Sanders portrait

The Sanders portrait is reputed to be one of the few images of William Shakespeare done in his lifetime. It features a middle-aged man wearing a black doublet with silver ornamentation. It also has a label affixed to the back which reads:
This label was transcribed in 1909 by Marion Henry Spielmann; today, the original text is not legible.
The Sanders portrait is one of the most researched portraits claimed to depict William Shakespeare (1564–1616). It is named for the man that owned (and perhaps painted) the portrait, John Sanders, whose family has owned the portrait for over 400 years – including a transatlantic voyage that resulted in its presence in Canada.
The portrait’s authenticity as a true likeness of Shakespeare continues to be questioned by critics though supporters point to scientific tests, genealogical research, and historical contexts which date this portrait not only to Shakespeare’s lifetime, but place it as originally painted and owned by a family who lived in the same neighbourhood as William Shakespeare and would have had connections through guild membership with the playwright. The portrait’s presence in Canada, its currently being in the private sphere, and its limited budget for more research and publicity are all factors in the lack of attention shown to the portrait.
Partnering with current owner, Lloyd Sullivan, recent research from the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project (CASP) at the [[University of Guelph], has sought to return the portrait to the public eye and establish it as the only true likeness of Shakespeare painted in his lifetime.
Genealogy and the Sanders family.
Extensive genealogical research has been undertaken by CASP researchers and Warwickshire and Worcestershire family historian Pamela Hinks to confirm the oral history of the Sanders family provided by the portrait's current owner, Lloyd Sullivan. This research suggests that the Sanders Portrait is the only likeness of Shakespeare which traces back directly to Shakespeare's lifetime.
The family of Lloyd Sullivan was traced back directly to one John Sanders, Sullivan’s great-grandfather thirteen generations ago. Proponents of the painting suggest that either John Sanders or his brother William painted the portrait of Shakespeare in 1603, when the family was living close to Shakespeare’s home in London, a house owned by Christopher and Mary Mountjoy on the corner of [[Silver Street, London|Silver Street]] and Monkwell Street (a. k. a. Muggle Street), in [[Cripplegate]].
The Sanders family and Shakespeare moved in circles that would have encouraged contact between the two: both families were intermarried with the Thockmorton, Catesby, and Arden families. For instance, in 1592, Phillipi Sanders (a brother of John Sanders) married Anna Heminges, a cousin of [[John Heminges]] – one of Shakespeare's closest associates. Likewise, in 1613, a Joccossa Sanders married John Heminges's cousin Thomas Heminges.
An oral tradition, documented in [[Stephanie Nolen]]'s "Shakespeare's Face" (2002), holds that for 400 years the portrait was passed down in the family while knowledge of its existence remained private. Its ownership can be verified back as far as 1909 when M. H. Spielmann studied the painting – at which time it was in the possession of T. Hale Sanders, who had taken ownership of it from his uncle through his father. Thomas (T.) Hale Sanders is the great grandfather of Lloyd Sullivan. In early 1919 Agnes Hales Sanders, grandmother of Lloyd Sullivan, travelled from Montreal to London to reclaim the Sanders Portrait. Since then it has been held in Montreal and Ottawa.
The portrait's existence was made public in May 2001 by Lloyd Sullivan. Since then has undergone multiple tests and been shown in art galleries, including the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]] in London.
Sanders, Shakespeare, and Canada.
Battle of Wills.
A 2008 documentary by Anne Henderson sought to tell the story of the Canadian-owned portrait of Shakespeare. The film both highlighted some of the technical and financial difficulties of caring for the painting, and showcased the controversy that surrounds the Sanders Portrait and other portraits claiming to be life likenesses of William Shakespeare. Interviews with descendants of the Sanders family; researchers Marie-Claude Corbeil, Daniel Fischlin and Pamela Hinks; actors [[Joseph Fiennes]] and [[Michael Pennington]]; as well as art experts Lily Koltun, David Loch, and [[Philip Mould]] offer an interdisciplinary inside look at the Shakespeare Portrait debates.
As of November 2013 a second part of the documentary is in the works.
"Look here upon this picture:" A Symposium on the Sanders Portrait of Shakespeare.
On 28 November 2013 all of the current information on the Sanders Portrait was made public by researchers from the University of Guelph and supplemented by discussions of [[#Scientific Testing|the scientific studies done]], the internal evidence (that is, a reading of the clothing of the sitter, the status of the sitter, the date on the portrait, and the artistic style), and a discussion of the media and cultural importance of the portrait. The day sought to renew interest in the portrait, establish it as the only portrait thought to be done in Shakespeare’s own lifetime, and to act as catalyst in a sale that would move the portrait from private to public domain.
The Oxford University Press – Shakespeare Made in Canada Series.
The Sanders Portrait has become the face of new editions of Shakespeare’s plays targeted as teaching tools for Canadian high school and undergraduate students. Oxford University Press commissioned the texts, which have been curated by General Editor [[Daniel Fischlin]] to provide a uniquely Canadian perspective on the works.
Editions of [[The Tempest]] and [[Romeo and Juliet]] were released in November 2013, while new editions of [[Hamlet]] and [[A Midsummer Night’s Dream]] are in progress. All the plays feature the Sanders Portrait on the front cover and a brief summary of the portrait's provenance and research inside.
Scientific testing.
In all, thirteen tests have been done over a fifteen-year period on the Sanders Portrait, more than any other reputed portrait of Shakespeare, performed by researchers across Canada and the world. These tests include:
Dendrochronology.
Conducted by Dr. Peter Klein of the University of Hamburg, Germany in 1994. Using [[Dendrochronology|tree-ring dating]], Dr. Klein determined that the oak panel was from the Baltic Region and that the earliest possible date of the painting was 1597.
Radiography.
Conducted by Dr. Marie-Claude Corbeil, Senior Scientist at the Analytical Research Lab of the [[Canadian Conservation Institute]] (CCI), in order to determine that the likeness of Shakespeare was the first and only painting on the oak panel. The radiograph concluded there was not any other painting beneath the Sanders Portrait.
Infrared and ultraviolet radiation.
Conducted by Dr. Corbeil of CCI to determine if there had been any retouching of the paint after it was finished. The result was that no retouching had occurred.
Paint samples.
Conducted by Dr. Corbeil of CCI to determine that the paint and materials used were appropriate to the date of 1603. While this cannot definitively date the paint used, it can determine if the materials are "too new". The results found that all of the paint materials and colours were consistent with those used in England in the early 17th century.
The red paint of the date in the top corner was tested in the paint sample analysis and does not appear to be added after the portrait was finished.
The label.
The label has been the source of much controversy. Many claim that the wording on the label "This Likeness taken" is not consistent with 17th century practices. Others argue that the birthdate of Shakespeare (23 April) was an [[Shakespeare#Early Life|18th century mistake and not to be trusted]]. However, scientific tests have proven that this date was, most probably, written in the 17th century and could definitively prove 23 April as Shakespeare’s date of birth.
Label analysis.
Conducted by Dr. Corbeil of CCI which determined the label was made of rag paper from linen fibers, a product often used in the 17th century and predates pulp paper.
Glue.
The glue used to affix the label was tested by Dr. Corbeil of CCI and determined to be a starch paste.
Radiocarbon dating of the paper.
A sample of the rag paper label was sent to [[Albert Edward Litherland#IsoTrace Laboratory|Roelf Beukens at the IsoTrace Laboratory]] associated with the [[University of Toronto]]. The [[radiocarbon dating]] concluded that the rag paper could date between 1475 and 1640. Dr. Marie Claude Corbeil suggests that the label was probably affixed within a few decades of Shakespeare’s death in 1616.
Ink.
The analytical laboratory McCrone Associates Inc. in Chicago, Illinois conducted forensic ink tests on the label and concluded the following.:
Internal evidence.
Lloyd DeWitt.
Curator of European Art at the [[Art Gallery of Ontario]], DeWitt examined the portrait’s style and oak panels, and determined them consistent with Elizabethan English Portraits. DeWitt also believes the Sanders to be a "friendship portrait," painted by someone who knew the sitter. DeWitt also concluded that the construction of the oak panel is, in all likelihood, English.
[[Jenny Tiramani]].
The former director of theatre design at the Globe Theatre and foremost living expert on Elizabethan and Jacobean dress (among other accolades) inspected the clothing and hairstyles of the sitter in the Sanders Portrait and compared it with the biographical knowledge we have of William Shakespeare and his life in 1603 (when the picture was painted). Tiramani concluded:
Controversy.
The authenticity of the Sanders Portrait has not been widely accepted by scholars. As Adam Gopnik has written in "The New Yorker", "...the portrait has, to its doubters, one overwhelming problem: it does not look much like Shakespeare." Gopnik goes on to describe how the Sanders Portrait does not seem to resemble the [[Droeshout portrait]] or the [[Shakespeare's funerary monument|Shakespeare funerary bust]] at Stratford-upon-Avon, both of which resemble each other, and are accepted by scholars as having been contemporary likenesses of Shakespeare. Gopnik does, however, refer to a comparison of the Sanders and Droeshout portraits that found 16 facial points in common, including the attached earlobe.
The image has often been overlooked by scholars, with a host of subjective excuses, including that the man depicted seems too young; or that the birth date given is, or has been, used speculatively, and only after the 18th century. The label and its ink, however, [[#The_Label|has been tested and dated]] to within Shakespeare's life or shortly thereafter and could prove to be a final piece of evidence necessary to commit to 23 April as Shakespeare's date of birth and death.
Ownership.
The portrait is currently in the possession of a private owner, Lloyd Sullivan of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. However, in December 2013 it was announced that a tentative deal was in the works for an unnamed Canadian family to purchase the portrait. The family is reported to be excited to keep the portrait in the Canadian public domain and is expected to donate the portrait to a public arts institution.
External links.
[[Category:Portraits of William Shakespeare]]
[[Category:English paintings]]
[[Category:Portraits by British artists]]
[[Category:16th-century portraits]]
[[Category:17th-century portraits]]


Joseph Layraud

Joseph Fortuné Séraphin Layraud (15 October 1834 – 12 October 1912) was a French painter. There is no complete clearance as to the birth' and the death' dates. Some sources refer to 1833-1913. His range included historical scenes and figures, religious and mythological subjects, landscapes, and portraits of contemporaries.
Life and career.
Layraud was born at La Roche-sur-le-Buis in south-eastern France. After beginning his training in Marseilles in 1853 he moved to Paris in 1856, studying at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts under Léon Cogniet and Tony Robert-Fleury. He was awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1863.
After his time in Rome, Layraud travelled in Italy and Portugal, painting landscapes, he did some history paintings and many portraits. From 1892 he was a professor at the Académie des beaux-arts in Valenciennes. His pupils included Jules Chaine, Max Albert Decrouez, Grégoire Nicolas Finez, Lucien Hector Jonas, Charles Paris, Maurice Rufin and Alfred Léon Sauvage.
Layraud exhibited at the Paris Salon, winning medals in 1872; his work was shown at the 1889 and 1900 Expositions Universelles.
Layraud was appointed Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1890 and was promoted to Officer in 1903. He died 1913 on his birth day, in Valenciennes.
Works.
Layraud's works are on show in French galleries in:
The Musée des beaux-arts of his adopted city, Valenciennes, holds many works by Layraud, including Bulls Brought Out and many portraits of which that of Liszt is among the best known.
Internationally, Layraud's work is displayed in Melbourne (Italian Highwaymen), the Ajuda National Palace, and
Smith College Museum of Art, Massachusetts (Portrait de Pierre Dupont).


Self-portrait (Raphael)

The Self-portrait is commonly dated between 1504 and 1506. It measures 47.5 cm by 33 cm. The portrait was noted in an inventory of the private collection of Duke Leopoldo de' Medici, completed in 1675, and later listed in the 1890 Uffizi inventory.


Shooting Range (video game)

Shooting Range is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System published by Bandai in 1989.
Summary.
This video game involves mini-games resembling the Old West; with the exception being the moon level because people did not land on the moon until the 1960s. The objective is simple: shoot the red and white targets on the character's heads and watch your energy level. It also includes a carnival-style game where you shoot glass bottles in a saloon. The game uses the NES Zapper for controls.


Gran at Coalgate


Masters of Money

Masters of Money is a 2012 British documentary series produced by the BBC. The programme premiered on BBC Two from 17 September to 1 October 2012 and is presented by Stephanie Flanders, who was then the BBC economics editor. Dominic Crossley-Holland served as the executive producer of the programme. The Open University worked in partnership with the BBC to produce the series.
The series explores the lives of John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and Karl Marx, and their influence on modern economics. Keynes is known for Keynesian economics and as an early pioneer of macroeconomics, Hayek is part of the Austrian School of economics, and Marx is known for communism and the theories that are collectively called Marxism. Flanders speculates how each would have reacted to the 2007–2012 global economic crisis, and what they would have proposed to resolve it.
The series consists of three episodes, each an hour long. The first episode, "Keynes", premiered on 17 September 2012, the second episode, "Hayek", on 24 September, and the third and final episode, "Marx", on 1 October.
Reception.
John Crace's review of the first episode for "The Guardian" was largely positive, stating that "Flanders pitched it just about right; enough rigour to make it worthwhile, not too much jargon to make it a snooze." He praised Flanders' presenting and enthusiasm for the subject, commenting that she was "the ideal guide to an hour's night in front of the TV," but was disappointed by the lack of any discussion on "whether economics is a scientific subject with any predictive value." Tom Sutcliffe of "The Independent" wrote that programme was a "clever, responsive bit of commissioning," but was critical of the "impartiality" of the series. Flanders' reluctance as a journalist to take a stance on the economic theories covered leaves the viewer, according to Sutcliffe, "more knowledgeable but just as confused as before."


Gonzales Coques

Gonzales Coques (between 1614 and 1618 – 18 April 1684) was a Flemish painter of portraits and history paintings. Because of his artistic proximity to and emulation with Anthony van Dyck he received the nickname "de kleine van Dyck" (the little van Dyck). Coques also worked as an art dealer.
Life.
Coques was born in Antwerp as the son of Pieter Willemsen Cock and Anne Beys. There is no certainty regarding the exact date of his birth. Estimates range between c. 8 December 1614, the date on which a Gonzala Coques was baptized in the Antwerp Church of St. George (possibly an elder sister although female 'a' endings of first names of boys did occur in 17th century Antwerp) and 1618, the date under the engraved portrait in biographer Cornelis de Bie's book Het Gulden Cabinet of 1661. The later date is less likely since Coques commenced his apprenticeship in 1626 which would be a more likely date for a 12-year-old than an 8-year-old.
Gonzales Coques was first registered in 1626-1627 at the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as a pupil of Pieter Brueghel the Younger or his son Pieter Brueghel III. David Rijckaert (it is not clear whether David Ryckaert I or his son David Rijckaert II is meant) is named as his teacher under a portrait engraved by Joannes Meyssens, which was included in Meyssens' publication "Image de divers hommes" of 1649. Coques became a master in the Guild of Saint Luke in the Guild year 1640-1641. He married on 11 August 1643 with Catharina Ryckaert (died on 2 July 1674) who was the daughter of David Rijckaert II, his presumed master. The prominent Antwerp painter David Ryckaert III was therefore his brother-in-law. Their daughter Catharina Gonzaline was (already) born on 5 January 1644. A second daughter was born from this marriage.
It is inferred from stylistic analysis that Coques likely worked for van Dyck. The first period of collaboration probably took place between 1629 and 1632, i.e. after van Dyck's return to Flanders and his departure for England. The second period was during the years 1634-1635 when van Dyck was back in Antwerp. Coques' intimate knowledge of some of van Dyck's later English compositions points to a possible stay of Coques in England during van Dyck's final residence in England. This would also explain why Joannes Meyssens' engraved portrait mentions that Coques had worked for Charles I of England. He also worked for Charles I's two sons, Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester and Charles II during their exile in Bruges in the years 1656-1657.
Such overseas travel would also offer an explanation for the long lapse between the time on which Coques commenced his apprenticeship (1620) and the date on which he became a master in the Guild (1640).
Coques was a member of two rhetorician guilds in Antwerp. He served twice as the deacon of the Guild of Saint Luke. In 1671 he became court painter to Juan Dominico de Zuniga y Fonseca, the governor of the Southern Netherlands who resided in Brussels.
After the death of his first wife, Coques married Catharina Rysheuvels on 21 March 1675 (she died on 25 November 1684. The couple had no children.
Coques worked for Antwerp's wealthy bourgeoisie as well as for aristocratic patrons such as governor Juan Dominico de Zuniga y Fonseca, John of Austria the Younger, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg and Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. Coques enjoyed the patronage of the Dutch court in The Hague possibly because his paintings in the style of van Dyck and featuring scenes with shepherds and shepherdesses appealed to the courtly tastes of the time.
Very little is known about Coques' workshop practices. The registers of the Guild of Saint Luke record two apprentices: Cornelis van den Bosch (in 1643/44) and Lenardus-Franciscus Verdussen (in 1665/66), artists about whom nothing else is known.
He died in Antwerp on 18 April 1684.
Work.
General.
Gonzales Coques is primarily known as a painter of individual and family portraits, which he typically executed on a smaller scale than was common at the time. Although these small cabinet paintings have been referred to as conversation pieces, a type of elegant, informal group portrait that he is credited with inventing, recent scholarship has emphasised that his group portraits should be seen as narrative portraits rather than genre portraits, conversation pieces or merry companies.
Despite his preference for smaller-scale cabinet paintings, Coques is reported to have made large-format portraits and history paintings (in collaboration with other painters) for the court at The Hague, the current whereabouts of which are not known. Finally, Coques collaborated in and organized the execution of so-called 'pictures of galleries'.
Portraits.
Coques is mainly known for his portraits, and in particular, his group portraits. His work shows the influence of the great Antwerp masters such as Rubens. However, the most important influence on his work was van Dyck. Some of Coques' works can in fact be regarded as the transposition of van Dyck compositions to smaller scale cabinet pieces. It can be said that he provided to well-off bourgeoisie what van Dyck was providing to his aristocratic patron. In that role he replaced from the 1640s the other leading 17th century portrait painter to the bourgeoisie in Antwerp, Cornelis de Vos, who concentrated from that time onwards more on his history paintings.
He is credited with introducing a new kind of portrait genre in Flanders: small-scale group portraits in which the subjects are depicted going about their everyday activities in their houses or gardens. These portraits were narrative in nature rather than genre pieces. From his early tentative compositions he developed later the ability to put together well-organized and complex scenes. The portraits had their roots in aristocratic portraiture and aimed to stress the status and privilege of the sitters. To this end the sitters were depicted in scenes that emphasized the spiritual and material achievements of the sitters such as musical performances, outdoor meals, quiet strolls and hunting scenes. He integrated Venetian motifs such as classical architecture and drapery in the compositions, as had been pioneered by van Dyck.
His family portraits are never stereotypes although his clients may have been able to choose from models. This explains that identical poses appear in a series of diverse pictures. Still each background is different. A good example of a family portrait is the composition "" (Wallace Collection). It shows the father of the family decorously holding his wife's hand while pointing with his other hand to his sons returning from the hunt. The image conveys the privileged position of the family members since hunting had been until shortly before the date of the painting the exclusive privilege of the nobility. A daughter accompanies the boys. The basket of fruit she carries may be a representation of the hope for a fruitful marriage. The well-tended garden is decorated with statuary and fountains and is a testimony to the sitters' status and wealth. The family hierarchy is clearly staged, but the setting remains informal because of the presence of children and pets. The background in this painting may have been painted by another hand.
Allegorical portraits.
Coques painted a few series of allegorical portraits depicting the five senses. The sitters for the portraits were fellow Antwerp artists. The set in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp has the following portraits: "Sight" (Artus Quellinus the Elder), "Hearing" (Jan Philip van Thielen), "Smell" (Lucas Faydherbe), "Touch" (Pieter Meert) and "Taste" (possibly a self-portrait). Coques produced various series on the same subject. There are complete sets in the Brukenthal National Museum in Sibiu, Romania and the National Gallery in London.
Each of the sitters is depicted engaging in an action which represents the particular sense after which the picture is named. For instance, in the portrait depicting 'Sight' (National Gallery London) the painter Robert van den Hoecke is shown with a palette and brushes in one hand while he holds a completed landscape painting in the other hand. Robert van den Hoecke was a painter who also served as the 'Contrôleur des fortifications' in Flanders and the plan, baldric (belt hung over the shoulder) and sword refer to this office.
Gallery paintings.
Gonzales Coques worked also in the genre of the 'gallery paintings'. The 'gallery paintings' genre is native to Antwerp where Frans Francken the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder were the first artists to create paintings of art and curiosity collections in the 1620s. Gallery paintings depict large rooms in which many paintings and other precious items are displayed in elegant surroundings.
The earliest works in this genre depicted art objects together with other items such as scientific instruments or peculiar natural specimens. The genre became immediately quite popular and was followed by other artists such as Jan Brueghel the Younger, Cornelis de Baellieur, Hans Jordaens, David Teniers the Younger, Gillis van Tilborch, Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg and Hieronymus Janssens. The art galleries depicted were either real galleries or imaginary galleries, sometimes with allegorical figures. Coques played a major role in the genre in the second half of the 17th century and is known to have supervised the execution of this type of composition which usually involved the collaboration of multiple artists.
An example of van Coques' work in this genre is the "" (Mauritshuis, The Hague). This was likely a collaboration with Dirck van Delen who painted the architectural setting. It was believed earlier that it was Wilhelm Schubert van Ehrenberg who painted the architectural setting. The composition depicts a large gallery with many pictures on the walls and standing on the floor. A man and woman are sitting at a table on which are placed various sculptures and two children stand next to them. Possibly the picture depicts the Antwerp collector Antoon van Leyden (1626-1686), his wife Marie-An van Eywerven and their two daughters. The couple appear in the process of appreciating and discussing some of the artworks in the gallery. This gallery painting represents a later development in the genre initiated by David Teniers the Younger, which excludes non-art objects from the gallery. The figures in the gallery painting are portrayed as forming part of an elite who possess privileged knowledge of art. The genre of gallery paintings had by that time become a medium to accentuate the notion that the powers of discernment associated with connoisseurship are socially superior to or more desirable than other forms of knowing. The pictures depicted in the room appear to represent works of leading Antwerp painters. The presence of children in this type of composition has been explained by the popularity in the Netherlands during the 1660s and 70s of genre scenes showing domestic interiors and 'ordinary' people.
Collaborations.
Coques regularly collaborated with specialist artists. Collaborations are recorded or attributed with Frans Francken the Younger, landscape painters Frans Wouters, Gaspar de Witte and Jacques d'Arthois, marine painters such as Jan Peeters I and architecture painters such as Pieter Neefs the Elder and the Younger) and Dirck van Delen.
When in 1649 Coques was commissioned with the decoration of the Oranjezaal in the Huis ten Bosch, the country house in The Hague of the stadholder's widow, Amalia von Solms, he organized for his fellow townsmen such as Pieter Thijs, Justus Danneels and Pieter de Witte II to execute the commission.
Coques occasionally worked on garland paintings in which he painted the staffage and the flower or fruit garland was painted by other artists. Garland paintings typically show a flower or fruit garland around a devotional image, portrait or other religious symbol (such as the host). Garland paintings were developed in Antwerp in the early 17th century as a special type of still life by the artists Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hendrick van Balen at the request of the Italian cardinal Federico Borromeo. Other artists involved in the early development of the genre included Andries Daniels, Peter Paul Rubens and Daniel Seghers. The genre was initially connected to the visual imagery of the Counter-Reformation movement. It was further inspired by the cult of veneration and devotion to Mary prevalent at the Habsburg court (then the rulers over the Southern Netherlands) and in Antwerp generally.
Coques is believed to have collaborated with specialist still life painters Gerard Seghers, Jan Brueghel the Younger and Catarina Ykens-Floquet on garland paintings.


The Kite Fighters

The Kite Fighters is a 2000 historical children's novel that was written by Linda Sue Park and illustrated by her father Eung Won Park. It was first published on March 20, 2000 through Clarion Books and follows two brothers in Korea during the 15th century.
Plot.
Set in Seoul, Korea, in 1473, the novel depicts the relationship of two brothers in a tradition-bound family. Lee Young-sup is acutely aware of the difference in his status being a younger brother, but he finds a true talent the first time he flies a kite. First-born son Kee-sup is under pressure from his father, a rice merchant, to advance the family honor by becoming a court official; he spends much of his time studying for the position, though it is not his true life goal. Young-sup's growing expertise in flying kites and Kee-sup's craft in making them draw the attention of the boy-king of Korea, modeled after King Songjong, and they become friends with the king outside of the ancient protocol and secretly represent him for the kite-fighting competition during the New Year's festival. It is the tension between traditional duties and individual needs. The boys later get into a fight with a boy who is trying to rob them but they are unsuccessful and have to start from square one. They recover their money and are helped by the King, who gives them new kites. By helping the boys get new kites the king is also one of the main characters because he held them at his temple.
Reception.
Critical reception has been positive. "January Magazine" praised "The Kite Fighters" for "[painting] a realistic picture of coming of age in Korea in 1473" and "[relaying] a timeless, compelling story that easily translates to our own age". "Kirkus Reviews" also gave the book a positive rating, as they appreciated the book's resolution came out of the hard work of several people as opposed to it being a "foregone conclusion".


Angiolo Achini

Angiolo Achini (March 6, 1850 – January 16, 1930) was an Italian painter.
Biography.
Angiolo Achini was born in Milan. He was educated at the Brera Academy, where he studied under Giuseppe Bertini. At age 27, he won a national prize for best history painting.
In his early 30s, he became a follower of painter Tranquillo Cremona (a leading member of the "Scapigliatura"). He painted two portraits of Cremona. After completing his studies, he exhibited paintings in Rome and Milan in 1881 and in Turin in 1882. He also exhibited his paintings abroad, e.g. in Munich in 1888. Among his historical canvases were "Savonarola arrested" and "Il colloquio di Clemente VII con Carlo VI ai danni of Firenze" (1880, exhibited at Turin). In 1881 at Milan, he exhibited the landscape "Una nevicata". In 1883 at Milan: "Baptism"; "Lo scalo merci"; two portraits; "una Messalina", and "La ripa di porta Ticinese". In 1883 in Rome he exhibited "Interno di San Marco"; "Attenzione"; "Circus Romanus"; "Tranquillo Cremona sul suo letto di morte"; "Ottobre"; and "Tramonto". In 1886 at Milan, he exhibited the watercolors "Monaca" and "Marina", and oil canvases "Vedova"; "Lo scarico delle merci"; and "Amor Materno".
He died in Milan on January 16, 1930.
Works.
Achini's works include:


The Monocled Mutineer

The Monocled Mutineer is a 1986 BBC television drama series starring Paul McGann about the Étaples mutiny in 1917 during the First World War. The four-part serial, which was the first historical screenplay written by Alan Bleasdale, dramatised the life of British Army deserter Percy Toplis. It was adapted from the 1978 book of the same name by William Allison and John Fairley.
After ten million people watched the first episode, British right-wing media vilified the series as an example of left-wing bias at the BBC. The series was produced and broadcast at a time the Peacock Committee was deciding the future of the BBC (there was renewed pressure for the public broadcaster to use advertising). At the same time, the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Norman Tebbit, was monitoring the BBC for evidence of "left-wing bias". Legal action was brought against the BBC over the "Panorama" programme "Maggie's Militant Tendency", which caused 100 Conservative MPs to sign a motion calling for the resignation of Director General Alasdair Milne and "the restoration of proper standards at the BBC".
The BBC was criticised for marketing "The Monocled Mutineer" as a true story when in fact it was dramatisation of historical events. One of the series' advisors Julian Putkowski, a WWI military historian, distanced himself from the completed production citing the real Percy Toplis was never involved in the mutinies at Étaples, France.
Synopsis.
In 1917 Percy Toplis arrives at Étaples, the main depot and transit camp of the British Expeditionary Force in France. Instead of being a rest and recuperation area, weary troops are put through rigorous training drills in the "Bull Ring" overseen by brutal NCOs known as "Canaries" (because of the yellow sash they wear on their caps). The inhuman conditions begin to deeply affect the British, New Zealand and Australian troops staying in the camp but their protests are rebuffed. A group mutineers, including Toplis, take weapons from the camp arsenal, attack the NCOs and make their demands directly to the camp commander, General Thomson. Toplis begins wearing an officer's uniform and a monocle. After a three-day stand-off, the camp is retaken and the mutiny ringleaders are executed. Toplis switches disguises and returns to London where he meets Dorothy. They live together for three years before he rejoins the Army under an assumed name in 1920. After he is recognised by someone who was at Étaples, he deserts again. Due to the ignominy the British government feels about the wartime mutiny, a Special Branch officer is assigned to the hunt. Tolpis is killed by the officer. The matter at Étaples is judged closed.
Production.
The BBC had originally approached Bleasdale in 1981 to adapt William Allison and John Fairley's 1978 book "The Monocled Mutineer", which had at the time of its publication prompted questions in Parliament about the events of the Étaples mutiny, which led to the discovery that all records of the Étaples Board of Enquiry had been destroyed long ago. However, Bleasdale had at the time turned it down saying, "I don't do adaptations." He eventually changed his mind, finding some personal resonances in the story. As he commented: "My grandfather died on the Western Front six months before my father was born, and I found that a great pull to the story ..."
Reception.
On 9 September "The Daily Telegraph"s Defence Correspondent John Keegan criticised "The Monocled Mutineer". He said: "The Étaples 'mutinies' amounted to no more than a few days of disorder, a little disrespect to officers and some loudly-voiced demands for humane treatment. The army reacted briskly. It restored discipline by bringing in unaffected troops. It removed the cause of discontent by replacing the worst of the staff with wise men. That is about all there was to the British Army 'mutinies' of the 1914–1918 war."
As a direct result of the mutiny, only a few individuals were punished. Corporal Jesse Robert Short (Northumberland Fusiliers) was condemned to death and shot by a firing squad; three other soldiers were sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude and others were jailed for up to a year's imprisonment with hard labour.
Keegan's piece was followed on 12 September by a statement to the press by Julian Putkowski, who had acted as a historical advisor to the series. He claimed that the serial was "riddled with error" and "The Daily Telegraph" reported that "He accused the producer of ignoring his advice ... Mr Putkowski disclaimed all responsibility for what he says are factual errors and misinterpretations in the series. He accused the BBC of failing to consult him on the final version of the script and described the book by William Allison and John Fairley, on which the series is based, as 'a sensational version of the mutiny and Toplis' life.'"
In response to this, series producer Richard Broke admitted that there had been "small examples of dramatic licence [taken]", and went on to point out that "Mr Putkowski did not point out to us at any stage that Percy Toplis was not at Étaples Camp and he never challenged the book he knew we were working from." The BBC's Managing Director of Television, Bill Cotton, further defended the series on the basis that it expressed "the greater truth about World War I". The BBC's official line was that the series is a drama, not a documentary and made no pretence at being a precise historical record. However, the damage had been done thanks to their original press campaign which had called "The Monocled Mutineer" a "true-life story"; Alasdair Milne blamed this on their advertising agency.
Awards and nominations.
The BAFTA (1987) awarded to composer George Fenton for "Best Original Television Music" (the series also received 9 other BAFTA nominations)
Home media releases.
The series was released as a VHS double box set in 1999 and then as a DVD in 2007.


El ojo de vidrio (film)

El ojo de vidrio ("The Glass Eye") is a 1969 Mexican revolution-epic film directed by René Cardona Jr., starring Antonio Aguilar, Flor Silvestre, Manuel Capetillo, Eleazar García, Alejandro Reyna and Guillermo Rivas. With a backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, the film recounts the story of former horse wrangler and bandit Porfirio Alcalá y Buenavista who becomes the subject of a popularly known "corrido" along with his four cousins, after being notoriously heroic for raiding rich landlords and helping the poor. Being each notable for having one eye as the result of an injustice, the five heroes meet two townswomen and a theater actor who helps them disguise for their various raids. As their last raid attack, they take vengeance to the man who caused their tragedy, and evade revolutionary troops who call for peace after Porfirio Díaz resigns and is exiled.
"El ojo de vidrio", shot on location in Tayahua, Zacatecas, was a box-office hit in Mexican theaters and particularly distinctive for its imaginative use of mixing drama with comic relief within the main characters. The film's story and screenplay were written by Antonio Aguilar and Alfredo Varela, who also portrays the theater actor. The film is also notable for being 117 minutes long, which is not the average runtime for normal low-budget Mexican films. It spawned the sequel "Vuelve el ojo de vidrio", released the next year.
Home entertainment releases.
"El ojo de vidrio" was first released in VHS in 1991 by Million Dollar Video, and later in 2003 under the "Antonio Aguilar: Colección Clásica". In 2006, Tekila Films digitally restored the film and released in the DVD format, with bonus features such as scene selections and biographies.


Huntsville Rewound

Huntsville Rewound is an ongoing non-profit project to collect memories from the Huntsville, Alabama, USA TV market. It is a website and Facebook page covering the northern Alabama area along with Tennessee border counties. The website was set up in September 2009 following the response from the Facebook page (which started in July 2009 as Tennessee Valley Rewound) and the Birmingham Rewound site. Lance George is the webmaster and site curator. The Facebook site has over 3,000 members and pictures and growing. The Facebook page is interactive and allows users to upload pictures and give comments. Features appear on the Huntsville Rewound website quarterly on topics of regional interest. Portions of the Huntsville Rewound and Atlanta Rewound websites actually are derived from the "Lance George Personal Website" which started compilation in July 1996 and family heirlooms and collectibles dating back to the early 20th century.
The site has over 5,000 hits a month from around the world. The Birmingham Rewound website mentions the great pictures, video, and Facebook integration that this site has. The Alabama Broadcasters Association has linked to this site as being an excellent database of Huntsville metro TV/radio information.
Features on the Huntsville Rewound website include Benny Carle-Classic Alabama TV, "Grunches and Grins" TV show, Space City USA (an amusement park that never opened), Huntsville children's TV shows, Keller Drawbridge (Decatur), Huntsville radio and TV history, Memorial Parkway, First National Bank Building (Huntsville), the Keller car, and a time machine (ads and memories from a year in the past). Huntsville Rewound is not related to the Huntsville Revisited Facebook Group that began in 2011.


Sliced

Sliced is an American television series that premiered on on The History Channel. The program was hosted by John McCalmont and Budd Kelley, who "slice" everyday objects in half to uncover how they work. The show aired on Thursdays at 10:00 pm Eastern Time, with three episodes airing on a Saturday afternoon, and the last airing on a Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
Episodes.
Season 1 (2010).
The first season consisted of 17 episodes.


The Mighty and the Almighty

The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs is a 2006 memoir written by Madeleine Albright, former United States Secretary of State.
The memoir expresses a view of God and religion as they relate to U.S. and global politics according to Albright's experience in public service. Particular issues addressed include Islamic fundamentalism and Evangelicalism and the role each played in the Bush White House, and discussion of Albright's childhood and her own personal traumas.
Plot.
The book explores Albright's childhood as a Catholic, as converted to the Episcopal faith at the time of marriage, and late in life discovered her Jewish roots. In the book, it discussed the personal traumas that marked her life. However, the sudden departure of her husband of 23 years for another woman, the death of her father, the stillbirth of a child, and the discovery by the media in the 1990s of the fact that three of her grandparents were Jewish and had died in Nazi camps.


Ricardo Villodas y de la Torre

Ricardo Villodas y de la Torre (23 February 1846, Madrid6 August 1904, Soria) was a Spanish painter; best known for his classical and historical scenes.
Biography.
He began his studies at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, with Federico de Madrazo, Carlos Luis de Ribera and Alejandro Ferrant. After receiving a Third Class medal at the Exposición Regional de Zaragoza, he went to study in Paris, where one of his fellow students was Federico's son, Raimundo.
Upon returning to Madrid, he became a regular participant in the National Exhibition of Fine Arts, where he was awarded Second Class prizes for "The Death of Caesar' in 1876 and "A Message from Carlos I to Cardinal Cisneros" in 1877. The latter work was also presented at the Exposition Universelle (1878) in Paris.
As a result of these awards, he was able to attend the where he took classes with José Casado del Alisal. He also attended the Accademia Chigi and was employed in the workshops of José Villegas Cordero and . He would be a resident of Rome for almost twenty years, altogether. During this time, King Alfonso XII named him a Knight in the Order of Charles III. Some Orientalist works indicate that he may have visited North Africa.
He continued to participate in the National Exhibitions, and was awarded the First Class prize in 1887 for "Victoribus Gloria" (To the Winners, the Glory), depicting a naumachia from the time of Augustus. He also exhibited at the Exposition Universelle (1889), where he was given a Second Class medal and, that same year, at the Münchener Jahresausstellung von Kunstwerken aller Nationen, where he received a First Class medal and the Golden Cross of the Order of Saint Michael.


Spartan (video game)

Spartan is a computer wargame developed by Slitherine Strategies in 2004. The game is set in ancient Greece and Asia Minor. "Spartan" is a turn-based game; however, when armies encounter each other in battle the game switches to real time combat available in both 2D and 3D visuals. Most reviewers were positive about the extent of simulated real history present in the game but were critical of how timid the AI is which hampered the playing experience.
Tactical game.
The player deploys their forces behind a start line, usually with the benefit of some information about the enemy deployment. They are also able to give some limited orders such as hold or advance. When the battle is started the player has very limited control over events - something which was very much the case for generals of the period it depicts. Philip Veale has said that the designers wanted to avoid the game becoming a click race but conceded that though deployment did affect the outcome of battles this was often not apparent to players. The player may sound an attack signal which will cause all troops with a hold order to move to the attack and also the retreat for when all hope is lost. Winning battles is then a question of anticipating how the troops are going to behave and so ensuring that when the troops clash it is in a way favorable to you.
Strategic game.
The player controls a faction picked from a massive selection, which may be Greek (such as Athens or Thessaly), tribal (such as Thracian Asti), or some Eastern (such as the Lydians or Mysians). All factions have a different number of cities to conquer and specific victory conditions to win each with their own special unique buildings and units.
Resources play a role in the game economy. There are number of resources, and they are not available to all cities; trade allows for imports and exports. Silver is used as currency, in trade, and to pay soldiers. All cities will produce some silver (through taxes, etc.), but only a few have the ability to have silver mines constructed. Food is needed to feed the population, but only a few areas have enough farmland to feed a larger faction (small factions can get by simply importing the necessary food, larger factions may find the cost too large unless they have at least some cities that can produce food). Bricks are used for construction of most buildings, as well as their upkeep. Other resources are used for training warriors or the construction of advanced buildings.
Diplomacy is carried out by sending the limited number of diplomats to whatever factions one deem they would be most useful to influence where they can be given various orders, ranging from those beneficial to the players relations with that faction like seeking asylia for merchants or gifting horses, or actions that hurt them, or just recalling them to send them somewhere else. If the enemy dislike the players actions they may decide to expel or kill the player's diplomat (and the player may do likewise to any diplomats the other factions might have in the player's lands). If a diplomat is lost, a new one will be gained, but that diplomat will not have whatever experience the old diplomat might have gained.
Reception.
At its release the game was praised for its extent of simulated real history and a large replay value but they gave negative thoughts about the games AI because of how timid it was.


The Conscience of Nhem En

The Conscience of Nhem En is a 26-minute documentary directed by Steven Okazaki, telling the stories of three survivors of the Tuol Sleng Prison. Also known as S-21, Tuol Sleng was where 17,000 Cambodians were imprisoned and killed in the late 1970s. The film follows a young soldier responsible for taking the ID photos of thousands of people before they were tortured and murdered by the Khmer Rouge. The documentary was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short.
Overview.
Nhem En was 16 years old when he was the staff photographer at the Tuol Sleng Prison, also known as Security-21, where from 1975 to 1979 approximately 17,000 people were registered and photographed, then imprisoned and tortured before being killed. Only eight people are documented to have walked out of S-21 alive. Three of them tell their stories in the film. Bou Meng, 34 years old at the time, survived because the prison needed an artist to paint portraits of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. Chum Mey, 42 at the time, survived because he could fix sewing machines. Chim Math, 20 at the time, doesn't know why she survived.


List of Scandal episodes

"Scandal" is an American political thriller television series created by Shonda Rhimes, that ran on ABC from April 5, 2012 until April 19, 2018.
Kerry Washington stars as Olivia Pope, a former White House Communications Director who leaves to start her own crisis management firm, Pope and Associates, where she works to keep the secrets and protect the public images of the country's most powerful and elite. On staff at the new firm are fresh-faced lawyer Quinn Perkins (Katie Lowes); smooth talking litigator Harrison Wright (Columbus Short); investigator Abby Whelan (Darby Stanchfield); and computer hacker with a CIA past Huck (Guillermo Diaz). The show also focuses on President of the United States Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn); First Lady Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young); White House Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene (Jeff Perry); Vice President and eventual presidential candidate Sally Langston (Kate Burton); U.S. Attorney David Rosen (Joshua Malina); Head of NSA, Jake Ballard (Scott Foley); chairwoman Elizabeth North (Portia de Rossi); activist Marcus Walker (Cornelius Smith Jr.); and head of B613 Eli Pope (Joe Morton).
Series overview.
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Webisodes.
"Gladiator Wanted".
A web series debuted prior to the sixth-season premiere and features Guillermo Diaz as Huck, Katie Lowes as Quinn, Cornelius Smith Jr. as Marcus and George Newbern as Charlie. All of the episodes were directed by Darby Stanchfield, who portrays Abby in the show.


Queen of Mahishmathi

Queen of Mahismati is an Indian historical fiction novel written by Anand Neelakantan. It acts as a prequel to the film "" and sequel to the books "The Rise of Sivagami" and "Chaturanga". It was originally released in English on 28 December 2020, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions are yet to announce.


Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer

Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer is a 1956 American western adventure film co-produced and directed by Albert C. Gannaway and Ismael Rodríguez and starring Bruce Bennett, Lon Chaney Jr. and Faron Young. The film was shot in Trucolor in Mexico. It was released by Republic Pictures at the height of the "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" craze.
Plot.
Set in 1775, during the American War of Independence, the settlement of Boonesborough, Kentucky, is besieged by both hostile Shawnee Indian tribes and the British. Frontiersman Daniel Boone and his family must fight for survival when overtures of peace fail and culminate in a frontal assault on the fort.
Soundtrack.
Albert C. Gannaway composed the music for three songs for the film, with lyrics by Hal Levy.


Albert Maignan

Albert Pierre René Maignan (14 October 1845 – 29 September 1908) was a French history painter and illustrator.
Biography.
In 1864, he left his hometown to study law in Paris, earning his diploma in 1866. During his studies he also painted and took art lessons from Jules Achille Noël. He had his début at the Salon in 1867, and continued to exhibit there throughout his life. In 1868, he travelled extensively, painting in Rouen, Córdoba, Seville and at the Suez Canal before its opening. Upon his return, he found a position in the studios of Évariste Vital Luminais.
In 1889, he won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle and received the Medal of Honor at the Salon in 1892. Three years later, he was named a Knight in the Légion d'honneur.
Most of his work is devoted to history painting, although he also produced many portraits. His Spanish and Orientalist paintings show the influence of Henri Regnault. After 1889, he also drew illustrations and painted decorative murals, including some at the Salon des Lettres at the Hôtel de Ville and the . Branching out, from 1895 to 1899 he created a series of tapestries for the Salle des Conférences at the Palais du Luxembourg.
He was also part of a group of painters who decorated the foyer at the Opéra-Comique and was one of several who were given commissions to decorate "Le Train Bleu", a famous restaurant in the Gare de Lyon, in 1900.


Mexica (board game)

Mexica is a board game designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling and published in 2002 by Ravensburger in German and Rio Grande Games in English. "Mexica" was awarded 5th prize in the 2002 Deutscher Spiele Preis.
"Mexica" is the third game in the Mask Trilogy, after "Tikal" and "Java". In the game, players attempt to partition the city of Tenochtitlan in Lake Texcoco into districts, and then gain influence over the most developed districts.


Septembers of Shiraz

Septembers of Shiraz is a 2015 American drama film directed by Wayne Blair and written by Hanna Weg. It is based on the 2007 novel "The Septembers of Shiraz" by Dalia Sofer. The film stars Adrien Brody, Salma Hayek, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anthony Azizi, Bashar Rahal and Alon Aboutboul. The film was released on June 24, 2016, by Momentum Pictures.
Plot.
During the first months after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, wealthy Jewish Iranian gemologist Isaac Amin (Adrien Brody) is suddenly arrested at his office in Tehran by the antisemitic Revolutionary Guards who take him to prison. During his prison days, he meets fellow prisoners of different backgrounds, who are tortured and finally prosecuted. In interrogation sessions, his interrogator Mohsen (Alon Aboutboul), once torturing him with a lit cigarette and having him lashed, refers to the injustice of being affluent and to the justice that the revolution is bringing to the oppressed. After the guards scare him by putting him before a firing squad and shooting around his body, he says to Mohsen that he is ready to pay all his savings to the new Islamic regime in order to have a chance at freedom. After emptying his bank account, Mohsen declares him free and leaves him alone in the street.
Isaac goes to his office, now deserted, and recovers a hidden pack of diamonds from behind a brick in the wall. As he prepares to leave, he sees Morteza (Navid Navid), a former employee of the office and son of their housekeeper (Shohreh Aghdashloo), who has already directed the stealing of his gems and office equipment, wandering in the corridor. Morteza asks for more and shows him a letter of compliment that Shahbanu Farah Pahlavi had written to him, to blackmail him. Isaac tells him that he is now a contributor to the revolution and can eliminate Morteza by a single phone call. Morteza leaves. Isaac refers to a human smuggler and pays him the diamond so he will smuggle them out of Iran. In the meantime, Morteza gives the letter to Mohsen at a Revolutionary Guards office but was arrested in turn. When alone, Mohsen reflects over the letter and burns it. In a night journey on horseback and through forest, Isaac and his family make it to the other side of the border to Turkey.
Production.
On February 7, 2014, Salma Hayek and Shohreh Aghdashloo joined the cast. On April 9, 2014, Adrien Brody joined the cast. Principal photography began on June 9, 2014. The film was shot in Bulgaria.
Release.
The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on September 15, 2015. The film was released on June 24, 2016, by Momentum Pictures.
Reception.
"Septembers of Shiraz" received middling to negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 31%, based on 13 reviews, with an average rating of 4.20/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 16 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating overwhelming dislike.


Finding the Fallen

Finding the Fallen is a UK-based documentary TV series by Yap Productions developed for the History Channel / Discovery Channel in which a team of archaeologists, historians and forensic experts work to identify unknown World War I soldiers and finally lay them to rest.
Concept.
This UK original series developed by Yap Productions follows the work of 'The Trench Detectives' as they move through time and across the battlefields of France and Belgium, releasing the fallen from the mud of the battles in which they fought and died. Using geophysical surveys and wartime maps they try to locate the original trenches, finding bones, shreds of uniforms, personal effects and the remnants of war to help them identify the fallen soldiers. By doing so they reveal the personal histories of named soldiers and cast light on the human nature of war.
Exhibition.
To commemorate the Finding the Fallen series an exhibition was created by the experts at the National Army Museum. The exhibition, ran from November 2005 to February 2006, and depicted excavations, trench life, and how the investigation work led to identification.
"The exhibition gives historical insight into the Great War and looks at how the history of the battlefields and trenches of the war are really just inches below our feet. It also looks into how today’s forensic science and technology can help identify the missing and illustrates a real life case study of one of the identified soldiers from the series."
DVD.
A DVD set for season 1 is also available:
The back cover reads:
"”At the end of the First World War, nearly two million soldiers were missing, presumed dead."
"Almost 90 years later, the once-bloody battlefields of Northern France and Belgium have given way to rolling countryside, and are surrendering their secrets. Beneath the farmlands lie the unknown and the unclaimed dead…."
"This DVD follows the dedicated team of archaeologists, forensic experts and historians known as No Man's Land as they seek to find, recover and identify the fallen of the Great War. Each episode in this complete five-part Discovery Channel series focuses in riveting detail on one archaeological dig at the site of a single significant battle of the Great War."
"From the Belgian town of Ypres - where the team discover evidence of the very first trenches of the conflict - to the infamous German stronghold at Serre in Northern France, join the fascinating search using the latest battlefield archaeology and forensic techniques to recover and piece together the identity of those lost in the maelstrom of a long ago war. Other battlefields visited are Loos, the site of a hellish underground battle in 1915, Beaumont Hamel on the Somme and Passchendaele, where in 1917 the battlefield was transformed into a vast sea of liquid mud that swallowed up so many lives…"


A History of Christianity (TV series)

A History of Christianity is a six-part British television series originally broadcast on BBC Four in 2009. The series was presented by Diarmaid MacCulloch and was repeated on BBC Two in 2010.
Overview.
The aim of the BBC was to produce "a new 'landmark' series which will examine the origins of Christianity and the relevance of the faith in the modern world". Presented by Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of History of the Church at St Cross College Oxford, the series considers the evolution of the Christian faith and its four main forms: Orthodoxy, Oriental Christianity, Western Catholicism and Protestantism.
Merchandising.
A book, published in September 2009, is available.
The series was released on DVD on 1 February 2010 with the title, "A History Of Christianity".


Juanito (film)

Juanito also known as Viva Juanito! is a 1960 Argentine, Spanish, West German international co-production film set during the Mexican Revolution.


The Beggar of Cawnpore

The Beggar of Cawnpore is a 1916 American silent film directed by Charles Swickard and starring H.B. Warner, Lola May and Wyndham Standing. It is set against the backdrop of the 1857 Indian Mutiny.


The Letter for the King

The Letter for the King () is a book by the Dutch writer Tonke Dragt, first published in 1962. A sequel, "Geheimen van het Wilde Woud" (), was published in 1965, and a collection of follow-up short stories, "Het gevaarlijke venster en andere verhalen" (), in 1979. "De brief voor de koning" was chosen as the best Dutch youth book of the latter half of the 20th century.
The book has been translated in Danish, English, German, Greek, Estonian, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Czech, Spanish and Catalan.
Background.
Tonke Dragt took an interest in the Middle Ages from a young age and was especially involved in reading classic English chivalric romances. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Dragt worked in a secondary school as a drawing teacher. To keep the students' attention, she told short stories and usually stopped telling at a cliffhanger, after which the pupils were allowed to draw accompanying illustrations. Usually, Dragt forgot about these stories soon afterwards while creating new ones.
One day, Dragt told her students about a teenage squire who has to complete all-night vigil before he can receive his knighthood, but leaves the chapel of his vigil to answer a call for help. She said in a "De Volkskrant" interview:
"'Tiuri has to spend his last night as squire, before he can become knight, in a chapel with his friends. He is not allowed to speak or listen to the voices outside. In the middle of the night, a voice desperately whispers "Please, open the door!".' What would you do? I asked my students. Then they had to draw. I drew a map of the Kingdom of Unauwen and next to it the Kingdom of Dagonaut, the countries through which Tiuri travels."
The story grabbed her more than any before and at night, she decided to complete it behind her typewriter.
Plot overview.
"The Letter for the King" is set in a fictional medieval world. In the story, a youth's adventure is externalized in a search for a letter, which results in a discovery of their own persona.
Synopsis.
In the night before his accolade and ascension to knighthood, which is traditionally spent as a nocturnal vigil in a small chapel, 16-year-old squire Tiuri, son of a famous knight in the realm of Dagonaut, receives a desperate plea for help from a stranger knocking at the chapel door. Unable to refuse a call for help, he breaks the tradition and goes outside, where the stranger, an old man, hands him a sealed letter and begs him to deliver it to a knight clad in black armor and a white shield residing in a nearby forest inn. Tiuri agrees to deliver it, but upon arriving at the inn, he learns to his dismay that the knight he seeks has in the meantime been challenged by another black knight, this one with a red shield. Tracing the path the knights have taken into the forest, Tiuri finds the knight with the white shield dying, mortally wounded in a cowardly ambush. When the knight learns of Tiuri's possession of the letter, he charges him with delivering it to the neighbouring realm of the west, ruled by the wise King Unauwen, and to seek out a hermit named Menaures living in the mountains separating the two kingdoms, who would show him a secret way through the mountains. Bound by his sense of honor, Tiuri accepts the task and the ring the knight gives him in order to stress the importance of his mission, and remains with the knight until he dies.
Soon, however, Tiuri finds himself hunted by riders clad in red, the henchmen of the knight with the red shield, and is forced to flee for his life. In order to speed his progress, he claims the steed of the knight with the white shield, a formidable night-black destrier who accepts him as his new rider. He also finds himself chased by a quartet of knights in grey, who are eager to kill him for unknown reasons, and temporarily loses his horse to a band of robbers, but finds help with the childish but amicable forest-dweller Marius and the monks of a nearby monastery. He eventually makes his way to a castle named Mistrinaut, where he is found and imprisoned for execution by the Grey Knights, who (as it turns out later) were close friends of the knight with the white shield and believe Tiuri to be his murderer. However, Sigirdiwarth Rafox, the lord of Mistrinaut, and his daughter Lavinia supply Tiuri with weapons to save his life, and in the end Tiuri convinces the knights of his innocence and befriends them, especially their leader, Ristridin of the South, a famous wandering knight from Dagonaut's realm.
From Ristridin, Tiuri finally learns the name of the black knight with the white shield - Edwinem of Foresterra, a renowned hero from Unauwen's realm - and of his steed Ardanwen; the stranger who sent Tiuri on his quest turns out to be Edwinem's squire, Vokia. As it is gradually revealed, the murder of Edwinem and the letter Tiuri carries are pivotal elements in a festering conflict between the realm of Unauwen and the realm of Eviellan, a kingdom south of Dagonaut's domain. The ruler of Eviellan is the younger of Unauwen's twin sons, who is torn by jealousy toward his elder brother and, seeking dominion over his father's realm, has conquered Eviellan to support his own ends.
In the company of the Grey Knights, Tiuri survives an ambush attempt by the Red Riders and some hired thugs, and safely reaches the base of the mountains, where he parts company with the knights. As he makes his way to Menaures' abode, he is met by a man called Jaro, who claims to be a pilgrim seeking the hermit's advice, and a short while later Tiuri ends up saving Jaro from a fatal fall into a ravine. Tiuri and Jaro later encounter Menaures and Piak, a young mountain boy whose services as a guide is offered by Menaures after he has learned of Tiuri's quest. Shortly after their departure, Jaro reveals himself to be one of the Red Riders sent to kill him, but since Tiuri has saved his life, Jaro finds himself unable to do him any harm. Before he departs, he warns Tiuri of another Red Rider named Slupor who will be waiting for him in Unauwen's realm. Piak, who has overheard the conversation, pledges himself to Tiuri and his errand, and in the days that they spend crossing the mountains, the two become fast friends.
The two boys arrive safely in the realm of Unauwen, but the spies and agents of Eviellan are everpresent. In the city of Dangria, the mayor, an agent and sympathizer to Eviellan, attempts to imprison the boys under false pretenses, but a diversion by Piak allows Tiuri to hide long enough to memorize the contents of the letter and destroy it. While attempting to free Piak, Tiuri receives help from the disgruntled citizens who have long been displeased with the despotic mayor, although only few ever suspected him being an agent of Eviellan. Piak is liberated and the mayor's true allegiance exposed, but not daring to be delayed on their errand, Tiuri and Piak run away before the newly elected provisory town council can question them.
Their next obstacle meets them at the Rainbow River in the form of a castle serving as a toll station. Without money to pay the toll, Tiuri and Piak decide to cross the river by stealth, but end up shipwrecked and captured. When Tirui is brought before Sir Ardian, the local Toll Master, he attempts to bargain for his and Piak's release by offering Edwinem's ring as a deposit. Upon recognizing the ring, and after learning about Edwinem's demise and that Tiuri carries an important message for the king, Sir Ardian promptly provides the two boys with an escort to the capital. Slupor manages to draw away the Custom guards and awaits Tiuri and Piak at the very gates of the capital, but his last-ditch attempt at Tiuri's life is foiled, and he is arrested.
Now able to fulfill their quest, Tiuri and Piak deliver the message the letter contained to King Unauwen. It is later revealed that the letter was a warning about the Lord of Eviellan's treacherous plans which formed the core of his reconciliation attempt, since he has planned to murder his brother once the realm of Unauwen was lulled into a sense of peace and security, thereby making him the only claimant to the throne. With a heavy heart, Unauwen calls the knights of his realm to arms and rewards Tiuri and Piak for their valiant service to his kingdom.
Soon after, Tiuri and Piak depart for Dagonaut's realm, following the same path they have taken for their outward journey. After arriving at Menaures' abode, Piak, who feels torn between his friendship with Tiuri and his home in the mountains, parts company with Tiuri, who continues his return journey alone. On his way, he meets again with most of his friends and allies, including Ristridin, who invites him to his castle in the coming spring once he and Arwaut have completed an errand for King Dagonaut to explore the Wild Wood, a wild and desolate forest area lining the realm's southern border.
After an uneventful journey, Tiuri returns to the capital of Dagonaut's realm, where he is welcomed back by the king and his family. To Tiuri's immense surprise, and quite against his expectations to the contrary, he subsequently finds himself made a full knight; even though having broken the rules of tradition, Tiuri has proven that he already is a true knight due to his sense of honor, his dedication and compassion in accepting Edwinem's quest as his own. Tiuri's joy is completed when the very next day Piak arrives at the capital, having changed his mind and decided to join Tiuri as his friend and squire.
The story is continued in "Geheimen van het Wilde Woud".
Reception.
Critical reception.
1962 reception.
In line with her debut, "De brief voor de koning" was received very well by critics. Multiple reviewers noted the book's romantic tendencies. A "Trouw" journalist carrying the initial J.H. called Dragt "capable" and her novel a "beautiful book". Reviewer W. Hora Adema of "Het Parool" put it on the list of children's books to buy for Sinterklaas, calling it "romantic". A reviewer of "De Friese Koerier" was however sceptical about the potential success of the book, saying that only boys who had a feeling for "romantic knighthood" would enjoy it in 1962. A reviewer in "Algemeen Handelsblad" liked the setting on the other hand, calling it the novel a "fascinating and atmospherically written book". A "De Maasbode" journalist suggested that the book could have perhaps been influenced by Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and called the characters "appealing" and "De brief voor de koning" overall an "interesting, charming book, modern through its clarity of imagination".
"De brief voor de koning" was crowned as the Best Children's Book of the Year in 1963 by CPNB. One year prior to that, with "Verhalen van de tweelingbroers", she just lost out the prize to Jean Dulieu's "Paulus de hulpsinterklaas". In 2004, "De brief voor de koning" won the "Griffel der Griffels" for best children's book published between 1954 and 2004, beating amongst others Thea Beckman's "Kruistocht in spijkerbroek" and two books by Paul Biegel.
2013 reception of its English translation.
In 2013, British translator Laura Watkinson translated the book for Pushkin Press. This translation received positive feedback from British critics. "The Guardian"'s Philip Womack wrote: "The book is beautifully constructed, and has passages of urgent writing that take their inspiration from fairytales as well as the Arthurian legend."
"Irish Times" journalist Eileen Battersby wrote: "This is a fast-moving, wonderful old-style adventure written in a solemn, deliberate and descriptive prose."
Public reception.
"De brief voor de koning" has sold over 1 million copies. The book has been translated many times, and reached its 22nd printing in Dutch in 2007. In 2018, the book reached its fiftieth edition in print.
Adaptations.
In 2007, it premiered as a musical theater piece. This was the second theater production based on the works of Tonke Dragt, after an adaptation of "De Zevensprong".
A film based on the book, starring Derek de Lint, was released in the summer of 2008.
In 2018, it was revealed that Netflix had bought the international rights to film an English-language series based on the book. Filming took place in New Zealand and Prague. The Netflix series was released on March 20, 2020. However, it features several alterations greatly deviating from the original stories, such as the inclusion of magic, an altered background story for Tiuri, an enhanced emphasis on Lavinia's role, and several original characters.


Westbang

Westbang is a Wild West game for the iPhone, based on the 1984 Sega arcade game "Bank Panic".
Gameplay.
The player has to protect the town's bank from robbers. The bank has three or four doors that open randomly and show either outlaws or customers. The player has to make sure that they only shoot the outlaws. There are also western draws. The player can only shoot when the criminal draws first. There are 25 levels and new types of outlaws on each one.
Reception.
Matt Fox, of App Advice, said that the game is entertaining, addicting, and worth people's money. Torbjorn Kamblad, of TouchGen, said that he liked the game even though it offered nothing new compared to the many other shooting gallery games for the iPhone.


Hieronymus Francken II

Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II (Antwerp, 1578 – Antwerp, 1623) was a Flemish painter and one of the most prominent members of the large Francken family of artists. Along with his brother Frans Francken II he played an important role in the development of new genres in Flemish art in the early 17th century.
Life.
Hieronymus Francken II was the son of Elisabeth Mertens and Frans Francken the Elder. His father was a painter born in Herentals who had moved with his painter father to Antwerp. There he had become one of the principal painters during the Counter-Reformation. Hieronymus had three brothers who were painters: Thomas, Frans II and Ambrosius II.
Hieronymus received his first training from his father. He was entered into the books ("liggeren") of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1605 as a pupil of his uncle Ambrosius. Ambrosius Francken I had trained with Frans Floris and had worked some time in Fontainebleau. In 1607 Hieronymus Francken II was formally admitted as a master of the Antwerp Guild.
In 1609 he likely spent time in Paris, where like his brother Frans II, he may have studied under his uncle Hieronymus Francken I. Hieronymus Francken I worked most of his career in Paris and Fontainebleau and was a court painter to the French court from 1594.
Hieronymus Francken II returned to Antwerp where he spent the rest of his career. From 1616/17 he worked as "ionckmann" (bachelor) in the house of his father Frans Francken I (1542-1616).
Work.
Hieronymus Francken the Younger was a versatile artist who practised in many genres. Hieronymus painted art galleries and Kunstkammer, genre scenes of elegant balls and dances, history paintings, monkey scenes (the so-called " singeries"), allegorical paintings and still lifes. He also copied some of the scenes of witches and witchcraft, including portrayals of witches' sabbats, invented by his brother Frans II.
As the paintings of various members of the Francken family were so similar in style and they rarely signed their work, it has been difficult for a long time to identify the works by Hieronymus II. In particular the works of Hieronymus II and Frans II have been difficult to distinguish as they had a similar training and worked in close proximity and as a result their figure style and subject matter is very similar. Various works of Hieronymus II were in the past attributed to his brother. On the basis of the few signed works by his hand historians have been able to reconstruct Hieronymus' oeuvre and re-attribute to him a number of works.
Typical characteristics of Hieronymus' work are the use of broad brush strokes and earth colours, such as brick-red and variations of brown tones. The scale of his figures is occasionally awkward.
Elegant balls.
Hieronymus as well as his brother Frans the Younger created many paintings depicting elegant balls. They typically represent anonymous events where couples or larger groups of elegant persons are dancing on music in an interior. It is possible that the brothers developed this subject under the influence of their uncle Hieronymus Francken I under whom they may have studied briefly during a presumed residence in Paris. Hieronymus I had developed this genre of elegant balls while working for the French court in Fontainebleau and Paris. The execution of these works by both brothers is similar in style.
The architecture in these paintings was occasionally the work of another painter such as Paul Vredeman de Vries in the case of the work "Elegant company" in the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Still lifes.
Some of the most original work of Hieronymus II was in the area of still lifes. He specialized in monochrome banquet still lifes typically of simple food and pottery. Gradually an oeuvre is being ascribed to him on the basis of his sole signed still life referred to as "Still life with pottery, herring and pancakes, a print of an owl on the wall" or "Rich and the Poor at Table" in the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp dated 1604.
Another still life in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp referred to as the "" has been attributed to Hieronymus II. A very similar work was sold at Christie's on 17 May 2004 in Amsterdam as lot 72. There exists a third similar work in a private collection. It is believed that this composition "Poor Man's Meal" is a pendant to a composition representing a "Rich Man's Meal" of which there is only one copy preserved in a private collection.
Gallery paintings.
Frans Francken the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Elder were the first artists to create paintings of art and curiosity collections in the 1620s. Gallery paintings depict large rooms in which many paintings and other precious items are displayed in elegant surroundings. The earliest works in this genre depicted art objects together with other items such as scientific instruments or peculiar natural specimens. Some gallery paintings include portraits of the owners or collectors of the art objects or artists at work. The genre became immediately quite popular and was followed by other artists such as Jan Brueghel the Younger, Cornelis de Baellieur, Hans Jordaens, David Teniers the Younger, Gillis van Tilborch and Hieronymus Janssens.
Hieronymus II created a number of gallery paintings. Only one of these, the composition referred to as "The Cabinet of an Art Lover" or "The Art Gallery of Jan Snellinck" (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium) is signed and dated 1621. This painting has been the basis for the attribution to Hieronymus of a number of gallery paintings formerly attributed to other artists such as his brother Frans II and Adriaen van Stalbemt. The best known of these pictures is "The Archdukes Albert and Isabella Visiting a Collector's Cabinet", which is now generally regarded as a collaboration between Jan Brueghel the Elder and Hieronymus Francken II even though some see the hand of van Stalbemt here too. It is part of the collection of The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Other cabinet paintings that were formerly attributed to van Stalbemt have also been re-attributed to Hieronymus. This includes the composition ' and the reduced replica of the lower right hand corner called ' (both in the Prado). "", which is similar to the paintings in the Prado, was sold at Sotheby's on 9 July 2014 as lot 57. What the three compositions "The Archdukes Albert and Isabella Visiting a Collector's Cabinet", "The Sciences and Arts" and "A Collector's Cabinet" have in common is that they give prominence among the artworks included in the gallery painting to compositions that are allegories of iconoclasm and the victory of painting (art) over ignorance. These are references to the iconoclasm of the Beeldenstorm that had raged in the Low Countries in the 16th century and the victory over the iconoclasts during the reign of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella who jointly ruled the Spanish Netherlands in the beginning of the 17th century.
Hieronymus' gallery paintings represent the early phase of the genre of collector's cabinets. During this early 'encyclopaedic' phase, the genre reflected the culture of curiosity of that time, when art works, scientific instruments, naturalia and artificialia were equally the object of study and admiration. As a result, the cabinets depicted in these compositions are populated by persons who appear to be as interested in discussing scientific instruments as in admiring paintings. Later the genre concentrated more on galleries solely containing works of art. Even though one of Hieronymus' gallery paintings was earlier believed to represent the real art gallery of the Flemish artist and collector Jan Snellinck it is now believed that all his galleries are in fact imaginary.
The identity of the painters who painted the figures in Hieronymus' gallery pictures is not known.
Singeries.
Hieronymus' brother Frans the Younger had contributed to the development of the genre of the 'monkey scene', also called 'singerie' (a word, which in French means a 'comical grimace, behaviour or trick'). Comical scenes with monkeys appearing in human attire and a human environment are a pictorial genre that was initiated in Flemish painting in the 16th century and was subsequently further developed in the 17th century. The Flemish engraver Pieter van der Borcht introduced the singerie as an independent theme around 1575 in a series of prints, which are strongly embedded in the artistic tradition of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. These prints were widely disseminated and the theme was then picked up by other Flemish artists. The first one to do so was Frans Francken the Younger who played an important role in the development of the genre. David Teniers the Younger became the principal practitioner of the genre and developed it further with his younger brother Abraham Teniers. Later in the 17th century Nicolaes van Verendael started to paint these 'monkey scenes' as well.
Like his brother, Hieronymus II is known to have created singeries such as the "Bathroom with monkeys and cats" (Staatliches Museum Schwerin).


Big Rig Bounty Hunters

Big Rig Bounty Hunters is an American reality TV program, which aired from February 14, 2013, to June 30, 2014, on the History Channel. The series followed bounty hunters who search for and retrieve lost, stolen, or otherwise missing tractor-trailer rigs, and, in some cases, towed vehicles and cargo on trailers. The show comprised recreations of situations that may or may not have happened in real life. After the final episode of season 2 aired on June 30, 2014, there hasn't been any news on the fate of the show. Although, the History Channel has removed the shows page from their website.
The style of the show is somewhat similar to another show on the History Channel dealing with operation of large trucks, "Ice Road Truckers". The show highlights the contrived activities of several crews of recovery agents all over the US who perform various recoveries of stolen or abandoned vehicles or rescues of incapacitated vehicles. The men get paid for their recovery actions and can receive bonuses for successful recovery of the cargo or contents of the trailers.
On March 22, 2017, Vince Jones, a star on the show died of a suspected heart attack. He had a condition known as sleep apnea, and he wasn't wearing his CPAP mask the night he died, which possibly contributed to his death.


The Atheism Tapes

The Atheism Tapes is a 2004 BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. The material that makes up the series was originally filmed in 2003 for another, more general series, " ", but was too lengthy for inclusion. Instead, the BBC agreed to create "The Atheism Tapes" as a supplementary series of six programmes, each consisting of an extended interview with one contributor.
Programmes.
All six programmes were conducted in the form of interviews; the synopses below are summaries of the interviewees' responses to Miller's questions.
Colin McGinn.
English philosopher McGinn speaks about the various reasons for not believing in God, and some of the reasons for. He gives a thorough treatment of the ontological argument. In addition, McGinn draws an important distinction between atheism (lack of belief in a deity) and antitheism (active opposition to theism); he identifies himself as both an atheist and an antitheist. Finally, he speculates about a post-theistic society.
Steven Weinberg.
American physicist Weinberg talks about the effectiveness of the Design Argument, both in the past and today. He also discusses the reasons that people become religious, including the varying influences of physical and biological arguments against religion. Miller connects this to a higher likelihood of biologists being non-believers than physicists, which Weinberg finds surprising.
Weinberg goes on to distinguish between harm done "in the name of" religion from that done "by" religion and states that both of these are very real and very dangerous. He goes on to discuss the difference between religious belief in America and Europe, and about how he doesn't like the "character" of the monotheistic God. He ends by saying that science is very definitely corrosive to religious belief, and that he considers this a good thing.
Arthur Miller.
American playwright Arthur Miller talks about his atheism from a Jewish perspective. He discusses his view that some cases of antisemitism come from Christians who believe Jewish people are disbelievers because they do not believe Christ was the son of God. They also discuss the overlay of religion and patriotism, particularly with American politics, but also on how many of the wars today come from the mixture of nationalism and religious beliefs. Lastly, he explains how he does not believe that there is an afterlife except in the sense that people are remembered by the material possessions that they leave behind or the deeds that they did during their life that still affect the world.
Richard Dawkins.
English biologist Richard Dawkins first talks about how the view that evil exists may come from a personification of some principal belief. Next, he explains the process by which he became an atheist despite being raised as an Anglican. They then discuss at length natural selection and how it acts as the guiding force for evolution. He also points out the fallacy in using a God-of-the-gaps argument for explaining the world. Next, he goes over the importance of holding and defending an atheist world view.
Denys Turner.
British theologian Denys Turner points out that being an atheist or theist depends largely upon what questions you ask yourself. He then shares his view that atheism can also suffer from its own sort of fundamentalism. They spend some time covering the issue of why or how something comes from nothing.
Daniel Dennett.
American philosopher Dennett explains why he called one of his books "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", and why many of Darwin's contemporaries, in particular, considered Darwin's theory of evolution to be dangerous. He goes on to deal with the question of consciousness (i.e., is the consciousness/soul distinct from the body), talking about Darwin's rejection of the soul and the possible origins and psychological purposes of a belief in an immaterial soul.
Next, he talks about his Christian upbringing and how he became an atheist. He goes on to ask why it is thought rude to criticise religious belief, and suggests that it is due to the influential status of the religions in question. He finishes by wondering whether we could live effectively in a post-theistic world.


Melchior de la Mars

Melchior de la Mars (c. 1585 – 1650) was a Flemish Baroque painter active in Ghent. Only recently rediscovered, the artist is considered an early representative of the so-called Ghent Caravaggisti.
Life.
Little is known about the life and training of the artist. His activity in Ghent is recorded in 1621, when he signed and dated the made for the altar of the church of Augustine Church (now Saint Stephanus Church) in Ghent. A year later he signed the (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium).
The artist was registered in the Guild of Saint Luke until 1622 after which there is no further record of the artist in the guild records. It is believed that the artist was also an art dealer and was thus able to export his own works, which explains their presence in French collections.
Work.
Only two known signed works by the artist are known. It is on the basis of these works that a number of works formerly attributed to Northern and Italian Caravaggisti have been assigned to de la Mars.
The style of de la Mars' works, which combines chiaroscuro together with the Mannerist profiles of the figures, qualify the artist as an early representative of the Ghent Caravaggisti, who preceded the return of Jan Janssens from Rome in 1621. He was thus part of the earliest generation of Flemish Caravaggisti, which included, amongst others, Gerard Seghers and Theodoor van Loon.


The Seekers (miniseries)

The Seekers is a 1979 American made-for-television drama film based on the historical novel "The Seekers" written by John Jakes, originally published in 1975. It is third in a series known as The Kent Family Chronicles or the American Bicentennial Series. The story mixes fictional characters with historical events and figures, as it narrates the story of the United States of America from 1794 through 1814. In 1979, the novel was made into a television film by Operation Prime Time and premiered on HBO on July 8 and 9, 1979.
"The Seekers" was preceded by "The Bastard", first in the series, and "The Rebels", second in the series.
Synopsis.
The sons and grandchildren of Philip Kent make a life for themselves in America.


Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror

Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror (c. 1524) is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Parmigianino. It is housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
History.
The work is mentioned by Late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari, who lists it as one of three small-size paintings that the artist brought to Rome with him in 1525. Vasari relays that the self-portrait was created by Parmigianino as an example to showcase his talent to potential customers.
The portrait was donated to pope Clement VII, and later to writer Pietro Aretino, in whose house Vasari himself, then still a child, saw it. It was later acquired by Vicentine sculptor Valerio Belli and, after his death in 1546, by his son Elio. Through the intercession of Andrea Palladio, in 1560 the work went to Venetian sculptor Alessandro Vittoria, who bequeathed it to emperor Rudolf II. It arrived in Prague in 1608, and later it became part of the Habsburg imperial collections in Vienna (1777), although attributed to Correggio.
Description.
The painting depicts the young artist (then twenty one) in the middle of a room, distorted by the use of a convex mirror. The hand in the foreground is greatly elongated and distorted by the mirror. The work was painted on a specially-prepared convex panel in order to mimic the curve of the mirror used.


Thenpandi Singam (TV series)

Thenpandi Singam () is a 2016 Tamil-language historical drama starring Benito Alex, Devipriya, Nesan, Krish and Srikanth. It aired Monday through Friday on Kalaignar TV from 15 September 2016 to 13 April 2017 at 8:30PM IST for 151 Episodes. The show has been created and written by author and screenwriter Karunanidhi. Thenpandi Singam is based on true story of the life of The Marudhu brothers (Maruthu Pandiyar).
Production.
The series is written by Karunanidhi of the 2014 - 2016 hit historical dramas "Romapuri Pandian" and 2015 "Ramanujar"; and producer by Vaishnavi Media Works Limited of "Kutty Padmini".
International broadcast.
The Series was released on 1 June 2015 on Kalaignar TV. The Show was also broadcast internationally on Channel's international distribution. It airs in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, South East Asia, Middle East, Oceania, South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa on Kalaignar TV and also airs in United States, Canada, Europe on Kalaignar Ayngaran TV. The show's episodes were released on Kalaignar TV YouTube channel.


Long Live Your Death

Long Live Your Death (aka "Don't Turn the Other Cheek!", originally titled "Viva la muerte... tua!") is a 1971 Italian/Spanish/German international co-production Spaghetti Western/ action comedy film directed by Duccio Tessari. The film is mostly a send up of "political" Spaghetti Westerns (also called Zapata Westerns), like "A Professional Gun" and "Compañeros".
Plot.
In priestly disguise, the con artist Orlowsky learns from a last confession about a village where a treasure is hidden. He seeks out the Mexican bandit Max Lozoya, who knows more about its precise location – (part of) the instructions is tattooed on his ass.
At the same time, the Irish journalist Mary O'Donnell wants to fire up the revolutionary cause and bribes sheriff Randall to have the Mexican revolutionary El Salvador escape prison. Even though El Salvador is dead, the sheriff accepts, haggling up the price. It turns out that he has a scam going, where he takes money to let prisoners escape and then kills them to get a reward – and the prison warden gets half of the taking. They choose Lozoya for the escaping hero (as he is to be executed anyway). Randall is further elated when he finds the "priest" with Lozoya, because Orlowsky is his cousin, which he blames for his handicap, some affliction of the back so he must wear an iron support under the clothes to be able to walk upright. So Orlowsky is locked up for later torture to death.
As it turns out the plans of the sheriff fail. The warden goes in to release Lozoya, and once they are in the corridor, the bandit knocks the warden out and helps Orlowsky to escape. It's no easy feat; Lozoya is out of shape and when he's being given a boost up by the rear over a wall, he doesn't like it. When they run into Mary, Orlowsky presents Lozoya as El Salvador and himself as his military advisor, and a confused Lozoya just goes along with it. Later it turns out that she recognised Lozoya from the beginning, but went along with it, something that gives further credit to Orlowsky's accusation that she is a journalist – "someone that creates an idol and then destroys him" – out to start an uprising just to get a story.
Initially, Lozoya takes advantage of his "El Salvador" identity solely to mobilise assistance in his play against Orlowsky. In a tavern, he frames Orlowsky for a watch theft so he can escape and talk to Mendoza alone and find the other half of the treasure map so he can have the cash for himself, but a fight breaks out, leaving Lozoya cornered in a well. Orlowsky arrives to save him, but not before punishing him by leaving him to struggle to stay on the surface first. Soon, Lozoya is forced to give the information to the treasure by dropping his pants, displaying the instructions to Orlowsky. Orlowsky knocks Lozoya out by making him drink and goes to dig. Randall and the Soldiers find Lozoya's sister Lupita and torture her for information. Miguelito, her son, tells the soldiers where Lozoya is to try and save his mother. Meanwhile, Lozoya has come to and has gotten several men to corner Orlowsky. However, Huerta arrives and ties Orlowsky and Lozoya together, before leaving them guarded. Mary rescues them and they go together to San Tomas. On the way, they find the dead bodies of Lupita and Miguelito. Distraught, Lozoya vows "to kill as many regulares as there are hairs on my sister's head." This trail of vengeance leads to general Huerta and the two partners organise an uprising against his garrison, while Mary is obliged to put her virginity on the line in order to distract the commander (she tells him, "There is more than one way to kill a woman"). However, the attack sends him running away in his underwear before she has had to go all the way.
As Huerta also had taken control of the aforementioned treasure, but Lozoya's gives away the money to medicine, schools and hospitals, because he "can't betray these people." Orlowsky grumbles, "I never leave empty-handed" and proceeds to betray "El Salvador" to Huerta for $30.000. The hero is executed after an exhorting speech – "For those who love freedom no idol is necessary, for those who do not, no idol is sufficient." However this is all a ruse. Lozoya is executed with blank bullets, and Orlowsky sets off explosives that kill the soldiers and Huerta (who was just preparing to execute Orlowsky). Randall and his men ambush Orlowsky but they are killed, with the assistance of the "resurrected" Lozoya. The two scoundrels then share the reward money, and Lozoya expresses relief to be "an honest bandit" again.
When Mary appears to suggest that they carry their revolutionary activities to Guatemala, the two quickly ride off.
Releases.
Theatrical.
For the U.S. theatrical release, the film was edited down to 93 minutes, cutting out nearly 17 minutes of footage. Star Eli Wallach came up with the title "Don't Turn the Other Cheek!" for the U.S. release as he believed titles with the word "death" in them performed poorly at the US box office..
Home media.
Wild East released a limited edition region 0 NTSC DVD with the American title "Don't Turn the Other Cheek!" on 5/19/09 preserving the film's original widescreen aspect ratio. The DVD contains the full uncut version containing 17 minutes of extra footage not seen in the U.S. theatrical version. The DVD also contains alternate title sequences.


Empire (Saylor novel)