(via Diamond Cuts in Historic Jewelry:1381-1910) Herbert Tillander writes:
The name Sancy Cut has so far only occasionally been given to diamonds that are halfway between Brilliants and Briolettes. They are pear-shaped gems with both the front and the back convex. A girdle divides the two halves, each of which has a small table. The gems must have been fasioned from macles, dodecahedroid crystals, or elongated, domed irregulars, all of which could have been fashioned into Sancy shapes without too much loss of weight.
There are, however, only two actual Sancys, once owned by the Seigneur de Sancy, but the name also applies to several pendeloques which were once in the crown of Louis XV; four stones in the Iranian Imperial sword and two in the Jiqa plum among the Iranian Crown Jewels, and Mazarin numbers 17 and 18 (two flatbacks which were clearly originally one stone). In the French Crown inventory of 1791 fifteen Sancys are mentioned, weighing between 1 and 3¾ ct. These are only a few of the best-known examples.
According to Jacques Babinet of the Institut de France, ‘all the diamonds which pretend to this name.......are cut in the form of a flattened pear, almost round, a shape called the ‘Pendeloque’, having facets above and below, with a small flat surface on the top.....This kind of cutting, which I venture to call the Sancy, merits as much attention as those known by the name of the rose or the brilliant.’
In the seventeenth century the standard description for the Sancy Cut was ‘taillé à facettes des deux côtés, en forme d’amande’. The French Crown inventory of 1691 gives the following descriptions:
C.I. : fort épais, taillé à facettes des deux côtés de forme pendeloque 53¾ (Le Grand Sancy)
59: à facettes, double, long, pointu, carré
1: un grand diamant en pendeloque, taillé à grande facettes des deux côtés. 15¼ ct
8: en pendeloque, taillé à grande facettes des deux côtés 14½ ct
Though some of the diamonds listed may have been girdled pendeloques, I believe that many of them were, in fact, Sancy Cuts.
Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, Sancy Cuts have frequently been called Double Roses. This term evidently originated from French inventories of the previous century, when the cut was described as ‘un diamant brilliant formé en poire, taillé en rose des deux côtés, percé d’un bout’. Once Rose Cuts were established, the words taillé en rose were added, and the earlier term ‘almond-shaped’ was replaced by ‘pear-shaped’. According to Morel (1988), the fleur-de-lis on top of Louis XV’s crown (1722) was composed of four Double Roses each formed by two circular Rose Cut diamonds glued base to base.
Of specific interest is the fact that Sancy Cuts disclose a circlet of facets quite similar to the crown facets of a Brilliant, both of the standard type and the Split and Step Cut. With a large table facet replacing the apex they would have been as good as any Fancy Brilliant.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Realism And Impressionism In France
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
In 1855 Courbet painted a picture which summed up his life of the past seven years. He called it ‘The Studio of the Painter: a Real Allegory.’ On the right of this large canvass were the types he had been painting, the beggar, the laborer, the tradesman, the priest, the poacher, the gravedigger; on the left was a group of his personal friends, among them Baudelaire and Proudhon; between the groups was Courbet himself painting a landscape of Ornans.
In an introduction to the catalogue of a private exhibition of his works held in the same year, Courbet explained his endeavor to replace the cult of the ideal by a sentiment of the real:
To translate the manners, the ideas and the aspect of my own times according to my perception, to be not only a painter but still more a man, in a word, to create a living art, that is my aim.
During the reign of Napoleon III Courbet became more and more incensed against all authorities, political or artistic. The former thought him revolutionary because of his subjects, the latter because his style was based on Dutch and Spanish painting instead of on the accepted Italian masters. Nevertheless, his position as leader of the Realist school was such that in 1870 he was nominated Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Courbet wrote a violet letter to the Ministry refusing to accept this decoration, and when the Commune broke out in 1871 he took a prominent part in the Revolution and became President of the Commission of Fine Arts. Courbet has been much blamed down the Column commemorating Napoleon I in the Place Vendôme. This was part of a scheme to efface from Paris all traces of the Empire, whether First or Third, and though the Column was a historic monument it had no great artistic interest. On the other hand it was Courbet who, during the fury of the Commune, not only preserved intact the art treasures of the Louvre, but with difficulty secured the safety of the Arc de Triomphe. He was full of concern for this monument because of its great artistic qualities, notably the sculpture by Rude with which it was decorated, and he managed to persuade those who urged its demolition that the Arc de Triomphe ought to be spared because it stood not so much for the glory of Napoleon as for the heroism of the revolutionary armies of France.
Still, when the Commune had been suppressed with an iron hand, the good deeds of Courbet during the insurrection were forgotten; the unfortunate artist was arrested in connection with the demolition of the Vendôme Column, condemned to six months’ imprisonment and to defray the whole cost—some 400,000 francs—of the reconstruction of the Column. This utterly ruined him, and though Courbet eventually succeeded in crossing the frontier he was broken in health and spirits. He died in exile in 1877.
Realism And Impressionism In France (continued)
In 1855 Courbet painted a picture which summed up his life of the past seven years. He called it ‘The Studio of the Painter: a Real Allegory.’ On the right of this large canvass were the types he had been painting, the beggar, the laborer, the tradesman, the priest, the poacher, the gravedigger; on the left was a group of his personal friends, among them Baudelaire and Proudhon; between the groups was Courbet himself painting a landscape of Ornans.
In an introduction to the catalogue of a private exhibition of his works held in the same year, Courbet explained his endeavor to replace the cult of the ideal by a sentiment of the real:
To translate the manners, the ideas and the aspect of my own times according to my perception, to be not only a painter but still more a man, in a word, to create a living art, that is my aim.
During the reign of Napoleon III Courbet became more and more incensed against all authorities, political or artistic. The former thought him revolutionary because of his subjects, the latter because his style was based on Dutch and Spanish painting instead of on the accepted Italian masters. Nevertheless, his position as leader of the Realist school was such that in 1870 he was nominated Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. Courbet wrote a violet letter to the Ministry refusing to accept this decoration, and when the Commune broke out in 1871 he took a prominent part in the Revolution and became President of the Commission of Fine Arts. Courbet has been much blamed down the Column commemorating Napoleon I in the Place Vendôme. This was part of a scheme to efface from Paris all traces of the Empire, whether First or Third, and though the Column was a historic monument it had no great artistic interest. On the other hand it was Courbet who, during the fury of the Commune, not only preserved intact the art treasures of the Louvre, but with difficulty secured the safety of the Arc de Triomphe. He was full of concern for this monument because of its great artistic qualities, notably the sculpture by Rude with which it was decorated, and he managed to persuade those who urged its demolition that the Arc de Triomphe ought to be spared because it stood not so much for the glory of Napoleon as for the heroism of the revolutionary armies of France.
Still, when the Commune had been suppressed with an iron hand, the good deeds of Courbet during the insurrection were forgotten; the unfortunate artist was arrested in connection with the demolition of the Vendôme Column, condemned to six months’ imprisonment and to defray the whole cost—some 400,000 francs—of the reconstruction of the Column. This utterly ruined him, and though Courbet eventually succeeded in crossing the frontier he was broken in health and spirits. He died in exile in 1877.
Realism And Impressionism In France (continued)
Travel Update
(via budgettravel) I liked http://travel.alltop.com because the site brings together most recent posts from leading travel blogs.
Great idea!
Great idea!
Satyagraha
(via Wiki) Philip Glass is a three-time Academy Award-nominated American composer + he is considered one of the most influential composers of the late-20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public + Satyagraha, is his landmark 1980 work, is a moving account of Mahatma Gandhi’s formative experiences in South Africa, which transformed him into a great leader (@ Metropolitan Opera, April 28, 2008).
Useful links:
www.philipglass.com
www.metoperafamily.org
Useful links:
www.philipglass.com
www.metoperafamily.org
Friday, April 11, 2008
Synchrotron
I found the article Seeing the Light @ http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11014512 intriguing because new research tools, from X-rays to computerised tomography to synchrotrons, and their applications researching fossil remains in amber are interesting new developments + we are learning more + hopefully the techniques could become useful in other gemological research applications.
Useful link:
www.esrf.eu
Useful link:
www.esrf.eu
Selexyz Dominicanen
Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, is one-of-a-kind bookstore created from a merger between the town's Bergman's bookshop, the Academische Boekhandel + the Dutch Selexyz bookshop chain + it's housed in the thrilling setting of a 13th-century Dominican church.
An extraordinary venture of a very different style + a must-visit bookstore in Holland.
Useful links:
www.selexyz.nl
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Selexyz%20Dominicanen&w=all
An extraordinary venture of a very different style + a must-visit bookstore in Holland.
Useful links:
www.selexyz.nl
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Selexyz%20Dominicanen&w=all
Tutta la Vita Davanti
The movie Tutta la Vita Davanti has a universal theme + it's a moving story of ordinary people exposed to wide spectrum of real life situations + I think you will like it.
Useful links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QSN9fG0xRo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075114
Useful links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QSN9fG0xRo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075114
Dialogue: The Art Of Thinking Together
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
Useful links:
www.dialogos.com
www.dialogueproject.net
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
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