Micheline Walker

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Cangiante: Michelangelo's Mode of Colour

Michelangelo‘s fresco, The Prophet Daniel, from the Sistine Chapel ceiling (Photo credit: Wikiwand) Cangiante The Prophet Daniel The third canonical mode of colour identified by Marcia B. Hall is cangiante, from the verb to change, cangiare (to change). It is associated with the artist Michelangelo (1475–1564), who decorated the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel during the High Renaissance, c.…

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Sfumato: Leonardo da Vinci's Painting Mode

Mona Lisa / La Joconde (Lisa Gherardini), Leonardo da Vinci, c.1503 – c.1519;  77 x 53 cm, Florence, Italy; Louvre, Paris (Photo credit: WikiArt.org) American art historian, Marcia B. Hall, has identified four painting modes, colouring, of the Italian High Renaissance.  We know about chiaroscuro (Caravaggio), but there are three other modes of painting: cangiante (Michaelangelo) and unione.…

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Adagio

The Snow Maiden, by M. Vrubel https://www.wikiart.org/en/mikhail-vrubel Dear friends, I spent most of December in a hospital. I had an infection I did not notice, and my fever turned to delirium. I don’t remember anything. I am told that I fainted twice and that I had to bed. I require more salt. However, my cleaning lady needed information. So, I walked down a corridor and tried to steady…

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On Giorgio Vasari's "Lives" (Le Vite...)

Mona Lisa or La Gioconda c. 1503–1516, Louvre, Paris —ooo— The word “Renaissance” brings to mind Leonardo da Vinci’s emblematic portrait of the Mona Lisa. The Sistine Chapel Ceiling was painted by Michelangelo (1475-1564) between 1508 and 1512. At the same time, Raphaël (1483-1520) and his studio frescoed the Raphaël Rooms, beginning in c. 1508 or 1509. Donato Bramante (1444-1514), an…

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Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit

Caravaggio‘s Basket of Fruit, c. 1595–1596, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan‘s Basket of Fruit, c. 1595–1596, oil on canvas, Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Vanitas After completing his apprenticeship [1] in Antwerp, Peter Paul Rubens spent nearly eight uninterrupted years in Italy. Rubens may have seen Caravaggio‘s Basket of Fruit, a painting that seems…

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The American Debt Ceiling "Ritual"

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden in the Oval Office at the White House on May 22. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) (R-Calif. means Republican California) I reported on the debt-ceiling crisis in 2021, noting, essentially, that it is a “dangerous and idiotic ritual.” (See Opinion by Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post.) However, I would now suggest that this…

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The Golden Age of Dutch painting: a Prelude

Portrait of Susanna Lunden (née Fourment) or Le Chapeau de Paille, by Peter Paul Rubens (The National Gallery, London) Suzanne Fourment Lunden, portrayed above, was Baroque Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens‘s sister-in-law. In 1630, four years after Rubens’s first wife, Isabella Bran(d)t, died of the plague, fifty-three-year-old Rubens married sixteen-year-old Hélène Fourment. His first marriage…

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A Few Comments on the Newtown Massacre

Nicolaas Rubens, by Peter Paul Rubens, 1625-26 Photo credit:  Peter Paul Rubens  There was a time in history when parents lost many children.  Well-to-do individuals  often protected themselves by having their children sent to a wet-nurse and having them raised in homes where they were sometimes loved, but often neglected.  Yet, if their child died, these parents nevertheless grieved. Times have…

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Winter Scenes

February has several feasts. They have been mentioned in earlier posts, but they remain as new as the New Year.

Hendrick Averkamp, A Scene on the Ice (Wikimedia.commons) Hendrick Avercamp, A Scene on Ice (WikiArt.org) —ooo— I haven’t posted an article since Epiphany, Ukraine’s Christmas. I was very busy during the last month. John has been evicted, but there is nothing I can do to help him. He requires more than I can offer. A home for seniors could be his best option. John suffers from Ménière’s…

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Epiphany 2023

Epiphany by Félix Lorioux Feasts & Liturgy Feasts and Liturgy (page) I have written several posts on Epiphany and have now discovered a French illustrator who depicted far more than the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine and Charles Perrault‘s Contes de ma mère l’Oye. When I introduced Félix Lorioux, images created by this fine illustrator were difficult to find. Internet now features a larger…

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Pavarotti sings Schubert's « Ave Maria »

Pavarotti sings Schubert’s « Ave Maria »

Luciano Pavarotti sings Schubert’s « Ave Maria » Wishing all of you the happiest holidays. I tried to write a little Christmas post yesterday, but I could not. RELATED ARTICLES Feasts and Liturgy (page) The Topsy-Turvy World of Beast Literature, revisited ⇚ —ooo— My kindest wishes to everyone. May the forthcoming year be your best and may Peace return and remain. I posted many articles on…

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Yves Montand chante "À Bicyclette"

Yves Montand chante “À Bicyclette”

Pexels —ooo— I have translated this song literally rather than poetically. A poetic translation may not have provided a clear connection with the words. Yves Montand sings « À Bicyclette » Quand on partait de bon matin When we left early in the morningQuand on partait sur les chemins When we left biking on pathsÀ bicyclette Biking (on our bicycles) Nous étions quelques bons copains We were a…

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Almost ready

Scène de Val-Jalbert, Marc-Aurèle Fortin,1948 —ooo— I am in Magog. Two posts are ready, including a song I have translated, but I must eliminate spelling errors and repetitions. I repeat entire statements. My next post is on La Fontaine’s Preface to his three collections (recueils) of fables. It will be published in Magog. Analysing La Fontaine’s Preface was a difficult task because he uses…

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Bicycles for Migrant Farm Workers

Bicycles for Migrant Farm Workers

Bikes for Migrant Farm Workers (Photo credit: Marissa Tiel) —ooo— The gentleman whose photograph sits at the top of this post is Steve Nicklen. Steven is married to my niece Susanne Lebrun and they have two married children: Jacob (Jocelyn Evans), an engineer, and Jessica (Dustin Smart), an artist and a photographer. They live in British Columbia‘s Fraser Valley (Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows,…

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Tout Molière.net : parti ...

I would like toutmolière.net to return its site on the internet.

Lysandre par Edmond Geffroy —ooo— As you know, I wrote posts on every play Molière wrote. Molière is a major writer. In fact, the French language is often referred to as la langue de Molière. Quotations were in both French and English, and each one was followed by a link taking readers to the entire play. Toutmolière.net / Molière 21 has been removed from the internet. So, links following my…

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Remembering Belaud

Belaud 2008-2019 —ooo— Remembering Belaud Belaud was three months old when he entered my life, but he died in 2019. When I first saw him I thought there could not be a lovelier kitten. However, for the first two weeks, Belaud was in mid-air. He was flying. I think he was nervous. He didn’t know me and he had just left his family. I could not go and meet Belaud, but the breeder sent me a…

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Monet's Magpie

Monet’s Magpie

Claude Monet‘s Magpie —ooo— December brings the longest night and promise for a better year. I’m still here. My eyes have returned to their normal color. Both are hazel, and I see perfectly well. However, my ability to concentrate has lost ground. It started declining when I developed chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. That is a very long time ago. The word for Magpie, une pie, is not flattering,…

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