Willem van Herp

Willem van Herp (I) or Willem van Herp the Elder (variations on first name: 'Guilliam', 'Gilliam' and 'Guillaume') (Antwerp, c. 1614–1677) was a Flemish Baroque painter specializing in religious paintings and small cabinet paintings of "low-life" genre scenes. He operated a large workshop and through his good connections with Antwerp art dealers helped spread the Flemish Baroque style internationally.
Life.
For a long time Willem van Herp was believed to have been a pupil of Peter Paul Rubens. Even though he was not his pupil he did borrow many of Rubens' motifs and touched up copies after Rubens for the art dealer Matthijs Musson. He is said to have trained with the minor artists Damiaan Wortelmans II and Hans Biermans.
Van Herp may have spent some time abroad after his training. He was listed as an independent master in the Guild of St. Luke beginning in 1637. He spent his entire career in Antwerp.
He married Maria Wolffort, daughter of the painter Artus Wolffort. He was the father of Norbertus en Willem (II) van Herp, who both became painters, and daughters Maria Anna and Anna Maria.
He was the master of his son Norbertus and Melchior Hamers.
Work.
General.
Van Herp painted mainly genre scenes and religious compositions. It is not possible to discern a development in his style since he only dated a few of his pictures. His style is characterised by its somewhat mannered way of drawing and the expressiveness of the figures. His large output point to a large workshop with an almost industrial operation.
Many of his paintings can be regarded as copies or pastiches of original compositions by Antwerp painters such as Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Gerard Seghers, Jan Boeckhorst, Hendrick van Balen, Erasmus Quellinus the Younger, Gaspar de Crayer and Artus Wolffort as well as of Italian masters such as Raffael and Guido Reni.
Typical works.
Typical examples of his work are the painting "A Poor Company at Table in a Rustic Kitchen" held by the National Trust at Tyntesfield and oil on copper religious paintings, such as "Daniel in the Lion's Den" ("c". 1650, Los Angeles County Museum of Art). In the former, a genre scene, the figures demonstrate a small-scale use of Rubensean figures in an interior reminiscent of contemporary works by David Teniers the Younger.
The latter is more representative of the small religious scenes on copper that make up most of his oeuvre, with a highly polished finish and borrowings from Rubens' treatment of the same subject. He also painted large altarpieces of churches in Flanders such as in Antwerp, Herentals, Ostend and Londerzeel.
Many of his paintings can be regarded as copies or pastiches of original compositions by Antwerp painters such as Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Gerard Seghers, Jan Boeckhorst, Hendrick van Balen, Erasmus Quellinus the Younger, Gaspar de Crayer and Artus Wolffort as well as of Italian masters such as Raffael and Guido Reni. He often worked from prints made after the works of these masters to create his own compositions. An example is the (Prado Museum), which is based on a print after Rafael.
Collaborations.
As was the custom at the time, he regularly collaborated with other painters. He worked with Jan van Kessel the Elder, Lambert de Hondt the Elder and Guillam Forchondt in the production of landscapes (painted by the other artist) with figures (painted by van Herp). Examples are ', ' and "". These paintings are similar in composition and are a variation of the type of the so-called 'paradise landscape'. Paradise landscapes depict the Garden of Eden as described in the "Book of Genesis", filled with all the animals, fish and birds that were believed to be God's creation. The type was invented and popularized by Jan Brueghel the Younger.
Works on copper.
Although only moderately successful in Antwerp, as suggested by the infrequent occurrence of his paintings in local inventories, many of his small works were probably intended as export items destined for Spain. Most of these were on copper, a material for painting that was highly prized both for durability and its glossy finish in Spain. Van Herp's works were also influential in spreading copper painting in Mexico by way of trade from Spain to Latin America, and reflect a taste for small paintings reminiscent of Rubens' style abroad. He also became well known in England through engravings after his works, in particular of his genre scenes.
Tapestry designs.
Van Herp also produced designs for tapestries. In 1663 he was together with Jan van Kessel the Elder, David Teniers the Younger and Luigi Primo one of the painters who painted on copper a six-part series representing the history of the Moncada family. These were used as designs for tapestries manufactured in Brussels.


Salomon de Bray

Salomon de Bray (1597 – 11 May 1664) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and architect.
Biography.
De Bray was born in Amsterdam, but established himself in Haarlem before 1617, where he is registered as being a member of the schutterij that year in the St. Adrian's cloveniers. He probably followed draftsmanship and painting lessons in the small academy started by Karel van Mander, Hendrick Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem, and where he married in 1625. He is registered as a pupil of Goltzius and Cornelis van Haarlem, but he probably started his training in Amsterdam with Jan Pynas, Nicolaes Moeyaert and Pieter Lastman. He painted history paintings, portraits and landscapes. As a Catholic he probably also made altar pieces for the Haarlem underground Catholic churches known as "mission stations", or "staties". He was a poet and member of the Chamber of rhetoric called "De Wijngaertranken". One of his poems was set to music by his friend the composer Cornelis Padbrué. This is probably how he met his wife Anna, the sister of the painter Jan and the poet Jacob Westerbaen, who were also members of De Wijngaertrancken. They married in 1625.
Failed charter of the Guild of St. Luke.
In 1630 he became a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. He cooperated with fellow guild member and Catholic architect-artist Jacob van Campen in the decoration of Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. His works draw on the spirit of the Dutch classicism beginning at that time, and are comparable with those of his Catholic colleague Pieter de Grebber. De Bray became active as an architect and designer of silverwork, and became headman of the Guild of St. Luke. He prepared a new charter for the guild (that was never ratified) in 1631, that was signed by Pieter de Molijn, Outgert Ariss Akersloot, Willem Claesz Heda, Cornelis Cornelisz, Cornelis Claesz van Wieringen, Floris van Dyck, and Isaak Halinck, respected members of the guild. This charter met with a lot of opposition from the Haarlem council, and was probably rejected for its efforts to promote painting above other guild pursuits such as engraving, woodcarving, tapestry-making, smithwork and pottery. In 1632 he made efforts to retrieve the St. Lucas guild relic that had been stored in the guild altar of the St. Bavochurch. It had been given to a representative of the Catholic church for safekeeping and De Bray felt it should be brought back to Haarlem, but the relic was never found.
Work as an architect.
As an architect, he was involved in the construction or expansion of Haarlem's City Hall in 1630, the new consistory of the Bavokerk, the Zijlpoort, and St. Annakerk (Church of St. Anne). Outside of Haarlem, he designed a new entrance in 1629 for the Huis te Warmond (since rebuilt) that featured pilasters and a broad pediment. In Nijmegen he made a design for the city orphanage. He was also a town planner for the city council of Haarlem. He designed an ambitious plan to expand the city on the North side with three canals (the "Brouwers gracht", the "Staten gracht", and the "Linde gracht") that was partially implemented in the decades after his death with the Nieuwe Gracht and what is today the Parklaan. In 1631 Salomon de Bray wrote "Architectura Moderna" which provided a biography and descriptions of buildings built by Hendrick de Keyser and Cornelis Danckerts de Ry, two of the key
Dutch architects of the period.
Family of painters.
Salomon de Bray was the father of ten children, of whom three (Dirck de Bray, Jan de Bray, and Joseph de Bray) became notable artists. He probably died of the plague that hit Haarlem in 1664, as he and his children Jacob, Josef, Juliana and Margaretha all died in April and May of that year. His wife had already died the previous year. He was buried in the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem.


Man from Guangdong

Man from Guangdong is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts television series produced by TVB and tells the story of Leung Kan, portrayed by Aaron Kwok, the fictitious son of famed martial artist Leung Foon, whom was a favored disciple of folk hero Wong Fei-hung, portrayed by Shih Kien. Shih, who portrayed Wong in the series, was known for portraying antagonists in a series of Wong Fei-hung-related films during the 1940s to 1970s, while the series also features Sai Gwa-Pau reprising his role as "Buckteeth So" from the aforementioned series of films.
Plot.
Wong Fei-hung (Shih Kien), one of the Ten Tigers of Canton, has passed his prime and decides to close down his martial arts school and clinic, Po Chi Lam. His disciples has scattered to different places and Wong himself decides to retire to Foshan and no longer wants to be involved in the martial world. One while, while playing chess with Kwan Yan-kin (Cheng Gwan-min), they mention Wong's favored disciple, Leung Foon, lamenting his premature death. According to rumors, Leung has descendants that are living. Wong then send his disciple Buckteeth So's (Sai Gwa-Pau) daughter, So Siu-mui (Wu Man-yam) to find the whereabouts that descendant, hoping to teach him his skills and revive the former prestige of Po Chi Lam. Leung Foon had a naturally upright personality and never indulged in romance, but during one night when he got drunk, he had a one-night stand with a showgirl named Koo Kam-fung (Pak Yan). Not long after, Leung was brutally killed by rivals, leaving Kam-fung heartbroken. The pregnant Kam-fung returns to her ancestral home, leaving all her glory behind, and gives birth to her child. As the years flow by, Kam-fung's son, Leung Kan (Aaron Kwok), has grown up and works as a pig breeder for a living. Due to his mother's background, Kan was often given cold stares and ridiculed by others. Kan aspires to make it out to the province one day and study under his grandmaster, Wong Fei-hung, hoping to wash out his past shame. On the other hand, one of Kan's fellow disciples, Law Kam-loi (Gary Chan), who came from a wealthy family, is often bullied by other disciples. Kam-loi is like-minded with Kan and never looked-down upon Kan's background and they develop a brotherly friendship. Kam-loi's father, Law Pak-man (Tin Ching), has prearranged his son to marry with village leader Koo Tin-ho's (Sing Yan) daughter, Ku Yuet-fan (Chan On-ying). However, Yuet-fan has an unruly pungent personality and Kam-loi is disinterested in her so he makes up many excuses to stall the marriage.


Washington Decoded

Washington Decoded is a monthly online newsletter presenting articles on American history. Founded in March 2007 by editor Max Holland, the site publishes new pieces on the 11th of each month, with additional "extra" features. The site features book reviews and articles by authors, journalists, and scholars including John Earl Haynes, Harvey Klehr, Merle L. Pribbenow, Jeffrey T. Richelson, Sheldon M. Stern, and Holland, many of whose articles published elsewhere are also hosted on the site. It has hosted articles on a wide range of topics such as Watergate, Cold War History, 9/11, John F. Kennedy's assassination, and intelligence-related subjects. In November 2009, "Washingtonian" magazine featured a version of a WashingtonDecoded.com article on Richard Nixon's Deep Throat.
The banner of "WashingtonDecoded.com" features an edited quote from a 1946 George Orwell essay, "Political language . . . is designed to make lies sound truthful . . . and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."


The Smokers (painting)

The Smokers is a painting by the Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer, painted in "ca." 1636, probably in Antwerp. It hangs in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City.
The oil-on-wood painting measures and is signed by the artist.
Description.
The painting is of several young men smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. A self-portrait of Brouwer appears among them (he is the one turned to face the viewer). The person depicted at right (in black and white apparel) is painter Jan de Heem.


Against All

Against All () is a 1956 Czechoslovak historical drama film directed by Otakar Vávra. It is based on the novel "Proti všem" by Alois Jirásek. The film's budget was 25 million KČs which made it the most expensive Czech film of the time.


Gillot Saint-Evre

Gillot Saint-Evre (1791 in Boult-sur-Suippe – 1858 in Paris) was a French painter and engraver. He created scenes on historical and literary subjects, as well as genre scenes and portraits.
Life and work.
His creative career began in the 1820s and first attracted attention at the Paris Salon in 1822, where he displayed two paintings depicting scenes from "The Tempest" by Shakespeare. A young journalist named Adolphe Thiers (who would later become the President of France) wrote a positive review of the exhibit and called him a painter of great promise. This inspired him to create more works on literary themes.
Among these works are lithographs showing Louis XI with Countess Isabelle de Croye, from "Quentin Durward" by Sir Walter Scott, and scenes from "Henry III and His Court", an early play by Alexandre Dumas. The failure of a series of works on "Don Quixote" forced him to do a critical reevaluation of his work.
He decided to abandon literature in favor of history. Although he focused on events from Medieval France, he continued to paint in the prevailing Romantic and Sentimentalist style. He premiered his new specialty at the Salon of 1833, with a scene depicting Joan of Arc being presented to King Charles VII in 1429; currently at the Мusée National in the Palace of Versailles. This was the first of a series of paintings on her life.
Generally, critics now consider the history paintings to be inferior to his portraits. A good example of the latter are his joint portraits of the architect, Joseph-Jacques Ramée and his wife, Caroline.
Interest in his work gradually declined and he was forgotten, until 2016, when "Miranda Playing Chess with Ferdinand" was auctioned at a modest price and acquired by the Musée de la Vie Romantique.


Stonehenge (game)

Stonehenge is the first anthology board game. It was released in June 2007 by Paizo Publishing under their Titanic Games imprint. Five game designers, Richard Garfield, Richard Borg, James Ernest, Bruno Faidutti, and Mike Selinker, were given the same set of game materials and each created their own game using those components.
The five games are: a magic game by Richard Garfield, a political game by Bruno Faidutti, a battle game by Richard Borg, an auction game by James Ernest, and a science-fiction game by Mike Selinker.
An expansion, titled "Stonehenge: Nocturne", was released later in 2007 with developers Andrew Looney, Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Serge Laget, and Bruno Cathala adding their games to the anthology.


Mud Men (TV series)

Mud Men is a British television series on the History channel, following members of the Mudlarks Society as they hunt for items on the River Thames foreshore. The series is presented by Johnny Vaughan and Steve "Mud God" Brooker, chairman of the Mudlarks Society. In the third season, the last of the series to air, Nick "Rock" Stevens had a recurring role.
Format.
The first half of the show is spent searching the Foreshore. After the search, they are joined by their expert who then gives them a historical research "mission" based on their finds.


Expedition Africa

Expedition Africa is an eight-part reality television miniseries that originally aired from to on History. Produced by Mark Burnett, the program follows four modern day explorers—a navigator, a wildlife expert, a survivalist, and a journalist—as they substantially retrace H.M. Stanley's famed expedition to find Dr. David Livingstone. Their route deviates somewhat from Stanley's in that it includes a treacherous crossing of the Uluguru Mountains, which Stanley circumvented. Additionally, whereas Stanley took roughly 8 months to find Livingstone, the explorers on the show have 30 days to complete the 970-mile journey deep into the interior of Tanzania.
Cast.
So far, the cast consisted of four members (listed in alphabetical order below).
Episodes.
Episode 1: Lost in Africa
Episode 2: First Victim
Episode 3: Hunters Become The Hunted
Episode 4: African Monsoon
Episode 5: Danger In the Desert
Episode 6: Malaria Claims an Explorer
Episode 7: Heart of Darkness
Episode 8: The Final Chapter


Colourful Life

Colourful Life () is a 2001 Hong Kong, ancient costumed comedy drama produced by TVB, starring Annie Man and Frankie Lam as the main leads with Gigi Wong, Louis Yuen, Ronald Cheng, Louisa So, Florence Kwok, Cutie Mui, Myolie Wu and Mimi Chu as supporting leads. The series is helmed by executive producer Mui Siu Ching and was aired as a Lunar New Year drama. Original broadcast of the series began on January 15 till February 9, 2001 on TVB's Jade channel, Monday-Friday during its 9:15-10:20 p.m. timeslot.
Synopsis.
The Ching family is an affluent family that produces textiles for the royal family, the government officials and the army during the Tang Dynasty. On the day of Princess Man Sing wedding to the Tibetan Emperor, Lady Gwai, the Tang Emperor's favorite concubine, overhears the Ching's 3rd madam Sam Kam Hing (Angelina Lo) insulting her to Ching's 2nd madam Sheung Goon Dan Fung (Gigi Wong) because Lady Gwai was once the 2nd madam's personal maid. To insult the Ching's family gift to Princess Man Sing, Lady Gwai had the fabric laid on the floor as a carpet for Princess Man Sing to step on during her wedding ceremony. Seeing none of the Tibetan girls present at the ceremony being attractive, Lady Gwai suggest to the Tang Emperor that the Ching family take a Tibetan girl as their daughter-in-law to better relations with the new royal in-laws. Second madam Ching could not refuse the request since the Tang Emperor had agreed to Lady Gwai's suggestion.
The Ching's fourth son, Ching Chi Hin (Frankie Lam), had no choice but to accept the marriage arrangement since he was the only unwed Ching son. Dun Ju (Annie Man), the daughter of a Tibetan general, was chosen as the bride for the Ching family. Always seeking an adventure and new exploration, Dun Ju readily agrees to the marriage and brings her personal maid and good friend, Ah Yee Ma, with her. On her way to the Tang capital, Dun Ju meets Chi Hin not knowing he is her husband to be, the two get into an argument and misunderstanding because she thinks he's a theft who is trying to steal from her. On their wedding night when they find out they have married each other, they get in a fight and Dun Ju forces Chi Hin to sleep on the wooden bench in his study while she takes the bed for herself.
The two remain in a loveless marriage, with Dun Ju wanting to return to Tibet and Chi Hin nicknaming her "stupid pig" because her name Dun Ju pronunciation sounds the same as "stupid pig" in Chinese. One day, she runs into Luk Dung Jaun, a Tibetan government official on the streets of the Tang capital. He tells her he is there on a secret mission and ask for her help, promising that he will take her back to Tibet once they have finished their mission. Their mission is to find the long lost illegitimate son of the Tibetan Emperor. The clues to finding this person is a gold butterfly pendent, a piece of jade and a birthmark on the persons chest.


The Bandit of Tacca Del Lupo

The Bandit of Tacca Del Lupo () is a 1952 Italian historical drama film directed by Pietro Germi.


The Return of Wong Fei Hung

The Return of Wong Fei Hung is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts television series produced by TVB and starring Andy Lau. Despite Wong Fei-hung being part of the English title, Wong is only a supporting character in the series while the protagonist is his famed disciple Lam Sai-wing, portrayed by Lau. The Cantonese title is "Po Chi Lam" (Chinese: ), the name of Wong's famed medicine clinic.
Plot.
Lam Sai-wing (Andy Lau), a butcher who makes a living with his older sister by selling pork in Guangzhou. He and his childhood friend Au-yeung Ching-ching (Yammie Lam) go on to develop romantic feelings for one another. Later Sai-wing also meets Leung Foon (Stephen Tung), Buckteeth So (Liu Wai-hung), Wong Chun-yee (Joseph Lee) and Wong's father: Grandmaster Wong Fei-hung (Lau Kong). As a martial arts fanatic, Sai-wing have always idolized Master Wong and together with So and Foon, Sai-wing decides to formally be Wong's apprentice.
After becoming Wong's apprentice, Sai-wing becomes indulged with martial arts and neglects Ching-ching. At this time, Ching-ching also meets a talented man named Nap-lan Ching-tak (Kent Tong) and they two of them fall in love. When Sai-wing tries to confess his love to Ching-ching once again, it was already too late since Ching has decided to marry Ching-tak. After some twist and turns, Sai-wing finally touches Ching-ching's heart with his sincerity but also attracting the jealousy and hatred of Ching-tak. At this time, Ching-tak plans to exact revenge on Sai-wing and the people around him.


Legionnaire (video game)

Legionnaire is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit series created by Chris Crawford in 1982, and released through Avalon Hill. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.
Gameplay.
Similar to the earlier groundbreaking "Eastern Front (1941)" in terms of display and general gameplay, "Legionnaire" added a real-time computer opponent, and is one of the earliest examples of a real-time tactics (RTT) game.
The player took the side of the Romans, playing the role of Caesar, giving orders to their forces in real time. The computer played the barbarians, in blue, with the player's legions in pink. There were three types of units; infantry was represented by a sword, cavalry as a horse head, and Caesar's own Imperial Guard as an eagle. Orders were given to the units by moving a cursor over them with the joystick and then holding down the joystick button; existing commands would be displayed as a moving arrow, and new orders could be entered by pressing the joystick in the four cardinal directions.
Like "Eastern Front", the "Legionnaire" playfield consists of a large grid of square cells with various terrain features displayed on it. Unlike "Eastern Front" the new map included altitude, displayed as a series of contour lines. Movement was affected by the contours as well as the underlying terrain, making positional combat an important part of the overall strategy. The screen showed only a small portion of the entire map at one time, smooth-scrolling around it when the joystick-controlled cursor reached the edges of the screen. Unlike "Eastern Front", the map contained no cities or strategic locations, and the game started with both forces placed at random locations on the map.
While the user was entering the orders for their units, the computer was calculating moves for its own units. A basic form of multitasking was implemented by having the "easy" jobs of reading the joystick and recording the user's inputs during the vertical blank interrupt (VBI), while the computer AI ran during non-interrupt time. The player was forced to search the map for the enemy, and then attempt to gather their units into a fighting line on favorable terrain. The challenge was doing this quickly enough before the enemy forces arrived and attacked your units piecemeal. As in "Eastern Front" the AI was not particularly strong, but the real-time action made the game more difficult, as well as eliminating several "tricks" one could use to fool the AI.
The game lacked any strategic component driving the gameplay so the player could simply move to an advantageous position, form up a solid line, and wait. In combat, the Roman forces were much more powerful than the barbarians and would win any one-on-one fight. The scoring system attempted to make up for this, awarding higher points for faster victories. In pursuit of a higher score the player is forced to seek out and attack the barbarian units on terms that might not be as favorable, and without quick retreats after combat, might result in encirclement or exhaustion.
Development.
Crawford had written an earlier "Legionnaire" for the Commodore PET in 1979, his platform before moving to Atari. This was a fairly simple game using character graphics and featuring a limited amount of logic. He later ported this to the Atari platform and released it as "Centurion", but this saw limited sales.
After writing "Eastern Front", Crawford was looking for ways to use the new scrolling-map technology introduced in that game. Avalon Hill had approached Crawford with positive comments about "Eastern Front", and he promised to make a game for them. After three months of preliminary work, he started development in January 1982, delivering the first version in February and a final version in June. Crawford published an article on game design in the December 1982 "BYTE", using "Legionnaire" as example.
"Legionnaire" was the last game Crawford would release using the original "Eastern Front" engine. His next game for the Atari was "Excalibur", which used a different model of interaction based on moving from room to room within a virtual castle. When Atari collapsed in 1984 he turned his attention to the Macintosh computer, releasing the famous "Balance of Power" in 1985.
Reception.
"Computer Gaming World" in 1982 described "Legionnaire" as "a game that anyone can sit down and play without reading endless instructions or learning complex strategies". The reviewer stated that "the real time action in this game is my favorite point ... I know I'll be at the computer for an hour at the most", and concluded it was "as challenging as "Eastern Front" and immensely more playable". In 1990 and 1993 surveys of strategy and war games, however, the magazine gave the game two-plus stars out of five, calling it a "marginally historical simulation of Roman tactics". "Compute!" compared the game to "Eastern Front" and felt it would "appeal to a much broader audience because the game is faster-paced, has fewer units to control, and is, therefore, a faster game." "Softline" called "Legionnaire" "a well-documented and thought-out program ... easy to learn and difficult to play well", with graphics that were "a fine piece of work", and concluded that "On a scale of 1 to 100, this is a 95".
"Creative Computing"s review was mixed, calling it a "successful effort" but pointing out several issues. "InfoWorld"s lengthy review was much more positive, rating it highly in its checkbox review, but giving it a somewhat more muted conclusion that "Legionnaire is a special game for a certain kind of player." "BYTE" mocked "Legionnaire"s cover art as being of poor quality, but called the game "great entertainment, even for those who haven't been war-game fans before" A later review called it "the perfect solitaire game", citing as improvements on "Eastern Front" multiple scenarios and durations and real-time play, and concluded that "Legionnaire" "is a wonderful game that ... combines the graphics and movement of arcade games with the depth of strategy games". By contrast "BYTE" columnist Jerry Pournelle, a fan of Avalon Hill board games, disliked "Legionnaire". He stated that its real-time made it "an arcade game masquerading as a game of strategy", and described the Apple II version's interface and graphics as poor. "The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984" gave the game an overall A rating, criticizing the "annoying" sound but praising the graphics, and concluded that it was "a very good introduction to war game playing".
"Legionnaire" was nominated for "Best Adventure Game for Home Computer" at the 1983 Origins Game Fair. Even as the game was being released, however, Crawford expressed his doubt that it would have the lasting power of "Eastern Front". He later wrote in "Chris Crawford on Game Design" that he considered it competent, but "Neither the original version nor the Avalon-Hill version of the game was a great game ...certainly no masterpiece. It was good experience for me, but I would have spent my time better had I moved on to something that fired my imagination."
Legacy.
In 2013 Crawford publicly released the source code of several of his games, including "Legionnaire".


Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, also known as Autoritratto in veste di Pittura or simply La Pittura, was painted by the Italian Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi. The oil-on-canvas painting measures and was probably produced during Gentileschi's stay in England between 1638 and 1639. It was in the collection of Charles I and was returned to the Royal Collection at the Restoration (1660) and remains there. In 2015 it was put on display in the "Cumberland Gallery" in Hampton Court Palace.
The scene depicts Gentileschi painting herself, who is in turn represented as the “Allegory of Painting” illustrated by Cesare Ripa. It is now in the British Royal Collection.
The painting demonstrates rare feminist themes from a time when women seldom held jobs, let alone were well known for them. Gentileschi's portrayal of herself as the epitome of the arts was a bold statement to make for the period. Though the painting is today overshadowed by many of Gentileschi's other, more dramatic and raw scenes reflecting the artist's troubling younger years,
That it is a self-portrait as well as an allegory was first proposed by Michael Levey in the 20th century, and is not universally accepted, as some art historians see the features of the figure here as too different from those in other portraits of the artist.
Historical context.
Gentileschi was born in Rome in 1593, just at the start of Baroque painting. Gentileschi's father, Orazio, was a well-known artist, and Artemisia trained in his workshop for a number of years before creating works herself. In the 1610s, Artemisia was raped by a somewhat older member of the workshop, Agostino Tassi, an event which coloured the rest of her life and is reflected in her art, which often shows subjects with a "Power of Women" themes such as "Judith Slaying Holofernes" and "Salome with the Head of St. John the Baptist". The artist's focus on her work, away from the viewer, highlights the drama of the Baroque period, and the changing role of the artist from craftsperson to singular innovator.
Abstract concepts like "Painting" were traditionally represented by female allegorical figures, and therefore the painting was not one that any male painter could present in the same way, as both self-portrait and allegory. The "Self-Portrait" was also influenced by the works of Cesare Ripa, most notably his "Iconologia", in which he suggests how virtues and abstract concepts should be depicted, with human qualities and appearances. Ripa said "Painting" should be shown as: “A beautiful woman, with full black hair, disheveled, and twisted in various ways, with arched eyebrows that show imaginative thought, the mouth covered with a cloth tied behind her ears, with a chain of gold at her throat from which hangs a mask, and has written in front "imitation." She holds in her hand a brush, and in the other the palette, with clothes of evanescently covered drapery.” Other than the cloth tied around the mouth, Gentileschi follows this prescription quite accurately.
Description.
The composition of the painting mirrors other artworks of the time, using diagonal lines to flaunt the female figure and emphasize her movement both in toward the canvas and out towards the viewers. The use of foreshortening and other three-dimensional techniques not only demonstrate Gentileschi’s talent as an artist, but also bring the viewers into the painting on physical and emotional levels.
The light is clearly coming from the left, but the source is not visible and is unusually harsh. The front of Gentileschi’s body is lit perfectly, but her back is obscured. Across the forehead and cheeks and down the side of the neck and left shoulder a clear line separates the light from the dark, a chiaroscuro technique which was used frequently during the Baroque era to add a sense of drama.
The textural element, so important in Baroque paintings, is found in the wisps in the disheveled hair, the crinkles in the sleeve with spilled paint cracking near the wrist, and the dirty hands, which augment the painting's realism.
Finally, the colour in the portrait is noteworthy, partially due to the lighting and partially due to the natural difference in tones. Whereas the darker clothing and background nearly seem to blend together, the pale skin of the face and right arm jump out immediately. The gold chain near the neck shimmers, while the chain near the chest (ending in a mask pendant) slowly dies down into a lacklustre brown.
Interpretation.
Because Ripa’s image of “Painting” took the form of a woman, Gentileschi could use the description to her advantage to paint herself in the best light as an artist. While being a female during the Baroque era was largely negative in terms of rights and lifestyle, Gentileschi found this gem in "Iconologia" to amp up her reputation. Additionally, although many of the idealized figures of women evoked salacious or suggestive ideas during this time, Gentileschi was able to successfully manipulate “Painting” to be empowering (not demeaning) to women.
Gentileschi's depiction of herself as the Allegory of Painting has made her seem somewhat egotistical to some critics. Representing oneself as the epitome of an idea is certainly a huge claim, and it may seem that Gentileschi is proclaiming herself as one of the most magnificent artists, though she was still relatively unknown at the time. Furthermore, as art historian Mary Garrard claims, only a woman artist could present herself in this way, as allegorical personifications were limited to female figures.


Seva (short story)

"Seva: A History of the First American Invasion of the Island of Puerto Rico in May 1898" is a short story written by Puerto Rican author Luis López Nieves. First published in the newspaper "Claridad" on December 23, 1983, the story gives a fictionalized account of the 1898 U.S. invasion of Puerto Rico.
"Seva" tells the story of Dr. Victor Cabañas, a contemporary historian who uncovers evidence of the destruction of the town of Seva by American forces during the Spanish–American War. Cabañas learns that, before the July landings of U.S. troops at Guánica, General Nelson A. Miles had attempted to invade Seva, on Puerto Rico's east coast. The residents of Seva fought back, causing heavy casualties among the Americans and prompting General Miles, ashamed and enraged, to bomb the town continuously for three months. After his troops' successful Guánica-based invasion, Miles ordered Seva's remaining residents killed, the city's ruins paved over with Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, and the area's name changed to Ceiba. Only one person, a boy named Ignacio Martínez, survived the slaughter. Cabañas collects evidence of these events, including a taped interview with Martínez, now an adult. The story, narrated by López Nieves himself, is framed as an exposé of Cabañas' findings.
López Nieves mixed fact and fiction throughout the story. The town of Seva and the main character, Dr. Victor Cabañas, are both entirely fictional. General Nelson Miles was the leader of U.S. forces during the invasion, but the invasion began in June from the south, not in May from the east. Upon its publication, readers who mistook the story for truth demanded that the government investigate the events and that Dr. Cabañas be located. The newspaper "Claridad" had to issue press releases confirming that the story was fictional.


Albrecht De Vriendt

Albrecht Frans Lieven De Vriendt or Albrecht De Vriendt (In French-language publications referred to as Albert De Vriendt or Albert François Lieven De Vriendt) (Ghent, 8 December 1843Antwerp, 14 October 1900) was a Belgian painter known for his genre scenes, history paintings, interiors and figure paintings. He was also active as an author, publisher and copyist He was also a watercolorist and an etcher. He participated in the monumentalist movement in Belgium and continued the tradition of the Belgian Romantic-historical school long after it had been abandoned in his country and abroad. He was the brother of the painter Juliaan De Vriendt with whom he often collaborated on decorative projects. He was a director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp.
Life.
Albrecht De Vriendt was the son of decorative painter Jan Bernard (Jean) de Vriendt (1809–1868) and Anna Rosalia Ghiert. His father was a decorative painter mainly known for landscapes and still lifes. Albrecht's two-year older brother Juliaan De Vriendt and three-year older sister Clementine De Vriendt also became painters. He and his siblings were initially trained by their father who conveyed his interest in Flemish art and language to his children. From an early age he assisted his father in some of his decorative projects. From 1861 he exhibited some of his early works. In 1865 he moved to Antwerp where his brother was already living. Here he studied under the painter Victor Lagye. During his time in Antwerp he came under the influence of the pre-eminent history painter of Belgium of that time Jan August Hendrik Leys.
After a brief return to Ghent Albrecht moved to Brussels where he settled down. Here he married in 1880 Laure Fiévé. The couple had five children. With his brother Juliaan he made a number of journeys. In 1869 they visited Germany. In 1880 Albrecht traveled to Italy. That same year the brothers journeyed through Egypt and Palestine. Numerous studies, watercolors and pastel drawings of all kinds and sizes, as well as a faithfully executed and a jointly executed panorama, entitled "The Death of Christ", were the fruits of this journey.
In the meantime Albrecht's artistic reputation grew. The artist was a member of various academies and societies. He also received several honors. His works were acquired by museums in Belgium and abroad including the In 1894 he was made a commander of the Order of Leopold, great officer of the Order of Isabella the Catholic and commander of the Order of Merit of Saint Michael. Albrecht was also appointed member of the provincial commission of the Royal Commission of Monuments and in that position he advised on public artistic projects. The brothers Albrecht and Juliaan shared a house in which they both had a studio. This physical closeness likely explains the stylistic similarity between the work of the two brothers.
After the death of Charles Verlat, Albrecht De Vriendt was appointed in 1891 as director of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp. In 1894 he was appointed professor of the National Higher Institute for Fine Arts Antwerp which had been established in 1885 as a post-graduate program in arts. Albrecht dedicated himself to his academic functions.
From the mid-1850s the Belgian government began to promote monumental art in Belgium. It provided financial assistance to artists on various projects. The promotion of monumental art dealing with episodes from the Belgian national history was regarded by the government of the young Belgian state as an important means of creating a national identity. The Belgian prime minister Charles Rogier was in particular in support of this movement. Jean-François Portaels and Jean Baptiste van Eycken, both pupils of François-Joseph Navez, helped launch the monumentalism movement in Belgium. They did this by introducing into Belgium new fresco techniques such as water glass painting, which they had studied abroad. The monumentalism movement was subsequently taken up by artists such as Jan Swerts and Godfried Guffens who had learned about the movement in Germany. Albrecht de Vriendt and his brother Juliaan also participated in the monumental art movement. One of the projects they worked on was the decoration of the Gothic room in the town hall of Bruges, a work that after his death was completed by his son Samuel De Vriendt and his brother Juliaan. In his role as a member of the provincial commission of the Royal Commission of Monuments he also regularly advised on various projects for the renovation of monuments in Belgium.
When he died in 1900, his brother succeeded him in the position of director the Antwerp Academy.
Among his students were Pieter Franciscus Dierckx, Frans Mortelmans, Isidoor Opsomer, Jan Brouwer Bogaerts, Willem van Barend Dort (sr.), Albert Geudens, Gerrit David Gratama, Georges Lemmers, Simon Maris, Johan Sikemeier, Piet Slager (jr.), Julien Stappers, Hendrik Jan Wolter, Jacques Zon and Emile Rommelaere.
Work.
Albrecht De Vriendt was a painter of genre scenes, religious subjects, history paintings, interiors and figure paintings. He was also a watercolorist and an etcher.
Albrecht De Vriendt principal subject matter was the glorious Belgian and Flemish history from the 15th to 17th centuries. He thus continued the tradition of the Belgian Romantic-historical school who chose as the subject matter of their work important historical events in Belgium's history which were regarded as key to the country's national identity. The movement had started in the 1830s with painters such as Gustave Wappers, Louis Gallait, Ernest Slingeneyer, Nicaise de Keyser and other minor figures who had typically trained in Paris where they had come into contact with the new Romantic movement. Unlike their French models such as Delacroix, their work, though colourful, lacked true romantic zest and was quickly recuperated by the establishment which rewarded the artists with commissions and rewards. An example of his work in this genre is [[:File:Brooklyn Museum - Philip I, the Handsome, Conferring the Order of the Golden Fleece on his Son Charles of Luxembourg - Albrecht de Vriendt.jpg|"Philip I conferring the Order of the Golden Fleece on his son Charles "]] (1880, [[Brooklyn Museum]]) painted on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium. De Vriendt used an event from Belgium's glorious to help create the notion of a distinctive heritage and cultural identity for the young Belgian nation. In this work De Vriendt depicts a lavish court room in which [[Philip the Handsome]] (1478–1506) bestows the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]] on his one-year-old son, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles]] (1500–1558), who had been born in Ghent (De Vriendt's native town). Charles later became the most powerful ruler of Europe. De Vriendt demonstrates in this work his skill in the rendering of fabrics as well as a sensitivity in depicting the confused expression of the infant Charles.
External links.
[[Category:1843 births]]
[[Category:1900 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Belgian painters]]
[[Category:Belgian history painters]]
[[Category:Belgian genre painters]]
[[Category:Artists from Antwerp]]
[[Category:People from Ghent]]


Barend van Someren

Barend van Someren (1572–1632) was a Flemish painter and printmaker who after training and working in Antwerp, worked a few years in Rome and finally took up residence in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. He is reported to have painted history and landscape paintings but no known paintings by him have been identified. He was also active as an art dealer, publisher and innkeeper.
Life.
Van Someren was born in Antwerp. He was the brother of Paul van Somer I. He trained in his hometown with Filips Lisaert the Younger. He traveled to Rome in 1600 where he resided until 1602. In Rome he worked in the workshop of Aert Mijtens. He married Mijtens' daughter Dianora. He left Rome for Amsterdam in 1602.
Van Someren operated an inn in Amsterdam. The Flemish painter Adriaen Brouwer stayed in this inn when he first arrived in the Dutch Republic in 1625.
His pupils were his son Hendrick, Daniël van den Bremden, and Willem Cornelisz Duyster. Van Someren died in Amsterdam.
Work.
No extant paintings by him are known. He is reported to have painted history and landscape paintings. A few prints by his hand are portraits of religious and historical figures such as the .


Battle Blaze

 is a 1992 medieval fighting game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by Sammy Studios. Players use swords, morningstars, knives, and other weapons to beat up their opponents. The player can either play in a colosseum or on a quest. The eventual goal is defeat the Dark Lord who lives in a castle in the sky.
Plot.
A land known as Virg was under the command of a powerful king. Every king was selected at the "Tournament of Champions". A demon from Hell, was hell-bent on world domination, so he sent five phantoms to possess every combatant in the tournament. The demon turned the contenders into enemies where they would have them battle one on one (kind of like Battle Royale). The phantoms possessed every contender except for one. As one phantom ambushed Durill, the strongest of the competitors, an unknown disease struck him. Durill ended up defeating the phantom, but collapsed due to mind poisoning. After he died, his son Kerrel vowed to avenge his father, and defeat the evil demon.
Cover art.
The illustration from the Japanese cover art was made by .
Development.
The North American release was originally announced for October 1993, but did not hit shelves until January 1994. According to American Sammy, a combination of bugs in the game, Nintendo's "lengthy approval process", and American Sammy's move from California to Illinois caused the game to be delayed.


Bond of Strangers

Bond of Strangers: The Operation Husky Story is a 2015 historical military documentary, produced and directed by Max Fraser, that chronicles a 300 km-trek made by 10 Canadians through the mountains of Sicily in honour of the sacrifices of the Canadian soldiers who served there during the Second World War. They are part of Operation Husky 2013, a series of commemorative events that take place in Sicily on the 70th anniversary of the original Operation Husky in 1943.
Fraser's father, James T. Fraser, fought in the Italian campaign with the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. Fraser's goal in making Bond of Strangers was to raise awareness about this important, but often neglected, part of Canada's military history.
Veteran Sheridan Atkinson was part of the Italian campaign, and is featured prominently in the movie. Before his attendance at the Toronto screening of Bond of Strangers, he told the Toronto Sun, "the discussion of the war and Canada always ends up with Normandy. God bless those guys and I wouldn’t want to take anything way from them, but the participation of Canada in the Italian campaign ended up in filing cabinets with no recognition at all, which is sad.”
In 2017, Fraser produced a web-based companion to the documentary. Bond of Strangers - The OpHusky Digital Media Experience takes viewers into a journey through Sicily during the original OpHusky mission in 1943 and the 70th Anniversary Remembrance Trek in 2013.


Tikal (board game)

Tikal is a German-style board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 1999 by Ravensburger in German and by Rio Grande Games in English. The theme of the game is that of adventurers exploring parts of a Central American jungle in which artifacts and temples are discovered.
Gameplay.
The gameplay is turn-based, with the victor decided by victory points which can be achieved by finding artifacts, excavating, and maintaining control over temple sites.
Reception.
"Tikal" won the Spiel des Jahres and the Deutscher Spiele Preis in 1999, and the Games Magazine Best Multiplayer Strategy Game in 2000. It was the first game in the Mask Trilogy, followed by "Java" and "Mexica".
Warren Spector comments: "Once you're hooked on "Tikal", you can move on to the other games in Kiesling and Kramer's 'Mask' trilogy. The games "Mexica" and "Java" share some mechanics, but feature different settings, fiction, and some new gameplay elements. Try them, for sure, but if you're like most people, you'll find yourself coming back to "Tikal", once the novelty of the newer games wears off. As is so often the case, the first is still the best."


Lady in White

Lady in White is a 1988 American supernatural mystery film directed, produced, written and scored by Frank LaLoggia, and starring Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco and Katherine Helmond. The plot follows a schoolboy in 1962 upstate New York who becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding a series of child murders after he witnesses the ghost of a young girl who was murdered in his school's coat closet.
Much of filming took place in Lyons, New York, which took advantage of the appropriate local lore and scenery. The story is based on a version of The Lady in White legend, concerning a woman who supposedly searches for her daughter in Durand-Eastman Park in Rochester, New York, where the director hails from.
Despite mostly positive reviews from critics, the film was a box office bomb. It later earned status as a cult film.
Plot.
On Halloween 1962, 9-year-old Frankie Scarlatti is tricked and locked inside his classroom coatroom by schoolmates Donald and Louie at the end of the day. Trapped well after dark, he witnesses the apparition of a young girl being murdered in the coatroom, though her assailant is invisible. Moments later, a man enters the coatroom and attempts to open a vent grate on the floor, but notices Frankie. He strangles him to unconsciousness. In a near-death vision, Frankie again sees the girl, who asks for his help to find her mother. Frankie is revived by his father, Angelo, and rushed to the hospital. Frankie was unable to see his attacker's face. The school janitor, Harold "Willy" Williams, found drunk in his office, is arrested as he was on school grounds at the time of the assault.
As Frankie recovers at home, Frankie's brother, Geno, shows him a newspaper article about the attack. He learns it is linked to the deaths of eleven other children, all apparently by a child serial killer. The ghostly girl is Melissa Ann Montgomery, and she continues to appear to Frankie. They form a tenuous friendship. Striving to help her, he returns to the cloakroom and removes the cover of the net to discover several dust-laden objects, including toys, a hair clip, and a high school class ring. Later, Frankie overhears the chief of police telling his father that the case against the janitor is crumbling and that the coatroom is also the scene of Melissa's murder. After considering this new information, Frankie confides in Phil Terragarossa, a family friend, that the class ring likely belongs to the killer and that he thinks the killer returned to the cloakroom to retrieve it as the school's heating system was being replaced. Unbeknownst to Frankie, the ring, which had accidentally fallen out of his pocket earlier, was found by Geno and hidden away again.
Later, Donald and Louie lure Frankie out to the nearby cliffs where they encounter a ghostly lady dressed in white. All three boys take off running and Frankie collides into Geno within the surrounding woods. Frankie tries to explain the link between Melissa, the attacker and the lady in white, but is unsuccessful. One evening, Melissa appears to both Geno and Frankie. The town clock begins to chime and Frankie realizes that her nightly death re-enactment is about to commence. They follow her ghost to the school then wait until her lifeless body reappears, which is carried by an invisible figure from the school and onto the cliffs. At the last minute, she awakes and begins screaming as she is thrown over the cliffs. A pale, blond woman dressed in white then comes out of the cottage. Upon seeing Melissa's lifeless body on the rocks below, she flings herself off the cliff and also plunges to her death. The ghostly scene ends and the brothers head home. Finally, Frankie understands the source of Melissa's anguish. He vows to help her bring her killer to justice.
A grand jury fails to indict Willy due to insufficient evidence. Outside the courthouse, the distraught mother of one of the murdered children shoots him to death. Geno researches the class ring he found. Using one of his father's old yearbooks and class ring, he realizes that their father and the killer wore the same type of class rings. Angelo's yearbook reveals that the initials on the ring, "MPT", belong to Michael P. Terragarossa. Geno quickly deduces that the "P" stands for Phillip—as in their family friend Phil—and he rushes to tell his father. Frankie happens to be with Phil at that same time, and Frankie realizes Phil is the killer after he begins whistling "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?", Melissa's song. Phil realizes that Frankie has deduced his secret and attacks him, but Frankie escapes and runs to the cliffs. Phil catches him and confesses to the murders just before he starts to strangle Frankie again. Suddenly, Phil is struck from behind and they both collapse to the ground.
Regaining consciousness, Frankie finds himself in Melissa's old cottage with Amanda Harper, and learns that she was the one who saved him from Phil, and that she was the lady in white Frankie saw earlier when he was with Donald and Louie. Amanda reveals that she is Melissa's aunt and has been living in the cottage since the deaths of her sister and niece. Without warning, Phil attacks and kills Amanda, setting the building ablaze in the process.
Pulling Frankie from the burning cottage, Phil attempts to throw him over the cliff. However, Frankie drops safely to the ground when the ghostly lady in white suddenly appears and frightens Phil, causing him to tumble over the cliff's edge. Melissa emerges from the burning cottage and the two ghosts happily reunite, ascending into the sky in a cascade of light. As Frankie crawls away from the ledge, Phil grabs his ankle. Angelo, Geno, and the police arrive and save Frankie. Angelo also tries to save Phil, but overcome with shame, Phil lets go and falls to his death, despite Angelo's pleas. Everyone watches the cottage burn to the ground as the snow begins to fall.
Production.
LaLoggia partly based the screenplay of the film on The Lady in White legend, regarding a woman who supposedly searches for her lost daughter in Durand-Eastman Park in Rochester, New York, LaLoggia's hometown.
Release.
The film had a budget of around $5 million and only grossed around $1.7 million at the United States box office.
Critical reception.
The film has had a mostly positive critical response focusing on the stylish small town vibe and suspense without gore. Writing in the "Chicago Sun-Times", Roger Ebert stated: ""Lady in White," like most good films, depends more on style and tone than it does on story, and it's the whole insidious atmosphere of the film that begins to envelop us." "New York Times" critic Caryn James mostly praised the film, but pointed out that: "the heavy-handed subplot about 60's racism loads the film with more social weight than it can carry. And most damaging, we guess who the murderer is very near the film's beginning." "Lady in White" maintains a 69% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 16 reviews.
Awards and nominations.
Lukas Haas and Katherine Helmond were both nominated for a Saturn Award in 1990, Haas was also nominated for and won a Young Artist Award. The film itself received nominations for a Young Artist Award and a Fantasporto.
Home media.
The film was first introduced to the home video market on VHS by Virgin Visi and later by Anchor Bay on October 15, 1993. It was also released on laserdisc and DVD through Elite Entertainment, who released a Director's Cut with an extended 4 minutes on March 25, 1998. The director's cut was reissued on DVD by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on September 20, 2005, and featured bonus materials including 36 minutes of deleted footage and commentary from director Frank LaLoggia. In 2016, Scream Factory issued a Blu-ray edition of the film featuring the original 113-minute theatrical cut, the previously-released director's cut, and a never-before-seen extended director's cut running 127 minutes.


Grigory Ugryumov

Grigory Ivanovich Ugryumov (Russian: Григорий Иванович Угрюмов; 11 May 1764 in Moscow – 28 March 1823 in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian portrait and history painter in the Classical style.
Biography.
He was born to merchant who was originally from Yaroslavl Oblast. In 1770, he was enrolled in the elementary classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts and later studied under Ivan Akimov. He graduated in 1785 and was awarded a gold medal for his painting of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert. In 1787, he received a fellowship to study in Italy, where he made drawings of the statues, especially those of Paolo Veronese and Guido Reni. Upon his return, he became a teacher of history painting at the Academy.
In 1794, he became a Candidate Academician and was awarded the title in 1797 for his painting of the legendary 10th century hero Jan Usmar. By 1800, he was a Professor and sat on the board of the Academy. In 1820, he became the Rector of History Painting.
He won the favor of a succession of Tsars and Tsarinas, executing large works at the Trinity Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Saint Michael's Castle, Kazan Cathedral and the church of the Finland Guard Regiment. He was also well known for his portraits of notable people outside of the nobility.
His students included many names that would become familiar, such as Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov, Vasily Shebuyev, Alexei Yegorov and Orest Kiprensky.


Caballo prieto azabache (film)

Caballo prieto azabache (La tumba de Villa) is a 1968 Mexican historical drama film starring Antonio Aguilar, Flor Silvestre, and Jaime Fernández. It focuses on a horse breeder named Jesús who is set on buying a horse known as "Caballo prieto" (dark horse) and pursuing a relationship with a singer named Genoveva Alarios. With he and Genoveva eventually recruited as spies for the revolutionary leader Pancho Villa. The film was successful at the box-office and stayed in theaters for a surprising nine weeks.


Louis Lamothe

Louis Lamothe (1822–1869) was a French academic artist born in Lyons. He is remembered today primarily as the teacher of several more renowned artists, notably Edgar Degas, Elie Delaunay, Henry Lerolle, Henri Regnault, and James Tissot.
Lamothe was a pupil of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin. Art historian Jean Sutherland Boggs describes him as a history painter "in a pious Christian tradition", and likens his "correct, moral, bourgeois, and even sanctimonious portraits" to those of Flandrin, whom Lamothe assisted in the decoration of the church of St-Martin-d'Ainay in 1855.


Into the Unknown (TV series)

Into the Unknown is a non-fiction series produced by Cineflix and hosted by Cliff Simon that first premiered on the History channel in the UK on February 24, 2020 under the alternative title "Uncharted Mysteries". The show sees Simon travel solo across the globe, into some of the most extreme and forbidding landscapes, searching for hidden clues to some of the most nightmarish myths of all time.


Around the World in 80 Ways

Around the World in 80 Ways is an American reality show that aired on History. The program followed television personality Rob Mariano and professional monster truck driver Dennis Anderson as they traveled around the world using 80 various forms of transportation. The show was also broadcast in Southeast Asia on the Discovery Channel.
Overview.
The program followed Mariano and Anderson as they circumnavigated the globe using 80 forms of transportation. Each episode generally demonstrated 7-10 unique forms of transportation as the duo traveled from one location to another. Modes of transportation, excluding walking, were only used once each.


Losing sight of shore

Losing Sight of Shore is a 2017 documentary film, directed by Sarah Moshman, which chronicles the journey of four British women, nicknamed "The Coxless Crew", who row across the Pacific Ocean from California to Australia without the support of trailing boats.
Journey.
The journey took 9 months and covered over 8,000 miles, with stops in Hawaii and Samoa. The crew launched their boat from San Francisco, California and ended their journey in Cairns, Australia. The crew rowed two-at-a-time, for two hours on, followed by two hours off. With several days to go, they ran out of food. Psychological stress, including fear and isolation, was a major challenge faced by each of the crew members.
Cast.
Laura Penhaul, Natalia Cohen, Emma Mitchell completed all 3 legs. Isabel Burnham, Lizanne Van Vuuren, and Meg Dyos rowed the first, second and third legs, respectively. They referred to themselves as the "Coxless Crew", a double entendre partly in reference to the absence of a coxswain in their crew.
Film.
The film was made using a combination of GoPro footage of at-sea activity, and professional film crew for on- and near-shore footage.


Lady Frankenstein

Lady Frankenstein is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles and written by cult writer Edward di Lorenzo. It stars Rosalba Neri (under the pseudonym Sara Bey), Joseph Cotten, Mickey Hargitay and Paul Müller.
Plot.
Somewhere in Western-Central Europe in the 1860s, a trio of grave robbers, led by a man named Lynch (Herbert Fux), deliver a corpse to Baron Frankenstein (Joseph Cotten) and his assistant Dr. Marshall (Paul Müller), for obvious reanimation purposes.
Baron Frankenstein's daughter Tania (Rosalba Neri) arrives from school, having completed her studies in medicine, and is greeted by her father and his young servant, the handsome but mildly intellectually disabled Thomas (Marino Masé). Tania reveals to her father that she has always understood his work with "animal transplants" to be a cover for his work reanimating corpses, and that she intends to follow in his footsteps and help him in his work.
The next day, Frankenstein, Tania, and Marshall witness the execution of a criminal who is hanged down a well, Frankenstein and Marshall both have an eye toward harvesting the criminal's body for their experimentation. Law enforcement agent Captain Harris (Mickey Hargitay) arrives to harass Lynch at the hanging. Harris claims to be on to Lynch's grave robbing.
That evening, having harvested salient body parts, Frankenstein and Marshall successfully reanimate a gruesome giant corpse with a scarred, misshapen head (Peter Whiteman) as Tania secretly watches. Almost instantly, however, this monster bear-hugs Frankenstein to death - breaking his back - then walks out of the castle. Tania and Marshall report the murder to Harris, but claim that it was a burglar. Harris points out that according to their description, the burglar would be over seven feet tall.
The monster, roaming the countryside, comes across a couple having sex out in the open, and after scaring away the man, picks up the woman, who screams and then faints. The monster then carries her later body and drops it into a river, and when the body is later found by two men, the monster kills one by breaking his neck. After Harris questions Lynch, and Lynch refuses Tania's offer for more grave-robbing work, the monster breaks into Lynch's home while he is having sex with a local whore, and kills Lynch by beating him to death. The monster then kills a local farmer and his wife, and Lynch's two grave-robbing friends.
Tania then goads Marshall into admitting harboring romantic feelings for her. She responds to his affections, but says that while Marshall's body is old, she finds the body of Thomas young and attractive. The "solution" to this situation will be to transplant Marshall's brilliant brain into the brain-damaged Thomas's young healthy body. To accomplish this, Tania seduces Thomas into having sex while Marshall secretly watches, and Marshall kills him with a pillow during their lovemaking.
Tania then successfully transplants Marshall's brain into Thomas' body. Thomas now speaks with Marshall's voice and his body has become inhumanly strong as well. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's monster has continued to terrorize the town, and the local villagers, having had enough, arrive with torches and pitchforks before following the monster to the castle. In the chaos, the monster returns, knocks down Harris, and has a fight with Marshall/Thomas, who cuts off his arm. When the monster bear-hugs Marshall/Thomas, Tania stabs him in the back with a sword, and Marshall/Thomas kills him by puncturing his head open with a metal hand tool. The monster is defeated, but Tania has made it clear that she has no allegiance to Marshall.
The villagers storm into the castle and set it aflame in the hopes of killing the monster. Harris arrives with Thomas's sister Julia (Renate Kasché) to see Tania and Marshall/Thomas naked and enjoying post-fight sexual intercourse as the castle burns beside them. However, during their lovemaking, Marshall/Thomas begins to choke Tania as the flames consume them.
Production.
Mel Welles was originally approached by Vanderbilt family member Henry Cooke Cushing IV with a screenplay titled "Lady Dracula"; Cushing was determined to produce a film starring actress Rosalba Neri, who he was romantically pursuing. Recalling the film's development and their relationship, Welles recalled that Neri "was turning him down, everywhere. She couldn't actually stand him; Harry was actually quite good-looking, but he was a pain in the neck because he had never lived in the real world ― and that's what she resented about him. He never worked a day in his life. So here, in my lap, he dropped the script and the money to do it. What a windfall!". Upon discovering that the rights to the "Lady Dracula" script were actually held by actor Brad Harris, Welles wrote a new screenplay with his friend, television writer Edward di Lorenzo, which was completed in three weeks; Welles also desired to incorporate feminist themes into the narrative. Film historian Roberto Curti has suggested that their script may have been inspired by "For the Love of Frankenstein", a story by Bill Warren and Jack Sparling that had appeared in the fourth issue of the comic book "Vampirella".
Welles was assisted by fellow expatriate producer Dick Randall in assembling the remainder of the cast, which included Joseph Cotton and Mickey Hargitay. $90,000 of "Lady Frankenstein"s budget was originally intended to be provided through a letter of credit given to Welles by producer Skip Steloff, but just prior to filming, the letter was denied by the Italian banks; the money needed to make the film was then secured through Roger Corman's New World Pictures in exchange for its American distribution rights. According to Randall, the film's low budget, estimated to be lower than $200,000, resulted in Cotton's schedule being shortened to two weeks and his part being rewritten so that his death would take place earlier in the film.
Principal photography began on March 1, 1971, with most interiors being shot at De Paolis Studios in Rome, while several castle scenes were filmed at Castello Piccolomini. Aureliano Luppi was credited as the film's director on the Italian Public Cinematographic Register. Reflecting on the shoot, Neri stated that "For a number of reasons — not sentimental ones, anyway — I used to go around with [Welles], his wife and children. Frankly, I don't think of him as a great director; on that film was a talented cameraman, Riccardo Pallottini, who did everything by himself — those nice lightings, for instance... he used to place the camera, then he waited for the director; he also solved technical problems and so forth".
Release.
"Lady Frankenstein" was distributed theatrically in Italy by Alexia on 22 October 1971. It grossed a total of 139,683,000 Italian lire domestically, a performance Curti declared "mediocre". It was released in the United States in March 1972 by New World Pictures in a version that was ten minutes shorter than the Italian prints, with cuts that removed expository scenes but left its violence and nudity intact.
Reception.
In his analysis of the film, Louis Paul described the film as "a hybrid of the '70s Hammer horror films' infatuation with nudity and sadism and the golden age of Italian horror's gothic period."


Jacobus Josephus Eeckhout

Jacobus Josephus Eeckhout or Jacques Joseph Eeckhout (6 or 8 February 1793 – 25 December 1861) was a Flemish painter, sculptor, pastellist, water-colourist and lithographer and a Director of the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
Life and career.
Eeckhout's birth details are unclear. He was born in Antwerp on either 6 or 8 February 1793. He received his initial art education at the Academy of Antwerp. At the Brussels Salon of 1821 he won first prize for sculpture.
In 1829 he was elected a member of the Academies of Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, and Rotterdam. In 1830 he was elected a fourth class member of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands, of which he became a supernumerary associate in 1841. He settled in The Hague in 1831. In 1839 he was appointed director of the Royal Academy of Art of The Hague. He moved to Mechelen where he was recorded in 1844 and later to Brussels. He went to live in Paris in 1859. Here he became a banker which gave him less time to spend on his art. In Paris he was living on the boulevard des Italiens.
Eeckhout died in Paris on 25 December 1861.
Eeckhout had many students, including his son Victor Eeckhout who was an Orientalist painter. Other pupils were Willem Archibald Bake, Pieter Gerardus Bernhard, Johannes Mattheus Bogman, Louis Antoine Carolus, François De Marneffe, Gijsbertus Arnoldus Gretser, Henri Jean Baptiste Jolly,
Willem Hendrik Pauli, Henri Rochussen and Frederik Pieter Thomas Somerschoe.
Work.
He painted historical and genre subjects, and portraits. His style and themes went back to the Dutch school of the 17th century painters such as Gerrit Dou and Frans van Mieris. The detailed small-scale works of these Dutch masters were held in high regard by 19th century collectors. His compositions are expressive and lively, and the colouring vigorous.
He published in 1822 in Brussels a collection of portraits of contemporary artists born in the Netherlands. He published in 1827 also in Brussels a history of the costumes of the people from all provinces of the Netherlands.


Self-Portrait in a Hat

Self-Portrait in a Hat is an 1893 oil on canvas self portrait by Paul Gauguin, produced following a trip to Tahiti. He shows himself in his Paris studio with "Spirit of the Dead Watching" in the background. It is now in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.


The Tale of Januarie

The Tale of Januarie is a full-length opera in four acts, completed by composer Julian Philips and writer Stephen Plaice in 2016-17, based on "The Merchant's Tale" from Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales". The work was commissioned and created for the Opera Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, creatively developed during 2016, and then premiered at the Guildhall School's Silk Street Theatre on 27 February 2017 with a run of four performances. This premiere production was conducted by Dominic Wheeler, directed by Martin Lloyd-Evans with designer Dick Bird and lighting designer Mark Jonathan.
"The Tale of Januarie" was the first opera conceived in Chaucerian Middle English, with writer Stephen Plaice not only adapting the text of Chaucer's original tale and incorporating material from other Chaucer works, but also creating entirely new Middle English texts. Julian Philips's score is conceived for 12 soloists and chorus, large symphony orchestra and on-stage musicians; the opera has a running time of 2 hours 10 minutes, and is published by Edition Peters.
"The Tale of Januarie" is dedicated with affection and gratitude to Professor Sir Barry Ife CBE FKC FBbk HonFRAM FRCM, Principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2004-2017).
Synopsis.
Act 1
Pavia. Lombardy. The townsfolk are performing the annual fertility rite around the pear tree. Januarie, a wealthy, but ageing knight, comes with his friends, Justinus and Placebo. After a colourful life, he has decided it is time to marry. He wants a young wife to care for him in old age. Justinus, a married man, counsels against taking a wife, especially a young one. Placebo, however, supports Januarie's marital enthusiasm.
The customers are looking for bargains. Placebo, the barber, is giving Januarie a haircut. While he is in the barber's chair, Januarie instruct his young servant Damyan to lure women over with his tray of ribbons so he can view them in the barber's mirror without being seen. His eye falls on May, a young milkmaid. Damyan is himself smitten by the girl and tries to discourage Januarie's interest in her. But the old man insists Damyan should find out where May lives.
The Nymphs are welcoming the arrival of spring. Their mistress, Proserpina, arrives from Hades with his husband Pluto, King of the Underworld. They are fulfilling the agreement with Proserpina's mother that her daughter be allowed to spend half the year on earth. But Pluto doesn’t enjoy these earthly holidays. They watch January and May's wedding processions as they make their way to church. Proserpina doesn’t like the idea of an old man marrying such a young woman. Pluto doesn’t think they should interfere.
The marriage has now taken place, and the Priest has come to bless the nuptial bed. When May throws her stocking behind her, as is the custom, it is Damyan who catches it. He will be the next to marry. Januarie cannot wait for the guests to leave. When they finally do so, he closes the curtains on their wedding night, leaving forlorn Damyan to listen to their love-making.
Act 2
Januarie wakes merrily, boasting of his prowess. May wakes appalled, recalling the full horror of her night beside her new husband. Januarie sends May and her maidservants to find out why Damyan is not attending him.
Damyan is love-sick, and borrows a few lines of Petrarch to express his love to May in a letter. May comes with her maidservants. She now realizes how strongly he feels about her. He smuggles the love-letter he has written into his blouse.
May has escaped to the privy to read the letter. Januarie, is calling for her to come back to the bed again. May reads the letter. She is triumphant., realizing she now has a rich husband and a strapping young lover. She no longer needs to work for Mistress Wellow, her domineering employer. She can milk the cow herself from now on.
Januarie wants to inflict further indignity on May, demanding that she strip for him. This is too much for Proserpina who has been looking on. She intervenes on May's behalf, calling on the goddess Fortuna to come to her aid. Januarie is suddenly struck blind.
Act 3
Proserpina's nymphs celebrate the hot season. Priapus comes to have some sport with them, but they see him off. January has put a wall up around the pear tree and created a pleasure garden exclusively for his and May's use. He comes with May and their entourage, including Damyan to inspect the work. Januarie now completely dependent on May and won’t let go of her. He is extremely jealous and wears the key to the gate of the pleasure garden around his neck at all times. No one else is going to enjoy the pleasures that he does.
Januarie dismisses Damyan. He is no longer needed. But Damyan remains in the room. May tries to persuade Januarie to remove the key so they can make love. May convinces Januarie he should save his ardour for the next day, when he can enjoy her fully in their pleasure-garden. She briefly relieves Januarie of the key and hands it to Damyan who quickly makes an imprint of it in soft wax. While Januarie frets in his bed, courting couples come to sing of their devotion to each other.
Act 4
Damyan arrives first at the gate to the pleasure garden, but struggles to open it with the counterfeit key. May is trying to delay their entry into the garden, and Januarie is growing suspicious. Damyan finally manages to slip inside the gate ahead of them.
Damyan has climbed up into the tree. May tells Januarie that before they make love she has a keen desire to eat the green pears. Standing on Januarie's back, she climbs up into the tree where Damyan is waiting for her. The two young lovers consummate their passion, but Pluto, who has been watching, is so outraged by Januarie's deception, he restores the old man's sight. Januarie is horrified to see his wife in flagrante with his servant. But now Proserpina intervenes again and provides May with the excuse for her behaviour. She has May tell Januarie that she had heard that a cure for blindness was for the blind man to witness a man and a woman struggling in a tree. She had enacted the scene for his benefit. Januarie protests that he saw a lot more than a struggle, but May counters this by telling him his sight has only been imperfectly restored. Januarie finally accepts the excuse, and they are reconciled.
Autumn has come and it is time for Pluto and Proserpina to return to the underworld. But they are taking Januarie with them. He has died. But, in the afterlife, he can see that May is now carrying a child, which he imagines is his. He tries to communicate with her, but she can no longer see him. He pleads with Pluto to allow him a little more time on earth, so he can be with the woman he loves and see their child born, but Pluto refuses. Though Januarie is now on his way to the underworld, the gods do not disillusion him that the coming child is his. He may at least continue to believe he has left behind an heir.
Critical reception.
"The Tale of Januarie" was warmly received by the UK national press, with four star reviews in the Guardian, Financial Times and Sunday Express, a four star online review on Planet Hugill and five star on Music OMH. Claire Seymour's review in Opera Magazine noted that: "The score is...eclectic and confirms Philips's Britten-esque command of operatic ventriloquism; the music moves deftly between parodic distortion and a personal language that ranges from dry dissonances to ironic pseudo-Romanticism"
The opera's Middle English context attracted wide comment, most notably online on Global Chaucers in the article "The Tale of Januarie: Translingualism and Anxietie, Sexuality and Time" by David Wallace, Judith Rodin Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania.
Cross Language Dynamics: Reshaping community.
The opera "The Tale of Januarie" was funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the "Cross-Language Dynamics" Open World Research Initiative (OWRI) project, led by the University of Manchester, in which the Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a satellite partner.


The Last Mafioso

The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno is a biographical novel detailing the life of American Mafia member Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno. It chronicles Fratianno's life from his childhood in Cleveland to becoming the acting Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Author Ovid Demaris gained the information for the book from Fratianno himself in the early 1980s, where they spent hours recording the pair's conversations. Demaris also conducted his own research. The book was released on January 13, 1980 by Crown Publishing. It was the first of two biographical books written about Fratianno; the other is "Vengeance is Mine" (1987) by Michael J. Zuckerman.
Overview.
The book begins in 1947 with Jimmy Fratianno becoming a made man in the Los Angeles crime family, then headed by Jack Dragna. It then goes back to Fratianno's early childhood, growing up in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1920s and 1930s. The book then generally follows a chronological timeline of Fratianno's life up to 1978, when under the threat of death, Fratianno decided to turn against his crime family and become a FBI government witness. Events covered include his three prison stints, two failed marriages, numerous girlfriends, five murders, working for the Chicago Outfit, running a successful trucking company, and attempts at buying into a Las Vegas casino.
The book is a revealing tale of life in the Mafia. It gave an in depth look at the Los Angeles crime family, The Chicago Outfit, and The Cleveland crime family. Amongst the notable mobsters prominently featured are Jack Dragna, Mickey Cohen, John Roselli, Sam Giancana, Frank Bompensiero, Louis Tom Dragna, Dominic Brooklier, Michael Rizzitello, Frank Tieri, Leo Moceri, John "Peanuts" Tronolone Toyota dealer Dominic Longo, and Peter Milano. With dozens of Mafioso and their connections featured in the book, it quickly became an important source of the Mafia's history and workings. Notable non-mobsters featured are Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Joseph Alioto.
Being a close associate and friend of Fratianno, Johnny Roselli's life is also detailed (he is one of the few mobsters Fratianno speaks highly of, the others being Mike Rizzitello and Leo "Lips" Moceri). The book describes conversations the two had about Roselli's involvement in the CIA's plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Details were revealed over 25 years before the plot, known as "Family Jewels", became declassified in 2007. The book also mentions Roselli's alleged involvement in the John F. Kennedy assassination, but dismisses the notion that the Mafia had anything to do with the murder.
Errors.
This book, while comprehensive, has a few factual inaccuracies. It states several times that Jack Dragna died in 1957 when he actually died on February 23, 1956. The book also describes casino owner Mert Wertheimer as being murdered in Reno, Nevada, when he actually died of leukemia.


Andries Cornelis Lens

Andries Cornelis Lens or André Corneille Lens (Antwerp, 31 March 1739 – Brussels, 30 March 1822) was a Flemish painter, illustrator, art theoretician and art educator. He is known for his history paintings of biblical and mythological subjects and portraits. Wishing to contribute to the revival of painting in Flanders, he took his inspiration from the classical traditions of the 16th century and drew inspiration from Raphael. He was thus a promoter of Neoclassicism in Flemish art. He was a teacher and director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp. Lens was court painter to the governor-general of the Austrian Netherlands and settled in Brussels where he married. Lens was also a writer and historian who published an illustrated book which discussed the costumes, ornaments and furnishings of the various people in Antiquity and another book setting out his art theories.
Life.
Andries Cornelis Lens was the son of Corneille Lens and Magdalena Slaets. His father was originally from Tilff near Liège, a Walloon city then in the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. His father was a flower painter and gilder who had moved to Antwerp at a young age. Here he had joined the local Guild of Saint Luke. Corneille Lens became the dean of the Guild but often had conflicts with the Guild.
Andries Cornelis Lens started his artistic training with the painter Carel Ykens the Younger. After Ykens died in 1753 he continued his studies with Balthasar Beschey. At the same time Lens studied at the Antwerp Academy where he was a precocious student who obtained several first prizes for life drawing, winning the second prize at the age of 15 and the first prize at the age of 17. One of his teachers at the Academy was the engraver Peter Martenasie. Martenasie thought drawing after the Antique and required his students to draw after Greek statues. Lens painted a . Martenasie was influential on Lens' development towards a classicist style.
Lens became a director and teacher at the Antwerp Academy in 1763. To prove his qualifications for this position he gave the Academy in the year of his appointment a composition (Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp). The governor-general of the Southern Netherlands Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine took a liking to the young artist and appointed Lens as his court painter in September 1764. He also gave Lens a stipend which allowed him to go study in Italy. The artist left on 21 October1764 for Italy where he studied for almost four years and copied many of the old Italian masters and in particular, Raphael. His brother Jacob (also known as 'Jacques-Joseph') who was seven years his junior accompanied him on his trip to Italy. They spent time in Florence, Rome and Naples. He travelled back to Antwerp via Paris where he was exposed to new currents in art. Upon his return to Antwerp Lens became a promoter of these new ideas.
Lens tried to introduce reforms at the Antwerp Academy aimed at emphasizing the study after models from the Antique. His proposals met with resistance from his fellow directors. Like his father, Lens came into conflict with the Guild of Saint Luke. He regarded the Guild as an obstacle to the development of the artist and pleaded for the liberation of the artist from the guild system which made it a condition to practice art in any city in Flanders that the artist be a member of the local guild. When his young brother Jacob was denied a first prize in a local drawing competition, he took the matter very personally. He sent an anonymous letter to Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine at the court of Brussels pleading for the removal of the Guild's authority over Antwerp's artists and placing that authority in the hands of the Academy, which would determine the fitness of an artist to practise. As a court painter himself, Lens was in fact not subject to the Guild restrictions. He argued that the mixing of the painters with the craftsmen in the Guild was an unnecessary burden on the painters. The Prince sent the anonymous letter on to the Antwerp city government, which in turn sought the advice of the Academy. The Guild opposed any reform to the current system. Lens visited the Prince to plead his case in person. He prevailed in the end and the empress Maria Theresa issued on 20 March 1773 an order that liberated the painters, sculptors and engravers from the guild requirements. The measure increased the prestige of Lens who obtained various commissions to produce altar pieces.
Lens remained in function at the Antwerp Academy. In 1776 he published in Liège at the publisher J.F. Bassompierre a French-language book entitled "Le Costume de Plusieurs Peuples de L'Antiquité; Le Costume ou Essai sur les Habillements et les Usages de Plusieurs Peuples de L'Antiquité, Prouvé par les Monuments" (The Costume of Various Peoples of Antiquity; The Costume or Essay on the Habits and Usages of Various Peoples of Antiquity, as Evidenced by the Monuments). The book of 412 pages and 51 plates discussed the costumes, ornaments and furnishings of the ancient Egyptians, Greek, Phrygians, Assyrians, Armenians, Hebrews, Romans, Persians as well as other nations. It was illustrated with 160 engravings by his old master Pieter Franciscus Martenasie. After the death of his patron Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine in Brussels on 4 July 1780, Lens moved to Brussels. From here he sent in December 1780 to the Antwerp Academy his letter of resignation. When emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria visited Antwerp on 18 June 1781, Lens was able to arrange an invitation to show the emperor the artworks in the Cathedral of Antwerp. He was then invited by the emperor to join him in his carriage to show him other artistic highlights in Antwerp. Impressed by the artist who was able to discourse with him in fluent French, the emperor invited Lens to follow him to Vienna as a court painter. Lens had to decline as he had to marry Petronella Josepha de Suemoy in Brussels.
In Prince Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen, the successor of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine as governor general of the Austrian Netherlands, Lens found a new patron. The Prince commissioned him to decorate his apartments in the Castle of Laeken near Brussels. These works were later moved to Vienna. Lens maintained a correspondence with Swiss Neoclassic painter Julien de Parme, which has been published.
The Brabant Revolution of 1789 and the later occupation of the Southern Netherlands by the French did not harm the artist. He was elected to the Institut de France, then called the Institut National. It is mainly his 1776 publication on ancient dress and costumes that had bolstered his reputation in a time when Neoclassicism in art triumphed in France. The French actor François-Joseph Talma even visited Lens in Brussels to pay hommage to the artist who had shown him in his book how to drape the Roman togas he wore on stage.
In 1811 Lens published in Brussels a book under the title "Du bon goût, ou, De la beauté de la peinture, considérée dans toutes ses parties" (Of good taste, or, Of the beauty of painting, considered in all its parts). It set out his artistic theories. By that time he had ceased painting. Lens was in 1803 a co-founder in Brussels of the "Société de peinture, sculpture et architecture de Bruxelles" (Society of painting, sculpture and architecture of Brussels), a so-called Société d'émulation intended to promote the progress of the arts. The Société d'émulation was composed of both amateurs, artists and art lovers. It held every year an exhibition of contemporary painters. It was thus similar to the "Kunstmaatschappij" (Society of Arts) established in Antwerp in 1778.
After 1815 when the Southern Netherlands had become part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Lens became a member of the Koninklijk (Nederlands) Instituut van Wetenschappen, Letterkunde en Schoone Kunsten (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ) and was made a knight of the Belgian lion by King William I of the Netherlands.
Lens died on 30 March 1822 in Brussels.
His pupils included Jean-Pierre Borrekens, Cornelis Cels, Pierre Joseph Célestin François and Jacob van Strij.
Work.
Andries Cornelis Lens was a painter whose main subject matter were scenes from the bible and Antique mythology. He was an early representative of Neoclassicism in Belgian painting. His version of Neoclassicism is very personal and influenced by Flemish painting traditions.
While his work was not appreciated by his contemporary Flemish artists, he was successful in his time and had various important patrons. However, he did not establish his own school and his reputation has not survived. He has been criticized as a poor colorist and a weak draughtsman.