Tag Archives: Benjamin West

to the confusion of our enemies

Abraham as a flaneur. Walking, wandering, and catching a fleeting remark, a floating fragment of dialogue that would change his life and that of all history past, present and future. His dialogue with the almighty floating around in the imagination. … Continue reading

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witches brew: the intellectuals surrender

Witch hunting in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.How can such lunacy have possessed humanity for two centuries? It is quite clear that witchcraft, as a systematic cult, was not discovered; it was invented by the inquisitors. The Church … Continue reading

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the good ole’ days: conspicuous they were

The noble houses of eighteenth century England and the regal lifestyles that accompanied them. Life was good if you had money and bling was king… As with paintings, so it was with all that was rare, exotic, and costly: nobleman … Continue reading

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judging joan

Those judgements of Joan.Her trial and execution were only the beginning. In the centuries since,the Maid has continued to provoke both anger and adoration, skepticism and awe. There have been many fluctuations in Joan’s fame… In 1429, when Joan so … Continue reading

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memory almost full: “je me souviens”

Je Me Souviens! Its on the license plate. And it mean I remember. I remember what happened on the Plains of Abraham. The crushing defeat of 1759 that gave England and the English language hegemony in the New World. But … Continue reading

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its always money in philadelphia

Philadelphia. It’s always had a peculiar character about it; an aristocracy of old families, Quaker in conscience if not in religion or taste… “Philadelphia,” wrote George Biddle in his autobiography, ” has its own breed of integrity. It believes in … Continue reading

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painting: hewers of wood and drawers of H2O

Hewers of wood and drawers of water. That is the traditional and somewhat pejorative view of Canada. And although Canada likes to think of themselves as a global “soft power” and memeber of the Group of Eight ( G8 ) … Continue reading

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w. blake: the quack doctors of painting

The Royal Academy. The real power of the Royal Academy lay in its early days, and the driving force behind its consolidation was not primarily intellectual or social at all. It related to the machinery of distribution and sale. High … Continue reading

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two state solution

There is a feedback loop at work here: Do we really want more separation from Canada, statehood, or does all this incessant chatter about it simply desensitize the issue into the realm of indifference and boredom? Or, in today’s consumerist … Continue reading

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PASSION FOR POMPEII: “RANDY FOR ANTIQUE”

It was buried by a volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. Pompeii. When the ruins came to light, beginning in 1747, they caused a revolution in taste- stripping away rococo gilt, reshaping the female figure , and leaving a deposit of … Continue reading

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