Wednesday, December 12, 2007
From Slot Machines To The Sublime
Milton Esterow writes about the new concept where Guggenheim + the Hermitage team up to dazzle the masses in Las Vegas, expanding beyond painting and sculpture to architecture, film, video, design, multimedia + the impact + other viewpoints @ http://www.artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1026
The Splendor Of Venice
(via The Outline of Art) William Orpen writes:
2
The glowing mantle of Titian fell on the shoulders of Jacopo Robusti, nicknamed Tintoretto (the ‘Little Dyer’) from the calling of his father, Battista Robusti, who was a dyer, in Italian tintore. Tintoretto was born at Venice in 1518 and, having shown his precocious genius by covering the walls of his father’s house with drawings and sketches, he was apprenticed as a pupil to Titian. Despite his prodigious capacity, for already the skill and speed of his workmanship were astonishing, he was not a satisfactory pupil. After some time Titian dismissed him, according to one account because he was jealous of his pupil, according to another because Tintoretto ‘would in no wise give obedience to commands.’ From all we know of Tintoretto’s proud, wilful character the latter reason seems probable.
Left to himself, Tintoretto set up his own workshop, in which he nailed up the legend ‘The Design of Michael Angelo and the Coloring of Titian’. Not only did he live up to his motto as regards his drawing and color, but to these he added his own supreme understanding of light and shade; and thus he was able to surpass Titian in the keenness of his literal yet romantic observation, and to outdo even Michael Angelo himself in the furious speed and energy of his execution. Amazing stories are told of Tintoretto’s activity. ‘This artist,’ remarks his contemporary Vasari, ‘always contrives by the most singular proceedings in the world to be constantly employed, seeing that when the good offices of his friends and other methods have failed to procure him any work of which there is question, he will nevertheless manage to obtain it, either by accepting it at a very low price, by doing it as a gift, or even by seizing on it by force.’
An instance of this kind occurred when the Brotherhood of San Rocco decided to have the ceiling of their refectory painted with decorations. The four leading painters of Venice—Zucchero, Salviati, Veronese, and Tintoretto—were summoned to San Rocco and invited to submit designs for the project. It was announced that the commission would be given to the artist who produced the best design. ‘But while the other artists were giving themselves with all diligence to the preparation of their designs, Tintoretto made an exact measurement of the space for which the picture was required, and taking a large canvas, he painted it without saying a word to any one and, with his usual celerity, putting it up in the place destined to receive it.
‘One morning, therefore, when the Brotherhood had assembled to see the designs and to determine the matter, they found that Tintoretto had entirely completed the work, nay, that he had fixed it in its place.’
Naturally the three other artists were furious, and the head of the Brotherhood angrily inquired why Tintoretto had taken it on himself to complete the work when he had only been asked to submit a design in an open competition.
‘This is my method of preparing designs,’ answered Tintoretto; ‘I do not know how to make them in any other manner. All designs and models for a work should be executed in this fashion, to the end that the persons interested may see what it is intended to offer them, and may not be deceived.
‘If you do not think it proper to pay for the work and remunerate me for my pains, then,’ the artist proudly added, ‘ I will make you a present of it.’
Thus, as Vasari relates, Tintoretto, ‘though not with opposition, contrived so to manage matters that the picture still retains its place.’
Though he painted numerous portraits and altar-pieces, Tintoretto was essentially a decorative painter, and his mightiest achievements are on the walls and ceilings of the palaces and public buildings of Venice. His ‘Paradiso’ in the Ducal Palace is the largest painting in the world, eight four feet wide by thirty four feet high, and of this stupendous achievement and of most of his other great works no photograph can give any adequate idea. But fortunately the picture which is universally acknowledged to be Tintoretto’s masterpiece is not on the same colossal scale. ‘The Miracle of St. Mark,’ is one of four large pictures painted by Tintoretto for the School of San Marco in Venice. It represents the Evangelist—who was the Patron Saint of Venice—appearing in the air and ‘delivering a man who was his votary from grievous torments, which an executioner is seen to be preparing for him: the irons which the tormentors are endeavoring to apply break short in their hands, and cannot be turned against that devout man.’
The dramatic element in Titian’s work is seen heightened and intensified in many of Tintoretto’s paintings, but nowhere is it more splendidly manifest than in this impressive imagining of a supernatural event. Again we seem to hear the rush of air caused by the downward sweep of the Saint, from whom a celestial light irradiates. This great picture is not only a illustration of a saintly legend; it had a symbolical meaning of great importance to Tintoretto’s contemporaries. At this time political relations between Venice flattered themselves they were better Christians than the Romans, and were delighted to see in Tintoretto’s masterpiece a picture in which they saw the Popes as the executioners of the Church, which is to be saved only by the fortunate interference of the Republic of St. Mark.
When Tintoretto died in 1594 there were no more great religious painters in Italy. Unlike Titian, who ‘had never received from Heaven aught but favor and felicity,’ and so throughout a long life looked out with ever joyous eyes, Tintoretto, notwithstanding his professional prosperity, was overshadowed by a spiritual gloom which finds expression in his mighty pictures. The works of his manhood and maturity show little of that serene joy in existence which glows from the canvases of Titian; but in the fitful lighting of their sombre depths, in a constantly recurring hint of tragedy, they reveal a consciousness of stormy days to come, of perils for Church and State, which entitle us to see in Tintoretto a harbinger of the Reformation and the wars of religion.
The Splendor Of Venice (continued)
2
The glowing mantle of Titian fell on the shoulders of Jacopo Robusti, nicknamed Tintoretto (the ‘Little Dyer’) from the calling of his father, Battista Robusti, who was a dyer, in Italian tintore. Tintoretto was born at Venice in 1518 and, having shown his precocious genius by covering the walls of his father’s house with drawings and sketches, he was apprenticed as a pupil to Titian. Despite his prodigious capacity, for already the skill and speed of his workmanship were astonishing, he was not a satisfactory pupil. After some time Titian dismissed him, according to one account because he was jealous of his pupil, according to another because Tintoretto ‘would in no wise give obedience to commands.’ From all we know of Tintoretto’s proud, wilful character the latter reason seems probable.
Left to himself, Tintoretto set up his own workshop, in which he nailed up the legend ‘The Design of Michael Angelo and the Coloring of Titian’. Not only did he live up to his motto as regards his drawing and color, but to these he added his own supreme understanding of light and shade; and thus he was able to surpass Titian in the keenness of his literal yet romantic observation, and to outdo even Michael Angelo himself in the furious speed and energy of his execution. Amazing stories are told of Tintoretto’s activity. ‘This artist,’ remarks his contemporary Vasari, ‘always contrives by the most singular proceedings in the world to be constantly employed, seeing that when the good offices of his friends and other methods have failed to procure him any work of which there is question, he will nevertheless manage to obtain it, either by accepting it at a very low price, by doing it as a gift, or even by seizing on it by force.’
An instance of this kind occurred when the Brotherhood of San Rocco decided to have the ceiling of their refectory painted with decorations. The four leading painters of Venice—Zucchero, Salviati, Veronese, and Tintoretto—were summoned to San Rocco and invited to submit designs for the project. It was announced that the commission would be given to the artist who produced the best design. ‘But while the other artists were giving themselves with all diligence to the preparation of their designs, Tintoretto made an exact measurement of the space for which the picture was required, and taking a large canvas, he painted it without saying a word to any one and, with his usual celerity, putting it up in the place destined to receive it.
‘One morning, therefore, when the Brotherhood had assembled to see the designs and to determine the matter, they found that Tintoretto had entirely completed the work, nay, that he had fixed it in its place.’
Naturally the three other artists were furious, and the head of the Brotherhood angrily inquired why Tintoretto had taken it on himself to complete the work when he had only been asked to submit a design in an open competition.
‘This is my method of preparing designs,’ answered Tintoretto; ‘I do not know how to make them in any other manner. All designs and models for a work should be executed in this fashion, to the end that the persons interested may see what it is intended to offer them, and may not be deceived.
‘If you do not think it proper to pay for the work and remunerate me for my pains, then,’ the artist proudly added, ‘ I will make you a present of it.’
Thus, as Vasari relates, Tintoretto, ‘though not with opposition, contrived so to manage matters that the picture still retains its place.’
Though he painted numerous portraits and altar-pieces, Tintoretto was essentially a decorative painter, and his mightiest achievements are on the walls and ceilings of the palaces and public buildings of Venice. His ‘Paradiso’ in the Ducal Palace is the largest painting in the world, eight four feet wide by thirty four feet high, and of this stupendous achievement and of most of his other great works no photograph can give any adequate idea. But fortunately the picture which is universally acknowledged to be Tintoretto’s masterpiece is not on the same colossal scale. ‘The Miracle of St. Mark,’ is one of four large pictures painted by Tintoretto for the School of San Marco in Venice. It represents the Evangelist—who was the Patron Saint of Venice—appearing in the air and ‘delivering a man who was his votary from grievous torments, which an executioner is seen to be preparing for him: the irons which the tormentors are endeavoring to apply break short in their hands, and cannot be turned against that devout man.’
The dramatic element in Titian’s work is seen heightened and intensified in many of Tintoretto’s paintings, but nowhere is it more splendidly manifest than in this impressive imagining of a supernatural event. Again we seem to hear the rush of air caused by the downward sweep of the Saint, from whom a celestial light irradiates. This great picture is not only a illustration of a saintly legend; it had a symbolical meaning of great importance to Tintoretto’s contemporaries. At this time political relations between Venice flattered themselves they were better Christians than the Romans, and were delighted to see in Tintoretto’s masterpiece a picture in which they saw the Popes as the executioners of the Church, which is to be saved only by the fortunate interference of the Republic of St. Mark.
When Tintoretto died in 1594 there were no more great religious painters in Italy. Unlike Titian, who ‘had never received from Heaven aught but favor and felicity,’ and so throughout a long life looked out with ever joyous eyes, Tintoretto, notwithstanding his professional prosperity, was overshadowed by a spiritual gloom which finds expression in his mighty pictures. The works of his manhood and maturity show little of that serene joy in existence which glows from the canvases of Titian; but in the fitful lighting of their sombre depths, in a constantly recurring hint of tragedy, they reveal a consciousness of stormy days to come, of perils for Church and State, which entitle us to see in Tintoretto a harbinger of the Reformation and the wars of religion.
The Splendor Of Venice (continued)
Foundations Of The Bridge: The Technicalities Of Gem Trading
Louis Kornitzer's book, Gem Trader, is partly autobiographical and partly woven round the lore of pearls. It's educational + explains the distribution chain of gems, as they pass from hand to hand, from miner to cutter, from merchant to millionaire, from courtesan to receiver of stolen goods, shaping human lives as they go + the unique characters in the industry.
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
I have traveled over the stream from my years of opal to my years of Jade—from childhood to past middle age—from Vienna of the Old Emperor to China eternally the same. I think there are no more gems to symbolize the years that remain. As I write the threat of war hangs over London, a city wide open to the air attacks of an enemy. Putting off the ledgers, the corn-tongs, the balances, of the gem merchant, I put in my lapel the badge of the air warden and proceed to fit several hundreds of my fellow citizens with gas masks instead of with necklaces and rings. There is no gem for this stage of my life, when every day is itself a jewel hung on a brittle thread.
But I cannot stop here without giving you some idea of the procedures and customs of the trade, although I have already mentioned these here and there in passing. Something of the people, too, who deal in gems I must tell you. Many intelligent people with whom I have had occasion to discuss the subject of precious stones have labored under the impression that the dealers in that commodity are necessarily men of considerable affluence, if not of great wealth. That is far from being so, and in fact most of the men engaged in this highly specialized commerce depend upon the credits extended to them by the trade itself or by accommodating and enterprising merchant bankers in such trade centers as Amsterdam, Antwerp and Paris.
Trading in gemstones can at worst be as prosaic, or even as sordid, an occupation as that in any other goods. But at its best it can be sublimated into something that reflects the romance inherent in those beautiful and rare substances, the elite of the mineral kingdom.
An experience extending to well over half a century has taught me that those dealers who concern themselves least with the manifold aspects of the noble merchandise which passes daily through their hands become the greatest successes in a worldly sense. ‘Profits’ is the one beautiful word with them and it cannot materialize until they have got rid of a gem; they are not thrilled at sight of an uncommonly fine jewel, they are not puffed up with the pride of possession when they chance to outbid their competitors for a lovely thing, and they have no pangs of parting when it passes from their hands into those of others. Never having taken the gem into their hearts, its departures creates no void. They neither buy nor avoid selling out of sentiment. Such men die rich, Heavens help them.
But apart from lack of sentiment, there is often a sheer lack of knowledge among dealers about the goods they sell. That the diamond, for instance, is essentially pure crystallized carbon is a fact very well known to most people, and yet I have actually come across diamond merchants to whom they was news, and news to be taken with a grain of salt at that! Nor do many dealers in sapphires and rubies know that the blue stone and the red are full brothers. And as for the dealers who know nothing about any of the precious or semi-precious stones except those in which they themselves happen to deal, their name is legion.
This does not speak well for a large proportion of the merchants who trade habitually in articles which are a perennial source of wonder and romantic interest to the general public. But fortunately there are others and their number is not inconsiderable. They are all well informed, keenly appreciative of the distinguishing features of the many gemstones which go to make up the long list of the precious minerals. Amongst these men there are not a few all-round connoisseurs, and being known as such far and wide, they receive rare specimens from all parts of the world to enrich their collections. While no trader’s pocket is deep enough to permit him to acquire every fine gem which is offered him, these experts do not lightly pass by a stone which appeals to their imagination; and having acquired it, they defer the date of parting from it until the commercial instinct within them gains the upper hand. This is the reason why the connoisseur, who knows all there is to know about gems, frequently has a much less important bank balance than the dealer who does not know and does not care.
I have in mind a dealer friend of mine, to whom £1000 in hard cash would be a godsend, not because he is poor or in want, but because his mania for collecting fine specimens has left him frightfully short of ready money. His latest acquisition is a specimen ruby he could have sold many times over at a good profit. Instead, it sleeps in his wallet on a snowy pad of cotton-wool, eating its head off in interest. In fact, it eats up more in interest on his money than a pedigreed hunter would require for a year’s oats. For the dealer who cannot bear to sell his goods might as well keep a racing stable and be done with it!
But my friend says: ‘I haven’t got wife, child or hobby. When I feel lonesome or depressed I bring out that ruby and know that life is worth living.’
To those unfamiliar with the procedure in marketing gemstones it may of interest to learn that as soon as a consignment of stones in the rough—that is, in the uncut state or in the state which is called ‘Indian cut’ (imperfectly or not fully faceted)—reaches the consignees in London or Paris all the well-known dealers are advised. They inspect the goods, make their choice and submit their offers, which are cabled out to the respective owners, be they in Ceylon, India, Siam, Australia or any part of South America, for all these parts of the world contribute their quota of gem material to the great trading centers. If the offer is accepted, the transaction is closed forthwith; the merchandise is delivered and cash is paid, for spot cash is de rigueur in these transactions.
Foundations Of The Bridge: The Technicalities Of Gem Trading (continued)
(via Gem Trader) Louis Kornitzer writes:
I have traveled over the stream from my years of opal to my years of Jade—from childhood to past middle age—from Vienna of the Old Emperor to China eternally the same. I think there are no more gems to symbolize the years that remain. As I write the threat of war hangs over London, a city wide open to the air attacks of an enemy. Putting off the ledgers, the corn-tongs, the balances, of the gem merchant, I put in my lapel the badge of the air warden and proceed to fit several hundreds of my fellow citizens with gas masks instead of with necklaces and rings. There is no gem for this stage of my life, when every day is itself a jewel hung on a brittle thread.
But I cannot stop here without giving you some idea of the procedures and customs of the trade, although I have already mentioned these here and there in passing. Something of the people, too, who deal in gems I must tell you. Many intelligent people with whom I have had occasion to discuss the subject of precious stones have labored under the impression that the dealers in that commodity are necessarily men of considerable affluence, if not of great wealth. That is far from being so, and in fact most of the men engaged in this highly specialized commerce depend upon the credits extended to them by the trade itself or by accommodating and enterprising merchant bankers in such trade centers as Amsterdam, Antwerp and Paris.
Trading in gemstones can at worst be as prosaic, or even as sordid, an occupation as that in any other goods. But at its best it can be sublimated into something that reflects the romance inherent in those beautiful and rare substances, the elite of the mineral kingdom.
An experience extending to well over half a century has taught me that those dealers who concern themselves least with the manifold aspects of the noble merchandise which passes daily through their hands become the greatest successes in a worldly sense. ‘Profits’ is the one beautiful word with them and it cannot materialize until they have got rid of a gem; they are not thrilled at sight of an uncommonly fine jewel, they are not puffed up with the pride of possession when they chance to outbid their competitors for a lovely thing, and they have no pangs of parting when it passes from their hands into those of others. Never having taken the gem into their hearts, its departures creates no void. They neither buy nor avoid selling out of sentiment. Such men die rich, Heavens help them.
But apart from lack of sentiment, there is often a sheer lack of knowledge among dealers about the goods they sell. That the diamond, for instance, is essentially pure crystallized carbon is a fact very well known to most people, and yet I have actually come across diamond merchants to whom they was news, and news to be taken with a grain of salt at that! Nor do many dealers in sapphires and rubies know that the blue stone and the red are full brothers. And as for the dealers who know nothing about any of the precious or semi-precious stones except those in which they themselves happen to deal, their name is legion.
This does not speak well for a large proportion of the merchants who trade habitually in articles which are a perennial source of wonder and romantic interest to the general public. But fortunately there are others and their number is not inconsiderable. They are all well informed, keenly appreciative of the distinguishing features of the many gemstones which go to make up the long list of the precious minerals. Amongst these men there are not a few all-round connoisseurs, and being known as such far and wide, they receive rare specimens from all parts of the world to enrich their collections. While no trader’s pocket is deep enough to permit him to acquire every fine gem which is offered him, these experts do not lightly pass by a stone which appeals to their imagination; and having acquired it, they defer the date of parting from it until the commercial instinct within them gains the upper hand. This is the reason why the connoisseur, who knows all there is to know about gems, frequently has a much less important bank balance than the dealer who does not know and does not care.
I have in mind a dealer friend of mine, to whom £1000 in hard cash would be a godsend, not because he is poor or in want, but because his mania for collecting fine specimens has left him frightfully short of ready money. His latest acquisition is a specimen ruby he could have sold many times over at a good profit. Instead, it sleeps in his wallet on a snowy pad of cotton-wool, eating its head off in interest. In fact, it eats up more in interest on his money than a pedigreed hunter would require for a year’s oats. For the dealer who cannot bear to sell his goods might as well keep a racing stable and be done with it!
But my friend says: ‘I haven’t got wife, child or hobby. When I feel lonesome or depressed I bring out that ruby and know that life is worth living.’
To those unfamiliar with the procedure in marketing gemstones it may of interest to learn that as soon as a consignment of stones in the rough—that is, in the uncut state or in the state which is called ‘Indian cut’ (imperfectly or not fully faceted)—reaches the consignees in London or Paris all the well-known dealers are advised. They inspect the goods, make their choice and submit their offers, which are cabled out to the respective owners, be they in Ceylon, India, Siam, Australia or any part of South America, for all these parts of the world contribute their quota of gem material to the great trading centers. If the offer is accepted, the transaction is closed forthwith; the merchandise is delivered and cash is paid, for spot cash is de rigueur in these transactions.
Foundations Of The Bridge: The Technicalities Of Gem Trading (continued)
Survival Techniques
Bear Grylls explains how to avoid gloom and doom + useful tips to get you out. He is great!
Useful links:
www.beargrylls.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Grylls
Useful links:
www.beargrylls.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Grylls
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald also known as Lady Ella and undeniably the First Lady of Song, is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th Century + she had a distinctive tone + she was the winner of thirteen Grammy Awards + she was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan + the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush + the United States Postal Service honored Fitzgerald with her own 39 cent postage stamp.
I love her music, particularly her scat singing.
(via YouTube): Ella Fitzgerald : One note Samba (scat singing) 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q2LU
Useful links:
www.ellafitzgerald.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald
I love her music, particularly her scat singing.
(via YouTube): Ella Fitzgerald : One note Samba (scat singing) 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbL9vr4Q2LU
Useful links:
www.ellafitzgerald.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Fitzgerald
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
My Will
All of us are mortal here on Earth and all of our days are numbered. Try and do some good in some way every day.
UK Wind-Powered By 2020
The British government believes that the country has some of the best wind conditions for generating carbon-free electricity in the world, but high construction costs and a sluggish planning process has limited its growth.
Useful link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071210/sc_nm/britain_wind_power_dc
Useful link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071210/sc_nm/britain_wind_power_dc
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