Is Álainn é an Saol

Friday, April 13, 2018

Photo Archive: Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

*All photos taken in 2013 when scaffolding was still up at the Washington Monument.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

History and Art: The Abduction of the Sabine Women

Roman mythology cites April 21, 753 BC as the founding date of the city. April 21 marks the Par Ilia, Festival of Pales, Goddess of Shepherds and 753 BC, determined by Roman antiquarian Titus Atticus was adopted by the Varronian Chronology. The founders, according the mythology, were twin brothers Romulus and Remus, sons of Rhea Silvia of Alba Longa and the and the god Mars, who were abandoned at birth and raised by a she-wolf. The brothers were determined to found a city on the Palatine Hill, the location of the Lupercal Cave of their adoptive mother. However, during a quarrel, Romulus killed Remus and thus Rome was founded in the wake of fratricide, setting the stage for a violent history; one which includes the legendary "Abduction of the Sabine Women."

Following the founding, the Romans wished to ensure the future prosperity of the city but were faced with a lack of women required to provide offspring. Despite pleas to their neighboring states to allow inter-marriage, all were declined in a likely attempt to weaken the Roman settlement. Romulus then plotted a mass abduction of the women of their neighboring tribe, the Sabines, and invited several tribes to a feast where he would levy a surprise attack on Sabine men and capture the women.

The following excerpt is taken from Ab Urbe Condita Libri (From the Founding of the City), written by Roman Historian Livy (64 BC - 12 AD).

"The Roman State had now become so strong that it was a match for any of its neighbors in war, but its greatness threatened to last for only one generation, since through the absence of women there was no hope of offspring, and there was no right of intermarriage with their neighbors. Acting on the advice of the senate, Romulus sent envoys amongst the surrounding nations to ask for alliance and the right of intermarriage on behalf of his new community.…

As to the origin of Rome, it was well known that whilst it had received divine assistance, courage and self-reliance were not wanting. There should, therefore, be no reluctance for men to mingle their blood with their fellow-men. Nowhere did the envoys meet with a favorable reception….

The Roman youth could ill brook such insults, and matters began to look like an appeal to force. To secure a favorable place and time for such an attempt, Romulus, disguising his resentment, made elaborate preparations for the celebration of games in honor of "Equestrian Neptune," which he called "the Consualia."...

There was a great gathering; people were eager to see the new City, all their nearest neighbors … and the whole Sabine population came, with their wives and families. They were invited to accept hospitality at the different houses, and after examining the situation of the City, its walls and the large number of dwelling-houses it included, they were astonished at the rapidity with which the Roman State had grown.

When the hour for the games had come, and their eyes and minds were alike riveted on the spectacle before them, the pre-concerted signal was given and the Roman youth dashed in all directions to carry off the maidens who were present. The larger part were carried off indiscriminately….

Alarm and consternation broke up the games, and the parents of the maidens fled, distracted with grief, uttering bitter reproaches on the violators of the laws of hospitality and appealing to the god to whose solemn games they had come, only to be the victims of impious perfidy.

The abducted maidens were quite as despondent and indignant. Romulus, however, went round in person, and pointed out to them that it was all owing to the pride of their parents in denying right of intermarriage to their neighbors. They would live in honorable wedlock, and share all their property and civil rights, and--dearest of all to human nature-would be the mothers of freemen.

The plan was successful and the Romans secured the next generation of the nation. However, three years later, the Sabines attacked Rome in revenge. But according to legend, the abducted women, - now wed to and mothers to - Romans, intervened by physically standing between the men of the warring tribes thus preventing conflict.

Livy continues:

"Then it was that the Sabine women, whose wrongs had led to the war, throwing off all womanish fears in their distress, went boldly into the midst of the flying missiles with dishevelled hair and rent garments. Running across the space between the two armies they tried to stop any further fighting and calm the excited passions by appealing to their fathers in the one army and their husbands in the other not to bring upon themselves a curse by staining their hands with the blood of a father-in-law or a son-in-law, nor upon their posterity the taint of parricide. "If," they cried, " you are weary of these ties of kindred, these marriage-bonds, then turn your anger upon us; it is we who are the cause of the war, it is we who have wounded and slain our husbands and fathers. Better for us to perish rather than live without one or the other of you, as widows or as orphans."

The story of the abduction and subsequent intervention of the Sabine women is one of the most frequently depicted in Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, and Romantic art. Abduction themes allowed artists to merge male and female body forms, conveying a wide variety of expression. Artists could render subjects relative to surrounding space in a way to maximize opportunity to provide a three-dimensional effect. Within the same movements, we see numerous depictions of other abduction stories (Helen by Paris, Europa by Zeus, Deianira by the centaur Nessus, Persephone by Hades), but that of the Sabine Women is the most recurrent. Several artists even created as many as six known repetitions of the scene, often highlighting the evolution of their methods and styles.

A wonderful archive of works depicting the Abduction of the Sabines can be found Here.

For this post, I chose 15 of my favorite works.
*Numbers 11 and 12 (the Vincent and the David, both Neoclassical in style, are depictions of the Intervention of the Sabine women vice the Abduction. Perhaps the legend of a war avoided was more reflective of sentiment as the French Revolution began to unfold.

1. Giuseppe Porta - The Rape of the Sabine Women (approx. 1550) - Bowes Museum/London

Style: Mannerism

2. Giambologna - Abduction of a Sabine Woman (1583) - Loggia dei Lanzi/Florence

Style: Mannerism

3. Francesco Bassano - Ratto delle Sabine (1590) - Sabauda Gallery/Turin

Style: Mannerism. Venetian Renaissance

4. Jacopo Ligozzi - Ratto delle Sabine approx. 1610 - Privately Owned

Style: Mannerism

5. Pietro da Cortona - The Rape of the Sabine Women (1629) - Pinacoteca Capitolina/Rome

Style: Baroque

6. Nicolas Poussin - L'Enlèvement des Sabines (1635) - Metropolitan/NYC

Style: French Baroque

7. Peter Paul Rubens - L'Enlèvement des Sabines (1640) - Brussels

Style: Flemish Baroque

8. Johann Heinrich Schoenfeld - Der Raub der Sabinerinnen (1640) - Hermitage Museum/St. Petersburg

Style: Baroque

9. Luca Giordano - Ratto delle Sabine (1674) - Art Institute/Chicago

Style: Baroque

10. Niccolò Bambini - Rape of the Sabine Women (1700s) - Unknown Location

Style: Baroque

11. François-André Vincent - Combat des Romains et des Sabins Interrompu par les Femmes Sabines (1781) - Musée des Beaux-Arts/Montpellier

Style: Neo-Classical

12. Jacques-Louis David - Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799) - Louvre/Paris

Style: Neo-Classical

13. Eugène Delacroix - Rape of the Sabine Women (1850) - Louvre/Paris

Style: Romanticism, Early Impressionism

14. Francisco Pradillo Ortiz - El Rapto de las Sabinas (1874) - Madrid

Style: Impressionism

15. Pablo Picasso - El Rapto da las Sabinas (1962) - Privately Owned

Style: Surrealism

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Shepherd's Pie Recipe

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I'm sharing my favorite Shepherd's Pie recipe. Although presentation is lacking with this dish, it is absolutely delicious and the recipe allows for a wide array of variation. I hate peas and mushrooms; they are commonly included with carrots and onions but I opted to leave them out.

Prep Time: 45 minutes // Bake Time: 45 Minutes // Serves: 8 (large portions)

Step 1: Prepare the Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients: 8 Russett Potatoes // 4 Tbsp. Butter // 1 cup Milk // Black Pepper

Boil Potatoes with skin on for about 30 minutes (until soft)
Peel (I leave a few bits of skin on) and dice potatoes
Add butter and mash, slowly adding milk into the mix. I prefer chunkier mashed potatoes so I use slightly less milk and mash without blending
Add a dash of black pepper

Step 2: Prepare the Meat and Vegetables

Ingredients: 3/4 cup diced Red Onion // 4 peeled, diced Carrots, 2 lb lean Ground Beef // 2 packets of Colman's Shepherd's Pie Seasoning // 2.5 cups Water

Brown the beef in a skillet over low heat, draining fat
Add the diced onions and carrots to the meat
Pour the contents of the Shepherd's Pie packet into 2.5 cups water and stir
Add the mix into the skillet with the vegetables and meat and stir while bringing to a boil and let cool

Step 3: Prep and Bake

Ingredients: 2 cups shredded Extra Sharp White Cheddar

Preheat oven to 385F
Shred cheese
Spread meat and vegetables 1/2 inch thick in a baking dish (I used two baking dishes)
Spread a layer of mashed potatoes over meat and vegetables
Spread a layer of shredded cheddar over the mashed potatoes
Bake at 385F for 45 minutes
Cool for 15 minutes
Slice and serve

Bain taitneamh as do bhéile! (Enjoy your meal!)

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Inspiration: Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) - Romanticism

Delacroix's early works indicate Neoclassical influence under tutelage of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin and the preeminent French painter of the era, Jacques-Louis David. However, by 1820, Delacroix's reverence for Peter Paul Rubens became apparent as he moved away from the predominant focus on clarity and outline of Neoclassicism and began to incorporate the movement, color, and sensuality synonymous with the Flemish Baroque style which Rubens led.

With his contemporary, Théodore Géricault, Delacroix commanded the movement of French Romanticism, which married Neoclassicism's symbolic subject - stories of historical significance reflected in the tumultuous French politics of the day - with the emotionalism of Baroque, and introduced exoticism and a demonstration of movement more violent than preceding styles.

By 1840, Delacroix's focus of color over clarity became even more evident, giving rise to the assertion that he was the fore-bearer of Impressionism. The founders of Impressionism certainly admired Delacroix, and several of his paintings have been interpreted by masters of not only that movement but its successors as well.

Eugène Delacroix, the Death of Sardanapolis, 1827

Eugène Delacroix, the Death of Sardanapolis, 1844

A comparison of two versions of "the Death of Saradanapolis" painted in 1827 and again in 1844 clearly depicts Delacroix's distancing from Neoclassical influence and towards the origin of Impressionism. His palette is bolder, his clarity of subject less manifested, emotionalism more obvious.

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) - French Impressionism

Eugène Delacroix, The Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople, 1840

Edgar Degas, Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople, 1860

Edgar Degas is most closely associated with the Impressionist movement although he incorporated less bold color in his painting, opting instead to utilize light to give form and shape, which sets his work apart from that more obviously aligned to the movement. Degas personally owned over 200 of Delacroix's works as he held his contemporary in great esteem.

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) Impressionism/Post-Impressionism, early Cubism

Eugène Delacroix, Medea About to Kill her Children, 1838
Paul Cézanne, Medea, 1882

Cézanne painted "Medea" during what is known as his "Mature Period" (1878-1890), which marked a less turbulent time in the artist's life. His early paintings were in the style of Impressionism but by the mid 1870's Cezanne had come to reject the use of naturalistic color and light, leading to his Post-Impressionist era.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) Post-Impressionism

Eugène Delacroix, Pieta, 1850
Van Gogh, Pieta, 1889

Eugène Delacroix, The Good Samaritan, 1849
Van Gogh, The Good Samaritan, 1890

Van Gogh utilizes the short, distinct, brush strokes and thick relatively unmixed paints popular with Impressionists but employed the use of geometric shaping and color surrealism in his interpretations of both the "The Pieta" and "The Good Samaritan." While Van Gogh includes even more subject detail than Delacroix, it is more interpretive and emotional, which combined with utilization of un-natural color palette and distinct brush strokes marks the distinction between the work of the two masters.

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Cubism, Surrealism

Eugène Delacroix, the Women of Algiers in their Apartment, 1834

Picasso, Women of Algiers, 1955

Picasso's surrealist interpretation of Delacroix builds on the three-dimensional, multi-view point cubic work of Paul Cézanne. The women have been deconstructed and reassembled in abstract fashion, and color is entirely reflected through emotional execution.

I'm curious as to what Delcroix would have thought about the interpretations of his work.The French poet Charles Pierre Baudelaire said about the artist "Delacroix was passionately in love with passion, but coldly determined to express passion as clearly as possible." And as I read more about the life of the man, I'm inclined to believe that especially as he moved from Neoclassical influence and more toward the onset of Impressionism, he would have greatly appreciated the paintings of Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and even Picasso as at the heart of each of the different movements reflected in these distinct styles is passion.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Paris and Versailles

Arc de Triomphe

What is left to say about the beauty of Paris that has not already been said....and by commentators far more witty and eloquent than I?

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.” – Thomas Jefferson

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” – Ernest Hemingway

“There is but one Paris and however hard living may be here, and if it became worse and harder even—the French air clears up the brain and does good—a world of good.” - Vincent van Gogh

“An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

Paris, the City of Light, la Ville-Lumière, founded by Celts in the 3^rd century BC along the banks of the River Seine, is truly one of the most beautiful cities I have seen. Nearly every street boasts landmarks rich with history from Gallo-Roman to Medieval to the period of Enlightened Revolution to Napoleonic, and it is almost impossible not be riveted and inspired by the beauty which can be found in every direction.

I went for a week in 2012, and 7 days was still not sufficient to explore all I wanted. But my favorite memories include being awed by Jacques-Louis David’s Le Sacre de Napoléon in the Louvre, getting lost in both Montmartre and the Marais and stumbling upon quaint cafes and beautiful chapels, visiting the Military Museum and tomb of Napoleon I, and walking the gardens of Versailles.

I only got halfway up the Eiffel Tower and didn’t spend much time on the Champs-Élysées as I’m not much of a shopper. But I did spend hours walking along the banks of the Seine and through sprawling gardens and in museums and cathedrals and crypts. And I can’t imagine not falling in love with Paris…..or planning a return from nearly the moment I left.