Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together by William Isaacs is a fascinating book because it has very good application in business and life + I think there are valuable lessons for everyone.
Useful links:
www.dialogos.com
www.dialogueproject.net
Friday, April 11, 2008
Rondelles
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Rondelles are fashioned from small pieces of flat rough and can be described as small discs drilled through the center and faceted only round the edge. They are used as spacers between beads of colored gems in high-quality chokers.
Rondelles are fashioned from small pieces of flat rough and can be described as small discs drilled through the center and faceted only round the edge. They are used as spacers between beads of colored gems in high-quality chokers.
Realism And Impressionism In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The Art of Courbet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, and Rodin
1
The French Impressionists were the offspring of the Realists, and to trace their artistic pedigree we must return to painting in France in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was shown how the Romantics had rebelled against a false Classicism, but only the barest hint was given of how the struggle for liberty and truth in art reached a further stage in the forties by the development of a new group of artists known as the Realists. The leader of this movement and the man who perhaps did more than any other to change the whole modern outlook on art was Gustave Courbet (1819-77).
Courbet was the son of a wealthy farmer of Ornans in the Doubs. His father intended him for the law, and with this object sent him to Paris. Arrived there, Courbet threw law to the winds and set about learning the one thing that interested him, painting. A rigid republican, both by education and inclination, Courbet was penetrated by a passionate sympathy for the working classes, and he found the subjects for his pictures in the ordinary life of the people. Further, holding tenaciously that painting, ‘an art of sight,’ ought to concern itself with things seen, he was opposed to Romanticism as the Romantics had been, in their day, to Classicism. Intensely earnest and serious by nature, Courbet regarded it as mere frivolity to make pictures out of imaginary incidents in poems and romances when all the pageant and pathos of real life waited to be painted. His point of view is made clear by a reply he once made to a patron who desired that he should execute a painting with angels in it for a church. ‘Angels!’ said Courbet, ‘but I have never seen angels. What I have not seen I cannot paint.’
After the Revolution of 1848 Courbet’s new style of democratic painting had a temporary success. In 1849, before the political reaction had begun, he was awarded a medal at the Salon for his picture, ‘After Dinner at Ornans.’ This medal placed him hors concours, that is to say, it gave him the right of showing pictures in future Salons without his works have to obtain the approval of the Selecting Jury. Courbet took full advantage of this privilege in the following year, and to the Salon of 1850, in addition two landscapes and four portraits, he sent two large pictures entitled ‘The Stone-breakers’ and ‘A Funeral at Ornans’. The political reaction was in full tide, and the two last pictures raised a storm of fury, because their subjects were supposed to be ‘dangerously Socialistic.’ It will be remembered that it was in the Salon of the same year that J F Millet showed his first great democratic painting, ‘The Sower’.
‘A Funeral at Ornans’ became one of the milestones in the progress of modern painting, for, notwithstanding the abuse showered on Courbet, the sincerity of his work appealed to a younger generation of artists. Here was a man who saw life steadily as a whole, and painted life just as he saw it. Each figure in it from the clergy to the mourners, from the gravedigger to the dog, is painted simply but with a truth and power that make it a living thing. Courbet was the first of modern painters to rbeak the open-air realism of Velazquez and Frans Hals. He not only had much direct influence on Whistler and on Manet, but pointed out to them the road along which they should travel.
Realism And Impressionism In France (continued)
The Art of Courbet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, and Rodin
1
The French Impressionists were the offspring of the Realists, and to trace their artistic pedigree we must return to painting in France in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was shown how the Romantics had rebelled against a false Classicism, but only the barest hint was given of how the struggle for liberty and truth in art reached a further stage in the forties by the development of a new group of artists known as the Realists. The leader of this movement and the man who perhaps did more than any other to change the whole modern outlook on art was Gustave Courbet (1819-77).
Courbet was the son of a wealthy farmer of Ornans in the Doubs. His father intended him for the law, and with this object sent him to Paris. Arrived there, Courbet threw law to the winds and set about learning the one thing that interested him, painting. A rigid republican, both by education and inclination, Courbet was penetrated by a passionate sympathy for the working classes, and he found the subjects for his pictures in the ordinary life of the people. Further, holding tenaciously that painting, ‘an art of sight,’ ought to concern itself with things seen, he was opposed to Romanticism as the Romantics had been, in their day, to Classicism. Intensely earnest and serious by nature, Courbet regarded it as mere frivolity to make pictures out of imaginary incidents in poems and romances when all the pageant and pathos of real life waited to be painted. His point of view is made clear by a reply he once made to a patron who desired that he should execute a painting with angels in it for a church. ‘Angels!’ said Courbet, ‘but I have never seen angels. What I have not seen I cannot paint.’
After the Revolution of 1848 Courbet’s new style of democratic painting had a temporary success. In 1849, before the political reaction had begun, he was awarded a medal at the Salon for his picture, ‘After Dinner at Ornans.’ This medal placed him hors concours, that is to say, it gave him the right of showing pictures in future Salons without his works have to obtain the approval of the Selecting Jury. Courbet took full advantage of this privilege in the following year, and to the Salon of 1850, in addition two landscapes and four portraits, he sent two large pictures entitled ‘The Stone-breakers’ and ‘A Funeral at Ornans’. The political reaction was in full tide, and the two last pictures raised a storm of fury, because their subjects were supposed to be ‘dangerously Socialistic.’ It will be remembered that it was in the Salon of the same year that J F Millet showed his first great democratic painting, ‘The Sower’.
‘A Funeral at Ornans’ became one of the milestones in the progress of modern painting, for, notwithstanding the abuse showered on Courbet, the sincerity of his work appealed to a younger generation of artists. Here was a man who saw life steadily as a whole, and painted life just as he saw it. Each figure in it from the clergy to the mourners, from the gravedigger to the dog, is painted simply but with a truth and power that make it a living thing. Courbet was the first of modern painters to rbeak the open-air realism of Velazquez and Frans Hals. He not only had much direct influence on Whistler and on Manet, but pointed out to them the road along which they should travel.
Realism And Impressionism In France (continued)
Price Discovery
I found the article Price Ploys via http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/BIZ01/803310325/1010/rss23 interesting because many consumers don't understand the psychology related to prices + it's amazing how these pricing tricks work + there are valuable lessons for everyone.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sustainable Energy Zone
I think the Sustainable Energy Zone project in Dundalk, Ireland is interesting because if the energy-conscious initiative by the local town goes well according to the plan, Ireland could become (http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/09/europe/ireland.php) a good business model for the the rest of the world + an exporter of green electrons.
Useful links:
www.sei.ie
www.irish-energy.ie
Useful links:
www.sei.ie
www.irish-energy.ie
Chopard + Madonna
Chopard has created special jewelry for Madonna, the Queen of Pop, for the much-anticipated new album: Hard Candy by Madonna which is scheduled for release on April 28, 2008.
The personalized design for the artist must be stunning.
Useful links:
www.chopard.com
www.madonna.com
The personalized design for the artist must be stunning.
Useful links:
www.chopard.com
www.madonna.com
African, Asian And Latin American Film Festival
The 18th African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival will be held in Milan from 7th to 13th April 2008.
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.festivalcinemaafricano.org
www.eni.it
Don't miss it!
Useful links:
www.festivalcinemaafricano.org
www.eni.it
Brain Enhancement
(via Wired) I found the Nature online survey intriguing because 20 percent of respondents, largely drawn from the scientific community, have admitted to using brain-enhancing drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Provigil (modafinil) + the widespread neuroenhancer use by the scientific community is stunning + I wonder if the diamond/colored stone graders + lab gemologists worldwide are on the same wavelength.
Have you used cognitive enhancers? Did they work for you?
Useful link:
www.nature.com
Have you used cognitive enhancers? Did they work for you?
Useful link:
www.nature.com
John Kao
John Kao is known as the innovation guru + serial innovator (Economist) + he has worked with a wide range of companies, startups and government agencies getting innovation done + his book Innovation Nation was named by Business Week to be one of the top business books of 2007.
Useful links:
www.johnkao.com
www.innovationation.org
Useful links:
www.johnkao.com
www.innovationation.org
Girdled Briolettes
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
Girdled (or encircled) Briolettes are comparatively rare. They resemble ordinary Briolettes except that their overall faceting is separated into two equal parts by a girdle. They have sometimes been erroneously called Double Rose Cuts, even though the distribution of their triangular facets is quite different from that of the real Rose Cut. The purpose of the girdle is to allow the gem to be hung by a gold ring or band instead of having to be drilled at the pointed end. In fact, these two methods of suspending a stone are often combined, probably for extra security.
First identified in a portrait of Queen Maria Josepha of Saxony dated 1750, the diamond in her hairpin may well be the one which the court jeweler, Dinglinger, is reported to have sent to Warsaw for Augustus the Strong in 1713. The diamond was originally suspended from an enamelled eagle, then mounted on a flowered twig decorated with flowered gems. Now once again it hangs from the eagle’s beak.
When I examined this unique Briolette, I could not help marvelling at its beauty. It has frequently been described as being ‘very brilliant’, referring to its light effects. It is, in fact, a drop, but divided by a girdle so that it belongs to the Sancy Cut category, even though it is pendeloque-shaped, tapering to a point. Its forty facets are distributed much like those of a Rose Cut. The degree of precision of the whole cut is amazing, though I did detect a minor lack of symmetry characteristic of the Baroque, of the kind which gave diamonds of the period their special charm—a charm which has been lost with modern precision cutting. Unfortunately, the diamond has been damaged by careless handling (its abraded girdle alone would downgrade it today to Loupe Clean or Internally Flawless), unforgivable in view of its historical and intrinsic value. It displays a vivid fire, sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow.
Girdled (or encircled) Briolettes are comparatively rare. They resemble ordinary Briolettes except that their overall faceting is separated into two equal parts by a girdle. They have sometimes been erroneously called Double Rose Cuts, even though the distribution of their triangular facets is quite different from that of the real Rose Cut. The purpose of the girdle is to allow the gem to be hung by a gold ring or band instead of having to be drilled at the pointed end. In fact, these two methods of suspending a stone are often combined, probably for extra security.
First identified in a portrait of Queen Maria Josepha of Saxony dated 1750, the diamond in her hairpin may well be the one which the court jeweler, Dinglinger, is reported to have sent to Warsaw for Augustus the Strong in 1713. The diamond was originally suspended from an enamelled eagle, then mounted on a flowered twig decorated with flowered gems. Now once again it hangs from the eagle’s beak.
When I examined this unique Briolette, I could not help marvelling at its beauty. It has frequently been described as being ‘very brilliant’, referring to its light effects. It is, in fact, a drop, but divided by a girdle so that it belongs to the Sancy Cut category, even though it is pendeloque-shaped, tapering to a point. Its forty facets are distributed much like those of a Rose Cut. The degree of precision of the whole cut is amazing, though I did detect a minor lack of symmetry characteristic of the Baroque, of the kind which gave diamonds of the period their special charm—a charm which has been lost with modern precision cutting. Unfortunately, the diamond has been damaged by careless handling (its abraded girdle alone would downgrade it today to Loupe Clean or Internally Flawless), unforgivable in view of its historical and intrinsic value. It displays a vivid fire, sparkling with all the colors of the rainbow.
The Influence Of The Far East
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
3
In his treatment of buildings, particularly in his earlier etchings, Whistler was undoubtedly influenced by the work of Charles Méryon, one of the earliest and greatest etchers of architectural subjects. The life of this artist is one of the saddest stories in modern art. Charles Méryon, was born in 1821; he was the son of a French dancer, and his father is said to have been an Englishman of good family, but during his early life he had little assistance from either of his parents, and from his boyhood he had to struggle to make his own way in the Bohemian underworld of Paris.
During Méryon’s lifetime, unfortunately, etchings were not so popular as they are today. For a century and a half after Rembrandt, etching, as a pure and separate art, lay comparatively unnoticed, but undeterred by want of patrons, poverty, and ill-health, Méryon devoted himself to the revival of this almost forgotten art, and became one of its greatest masters that the world has yet seen. To record on copper the beauty and interest of the architecture of Paris became the passion of Méryon’s life, and his etchings are unique for the imagination and emotional force they display combined with scrupulously exact drawing of the architectural features which form his theme. His famous etching ‘Le Stryge’, showing us a view of Paris from Notre Dame, with one of the quaint gargoyles of the Cathedral occupying a prominent place in the foreground, reveals not only the perfection of his technique, with its fine, nervous line and rich velvety blacks, but also the blend of realism and imagination which characterises this artist’s work.
These masterly views of Paris were offered for sale by the artist at the price of one franc (then worth about ten pence in English money), but even at this ridiculous figure they did not find enough purchasers to enable him to keep body and soul together. Privation, hardship, and want of proper nourishment inevitably told on his health, and eventually his nerves gave way and he was put away as insane in the hospital of Charenton. But though of a nervous temperament, his brain was not diseased, and after some months of good feeding in the hospital Méryon became normal, and it was seen that his breakdown was wholly due to starvation. He was allowed to leave Charenton and began to work again, drawing and etching in Paris, but the unhappy genius had no better fortune and seemed unable to secure the minimum amount of food that a human body requires. Again he starved, with the same result, his mind became unhinged and he was taken back to Charenton, where he died in 1868.
By a cruel irony of fate the etchings began to be appreciated almost immediately after the etcher’s death. Never before or since has the art world seen so rapid and sensational an increase in value. The explanation is that the interest excited by the plates of Whistler and Seymour Haden led to a feverish hunt after other etchers, and so the fame of Méryon was established. Within a few years of his death the etchings he had vainly tried to sell for ten pence apiece were changing hands at five pounds; the prices of them rose rapidly and steadily from tens to hundreds of pounds, and within recent years rich collectors have paid more than a thousand pounds to secure a fine impression of an etching by Méryon.
3
In his treatment of buildings, particularly in his earlier etchings, Whistler was undoubtedly influenced by the work of Charles Méryon, one of the earliest and greatest etchers of architectural subjects. The life of this artist is one of the saddest stories in modern art. Charles Méryon, was born in 1821; he was the son of a French dancer, and his father is said to have been an Englishman of good family, but during his early life he had little assistance from either of his parents, and from his boyhood he had to struggle to make his own way in the Bohemian underworld of Paris.
During Méryon’s lifetime, unfortunately, etchings were not so popular as they are today. For a century and a half after Rembrandt, etching, as a pure and separate art, lay comparatively unnoticed, but undeterred by want of patrons, poverty, and ill-health, Méryon devoted himself to the revival of this almost forgotten art, and became one of its greatest masters that the world has yet seen. To record on copper the beauty and interest of the architecture of Paris became the passion of Méryon’s life, and his etchings are unique for the imagination and emotional force they display combined with scrupulously exact drawing of the architectural features which form his theme. His famous etching ‘Le Stryge’, showing us a view of Paris from Notre Dame, with one of the quaint gargoyles of the Cathedral occupying a prominent place in the foreground, reveals not only the perfection of his technique, with its fine, nervous line and rich velvety blacks, but also the blend of realism and imagination which characterises this artist’s work.
These masterly views of Paris were offered for sale by the artist at the price of one franc (then worth about ten pence in English money), but even at this ridiculous figure they did not find enough purchasers to enable him to keep body and soul together. Privation, hardship, and want of proper nourishment inevitably told on his health, and eventually his nerves gave way and he was put away as insane in the hospital of Charenton. But though of a nervous temperament, his brain was not diseased, and after some months of good feeding in the hospital Méryon became normal, and it was seen that his breakdown was wholly due to starvation. He was allowed to leave Charenton and began to work again, drawing and etching in Paris, but the unhappy genius had no better fortune and seemed unable to secure the minimum amount of food that a human body requires. Again he starved, with the same result, his mind became unhinged and he was taken back to Charenton, where he died in 1868.
By a cruel irony of fate the etchings began to be appreciated almost immediately after the etcher’s death. Never before or since has the art world seen so rapid and sensational an increase in value. The explanation is that the interest excited by the plates of Whistler and Seymour Haden led to a feverish hunt after other etchers, and so the fame of Méryon was established. Within a few years of his death the etchings he had vainly tried to sell for ten pence apiece were changing hands at five pounds; the prices of them rose rapidly and steadily from tens to hundreds of pounds, and within recent years rich collectors have paid more than a thousand pounds to secure a fine impression of an etching by Méryon.
Heard On The Street
The market efficiency theory is a myth + anyone who trades for a living understands it and makes money through the inefficiencies in markets.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Wertz Gallery: Gems + Jewelry
A must-visit: The Carnegie Museum of Natural History recently unveiled the dazzling Wertz Gallery: Gems and Jewelry + a new 2,000-square-foot addition to the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems + the gallery is dedicated to gems, the crystals they come from, and jewelry made using these precious stones + approximately 500 gems, crystals, pieces of jewelry, and other pieces of gem art can be seen in this permanent display. Enjoy.
Useful links:
http://wertzcontemporary.com
www.carnegiemnh.org
Useful links:
http://wertzcontemporary.com
www.carnegiemnh.org
The Dagger Of Shah Jahan
It has been reported that Bonham's, the London-based fine art auctioneers and valuers, will auction a personal dagger (khanjar) of Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, from the Jacques Desenfans collection + the elegant and understated personal dagger, with its fine gold inscriptions and decoration, dated to1629-30, is expected to attract bids of around £300,000 – 500,000.
Expect the unexpected + the auction will be full of surprises.
Useful link:
www.bonhams.com
Expect the unexpected + the auction will be full of surprises.
Useful link:
www.bonhams.com
Authentic Paraiba Tourmaline
I was a bit surprised with David Sherman's (CEO, Paraiba.com) move to sue the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and others—including the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Brazil Imports Inc., and several individuals, including AGTA board members—for US$120 million in the name of authenticity, i.e., there is only one stone that can be legitimately called Paraíba and it is exclusively mined in the province of Brazil that it is named for + I was wondering what would happen to Padparadscha sapphires, John Saul rubies, Mogok rubies/ spinels, Mong Hsu rubies/spinel, Kashmir sapphires, Muzo/Chivor emeralds etc., + I don't know if it's a publicity stunt, but I am sure it will get messy in the coming days + as they say we are living in interesting times.
Algae Farm
(via Wired) I was intrigued by the energy company PetroSun Biofuels 's commercial algae-to-biofuels farm concept because via high-tech applications if the company could extract algal oil on-site at the farms and transport it to company refineries via barge, rail or truck for future enviromental jet biofuel production efficiently, it's exciting + I think with appropriate technology and bit of luck, the company may have hit a jackpot with algae.
Useful link:
www.petrosuninc.com
Useful link:
www.petrosuninc.com
Random Thoughts
'The Devil Is In The Details.'
According to Steve Leslie, if one wants to get a healthy dose of attention to detail, watch a pit crew at a Formula One race. It is true poetry in motion. They can fuel a car and change tires in less than eight seconds.
Useful link:
www.formula1.com
According to Steve Leslie, if one wants to get a healthy dose of attention to detail, watch a pit crew at a Formula One race. It is true poetry in motion. They can fuel a car and change tires in less than eight seconds.
Useful link:
www.formula1.com
Briolettes
(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The Crown Jewels of Iran in the Bank Markazy of Iran are exceptionally rich in Briolettes. The pièce de résistance is an exquisite platinum-and-diamond necklace made for Her Imperial Majesty in 1938. Most of the diamonds are modern but the nine large Briolettes suspended from it are old. They have an estimated total weight of 200 ct (10 – 45 ct each). ‘The platinum work and the baguette diamonds are modern, but the briolette diamonds...showed wear. After we closely examined the necklace we realized that the briolettes were quite old and that they had probably acquired the wear-marks by being transported in camel bags with inadequate packing.’
Lawrence S Krashes gives us new, more detailed information about an exceptional diamond in his book on Harry Winston. He discloses that the stone was fashioned in France, from South African rough, in 1908-9, and he provides a number of further details, though unfortunately not the dimensions. The fashioning apparently follows the traditional lines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but the gem is so vast (90.35 ct) that the number of facets runs into hundreds.
It is well known that most of the eighteen diamonds in the collection bequeathed to the French Crown by Cardinal Mazarin were Table Cuts, subsequently recut into Brilliants. But in addition to the Great Sancy and the two flat-bottomed Sancy cuts, two other stones listed in the Crown inventory of 1691 were cut as Briolettes. Numbers 5 and 6 are described as being faceted both sides, of almond shape and pierced downwards through the point so that they could serve as ear pendants, evidence that in the seventeenth century diamonds were drilled if the cutters intended them to be used as hanging gems. These two diamonds were actually set in a pair of earrings of a very ornamental type known as girandoles. They each take an eyewire pin of 2-3 mm in length.
It seems certain that in 1722 Mazarin numbers 5 and 6 were set into Louis XV’s crown, which contained in all eight large diamonds similar to the Sancy, each weighing between 16 and 22 ct. If one compares the outlines and faceting of these two Mazarin diamonds as portrayed by Cletscher in his album with the replicas now in the crown of Louis XV, one finds so close a similarity that one is forced to believe that these were originally the same stones, given that his reproduction was made from memory. It is almost certain that the smaller of these two Mazarin diamonds, number 6, was sold in 1796, while Number 5 survived both the robbery of 1792 and the sale and was finally sold by auction to Tiffany’s in 1887, when most of the French Crown Jewels were disposed of.
The Crown Jewels of Iran in the Bank Markazy of Iran are exceptionally rich in Briolettes. The pièce de résistance is an exquisite platinum-and-diamond necklace made for Her Imperial Majesty in 1938. Most of the diamonds are modern but the nine large Briolettes suspended from it are old. They have an estimated total weight of 200 ct (10 – 45 ct each). ‘The platinum work and the baguette diamonds are modern, but the briolette diamonds...showed wear. After we closely examined the necklace we realized that the briolettes were quite old and that they had probably acquired the wear-marks by being transported in camel bags with inadequate packing.’
Lawrence S Krashes gives us new, more detailed information about an exceptional diamond in his book on Harry Winston. He discloses that the stone was fashioned in France, from South African rough, in 1908-9, and he provides a number of further details, though unfortunately not the dimensions. The fashioning apparently follows the traditional lines of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but the gem is so vast (90.35 ct) that the number of facets runs into hundreds.
It is well known that most of the eighteen diamonds in the collection bequeathed to the French Crown by Cardinal Mazarin were Table Cuts, subsequently recut into Brilliants. But in addition to the Great Sancy and the two flat-bottomed Sancy cuts, two other stones listed in the Crown inventory of 1691 were cut as Briolettes. Numbers 5 and 6 are described as being faceted both sides, of almond shape and pierced downwards through the point so that they could serve as ear pendants, evidence that in the seventeenth century diamonds were drilled if the cutters intended them to be used as hanging gems. These two diamonds were actually set in a pair of earrings of a very ornamental type known as girandoles. They each take an eyewire pin of 2-3 mm in length.
It seems certain that in 1722 Mazarin numbers 5 and 6 were set into Louis XV’s crown, which contained in all eight large diamonds similar to the Sancy, each weighing between 16 and 22 ct. If one compares the outlines and faceting of these two Mazarin diamonds as portrayed by Cletscher in his album with the replicas now in the crown of Louis XV, one finds so close a similarity that one is forced to believe that these were originally the same stones, given that his reproduction was made from memory. It is almost certain that the smaller of these two Mazarin diamonds, number 6, was sold in 1796, while Number 5 survived both the robbery of 1792 and the sale and was finally sold by auction to Tiffany’s in 1887, when most of the French Crown Jewels were disposed of.
The Influence Of The Far East
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
The year after Whistler met with his rebuff in Lodon, he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, which showed the esteem in which he was now held in France, and in 1892 he took a house at Paris in the Rue de Bac. He can hardly be said to have settled there, however, for he returned several times to London. In 1890 he had published a collection of letters and various controversial matter, including a report, with his own marginal comments, of the Ruskin trial, under the title of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, and this publication not only increased his reputation as wit but showed that he possessed a distinct literary style of his own. This was followed some years later by The Baronet and the Butterfly, a pamphlet giving the artist’s version of a quarrel and lawsuit with Sir William Eden over a portrait of Lady Eden. Whistler had early adopted the device of a butterfly as his sign-manual and signature, but he was a butterfly with a sting, as he confessed himself to be in the little drawings with which he decorated his publications.
All the quarrels and encounters of his stormy life cannot be recounted here, but in the end he was victorious in London as in Paris. The purchase of his ‘Mother’ by the French Government helped to turn the scale in England. A new generation of artists gave Whislter a banquet in Lodon to celebrate the event, and in the same year (1892) the most important one-man show of his pictures yet held anywhere was opened in the old Goupil Gallery in Bond Street. This included nearly all his most famous works, among them the disgraced nocturnes, but now only a minority objected to his pictures or his titles, and the success of the exhibition revealed the change which the course of years had brought about in London opinion. The Royal Academy was no longer the power it had been in his earlier days; its prestige had declined, and there was now a powerful body of outside artists who admired Whistler. In 1898 the most eminent of these formed the ‘International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers,’ and invited Whistler to become its first President, a position he held till his death on July 17, 1903. The exhibition of this new Society proved that Whistler was not only respected by artists, but had become fashionable with all persons of taste.
To sum up, it may be said that after forty years of incessant battling, Whistler enjoyed a decade of tranquil success, but his last years were saddened by private trouble. In 1888 he had marrired the widow of E W Godwin, an architect, and his wife’s death in 1896 was a great blow to the artist. With his loneliness he grew restless, and though his continued devotion to his work saved him from melancholy, he traveled about a good deal. He was visiting Holland in the summer of 1902 when he was seized with a heart attack, and though he gained enough strength to return to London, and even to begin working again in the winter, a relapse in the following June prostrated him, and on Friday, July 17, after conversing good-humouredly during lunch, he was seized wtih syncope at 3 p.m and died without suffering. France, Italy, Bavaria, and Dresden had all conferred distinctions on him; but in America, his birthplace, and in England, where he lived and worked for the greater part of his life, Whistler received no official recognition.
The Influence Of The Far East (continue)
The year after Whistler met with his rebuff in Lodon, he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, which showed the esteem in which he was now held in France, and in 1892 he took a house at Paris in the Rue de Bac. He can hardly be said to have settled there, however, for he returned several times to London. In 1890 he had published a collection of letters and various controversial matter, including a report, with his own marginal comments, of the Ruskin trial, under the title of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, and this publication not only increased his reputation as wit but showed that he possessed a distinct literary style of his own. This was followed some years later by The Baronet and the Butterfly, a pamphlet giving the artist’s version of a quarrel and lawsuit with Sir William Eden over a portrait of Lady Eden. Whistler had early adopted the device of a butterfly as his sign-manual and signature, but he was a butterfly with a sting, as he confessed himself to be in the little drawings with which he decorated his publications.
All the quarrels and encounters of his stormy life cannot be recounted here, but in the end he was victorious in London as in Paris. The purchase of his ‘Mother’ by the French Government helped to turn the scale in England. A new generation of artists gave Whislter a banquet in Lodon to celebrate the event, and in the same year (1892) the most important one-man show of his pictures yet held anywhere was opened in the old Goupil Gallery in Bond Street. This included nearly all his most famous works, among them the disgraced nocturnes, but now only a minority objected to his pictures or his titles, and the success of the exhibition revealed the change which the course of years had brought about in London opinion. The Royal Academy was no longer the power it had been in his earlier days; its prestige had declined, and there was now a powerful body of outside artists who admired Whistler. In 1898 the most eminent of these formed the ‘International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers,’ and invited Whistler to become its first President, a position he held till his death on July 17, 1903. The exhibition of this new Society proved that Whistler was not only respected by artists, but had become fashionable with all persons of taste.
To sum up, it may be said that after forty years of incessant battling, Whistler enjoyed a decade of tranquil success, but his last years were saddened by private trouble. In 1888 he had marrired the widow of E W Godwin, an architect, and his wife’s death in 1896 was a great blow to the artist. With his loneliness he grew restless, and though his continued devotion to his work saved him from melancholy, he traveled about a good deal. He was visiting Holland in the summer of 1902 when he was seized with a heart attack, and though he gained enough strength to return to London, and even to begin working again in the winter, a relapse in the following June prostrated him, and on Friday, July 17, after conversing good-humouredly during lunch, he was seized wtih syncope at 3 p.m and died without suffering. France, Italy, Bavaria, and Dresden had all conferred distinctions on him; but in America, his birthplace, and in England, where he lived and worked for the greater part of his life, Whistler received no official recognition.
The Influence Of The Far East (continue)
Creating A World Without Poverty
The book Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus was informative and useful + it recommends a new kind of enterprise: social business, a noble vision + since Mohammed Yunus has accomplished so much by creating a variety of other businesses under the Grameen family of companies, pairing with technology, providing meaning and opportunity, I guess his new business model should work.
Useful links:
www.grameen-info.org
www.thetech.org
Useful links:
www.grameen-info.org
www.thetech.org
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