art digest 01 / Proserpine, Sea Nymph, Mars & Venus, oh my
daily art digests. goddesses, flowers, mythos.
The Abduction of Proserpine (detail) by Alessandro Allori, 1570.
A Sea Nymph, 1842, Thomas Sully
Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante’ by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.
Princess Evdokia Ivanovna Golitsyna as Flora (1799). Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun (French, 1755-1842). Oil on canvas. Utah Museum of Fine Arts:
In this mythological portrait, the sitter is shown in the guise of Flora, Roman goddess of flowers and spring. The billowing of her sheer drapery indicates the assistance of Zephyr, the wind god, in her transformation from a nymph to a goddess. In a demonstration of poise, the woman balances a basket of blooms on her head, recalling classical columnar sculptures called caryatids. The Italian-inspired landscape, complete with temple, underscores the ancient domain of the goddess.
Mars and Venus, Allegory of Peace (detail) by Louis Jean François Lagrenée, 1770.
Artemisia Gentileschi, Self Portrait as a Lute Playe
Vasily Andreevich Tropinin - Girl with roses, (1850).
Albrecht Durer c. 1512 Wing of a Roller
Tritoness Relief Applique, late 2nd Century BC, Cleveland Museum of Art: Greek and Roman Art. Bronze with copper inlays.
“I love my life’s dark hours in which my senses quicken and grow deep, while, as from faint incense of faded flowers or letters old, I magically steep myself in days gone by: again I give myself unto the past:—again I live.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, from The Book of Hours; The Book of A Monk’s Life.
I know what it means to miss New Orleans
I love New Orleans because of a hundred many splendid things… I love the music. I love the artists. I love the cocktails. I love the iron lattices. I love the iron fences. I love the courtyards. I love the secret gardens. I love the lush tropical trees. I love the spooky beautiful oaks and the spanish moss that hangs off of them. I love the art. I love the jazz wafting out of windows. I love the frozen cafe au laits. I love impromptu second lines. I love random brass bands. I love the cobble stoned streets. I love the quiet of Ursuline. I love the boho fun of Frenchman and gin and tonics at The Spotted Cat. I love any city that loves to play 1920s and 1930s standards. I love the feathers. I love the angels. I love the catherdrals. I love creole architecture. I love spanish villas. I love italiante houses in the garden district. I love lil dizzy’s trout baquet and candied yams. i love sweet potato french fried po boys. I love strawberries arnaud. i love pimms cupps and breakfast at napoleon house. i love brunch at commanders with 25 cent martinis. I love st louis no. 1. i love noma. i love dinner at pere antoines when they open the windows up. i love exploring the Louisiana countryside. I love the food. i love how new orleans feels like paris meets the caribbean. July 8, 2011
NoLa at night (the French Quarter) shot on black and white film