1.
House of Thani
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The House of Thani is the ruling family of Qatar, whose origins can be traced back to the Maadid clan of the Banu Tamim tribal confederation. Around the 17th century, the tribe lived in Ushayqir, a settlement north-east of Riyadh and they settled in Qatar around the 1740s. Their first settlement in Qatar was in the town of Sikak. They settled in Doha in the 19th century under their leader Mohammed bin Thani, the group was named after the father of Mohammad, Thani bin Mohammad. The family is made of four factions, Bani Qassim, Bani Ahmed, Bani Jaber. As of the early 1990s, the number of the members was estimated to be about 6,000. The leadership transitions in 1913,1949,1960, and 1995 were all forced abdications and these abdications were forced by a nephew in one incident and sons in the others. However, none of the forced abdications toppled the Al Thani dynasty, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani I2. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani 3, Sheikh Thani bin Jassim Al Thani, Sheikh of Al Gharafa 4. Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Sheikh of Al Wakra 5, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, Former Sheikh of Al Rayyan, Ruler of Qatar 6. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani 7, Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, Sheikh of Umm Salal Mohammed 7.1. Sheikh Jassim bin Muhammed bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.1, Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.1.1. Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad Al Thani 7.1.1.2, Sheikh Hamad bin Fahad Al Thani 7.1.1.3. Sheikh Abdullah bin Fahad Al Thani 7.1.2, Sheikh Nasir bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.2.1. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.4, Sheikh Khalid bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.4.1. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.5.1, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.6.1. Sheikh Ali bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.8, Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.8.1. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani 7.1.9.1, Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa Al Thani 7.1.9.2
2.
Salvator Mundi (Leonardo)
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Salvator Mundi is a painting of Christ as Salvator Mundi recently attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, who is known to have painted the subject. It was lost and later rediscovered, and restored and exhibited in 2011, the painting shows Christ, in Renaissance garb, giving a benediction with his raised right hand and crossed fingers while holding a crystal sphere in his left hand. In France, Leonardo da Vinci painted the subject, Jesus Christ, the recently authenticated work was once owned by Charles I of England and recorded in his art collection in 1649 before being auctioned by the son of the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1763. It next appeared in 1900, when it was purchased by a British collector, Francis Cook, the painting was damaged from previous restoration attempts, and its authorship unclear. Cooks descendants sold it at auction in 1958 for £45, in 2005, the painting was acquired by a consortium of art dealers that included Robert Simon, a specialist in Old Masters. It was heavily overpainted so that it looked like a copy and it was then restored and authenticated as a painting by Leonardo. It was exhibited by Londons National Gallery during the Leonardo da Vinci, in 2013, the painting was sold to Russian collector Dmitry Rybolovlev for $127.5 million, via the Swiss dealer Yves Bouvier. The painting was compared with, and found superior to, twenty other versions of the Salvator Mundi, the way the ringlets of hair and the knotwork across the stole have been handled are also seen as indicative of Leonardos style. Furthermore, the pigments and the walnut panel upon which the work was executed are consistent with other Leonardo paintings and that uncanny strangeness that the later Leonardo paintings manifest. Original press release from Robert Simon Platonic receptacles, Leonardo and the Salvator Mundi, iconographic and provenance details of the painting
3.
Provence
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The largest city of the region is Marseille. The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana and it was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France. While it has been part of France for more than five hundred years, it retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity. The coast of Provence has some of the earliest known sites of habitation in Europe. Primitive stone tools dated to 1 to 1.05 million years BC were found in the Grotte du Vallonnet near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, tools dating to the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic were discovered in the Observatory Cave, in the Jardin Exotique of Monaco. The Paleolithic period in Provence saw great changes in the climate, with the arrival, at the beginning of the Paleolithic period, the sea level in western Provence was 150 meters higher than it is today. By the end of the Paleolithic, it had dropped 100 to 150 metres lower than sea level. The cave dwellings of the inhabitants of Provence were regularly inundated by the rising sea or left far from the sea. The changes in the sea led to one of the most remarkable discoveries of signs of early man in Provence. In 1985, a diver named Henri Cosquer discovered the mouth of a submarine cave 37 metres below the surface of the Calanque de Morgiou near Marseille, the entrance led to a cave above sea level. Inside, the walls of the Cosquer Cave are decorated with drawings of bison, seals, auks, horses and outlines of human hands, dating to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC. The end of the Paleolithic and beginning of the Neolithic period saw the sea settle at its present level, a warming of the climate and the retreat of the forests. The disappearance of the forests and the deer and other easily hunted game meant that the inhabitants of Provence had to survive on rabbits, snails, since they were settled in one place they were able to develop new industries. Inspired by the pottery from the eastern Mediterranean, in about 6000 BC they created the first pottery to be made in France. Around 6000 BC, a wave of new settlers from the east and they were farmers and warriors, and gradually displaced the earlier pastoral people from their lands. They were followed in about 2500 BC by another wave of people, also farmers, known as the Courronniens, traces of these early civilisations can be found in many parts of Provence. A Neolithic site dating to about 6,000 BC was discovered in Marseille near the Saint-Charles railway station, and a dolmen from the Bronze Age can be found near Draguignan. Between the 10th and 4th century BC the Ligures were found in Provence from Massilia as far as modern day Liguria and they were of uncertain origin, they may have been the descendants of the indigenous neolithic peoples
4.
Dutch Golden Age painting
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The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade, science, and art. Most work, including that for which the period is best known, a distinctive feature of the period is the proliferation of distinct genres of paintings, with the majority of artists producing the bulk of their work within one of these. The full development of specialization is seen from the late 1620s. A distinctive feature of the period, compared to earlier European painting, was the amount of religious painting. Dutch Calvinism forbade religious painting in churches, and though biblical subjects were acceptable in private homes, the development of many of these types of painting was decisively influenced by 17th-century Dutch artists. The widely held theory of the hierarchy of genres in painting, whereby some types were regarded as more prestigious than others, however this was the hardest to sell, as even Rembrandt found. Many were forced to produce portraits or genre scenes, which much more easily. In descending order of status the categories in the hierarchy were, history painting, including allegories, most paintings were relatively small – the only common type of really large paintings were group portraits. Painting directly onto walls hardly existed, when a wall-space in a public building needed decorating fitted framed canvas was normally used, painted delftware tiles were very cheap and common, if rarely of really high quality, but silver, especially in the auricular style, led Europe. With this exception, the best artistic efforts were concentrated on painting and printmaking, the volume of production meant that prices were fairly low, except for the best known artists, as in most subsequent periods there was a steep price gradient for more fashionable artists. In particular the French invasion of 1672, brought a depression to the art market. The distribution of pictures was very wide, yea many tymes, blacksmithes, cobblers etts. will have some picture or other by their Forge, such is the generall Notion, enclination and delight that these Countrie Native have to Painting reported an English traveller in 1640. There were for virtually the first time many professional art dealers, several significant artists, like Vermeer and his father, Jan van Goyen. Rembrandts dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh and his son Gerrit were among the most important, typically workshops were smaller than in Flanders or Italy, with only one or two apprentices at a time, the number often being restricted by guild regulations. In many cases involved the artists extricating themselves from medieval groupings where they shared a guild with several other trades. Several new guilds were established in the period, Amsterdam in 1579, Haarlem in 1590, the Leiden authorities distrusted guilds and did not allow one until 1648. The Hague, with the court, was an early example, there were many dynasties of artists, and many married the daughters of their masters or other artists. Many artists came from families, who paid fees for their apprenticeships
5.
17th-century French art
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In the early part of the 17th century, late mannerist and early Baroque tendencies continued to flourish in the court of Marie de Medici and Louis XIII. Art from this period shows influences from both the north of Europe and from Roman painters of the Counter-Reformation, artists in France frequently debated the merits between Peter Paul Rubens and Nicolas Poussin. There was also a strong Caravaggio school represented in the period by the paintings of Georges de La Tour. The wretched and the poor were featured in an almost Dutch manner in the paintings by the three Le Nain brothers. In the paintings of Philippe de Champaigne there are both propagandistic portraits of Louis XIII s minister Cardinal Richelieu and other more contemplative portraits of people in the Jansenist sect. The Palace of Versailles, initially a hunting lodge built by his father, was transformed by Louis XIV into a marvelous palace for fêtes and parties. Architect Louis Le Vau, painter and designer Charles Le Brun, the initial impetus for this transformation of Versailles is generally linked to the private château Vaux-le-Vicomte built for Louis XIVs minister of Finance Nicolas Fouquet. Having offered a festival for the king in the newly finished residence in 1661. The architects and artists under his patronage were all put to work on Versailles, in his youth, Louis XIV had suffered during the civil and parliamentary insurrection known as the Fronde. Versailles became a gilded cage, To leave spelled disaster for a noble, for all official charges, a word or glance from the king could make or destroy a career. The king himself followed a strict daily program, and there was little privacy, yet the difficult wars at the end of his long reign and the religious problems created by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes made his last years dark ones. French artists of the seventeenth century Baroque painting Classicism Perrault’s Colonnade Anthony Blunt, Art, french Art Vol III, The Ancient Régime ISBN 2-08-013617-8
6.
Genre painting
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Genre painting, also called genre scene or petit genre, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. A work would often be considered as a genre work even if it could be shown that the artist had used a known member of his family. In this case it would depend on whether the work was likely to have intended by the artist to be perceived as a portrait—sometimes a subjective question. The depictions can be realistic, imagined, or romanticized by the artist, because of their familiar and frequently sentimental subject matter, genre paintings have often proven popular with the bourgeoisie, or middle class. Genre subjects appear in many traditions of art and these were part of a pattern of Mannerist inversion in Antwerp painting, giving low elements previously in the decorative background of images prominent emphasis. The generally small scale of these paintings was appropriate for their display in the homes of middle class purchasers. Often the subject of a painting was based on a popular emblem from an Emblem book. The merry company showed a group of figures at a party, other common types of scenes showed markets or fairs, village festivities, or soldiers in camp. In Italy, a school of painting was stimulated by the arrival in Rome of the Dutch painter Pieter van Laer in 1625. He acquired the nickname Il Bamboccio and his followers were called the Bamboccianti, whose works would inspire Giacomo Ceruti, Antonio Cifrondi, jean-Baptiste Greuze and others painted detailed and rather sentimental groups or individual portraits of peasants that were to be influential on 19th-century painting. Spain had a tradition predating The Book of Good Love of social observation and commentary based on the Old Roman Latin tradition, practiced by many of its painters and illuminators. More than a later, the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya used genre scenes in painting and printmaking as a medium for dark commentary on the human condition. His The Disasters of War, a series of 82 genre incidents from the Peninsular War, with the decline of religious and historical painting in the 19th century, artists increasingly found their subject matter in the life around them. In French art this was known as the Troubador style, in the second half of the century interest in genre scenes, often in historical settings or with pointed social or moral comment, greatly increased across Europe. Other 19th-century English genre painters include Augustus Leopold Egg, George Elgar Hicks, William Holman Hunt, scotland produced two influential genre painters, David Allan and Sir David Wilkie. Wilkies The Cottars Saturday Night inspired a work by the French painter Gustave Courbet. Famous Russian realist painters like Vasily Perov and Ilya Repin also produced genre paintings, in Germany, Carl Spitzweg specialized in gently humorous genre scenes, and in Italy Gerolamo Induno painted scenes of military life. Subsequently the Impressionists, as well as such 20th-century artists as Pierre Bonnard, Itshak Holtz, Edward Hopper, other notable 19th-century genre painters from the United States include George Caleb Bingham, William Sidney Mount, and Eastman Johnson
7.
Le Nain
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The three Le Nain brothers were painters in 17th-century France, Antoine Le Nain, Louis Le Nain, and Mathieu Le Nain. They produced genre works, portraits and portrait miniatures, the brothers were born in or near Laon in northern France. By 1630, all three lived in Paris, where they shared the studio founded by Antoine, who was admitted to the Paris painters guild, within a few years they were receiving important commissions, Antoine painting a group portrait of the aldermen of Paris in 1632. In 1648 the three brothers were received into the Académie de peinture et de sculpture on the year of its founding. Because of the similarity of their styles of painting and the difficulty of distinguishing works by each brother, they are commonly referred to as a single entity. These genre paintings are noted for being remarkably literal, yet sympathetic. There remains some question, however, as to some of the assumed “peasants” were truly from the rural class—many seem to be simply the bourgeois at leisure in the country. Their sober execution and choice of colour recall characteristics of the Spanish school and their Adoration of the Shepherds in London is an exception, and many other civic and church works may have been lost in the French Revolution. Ariane in Naxos also appears to be an exception, as it depicts the Greek deity Bacchus, the brothers also produced miniatures and portraits. Mathieu became the painter of Paris in 1633, and much later was made a chevalier. Among his sitters for portraits were Marie de Medici and Cardinal Mazarin, Antoine and Louis died in 1648. Mathieu lived until 1677, and appears to have painted until the mid-1650s, the Le Nain paintings had a revival in the 1840s and, thanks to the exertions of Champfleury, made their appearance on the walls of the Louvre in 1848. Champfleury was a friend of the Realist painter Gustave Courbet, and they have remained popular through the 20th century
8.
Aix-en-Provence
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Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte dAzur, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, the population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains, Aix was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In the 4th century AD it became the metropolis of Narbonensis Secunda and it was occupied by the Visigoths in 477. In the succeeding century, the town was plundered by the Franks and Lombards. Aix passed to the crown of France with the rest of Provence in 1487, and in 1501 Louis XII established there the parliament of Provence, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the town was the seat of the Intendance of Provence. Current archeological excavations in the Ville des Tours, a suburb of Aix, have unearthed the remains of a Roman amphitheatre. The city slopes gently north to south and the Montagne Sainte-Victoire can easily be seen to the east. Aixs position in the south of France gives it a warm climate and it has an average January temperature of 5 °C and a July average of 23 °C. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine and only 91 days of rain, while it is partially protected from the Mistral, Aix still occasionally experiences the cooler and gusty conditions it brings. Unlike most of France which has a climate, Aix-en-Provence has a Mediterranean climate. The Cours Mirabeau is a thoroughfare, planted with double rows of plane-trees, bordered by fine houses. It follows the line of the old city wall and divides the town into two sections. The new town extends to the south and west, the old town, with its narrow, along this avenue, which is lined on one side with banks and on the other with cafés, is the Deux Garçons, the most famous brasserie in Aix. Built in 1792, it has been frequented by the likes of Paul Cézanne, Émile Zola, the Cathedral of the Holy Saviour is situated to the north in the medieval part of Aix. The archbishops palace and a Romanesque cloister adjoin the cathedral on its south side, the Archbishopric of Aix is now shared with Arles. Among its other public institutions, Aix also has the second most important Appeal Court outside of Paris, the Hôtel de Ville, a building in the classical style of the middle of the 17th century, looks onto a picturesque square. It contains some fine woodwork and tapestries, at its side rises a handsome clock-tower erected in 1510
9.
Still life
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A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made. Still life gives the artist more freedom in the arrangement of elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of such as landscape or portraiture. Early still-life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious, some modern still life breaks the two-dimensional barrier and employs three-dimensional mixed media, and uses found objects, photography, computer graphics, as well as video and sound. Still life emerged from the painting of details in larger compositions with subjects, the term includes the painting of dead animals, especially game. Live ones are considered art, although in practice they were often painted from dead models. The still-life category also shares commonalities with zoological and especially botanical illustration, generally a still life includes a fully depicted background, and puts aesthetic rather than illustrative concerns as primary. Still life occupied the lowest rung of the hierarchy of genres, the trompe-lœil painting, which intends to deceive the viewer into thinking the scene is real, is a specialized type of still life, usually showing inanimate and relatively flat objects. Still-life paintings often adorn the interior of ancient Egyptian tombs and it was believed that food objects and other items depicted there would, in the afterlife, become real and available for use by the deceased. Ancient Greek vase paintings also demonstrate great skill in depicting everyday objects, by the 16th century, food and flowers would again appear as symbols of the seasons and of the five senses. Also starting in Roman times is the tradition of the use of the skull in paintings as a symbol of mortality and earthly remains and these vanitas images have been re-interpreted through the last 400 years of art history, starting with Dutch painters around 1600. As Pliny the Elder recorded in ancient Roman times, Greek artists centuries earlier were already advanced in the arts of painting, genre painting. He singled out Peiraikos, whose artistry is surpassed by only a very few, by 1300, starting with Giotto and his pupils, still-life painting was revived in the form of fictional niches on religious wall paintings which depicted everyday objects. Through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, still life in Western art remained primarily an adjunct to Christian religious subjects, painters like Jan van Eyck often used still-life elements as part of an iconographic program. Petrus Christus’ portrait of a bride and groom visiting a goldsmith is an example of a transitional still life depicting both religious and secular content. Another similar type of painting is the family portrait combining figures with a table of food. Around this time, simple still-life depictions divorced of figures were beginning to be painted on the outside of shutters of private devotional paintings, another step toward the autonomous still life was the painting of symbolic flowers in vases on the back of secular portraits around 1475. This was a development by Pieter Aertsen, whose A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms introduced the type with a painting that still startles. A small religious scene can often be out in the distance
10.
Barnes Foundation
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The Barnes Foundation is an American educational art and horticultural institution with locations in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, and Logan Square, Philadelphia. It was founded in 1922 by Albert C, today, the foundation owns more than 4,000 objects, including over 900 paintings, estimated to be worth about $25 billion. In the 1990s, the declining finances led its leaders to various controversial moves, including sending artworks on world tours. A2009 documentary, The Art of the Steal, argued that the foundation had been taken over by other non-profit institutions, after numerous court challenges, the new Barnes building opened on Benjamin Franklin Parkway on May 19,2012. The foundations current president and executive director, Thomas “Thom” Collins, was appointed on January 7,2015, from 1912, Barnes, who derived his fortune from his development of the antiseptic drug Argyrol and a business to sell it, began to study and collect art. He was assisted at first by the painter William Glackens, a schoolmate, in 1912 in Paris, Barnes visited the home of Gertrude and Leo Stein, where he became familiar with the work of such Modernist artists as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Commissioned by Barnes, Glackens selected the first 20 works he purchased from modern painters in Paris, in the 1920s, Barnes became acquainted with the work of Amedeo Modigliani and Giorgio de Chirico, thanks to the dealer Paul Guillaume. In 1922, Barnes began to transform his collection into a cultural institution and he chartered the Barnes Foundation as an educational institution in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He selected the location on land in Merion that he bought from the American Civil War veteran and horticulturist Captain Joseph Lapsley Wilson and he commissioned architect Paul Cret to design a complex of buildings. Soon afterward, a dispute was filed in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The main building features several unusual cubist bas-reliefs, commissioned by Barnes from the sculptor Jacques Lipchitz, Barnes built his home next to the gallery, and it now serves as the administration building of the foundation. His wife, Laura, developed the Arboretum of the Barnes Foundation, Barness conception of his foundation as a school rather than a typical museum was shaped through his collaboration with the philosopher John Dewey, who helped draw up its mandate. To help with the educational programs, Barnes hired Thomas Munro, one of Deweys students at Columbia University, and Lawrence Buermeyer. Buermeyer and Munro each served as Associate Director of Education for several years and she accompanied him on buying trips from the 1920s through the 1940s. She continued to express his philosophy after his death, Barnes created detailed terms of operation in an indenture of trust to be honored in perpetuity after his death. Matisse is said to have hailed the school as the only place in America to view art. Artist Harriet Zeitlin is among those who studied at the Foundation, in 1941 and 1942, Bertrand Russell gave a series of lectures on the history of philosophy at the gallery, these would later become his landmark A History of Western Philosophy. After a decade of legal challenges, the public was allowed access to the collection in 1961
11.
Philadelphia
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In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia was one of the capitals in the Revolutionary War. In the 19th century, Philadelphia became an industrial center. It became a destination for African-Americans in the Great Migration. The areas many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational, with a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation. Philadelphia is the center of activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, Philadelphia has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States. The 67 National Historic Landmarks in the city helped account for the $10 billion generated by tourism, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States. Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape Indians in the village of Shackamaxon, the Lenape are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island. Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape, surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States independence pushed them further west, in the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony, in 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their defeat of the English colony of Maryland
12.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially the Met, is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States, and is among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments. The main building, on the edge of Central Park along Manhattans Museum Mile, is by area one of the worlds largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains a collection of art, architecture. On March 18,2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum at Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side, it extends the museums modern, the Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, Indian, and Islamic art. The museum is home to collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, as well as antique weapons. Several notable interiors, ranging from first-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870. The founders included businessmen and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day and it opened on February 20,1872, and was originally located at 681 Fifth Avenue. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Mets galleries. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Met organizes and hosts traveling shows throughout the year. The director of the museum is Thomas P. Campbell, a long-time curator and it was announced on February 28th,2017 that Campbell will be stepping down as the Mets director and CEO, effective June. On March 1st,2017 the BBC reported that Daniel Weiss shall be the acting CEO until a replacement is found, Beginning in the late 19th century, the Met started to acquire ancient art and artifacts from the Near East. From a few tablets and seals, the Mets collection of Near Eastern art has grown to more than 7,000 pieces. The highlights of the include a set of monumental stone lamassu, or guardian figures. The Mets Department of Arms and Armor is one of the museums most popular collections. Among the collections 14,000 objects are many pieces made for and used by kings and princes, including armor belonging to Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France, Rockefeller donated his more than 3, 000-piece collection to the museum. The Mets Asian department holds a collection of Asian art, of more than 35,000 pieces, the collection dates back almost to the founding of the museum, many of the philanthropists who made the earliest gifts to the museum included Asian art in their collections
13.
X-ray
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X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz, X-ray wavelengths are shorter than those of UV rays and typically longer than those of gamma rays. Spelling of X-ray in the English language includes the variants x-ray, xray, X-rays with high photon energies are called hard X-rays, while those with lower energy are called soft X-rays. Due to their ability, hard X-rays are widely used to image the inside of objects, e. g. in medical radiography. The term X-ray is metonymically used to refer to an image produced using this method. Since the wavelengths of hard X-rays are similar to the size of atoms they are useful for determining crystal structures by X-ray crystallography. By contrast, soft X-rays are easily absorbed in air, the length of 600 eV X-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer. There is no consensus for a definition distinguishing between X-rays and gamma rays, one common practice is to distinguish between the two types of radiation based on their source, X-rays are emitted by electrons, while gamma rays are emitted by the atomic nucleus. This definition has problems, other processes also can generate these high-energy photons. One common alternative is to distinguish X- and gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 10−11 m and this criterion assigns a photon to an unambiguous category, but is only possible if wavelength is known. Occasionally, one term or the other is used in specific contexts due to precedent, based on measurement technique. Thus, gamma-rays generated for medical and industrial uses, for radiotherapy, in the ranges of 6–20 MeV. X-ray photons carry enough energy to ionize atoms and disrupt molecular bonds and this makes it a type of ionizing radiation, and therefore harmful to living tissue. A very high radiation dose over a period of time causes radiation sickness. In medical imaging this increased risk is generally greatly outweighed by the benefits of the examination. The ionizing capability of X-rays can be utilized in treatment to kill malignant cells using radiation therapy. It is also used for material characterization using X-ray spectroscopy, hard X-rays can traverse relatively thick objects without being much absorbed or scattered. For this reason, X-rays are widely used to image the inside of visually opaque objects, the most often seen applications are in medical radiography and airport security scanners, but similar techniques are also important in industry and research
14.
Microscopy
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Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye. There are three branches of microscopy, optical, electron, and scanning probe microscopy. This process may be carried out by irradiation of the sample or by scanning of a fine beam over the sample. Scanning probe microscopy involves the interaction of a probe with the surface of the object of interest. The development of microscopy revolutionized biology, gave rise to the field of histology and so remains an essential technique in the life and physical sciences. Optical or light microscopy involves passing visible light transmitted through or reflected from the sample through a single or multiple lenses to allow a view of the sample. The resulting image can be detected directly by the eye, imaged on a plate or captured digitally. The single lens with its attachments, or the system of lenses and imaging equipment, along with the lighting equipment, sample stage and support. The most recent development is the microscope, which uses a CCD camera to focus on the exhibit of interest. The image is shown on a screen, so eye-pieces are unnecessary. Limitations of standard optical microscopy lie in three areas, This technique can only image dark or strongly refracting objects effectively, diffraction limits resolution to approximately 0.2 micrometres. This limits the practical limit to ~1500x. Out of focus light from points outside the focal plane reduces image clarity, live cells in particular generally lack sufficient contrast to be studied successfully, since the internal structures of the cell are colourless and transparent. The most common way to increase contrast is to stain the different structures with selective dyes, staining may also introduce artifacts, apparent structural details that are caused by the processing of the specimen and are thus not legitimate features of the specimen. In general, these make use of differences in the refractive index of cell structures. It is comparable to looking through a window, you dont see the glass. There is a difference, as glass is a material. The human eye is not sensitive to this difference in phase, in order to improve specimen contrast or highlight certain structures in a sample special techniques must be used
15.
Underdrawing
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Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and these artists underdrew with a brush, using hatching strokes for shading, using water-based black paint, before underpainting and overpainting with oils. Cennino DAndrea Cennini describes a different type of underdrawing, made with graded tones rather than hatching, infrared reflectography and spectroscopic analysis of paintings Drawsketches. How to Draw step by step How to Draw with steps
16.
Commemorative stamp
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A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The subject of the stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike definitive stamps which normally depict the subject along with the denomination. Many postal services issue several commemorative stamps each year, sometimes holding first day of ceremonies at locations connected with the subjects. Commemorative stamps can be used alongside ordinary stamps, there are several candidates for the title of first commemorative. A 17-cent stamp issued in 1860 by New Brunswick, showing the Prince of Wales in anticipation of his visit is one possibility. The United States 15-cent black stamp of 1866 depicts Abraham Lincoln, and was the first stamp issued after his assassination in 1865, the U. S. also issued a 5-cent stamp in 1882 showing the recently murdered President James A. Garfield. In addition, the United States issued stamped envelopes for the Centennial Exposition in 1876, although technically these are postal stationery and not stamps. In 1870 Peru issued a 5¢ scarlet Locomotive and Arms stamp and is regarded as the first commemorative postage stamp, other premier commemorative stamps were issued by New South Wales in 1888 to mark its 100th anniversary, the six types all include the inscription ONE HUNDRED YEARS. Commemoratives followed in 1891 for Hong Kong and Romania, in 1892 and 1893 a half-dozen nations of America and Spain issued commemoratives for the 400th anniversary of the Wests discovery of America by Christopher Columbus. The organization broke up after attempts at getting collectors at large to comply with their wishes. Today the early commemoratives are still prized by collectors, definitive stamp Airmail stamp Stamp collecting Postage stamp Commemoration of the American Civil War on postage stamps Territories of the United States on stamps
17.
Government of France
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The Government of the French Republic exercises executive power. It is composed of a minister, who is the head of government. Senior ministers are titled as Ministers, whereas junior ministers are titled as Secretaries of State, a smaller and more powerful executive body, called the Council of Ministers, is composed only of the senior ministers, though some Secretaries of State may attend Council meetings. By comparison, the Government of France is equivalent to Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom, all members of the French government are nominated by the President of the Republic on the advice of the Prime Minister. Members of the government are ranked in an order, which is established at the time of government formation. In this hierarchy, the Prime Minister is the head of government and he is nominated by the President of the Republic. After being nominated to lead a government, the Prime Minister nominee must propose a list of ministers to the President, the President can either accept or reject these proposed ministers. Ministers are ranked by importance, Ministers of State are senior ministers and it is an honorary rank, granted to some Ministers as a sign of prestige. Ministers are senior ministers, and are members of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries of State are junior ministers. This is the lowest rank in the French ministerial hierarchy, Secretaries work directly under a Minister, or sometimes directly under the Prime Minister. While the Council of Ministers does not include Secretaries of State as members, according to the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic, the government directs and decides the policy of the nation. In practice, the government writes bills to be introduced to parliament, all political decisions made by the government must be registered in the government gazette. All bills and some decrees must be approved by the Council of Ministers, furthermore, it is the Council of Ministers that defines the collective political and policy direction of the government, and takes practical steps to implement that direction. In addition to writing and implementing policy, the government is responsible for national defence, the workings of the government of France are based on the principle of collegiality. Meetings of the Council of Ministers take place every Wednesday morning at the Élysée Palace and they are presided over by the President of the Republic, who promotes solidarity and collegiality amongst government ministers. These meetings follow a set format, in the first part of a meeting, the Council deliberates over general interest bills, ordinances, and decrees. In the second part, the Council discusses individual decisions by each Minister regarding the appointment of civil servants. In addition, the Minister of Foreign Affairs provides the Council with weekly updates on important international issues, most government work, however, is done elsewhere
18.
Courtauld Institute of Art
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The Courtauld Institute of Art, commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious institutions in the world for these disciplines and is known for the disproportionate number of directors of major museums drawn from its small body of alumni. The art collection of the Institute is known particularly for its French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings and is housed in the Courtauld Gallery, the Institute and the Gallery are both in Somerset House, in the Strand in London. Originally the Courtauld Institute was based in Home House, a Robert Adam-designed townhouse in Londons Portman Square, the Strand block of Somerset House, designed by William Chambers from 1775–1780, has housed the Courtauld Institute since 1989. The Courtauld celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2007–08 academic year, the Courtauld Institute of Art is the major centre for the study of the history and conservation of art and architecture in the United Kingdom. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate teaching to around 400 students each year, degrees are awarded by the University of London. The Independent has called it probably the most prestigious specialist college for the study of the history of art in the world, the Courtauld was ranked, again, first in the United Kingdom for History and History of Art in The Guardian’s 2017 University Guide. The only undergraduate course offered by the Courtauld is a BA in the History of Art and this is a full-time course designed to introduce students to all aspects of the study of western art. Students in the history of art masters programme have to choose a specialisation ranging from antiquity to modern to global contemporary artwork. Special options are taught in class sizes of 5–10 students. In 2009, it was decided that the Witt Library would not continue to add new material to the collection, the book library is one of the UKs largest archives of art history books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues. There is a library which also covers films, and an IT suite. Two other websites and sell high resolution digital files to scholars, publishers and broadcasters, the Courtauld uses a virtual learning environment to deliver course material to its students. Since 2004, the Courtauld has published a research journal, immediations. Each cover of the journal has been commissioned by a contemporary artist. The art collection of the Institute is housed in the Courtauld Gallery, the collection was begun by the founder of the Institute, Samuel Courtauld, who presented an extensive collection of mainly French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in 1932. It was enhanced by further gifts in the 1930s and a bequest in 1948, the Gallery contains some 530 paintings and over 26,000 drawings and prints. The Courtauld Gallery is open to the public, since 1989 it has been housed in the Strand block of Somerset House, which was the first home of the Royal Academy, founded in 1768
19.
Vanity Fair (magazine)
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Vanity Fair is a magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States. The first version of Vanity Fair was published from 1913 to 1936, the imprint was revived in 1983, and came to include four European editions of the magazine. The current editor is Graydon Carter, Condé Montrose Nast began his empire by purchasing the mens fashion magazine Dress in 1913. He renamed the magazine Dress and Vanity Fair and published four issues in 1913 and it continued to thrive into the twenties. However, it became a casualty of the Great Depression and declining advertising revenues, although its circulation, Condé Nast announced in December 1935 that Vanity Fair would be folded into Vogue as of the March 1936 issue. Condé Nast Publications, under the ownership of S. I. Newhouse, the first issue was released in February 1983, edited by Richard Locke, formerly of The New York Times Book Review. After three issues, Locke was replaced by Leo Lerman, veteran features editor of Vogue and he was followed by editors Tina Brown and Graydon Carter. Regular writers columnists have included Dominick Dunne, Sebastian Junger, Michael Wolff, Maureen Orth and Christopher Hitchens. Amongst the most famous of these was the August 1991 Leibovitz cover featuring a naked, pregnant Demi Moore, in addition to its controversial photography, the magazine also prints articles on a variety of topics. In 1996, journalist Marie Brenner wrote an exposé on the tobacco industry titled The Man Who Knew Too Much, the article was later adapted into a movie The Insider, which starred Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. S. The magazine also features interviews with celebrities, including a monthly Proust Questionnaire. The magazine was the subject of Toby Youngs book, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, about his search for success, from 1995, the book has been made into a movie, with Jeff Bridges playing Carter. There are currently five international editions of Vanity Fair being published, namely in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, the British Vanity Fair was first published in 1991. The Italian Vanity Fair was established in October 2003 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2013, Vanity Fair Germany launched in February 2007 at a cost of €50 million, then the most expensive new magazine in Germany in years and Condé Nasts biggest investment outside the United States. After circulation had plummeted from half a million to less than 200,000 per week, a French version started in June 2013. The Spanish version of the magazine was first published in Spain in 2008, in April 2015 Condé Nast México y Latinoamerica was to launch Vanity Fair Mexico. As a successor to a similar invitation-only event annually held by the late agent Irving Paul Lazar, during its first years, the magazines Oscar party was co-hosted by producer Steve Tisch at Mortons in West Hollywood. At first, editor Graydon Carter kept the invitation list small, between 2009 and 2013, the party was held at Sunset Tower
20.
Qatar
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Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a sovereign country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the island country of Bahrain, as well as sharing maritime borders with the United Arab Emirates. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971, Qatar has been ruled by the House of Thani since the early 19th century. Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was the founder of the State of Qatar, Qatar is a hereditary monarchy and its head of state is Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Whether it should be regarded as a constitutional or a monarchy is a matter of opinion. In 2003, the constitution was approved in a referendum. In early 2017, Qatars total population was 2.3 million,313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.6 million expatriates, Qatar is a high income economy and is a developed country, backed by the worlds third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. The country has the highest per capita income in the world, Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development and is the most advanced Arab state for human development. Qatar is a significant power in the Arab world, supporting several rebel groups during the Arab Spring both financially and through its globally expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network. For its size, Qatar wields disproportionate influence in the world, Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so. A century later, Ptolemy produced the first known map to depict the peninsula, the map also referenced a town named Cadara to the east of the peninsula. The term Catara was exclusively used until the 18th century, after which Katara emerged as the most commonly recognised spelling, eventually, the modern derivative Qatar was adopted as the countrys name. In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced, while in the local dialect it is, Human habitation of Qatar dates back to 50,000 years ago. Settlements and tools dating back to the Stone Age have been unearthed in the peninsula, Mesopotamian artefacts originating from the Ubaid period have been discovered in abandoned coastal settlements. Al Daasa, a settlement located on the western coast of Qatar, is the most important Ubaid site in the country and is believed to have accommodated a small seasonal encampment. Kassite Babylonian material dating back to the second millennium BC found in Al Khor Islands attests to trade relations between the inhabitants of Qatar and the Kassites in modern-day Bahrain, among the findings were 3,000,000 crushed snail shells and Kassite potsherds. It has been suggested that Qatar is the earliest known site of shellfish dye production, in 224 AD, the Sasanian Empire gained control over the territories surrounding the Persian Gulf
21.
Hermitage Museum
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The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great and has open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of only a small part is on permanent display. The collections occupy a complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace. Apart from them, the Menshikov Palace, Museum of Porcelain, Storage Facility at Staraya Derevnya, the museum has several exhibition centers abroad. The Hermitage is a state property. Since July 1992, the director of the museum has been Mikhail Piotrovsky, of the six buildings in the main museum complex, five, namely the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre, are open to the public. The entrance ticket for foreign tourists more than the fee paid by citizens of Russia. However, entrance is free of charge the first Thursday of every month for all visitors, the museum is closed on Mondays. The entrance for visitors is located in the Winter Palace. A hermitage is the dwelling of a hermit or recluse, the word derives from Old French hermit, ermit hermit, recluse, from Late Latin eremita, from Greek eremites, literally people who live alone, which is in turn derived from ἐρημός, desert. Originally, the building housing the collection was the Small Hermitage. Today, the Hermitage Museum encompasses many buildings on the Palace Embankment, apart from the Small Hermitage, the museum now also includes the Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, and the Winter Palace, the former main residence of the Russian tsars. In recent years, the Hermitage has expanded to the General Staff Building on the Palace Square facing the Winter Palace, the Western European Art collection includes European paintings, sculpture, and applied art from the 13th to the 20th centuries. It is displayed, in about 120 rooms, on the first, drawings and prints are displayed in temporary exhibitions. Since 1940, the Egyptian collection, dating back to 1852 and it serves as a passage to the exhibition of Classical Antiquities. A modest collection of the culture of Ancient Mesopotamia, including a number of Assyrian reliefs from Babylon, Dur-Sharrukin, the collection of Classical Antiquities occupies most of the ground floor of the Old and New Hermitage buildings. Its floor is made of a marble mosaic imitating ancient tradition, while the stucco walls
22.
Pushkin Museum
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The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Svyatoslav Richters December nights has been held in the Pushkin museum since 1981. The museums current name is misleading, in that it has no direct associations with the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. The facility was founded by professor Ivan Tsvetaev, Tsvetaev persuaded the millionaire and philanthropist Yuriy Nechaev-Maltsov and the fashionable architect Roman Klein of the urgent need to give Moscow a fine arts museum. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts building was designed by Roman Klein and Vladimir Shukhov, construction work began in 1898 and continued till 1912. Ivan Rerberg headed structural engineering effort on the site for 12 years. In 2008, President Dmitri A. Medvedev announced plans for a $177 million restoration, in 2014, Russian architect Yuri Grigoryan, and his firm Project Meganom, were chosen to take over the project. Tsvetaevs dream was realised in May 1912, when the museum opened its doors to the public, the museum was originally named after Alexander III, although the government provided only 200,000 rubles toward its construction, in comparison with over 2 million from Nechaev-Maltsev. Its first exhibits were copies of ancient statuary, thought indispensable for the education of art students, the only genuinely ancient items - Moscow Mathematical Papyrus and Story of Wenamun - had been contributed by Vladimir Golenishchev three years earlier. After the Russian capital was moved to Moscow in 1918, the Soviet government decided to transfer thousands of works from St Petersburgs Hermitage Museum to the new capital, the entire collection of Western art from the Museum Roumjantsev was added too. These paintings formed a nucleus of the Pushkin museums collections of Western art, but the most important paintings were added later from the State Museum of New Western Art. These comprised Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork, including top works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Dufrénoy, Derain, among them, Van Goghs La Vigne Rouge, apparently the only painting sold during the artists lifetime. In 1937, Pushkins name was appended to the museum, because the Soviet Union marked the centenary of the death that year. After World War II the evacuated Dresden Gallery had been stored in Moscow for 10 years, the Pushkin Museum has a numismatic collection which is unpublished. It includes archaeological material from Central Asia, such as a hoard of Kushano-Sasanian coins acquired in 2002 William Craft Brumfield
23.
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
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The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its neoclassical architecture and extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, Time magazine ranked the museums new Bloch Building number one on its list of The 10 Best Architectural Marvels which considered candidates from around the globe, on September 1,2010, Julián Zugazagoitia became the fifth Director of the museum. The museum was built on the grounds of Oak Hall, the home of Kansas City Star publisher William Rockhill Nelson. When he died in 1915, his will provided that upon the deaths of his wife and daughter and this bequest was augmented by additional funds from the estates of Nelsons daughter, son-in-law and attorney. In 1911, former schoolteacher Mary McAfee Atkins bequeathed $300,000 to establish an art museum, through sound management of the estate, this amount grew to $700,000 by 1927. Original plans called for two art museums based on the separate bequests, however, trustees of the two estates decided to combine the two bequests along with smaller bequests from others to make a single major art institution. The building was designed by prominent Kansas City architects Wight and Wight, who designed the approaches to the Liberty Memorial. Ground was broken in July 1930, and the museum opened December 11,1933, a distinctly American principle appropriate for such a building may be developed, but, so far, everything of that kind is experimental. One doesn’t experiment with two-and-a-half million dollars, when the original building opened its final cost was $2.75 million. The dimensions of the structure were 390 feet long by 175 feet wide making it larger than the Cleveland Museum of Art. The museum, which was referred to as the Nelson Art Gallery or simply the Nelson Gallery, was actually two museums until 1983 when it was formally named the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Previously the east wing was called the Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, while the west wing, on the exterior of the building Charles Keck created 23 limestone panels depicting the march of civilization from east to west including wagon trains heading west from Westport Landing. Grillwork in the doors depict oak leaf motifs in memory of Oak Hall, the south facade of the museum is an iconic structure in Kansas City that looms over a series of terraces onto Brush Creek. As William Nelson, the contributor, donated money rather than a personal art collection. At the height of the Great Depression, the art market was flooded with pieces for sale. As such, the buyers found a vast market open to them. The acquisitions grew quickly and within a time, the Nelson-Atkins had one of the largest art collections in the country. One-third of the building on the first and second floors of the west wing were left unfinished when the building opened to allow for future expansion, part was completed in 1941 to house Chinese painting and the remainder of the building was completed after World War II
24.
Worcester Art Museum
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The Worcester Art Museum, also known by its acronym WAM, houses over 35,000 works of art dating from antiquity to the present day, representing cultures from all over the world. The WAM opened in 1898 in Worcester, Massachusetts, and is the second largest art museum in New England, the WAM also has a café, museum shop, library, and a year-round roster of classes for children and adults. In September 1896, Stephen Salisbury III and a group of his friends gathered together to create the Art Museum Corporation, Salisbury then gave a tract of land, on what was once the Salisbury farm, as well as $100,000 USD to build an art museum. The museum was designed by Stephen C, Earle, a Worcester architect, and formally opened in 1898 with the Rev. Daniel Merriman as its first president. In 1905, Stephen Salisbury died and left the bulk of his five million-dollar estate to the museum, the WAM became the first museum in the United States to purchase works by Claude Monet as well as Paul Gauguin. The museum was also the first institution to transport a medieval building, between 1932 and 1939, the Worcester Art Museum joined a consortium of museums and institutions to sponsor expeditions to the archaeological sites where the city of Antioch once stood. The Antioch mosaics, as they are now known, were split up among the institutions The WAM received many mosaics including the Worcester Hunt, on May 17,1972, the museum suffered a major theft of artwork. Two men wearing masks entered the museum just before closing and shot a guard in the side. The two men stole The Brooding Woman and Head of a Woman by Paul Gauguin, Mother and Child by Pablo Picasso, and St. Bartholomew by Rembrandt, a collection of works worth over one million dollars. Four individuals were charged with the theft as well as the theft of seven artworks stolen from the Boyden Library at Deerfield Academy, beginning in the 1990s, the WAM began renovating all of its galleries. The renovation began with the European galleries and then the Chinese Decorative Arts Gallery, followed by the Early American Galleries, the Art Since the Mid-20th Century galleries had been closed for about a decade before they were reopened as part of this program. The renovation of two galleries cost $85,000 USD and included new flooring, lighting, wall refinishing. The Worcester Art Museum started as a small building, designed by Stephen Earle. Very little of the exterior of this building can be viewed due to the multiple expansions the museum has undertaken. In 1927, the purchased a 12th-century French chapter house that was originally part of the Benedictine Priory of St. John at Le Bas-Nueil near Poitiers. Installed in 1932, and linked to the museum in 1933 via the grand Renaissance Court, in 1933 alone, the Museum attracted 200,000 visitors. The Worcester Art Museum supported the excavation between 1932 and 1939 in partnership with universities and other museums, the museum building has expanded several times, in 1940,1970, and 1983. The Frances L. Hiatt Wing is designed for exhibitions, study and storage area for prints, drawings, and photographs
25.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
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Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design is an art museum in Providence affiliated with the Rhode Island School of Design, in the U. S. state of Rhode Island. The museum was founded in 1877 and is the 20th largest art museum in the United States, in September 2008, a new addition to the RISD Museum was opened to the public. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jose Rafael Moneo of Spain, the Chace Center connects the four old buildings of the RISD Museum with a glass bridge. The $34 million center was built on a lot, and named in honor of the late Malcolm. The Chace Center serves as the entrance to the museum and includes an auditorium, a retail shop. The RISD Museums collection of about 100,000 objects contains a range of works from around the world, including ancient Egypt, Asia, Africa, ancient Greece and Rome, Europe. Among the prominent international and American artists represented are Picasso, Monet, Manet, Paul Revere, Chanel, Andy Warhol, a number of objects represent the most outstanding examples in their categories. Among these virtually unique works of art are an Etruscan bronze situla, Greek female head in marble, and a rare Hellenistic bronze Aphrodite. Among the Greek vases are works by some of the major Attic painters, including Nikosthenes, the Brygos Painter, the Providence Painter, and the Pan, Lewis, the cornerstone of the Museums Egyptian collection is the Ptolemaic period coffin and mummy of the priest Nesmin. Among other highlights of the Egyptian collection are a rare New Kingdom ceramic paint box, a fragment from the temple complex at Karnak. The RISD Museums Asian Art collection contains ceramics, costume, prints, painting, sculpture, the Japanese prints are shown, in rotation, in a gallery dedicated to their exhibition. A major attraction is the important 12th-century wooden Buddha Dainich Nyorai, the Buddha is on permanent exhibition in its own gallery. The Japanese textiles are the core and glory of the Asian textile collection, the kesa, or Buddhist priests’ robes, are the most numerous, with 104 examples. The 47 Japanese Noh robes, meticulously documented, form a collection of nearly every type of costume in use in the Noh drama of 18th-. Their spectacular colors and patterns, embellished with gold and silver, express perfectly the splendor of the traditional, the Museums collection of Indian saris and Chinese ceremonial robes is superb. The Islamic and Indian collections include works of art in all media that celebrate the heritage of the Arab, Indian, Persian. Created in 2000, the Department of Contemporary Art oversees a collection of painting, sculpture, video, mixed media. In addition, the department regularly organizes exhibitions that highlight important issues, trends, the collection also includes important sculptural work by Richard Artschwager, Louise Bourgeois, Louise Nevelson, Tom Otterness, Lucas Samaras and Robert Wilson
26.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
27.
L'Estaque, Melting Snow
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LEstaque, Melting Snow is a c.1871 oil-on-canvas painting by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. It shows a view from the outskirts of LEstaque, a village near Marseille. LEstaque, Melting Snow was painted in a single session and it is one of only two snow-laden winter subjects Cézanne painted. Cézanne moved to Provence in 1870 to evade military service during the Franco-Prussian War and he soon moved to LEstaque, where he painted a number of landscapes. Critics differ in their interpretation of this painting, some see it as wholly personal, the colors are oppressively dark, while the thickly painted, quick brushwork adds to the urgent violence of the scene. With the exception of the red rooftops and the greens of the trees in the foreground, the colors, the whites, greys and blacks are used mostly for emotional impact. The diagonal of the hill cuts across the painting from left to right, dividing avalanche on one side and gloom on the other. The hill sweeps down until it rests just above the red roof of a barely visible house at its foot—an effect that art critic Meyer Schapiro described as giving a rushing force to the image. Given the angle of the hill and the depth from which the houses are viewed, in both, the landscape is subjective and the viewpoint of the observer is paramount—the landscape is representational and perceived differently by each character. According to Berman, The foreground is the observers space, in the Cézanne, nature becomes an extension of the observers mental landscape, and in Hemingway it is a representation of each viewers need for inclusion within the natural order. Analecta Husserliana, Volume 81 Springer Publishing,2001
28.
Portrait of Louis Guillaume
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Portrait of Louis Guillaume is an oil on canvas portrait by Paul Cézanne painted c. Guillaume was the son of friends of the artist and a friend of Cézannes son, here he is portrayed in a highly sculpted manner with a near-expressionless, uncommunicative face, and an immobile, lifeless body. In form and complexity, the painting is ahead of its time and it contains many abstractions, mostly in its presentation of the head and body as simple, solid shapes, a technique later taken up and developed by Henri Matisse. The works low-key colours, mostly greys, whites and dark greens, achieve a sombre tone, heavy-lidded, they are, according to art critic Meyer Schapiro, without spiritual light. They belong to a world of shadow, one critic famously wrote that Cézanne painted the heads of friends as if they were apples, and that sense of cool detachment is evident in this work. The painting was purchased by Ambroise Vollard by 1906 and it was sold to a Florentine collector c 1907 before it was sold in 1927 to Chester Dale in New York. In 1963 Dale donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C. where it is on permanent display
29.
Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue
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Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue is a landscape painting dating from around 1886, by the French artist Paul Cézanne. The subject of the painting is the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in Provence in southern France, Cézanne spent a lot of time in Aix-en-Provence at the time, and developed a special relationship with the landscape. This particular mountain, that out in the surrounding landscape, he could see from his house. Moreover, Cézanne depicted the railway bridge on the Aix-Marseille line at the Arc River Valley in the center on the side of this picture. The painting shows clearly Cézannes project of rendering order and clarity to natural scenes, both the light and the colours of the painting give the impression of a pattern that is not imposed on nature, but is there naturally. Becks-Malorny, Ulrike Paul Cézanne, 1839-1906, Pioneer of Modernism, ISBN 3-8228-5642-8 Gombrich, the Story of Art, 16th ed. ISBN 0-7148-3355-X Tomoki Akimaru, Cézanne and the Steam Railway ~
30.
House in Provence
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House in Provence is an oil painting by French artist Paul Cézanne. Created in 1885, it is part of the permanent collection in the Indianapolis Museum of Art. With muted tones and soft colors, Cézanne painted a home, accented by the mountains in the background, the soft greens of the rolling hills. Cézannes dynamic style is best observed closely in this painting, the intersect in dynamic way. The brushstrokes create lively movement within the lines that he creates to border the house. House in Provence comes out of Cézannes mature style, where he lived in Provence with his family and this landscape is set on the South side of Mont Sainte-Victoire, which was a favorite subject of the artist. Cézanne did not share the same interests with the rest of the impressionists, house in Provence was probably bought by the artist Ambroise Vollard. In 1910, it was sold to Henri Bernstein and it was likely sold to Gottlieb Reber in 1918. It was sold to Marie Harriman by 1936, in 1945, the piece was purchased by Caroloine Marmon Fesler for the John Herron Art Institute, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art, in memory of Daniel W and Elizabeth C Marmon
31.
Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine
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Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine is a series of oil paintings by the French artist Paul Cézanne. The subject of the painting is the Montagne Sainte-Victoire in Provence in southern France, Cézanne spent a lot of time in Aix-en-Provence at the time, and developed a special relationship with the landscape. This painting represented the Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Montbriant in Aix-en-Provance, moreover, Cézanne depicted the railway bridge on the Aix-Marseille line at the Arc River Valley in the center on the right side of this picture. Tomoki Akimaru, Cézanne and the Steam Railway ~
32.
Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier
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Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier is a painting created circa 1893 to 1894 by French artist Paul Cézanne. It is considered the most expensive still life sold at an auction. Cézanne was famous for painting still lifes which expressed complex emotions while still being based upon carefully observed reality, Paintings of this type would eventually lead to the creation of new art styles during the 20th century such as Cubism. The painting went through the possession of Paris dealer Ambroise Vollard, Cornelis Hoogendijk, Paul Rosenberg, barnes, and the Carroll Carstairs Gallery. This painting was sold at Sothebys, New York City on 10 May 1999 for $60,502,500, the painting was later resold at a loss. Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings Artnet
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The Boy in the Red Vest
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The Boy in the Red Vest, also known as The Boy in the Red Waistcoat, is a painting by Paul Cézanne, painted in 1889 or 1890. It is an example of Cézannes skilled, nuanced. Cézanne painted four oil portraits of this Italian boy in the red vest, all in different poses, which allowed him to study the relationship between the figure and space. The most famous of the four, and the one referred to by this title, is the one which depicts the boy in a melancholic seated pose with his elbow on a table. It is currently held in Zürich, Switzerland, the other three portraits, of different poses, are in museums in the US. Bührle, which owns the work, notes the paintings picturesqueness, adding that There is a perfect balance here of high compositional intelligence. In 1895, art critic Gustave Geffroy said it could stand comparison with the finest figure paintings of the Old Masters, the colors of the painting are rich, dense, and festive. These three angles are countered by the angles of the thighs and arms, creating a tightly articulated structure of intersecting diagonals. This painting was acquired from Cézanne by art dealer Ambroise Vollard, probably in 1895, art collector and patron Emil Georg Bührle purchased it from Beber in 1948. Following Bührles death in 1956, his heirs donated the painting to the Foundation E. G, in February 2008, the painting was stolen from the Foundation E. G. It was the museums most valuable painting and was valued at $91 million and it was recovered in Serbia in April 2012. Catalogue entry – The Paintings of Paul Cézanne
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Portrait of Gustave Geffroy
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Portrait of Gustave Geffroy is a c.1895 painting by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. It portrays Gustave Geffroy, a French novelist and art critic noted as one of the earliest historians of Impressionism. In March 1894, Geffroy wrote an article in the periodical Le Journal praising the work of painter Paul Cézanne who until then had received little praise in critical circles. Mutual friend Claude Monet arranged for a meeting between the two in November of that year which ended due to Cézannes oft-noted erratic behavior. Nonetheless, Geffroy continued to write favorably of Cézanne, believing, passionate and candid, silent and subtle, he will go to The Louvre. Cézanne expressed thanks in letters to Geffroy in the months following their meeting and, in a display of gratitude, he elected to paint Geffroys portrait. The painter sent the critic a request in April 1895, after which Geffroy sat for Cézanne daily over a span of three months in the study at his home in Paris. After the three time, Cézanne, disappointed with the portraits results, fled both the painting and Paris itself for his home in Aix-en-Provence. In a July 6 letter to Monet, he explained, I am a little upset at the meager result I obtained, especially after so many sittings and successive bursts of enthusiasm and despair. Reasons for the breakdown in relations on Cézannes part have been attributed to everything from politics to artistic principles to religion, Cézanne was unhappy with the painting and it was never finished, yet Portrait of Gustave Geffroy became a popular retrospective work after his death. Cubist painters were interested in the dimensions of the bookcase. Geffroy noted that Cézanne painted the canvas at once, leaving the face and hands for last. The multiple angles of perspective, particularly with the books both in cases and on the table, have noted for their zig-zag effect on the viewer. The portrait has been noted as the continuation of a recurring Cézanne theme, people in their environment, reserved and unimposing. It has also compared to the earlier Portrait of Duranty by Edgar Degas. The painting was donated to the French state in 1969 by the family of collector Auguste Pellerin and is on permanent display at the Musée dOrsay in Paris, French Studies, A Quarterly Review 61.1,2007. New York, Harry N. Abrams,1988, ISBN 0-88365-248-X Portrait of Gustave Geffroy at the Musée dOrsay
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Pyramid of Skulls
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Pyramid of Skulls is a c.1901 oil painting by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. It depicts four human skulls stacked in a pyramidal configuration, painted in a pale light against a dark background, Pyramid of Skulls is exceptional in the artists oeuvre, for in no other painting did Cézanne place his objects so close to the viewer. For art historian Françoise Cachin, these bony visages all but assault the viewer, displaying an assertiveness very much at odds with the usual reserve of domestic still-life tableaux. Working in isolation in the last decade of his life, Cézanne frequently alluded to mortality in his letters, For me, life has begun to be monotonous, As for me. I wont have time to myself, and I might as well be dead. Cézannes health started to deteriorate at the same time, the dramatic resignation to death informs a number of still life paintings he made between 1898 and 1905 of skulls. These works, some painted in oils and some with watercolor, are subtle in meaning yet also more visually stark than the traditional approach to the theme of vanitas. Cézannes interest in the subject may have had roots in other than the contemplation of death. He could have drawn to the skulls volumetric forms, just as he was to those of fruits and vases. They also share similarities with his self-portrayals, the skulls confront the viewer straight-on in a manner reminiscent of the artists portraits. In both sets of works the mass of the cranium is emphasized, in the self-portraits the lower half of his face is obscured by his beard, in both series attention is focused on the round pate and eye sockets. There would have further reason for the subject to interest Cézanne, skulls were prominent in the homes of Catholics. Human skulls had also long been common accessories in artists studios, indeed, the contents of Cézannes studio were known to include three skulls, an ivory Christ on an ebony cross near one another on the mantelpiece. Joachim Gasquet, a friend of the artist, later recalled, Pyramid of Skulls was painted at Cézannes studio in Aix, where he worked prior to his move into the new Les Lauves studio in September 1902. A visitor to the studio in July 1902 wrote, In his bedroom, on a table in the middle. He spoke of a very good painted study that was somewhere in the attic, but Cézanne could not find the key to the garret, and blamed his maid for its misplacement. A watercolor study, Three Skulls, at the Art Institute of Chicago, is similar in composition, the skull studies would serve as inspiration to 20th-century artists like Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. Today the skulls themselves remain in Cézannes studio outside of Aix-en-Provence, ISBN 0-8109-4026-4 Cachin, Françoise, et al
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Still Life with Teapot
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Still Life with Teapot is a still-life oil painting dating between 1902-06, by the French artist Paul Cézanne. The subject of the painting is a table draped loosely with a cloth on which lie fruit, crockery. The painting was acquired by the National Museum Wales in 1952 and is on display at the National Museum Cardiff, as well as Chardin, Cézanne was influenced by the Spanish and Dutch artists of the genre. In the 1880s he changed the structure of his compositions and his approach to the subject, Still Life with Teapot was painted towards the end of Cézannes life, thought to be between 1902 and 1906. It was painted at his studio in Aix-en-Provence and the table on which the objects are arranged still survives at the studio, a cloth is draped over the table, arranged carefully in elaborate but carefully arranged folds. On the cloth is a bowl and a plate on which four fruit have been placed. On an uncovered section of the table, to the right of the painting, rests a teapot, knife, the strong colours of the vessels, fruit and cloth are set against a washed-out green-grey background. What we know as we look at them, know it physically in our bodies, is the feeling of having the shape of a sphere, Cézanne would change his position when painting his later still-life works to concentrate on each object individually. This resulted in the perspective of his work to shift slightly and this can be seen in Still Life with Teapot in which the plate appears to bend and the table legs to not correspond with the angle of the table top. By 1920, Still Life with Teapot had come into the ownership of the Paris-based art firm and it was purchased in 1920 by Welsh philanthrapist Gwendoline Davies for the sum of £2,000, and is described by the National Museum Wales as one of her finest acquisitions. When Davies died in 1952 she bequested her collection of art work to the National Museum of Wales, in 1961 the work was sent on loan to an exhibition in France. While on exhibit it was stolen, and the company paid out a value of £60,000 for its loss. The museum initially placed the monies into a Cardiff Corporation Mortgage fund, as of 2012 it is on view at the National Museum Cardiff in gallery 14. Colour and Light, Fifty Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Works at the National Museum of Wales
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Marie-Hortense Fiquet
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Marie-Hortense Fiquet Cézanne was a French artists model. She is best known for her marriage to Paul Cézanne and the 27 portraits, mostly in oil and she was born in Saligney, France on 22 April 1850. In 1869, she met Cézanne at an art school in Paris called Académie Suisse and this art school was used by a number of major artists as a place to meet each other and to paint the models who worked there. Fiquets main job was as a bookseller or bookbinder, but she combined this with work as a model. They started a relationship and when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1871, afraid of offending his father, Louis-Auguste Cézanne, a well-to-do banker, and compromising his allowance, he went to great lengths to conceal his liaison with Fiquet. The existence of their child Paul, born in 1872, was kept from Louis-Auguste for some years. Fiquet and Cézanne married on 28 April 1886, in the presence of the artists parents, described by one scholar as high-maintenance, Fiquet was to live separately from her husband for much of their married life. The psychological distance between husband and wife appears to be reflected in the portraits where she gives the impression of being self-absorbed, although he continued to paint his wife until the 1890s, he disinherited her. Their one child, Paul inherited his fathers entire estate, the settlement that Hortense received from her son was squandered through gambling. Hortense may have provided inspiration for a character in LŒuvre, an Émile Zola novel which appeared in form the year before the Cézannes marriage. Zola was a friend to Cézanne since their schooldays, in the novel, Christine, also a model, marries a painter. The Painted Face, Portraits of Women in France 1814-1914, greenwich, Connecticut, New York Graphic Society,1969
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