Jean-Étienne Liotard was a Swiss painter, art connoisseur and dealer. He is best known for his portraits in pastel, for the works from his trip to Turkey. A Huguenot of French origin and citizen of the Republic of Geneva, he was born and died in Geneva, but spent most of his career in stays in the capitals of Europe, where his portraits were much in demand, he worked in Rome, Paris, Vienna and other cities. Liotard was born in Geneva, his father was a French Protestant jeweller who fled to Geneva after 1685. Jean-Étienne Liotard began his studies under Professors Daniel Gardelle and Petitot, whose enamels and miniatures he copied with considerable skill, he went to Paris in 1725, studying under Jean-Baptiste Massé and François Lemoyne, on whose recommendation he was taken to Naples by the vicomte de Puysieux, Louis Philogène Brulart, Marquis de Puysieulx and Comte de Sillery. In 1735 he was in Rome, painting the portraits of several cardinals. In 1738 he accompanied Lord Duncannon to Constantinople.

Jean-Étienne Liotard painted numerous pastels of Turkish domestic scenes. Using modern dress was considered unheroic and inelegant in history painting using Middle Eastern settings, with Europeans wearing local costume, as travellers were advised to do. Many travellers had themselves painted in exotic Eastern dress on their return, including Lord Byron, as did many who had never left Europe, including Madame de Pompadour. Byron's poetry was influential in introducing Europe to the heady cocktail of Romanticism in exotic Oriental settings, to dominate 19th century Oriental art, his eccentric adoption of oriental costume secured him the nickname of the Turkish painter. He went to Vienna in 1742 to paint the portraits of the Imperial family. In 1745 he sold La belle chocolatière to Francesco Algarotti. Still under distinguished patronage he returned to Paris. In 1753 he visited England, where he painted the Princess of Wales, he went to Holland in 1756. She came from a Hugenot family, wanted him to shave off his beard.

In 1762 he painted portraits including Marie Antoinette. Another visit to England followed in 1772, in the next two years his name figures among the Royal Academy exhibitors, he returned to his native town in 1776. In 1781 Liotard published his Traité des principes et des règles de la peinture. In his last days he painted still landscapes, he died at Geneva in 1789. Liotard was an artist of great versatility. Best known for his graceful and delicate pastel drawings, of which La Liseuse, The Chocolate Girl, La Belle Lyonnaise at the Dresden Gallery and Maria Frederike van Reede-Athlone at Seven at the J. Paul Getty Museum are delightful examples, he achieved distinction for his enamels, copperplate engravings, glass painting. Additionally, he wrote a Treatise on the Art of Painting and was an expert collector of paintings by the old masters. Many of the masterpieces he had acquired were sold by him at high prices on his second visit to England; the museums of Amsterdam and Geneva are rich in examples of his paintings and pastel drawings.

A picture of a Turk seated is at the Victoria and Albert Museum, while the British Museum owns two of his drawings. The Louvre has, besides twenty-two drawings, a portrait of Lieutenant General Hérault as well as an oil painting of an English merchant and a friend dressed in costumes and entitled Monsieur Levett and Mademoiselle Helene Glavany in Turkish Costumes. A portrait of the artist is to be found in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence; as his son married a Dutch girl, the Rijksmuseum inherited an important collection of his drawings and paintings. One outstanding feature of Liotard's paintings is the prevalence of smiling subjects. Portrait subjects of the time adopted a more serious tone; this levity was a reflection of the Enlightenment-era philosophies. Indicative of the era, Liotard created works celebrating science, like the painting of woman paying homage to the doctor that saved her. Selected works List of Orientalist artists Orientalism This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed..

"Liotard, Jean Etienne". Encyclopædia Britannica. 16. Cambridge University Press. P. 739. Short biography 74 works by Liotard at the Musées d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva Some paintings of Liotard in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Liotard on a Danish website Liotard in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online edition Liotard paintings at The J. Paul Getty Museum

Stannards is a hamlet located in the towns of Willing and Wellsville in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 798 at the 2010 census; the hamlet is named after early resident John Stannard. The hamlet was called "Stannards Corners." John Stannard built the first hotel in this community. The hotel was owned by Clark Hayes, whose son, film star George "Gabby" Hayes was born in it. Stannards is located on the boundary between the towns of Wellsville, its center is located at 42°5′0″N 77°55′21″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.80 square miles, all land. The Genesee River flows northward through the town. North of the hamlet, Chenunda Creek joins the river from the east; the hamlet is located on New York Routes 19, a major north–south trunk road, 248, a local east–west trunk road. As of the census of 2000, there were 868 people, 375 households, 260 families residing in the community; the population density was 305.1 per square mile. There were 436 housing units at an average density of 153.3/sq mi.

The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.50% White, 0.35% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.23% from other races, 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population. There were 375 households out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.4% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.72. In the hamlet the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males. The median income for a household in the hamlet was $37,344, the median income for a family was $46,136.

Males had a median income of $41,000 versus $20,865 for females. The per capita income for the area was $18,575. About 5.4% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over. Gabby Hayes, American radio and television actor

Aksi is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Finland with an area of 59 hectares. Coordinates are 59°35′59″N 25°05′23″E It forms an archipelago with nearby islands of Prangli and Keri. Aksi belongs to Idaotsa village in Harju County. Aksi is a part of the Prangli landscape protection area; the island's northern end is stony, its southern end is covered with junipers and birches. Aksi was inhabited from 1790 to 1953, when the last inhabitants were forced to leave by the Soviet border guard. Many had fled in 1944 to Sweden; the family that lived there was Aksberg. There is a lighthouse, built in 1986. Aksi lighthouse - Official statistics and info from Estonian Maritime Administration List of islands of Estonia