process, resulting in ultramarine tinting the surrounding ground surfaces, Ultramarine poor in silica is obtained by fusing a mixture of soft clay, sodium sulfate, charcoal, sodium carbonate and sulfur. The product is at first white, but soon turns green green ultramarine when it is mixed with sulfur, the sulfur burns, and a fine blue pigment is obtained. Ultramarine rich in silica is obtained by heating a mixture of pure clay, very fine white sand, sulfur. A blue product is obtained at once, but a red tinge often results, the different ultramarines—green, blue, red and violet—are finely ground and washed with water. Its color is unaffected by light nor by contact with oil or lime as used in painting, hydrochloric acid immediately bleaches it with liberation of hydrogen sulfide. Even a small addition of oxide to the reddish varieties especially causes a considerable diminution in the intensity of the color
Ultramarine
–
Synthetic ultramarine
pigment
Ultramarine
–
Lapis lazuli specimen (rough), Afghanistan
Ultramarine
–
Natural ultramarine
Ultramarine
–
Synthetic ultramarine violet
23.
King Charles Spaniel
–
The King Charles Spaniel is a small dog breed of the spaniel type. In 1903, the Kennel Club combined four separate toy spaniel breeds under this single title, the other varieties merged into this breed were the Blenheim, Ruby and Prince Charles Spaniels, each of which contributed one of the four colours available in the breed. Thought to have originated in the Far East, toy spaniels were first seen in Europe during the 16th century and they were made famous by their association with King Charles II of England and have been linked with English royalty since the time of Queen Mary I. Members of the breed have been owned by Queen Victoria, Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia, and Queen Elizabeth II. The King Charles Spaniel and the types of toy spaniels were crossbred with the Pug in the early 19th century to reduce the size of the nose. The 20th century saw attempts to restore lines of King Charles Spaniels to the breed of Charles IIs time and these included the unsuccessful Toy Trawler Spaniel and the now popular Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The Cavalier is slightly larger, with a head and a longer nose, while the King Charles is smaller, with a domed head. Historically the breeds that were merged into the King Charles Spaniel were used for hunting and they have kept their hunting instincts, but do not exhibit high energy and are better suited to being lapdogs. The modern breed is prone to health problems, including cardiac conditions. It is thought that the toy spaniels that eventually became the King Charles Spaniel originated in the Far East and they may share a common ancestry with the Pekingese and Japanese Chin. Toy spaniels were given as gifts to European royalty, the red and white variety of toy spaniel was first seen in paintings by Titian, including the Venus of Urbino, where a small dog is used as a symbol of female seductiveness. Further paintings featuring these toy spaniels were created by Palma Vecchio and these dogs already had high domed heads with short noses, although the muzzles were more pointed than they are today. These Italian toy spaniels may have crossed with local small dogs such as the Maltese. The Papillon is the descendant of similar toy-sized spaniels. The earliest recorded appearance of a toy spaniel in England was in a painting of Queen Mary I, Mary, Queen of Scots, was also fond of small toy dogs, including spaniels, showing the fondness of the British royalty for these types of dogs before Charles II. King Henry III of France owned a number of small spaniels, caius did discuss the Spainel-gentle, or Comforter though, which he classified as a delicate thoroughbred. This spaniel was thought to originate from Malta and was out only as a lapdog for daintie dames. He noted that dogs were a gift and thought that the earlier voyage of Captain Saris introduced a Japanese type of spaniel into England
King Charles Spaniel
–
'King Charles' Colour
King Charles Spaniel
–
Portrait of Queen Mary I and King Philip of England by
Hans Eworth (1558)
King Charles Spaniel
–
Five children of King Charles I of England (1637) by Anthony van Dyck, featuring a spaniel of the era at the bottom right
King Charles Spaniel
–
Portrait of a King Charles Spaniel, by
Jean-Baptiste Huet 1778
24.
Satyr
–
In Greek mythology, a satyr is one of a troop of ithyphallic male companions of Dionysus with goat-like features and often permanent erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but in 6th-century BC black-figure pottery human legs are the most common, in Roman Mythology there is a concept similar to satyrs, with goat-like features, the faun, being half-man, half-goat, who roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are associated with pipe-playing. Greek-speaking Romans often used the Greek term saturos when referring to the Latin faunus, the satyrs chief was Silenus, a minor deity associated with fertility. These characters can be found in the complete remaining satyr play, Cyclops, by Euripides. The satyr play was a short, lighthearted tailpiece performed after each trilogy of tragedies in Athenian festivals honoring Dionysus, there is not enough evidence to determine whether the satyr play regularly drew on the same myths as those dramatized in the tragedies that preceded. The groundbreaking tragic playwright Aeschylus is said to have especially loved for his satyr plays. Mature satyrs are depicted in Roman art with goats horns. As Dionysiac creatures they are lovers of wine and women, because of their love of wine, they are often represented holding wine cups, and they appear often in the decorations on wine cups. Attic painted vases depict mature satyrs as being built with flat noses, large pointed ears, long curly hair. Satyrs often carry the thyrsus, the rod of Dionysus tipped with a pine cone, in earlier Greek art, Silenos appear as old and ugly, but in later art, especially in Hellenistic art, he is softened into a more youthful and graceful aspect. This transformation or humanization of the Satyr appears throughout late Greek art, another example of this shift occurs in the portrayal of Medusa and in that of the Amazon, characters who are traditionally depicted as barbaric and uncivilized. A humanized Satyr is depicted in a work of Praxiteles known as the Resting Satyr, Praxiteles gives a new direction to the satyr in art. Although not mentioned by Homer, in a fragment of Hesiods works satyrs are called brothers of the nymphs and Kuretes. In the Dionysus cult, male followers are known as satyrs, in Attica there was a species of drama dealing with the legends of gods and heroes, and the chorus was composed of satyrs and sileni. In the Athenian satyr plays of the 5th century BC, the chorus commented on the action and this satyric drama burlesqued the serious events of the mythic past with lewd pantomime and subversive mockery. One complete satyr play from the 5th century survives, the Cyclops of Euripides, the Satyr and the Traveller, one of Aesops Fables, features the satyr as the benevolent host for a traveler in the forest in winter. The satyr is bewildered by the claim to be able to blow hot and cold with the same breath, first to warm his hands, then to cool his porridge
Satyr
–
Satyr with pipe and a pipe case (
Attic red-figure plate), 520–500 BC, from
Vulci,
Etruria
Satyr
–
The goat on the left has a short goat tail, but the Greek satyr on the right has a long horse tail, not a goat tail (Attic ceramic, 520 BC).
Satyr
–
Satyr on a mountain goat, drinking with women, in a
Gandhara relief of 2nd-4th century CE
Satyr
–
This
Hellenistic satyr wears a rustic
perizoma (loincloth) and carries a pedum (shepherd's crook).
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
25.
Varnish
–
Varnish is a transparent, hard, protective finish or film that is primarily used in wood finishing but also for other materials. Varnish is traditionally a combination of a oil, a resin. Varnish finishes are usually glossy but may be designed to produce satin or semi-gloss sheens by the addition of flatting agents. Varnish has little or no color, is transparent, and has no added pigment, as opposed to paints or wood stains, varnishes are also applied over wood stains as a final step to achieve a film for gloss and protection. Some products are marketed as a stain and varnish. Resin varnishes dry by evaporation of the solvent and harden almost immediately upon drying, acrylic and waterborne varnishes dry upon evaporation of the water but will experience an extended curing period. Environmental factors such as heat and humidity play a large role in the drying and curing times of varnishes. In classic varnish the cure rate depends on the type of oil used and, to some extent, the drying and curing time of all varnishes may be sped up by exposure to an energy source such as sunlight, ultraviolet light, or heat. Many varnishes contain plant-derived oils, synthetic oils or resins as their binder in combination with organic solvents and these are highly flammable in their liquid state. A highly important note, that is often over looked, all drying oils, certain alkyds, thus, oil-soaked rags and paper can smolder and ignite into flames, even several hours after use if proper precautions are not taken. Varnishing was a well known in ancient Egypt. Varnishing is also recorded in the history of Asia, in India, China and Japan, where the practice of lacquer work, varnishing was likely popular in India & China before it spread to Japan and Korea. Varnish and lacquer work are, however, generally treated in the arts as separate, berenice comes from the Greek words phero + nike. There are many different types of drying oils, including linseed oil, tung oil and these contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Resins that are used in varnishes include amber, kauri gum, dammar, copal, rosin, sandarac, balsam, elemi, mastic, in the 1900s in Canada, resins from local trees were used to finish pianos. As a result, these now antique pianos are considered difficult to refinish, however, shellac can be used over the existing resins provided sufficient time is allowed for thin coats to cure. Thus the original finish can be returned to its original lustre while preserving the color, violin varnishing is a multi-step process involving some or all of the following, primer, sealer, ground, color coats, and clear topcoat. Some systems use an oil varnish as described below, while others use spirit varnish
Varnish
–
Varnish on wood stairs
Varnish
–
Animal products
26.
Giovan Battista Pittoni
–
Giambattista Pittoni or Giovanni Battista Pittoni was an Italian painter of the late Baroque or Rococo period. He was among the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, of which in 1758 he became the second president, Pittoni was born in Venice on 6 June 1687.383 The theory of Rodolfo Pallucchini that Pittoni studied under Antonio Balestra is now generally discounted. However, in 1720 he may have travelled to France with his uncle Francesco, together with Rosalba Carriera, Antonio Pellegrini and he was elected to the Accademia Clementina of Bologna in 1727.28 Pittoni died in Venice on 6 November 1767. His tomb is in the church of San Giacomo dellOrio, Venice.384 The catalogue raisonné by Franca Zava Boccazzi of Pittonis paintings lists 247 extant and 117 lost, missing or destroyed works. The catalogue raisonné by Alice Binion of his drawings includes 304 items.91 Pittoni had a reputation during his lifetime. He was a restorer of older paintings, he was often selected as restorer or inspector of the quadri pubblici. He sold nine paintings to the soldier-turned-collector Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, Pittoni was successful, well liked and well respected. His reputation rapidly faded after his death, and by the end of the century he was totally forgotten. Interest in him was revived in the century by the publications of Laura Coggiola Pittoni, beginning with Dei Pittoni. Compendio delle vite de pittori veneziani istorici più rinomati del presente secolo con suoi ritratti tratti dal naturale, della pittura veneziana e delle opere pubbliche de veneziani maestri libri V. Venezia, Stamperia di G. Albrizzi. Pittoni Firenze, Istituto di edizioni artistiche, ——— Pseudo influenza francese nellarte di Giambattista Pittoni. Die Tätigkeit der Venezianer Maler Piazzetta und Pittoni für den Kurfürsten Clemens August von Köln, westfalen, Hefte für Geschichte, Kunst und Volkskunde 19, 364–72. Muzeum i twórca, Studia z historii sztuki i kultury ku czci Stanisława Lorentza, per il catalogo di Giambattista Pittoni, Proposte e inediti. Nota sulla grafica di Antonio Kern, pitture mitologiche di Giambattista Pittoni in rapporto a Sebastiano Ricci. Atti del Congresso internazionale di studi su Sebastiano Ricci e il suo tempo 1, la vicenda dei Tombeaux des princes, Matrici, storia e fortuna della serie Swiny tra Bologna e Venezia. Saggi e memorie di storia dellarte 10,79, 81-102, due nuove micropitture di Giambattista Pittoni. In. Per Maria Cionini Visani, Scritti di amici, münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 32, 182–206. Three New Mythological Paintings by Giambattista Pittoni, Piazzetta, Pittoni and Tiepolo at Parma
Giovan Battista Pittoni
–
Portrait of Pittoni by
Alessandro Longhi, 1762
Giovan Battista Pittoni
–
Portrait of Pittoni by
Bartolomeo Nazari
Giovan Battista Pittoni
Giovan Battista Pittoni
27.
Louvre
–
The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the worlds largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the citys 1st arrondissement, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres. The Louvre is the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II, remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace, in 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nations masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed Musée Napoléon, the collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic, whether this was the first building on that spot is not known, it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. According to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique, the name derives from an association with wolf hunting den, in the 7th century, St. Fare, an abbess in Meaux, left part of her Villa called Luvra situated in the region of Paris to a monastery. This territory probably did not correspond exactly to the modern site, the Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvres holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed, however, on 14 October 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection, mounted in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. Under Louis XVI, the museum idea became policy. The comte dAngiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre – which contained maps – into the French Museum, many proposals were offered for the Louvres renovation into a museum, however, none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution, during the French Revolution the Louvre was transformed into a public museum. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was imprisoned and the royal collection in the Louvre became national property
Louvre
–
the Richelieu wing (2005)
Louvre
–
The only portion of the medieval Louvre still visible
Louvre
–
Antonio Canova 's
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss was commissioned in 1787, donated in 1824.
Louvre
–
The
Venus de Milo was added to the Louvre's collection during the reign of
Louis XVIII.
28.
John Keats
–
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. He had a significant influence on a range of poets. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keatss work was the most significant literary experience of his life, the poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. This is typical of poets, as they aimed to accentuate extreme emotion through the emphasis of natural imagery. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular, John Keats was born in Moorgate, London, on 31 October 1795 to Thomas Keats and his wife, born Frances Jennings. There is no evidence of his exact birthplace. Although Keats and his family seem to have marked his birthday on 29 October and he was the eldest of four surviving children, his younger siblings were George, Thomas, and Frances Mary Fanny who eventually married Spanish author Valentín Llanos Gutiérrez. Another son was lost in infancy and his father first worked as a hostler at the stables attached to the Swan and Hoop Inn, an establishment he later managed, and where the growing family lived for some years. Keats believed that he was born at the inn, a birthplace of humble origins, the Globe pub now occupies the site, a few yards from the modern-day Moorgate station. He was baptised at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, and sent to a dame school as a child. His parents were unable to afford Eton or Harrow, so in the summer of 1803, he was sent to board at John Clarkes school in Enfield, the small school had a liberal outlook and a progressive curriculum more modern than the larger, more prestigious schools. In the family atmosphere at Clarkes, Keats developed an interest in classics and history, the headmasters son, Charles Cowden Clarke, also became an important mentor and friend, introducing Keats to Renaissance literature, including Tasso, Spenser, and Chapmans translations. The young Keats was described by his friend Edward Holmes as a character, always in extremes, given to indolence. However, at 13 he began focusing his energy on reading and study, in April 1804, when Keats was eight, his father died. The cause of death was a fracture, suffered when he fell from his horse while returning from a visit to Keats. Frances remarried two months later, but left her new husband soon afterwards, and the four went to live with their grandmother, Alice Jennings. In March 1810 when Keats was 14, his mother died of tuberculosis and she appointed two guardians, Richard Abbey and John Sandell, to take care of them. That autumn, Keats left Clarkes school to apprentice with Thomas Hammond, a surgeon and apothecary who was a neighbour, Keats lodged in the attic above the surgery at 7 Church Street until 1813
John Keats
–
Portrait of John Keats by
William Hilton.
National Portrait Gallery, London
John Keats
–
Life mask of Keats by
Benjamin Haydon, 1816
John Keats
–
Wentworth Place, now the
Keats House museum (left), Ten Keats Grove (right)
John Keats
–
Ambrotype of Fanny Brawne taken circa 1850 (photograph on glass)
29.
God Shuffled His Feet
–
God Shuffled His Feet is the second album by the Crash Test Dummies, released in 1993. It features their most popular single, Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, the cover art superimposes the band members faces over the figures of Titians painting Bacchus and Ariadne. It was their most successful album commercially, the album was the bands biggest mainstream hit. In addition, the reached number six in the Netherlands national albums chart, number 2 in the UK Albums Chart. In their native Canada, it never reached higher than #17 on the national RPM charts, all tracks written by Brad Roberts
God Shuffled His Feet
–
God Shuffled His Feet
30.
Crash Test Dummies
–
The Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian folk rock/alternative rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. The band is most identifiable through Brad Roberts and his distinctive bass-baritone voice, the band members have fluctuated over the years, but its best known line-up consisted of Roberts, Ellen Reid, Brads brother Dan Roberts, Benjamin Darvill, and Mitch Dorge. The band is best known for their 1993 single Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm, after a multi-year hiatus, the band returned in 2015 with a tour and the new charity single Promised Land which was a collaboration with Marc Mysterio following up his remix of Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm. The origin of the Crash Test Dummies is tied to the history of two Winnipeg nightspots, the Spectrum Cabaret and the Blue Note Cafe, owned by Curtis Riddell. In the mid-1980s, Riddell joined with Brad Roberts to form the decidedly less-than-serious bar band Bad Brad Roberts, over time, the band evolved into the Crash Test Dummies, a name suggested by a friend of the band who was in medical school. The diagnostic mannequin, known colloquially as a crash test dummy, was known to the public already by this time, Ellen Reid and Benjamin Darvill became permanent additions. George West, the bass player, quit and was replaced by Dan Roberts. Riddell was replaced by Vince Lambert, who was fired and replaced by Mitch Dorge just before the release of The Ghosts That Haunt Me, after signing with BMG Records, the band signed with manager Jeff Rogers. The band first began to achieve success in Canada with the release of The Ghosts that Haunt Me in 1991. The album eventually reached sales of 400,000 in Canada, largely due to the popularity of the hit single Supermans Song. The band did not receive much international recognition until the 1993 release of their second album, particularly instrumental in increasing the bands exposure in the American market was the appearance of a new type of radio format, adult album-oriented alternative rock. These stations put the first single Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm in high rotation, Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm did even better in the United Kingdom, where it was a No.2 hit, and Australia where it peaked at No.1. Popular parodist Weird Al Yankovic parodied the song under the title Headline News in 1994, in their native Canada, Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm was a comparative disappointment on the charts, only peaking at No.14. Two other songs from the album went top 10 in Canada, Swimming In Your Ocean and this latter song was also a top 40 hit in Australia and the United Kingdom and hit the lower portion of the US Hot 100. The result was that by mid-1994 the album had passed the sales mark in the United States and had also earned the band three Grammy nominations and three more Juno nominations. To date, God Shuffled His Feet has sold more than five, in January 1995, the band released The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead as a single and on the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels comedy Dumb and Dumber. The single, credited to The Crash Test Dummies and Ellen Reid, in 1996, the Dummies third album, A Worms Life, was released to mixed critical and moderate commercial success. The guitar-heavy singles were warmly received in some markets, but internationally nothing matched the success of either Supermans Song or Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Crash Test Dummies
–
Crash Test Dummies performing in 2010 (from left to right) –
Stuart Cameron,
Brad Roberts, and
Ellen Reid
