Click for full size, text translations in the comments. The 3rd image is a surviving fragment of the original wall, featuring the Duchess. Hess could have done a much better job with the dress, and he left out those amazing braids!
Click for full size. As you can see, all effort was put into making Joanna Southcott as awful as possible. Ms. Southcott was a self-styled prophetess, and claimed to be pregnant at 64 years of age, and died shortly afterward. It would seem she was held to be nothing more than a con by the medical establishment, with little consideration that she might actually believe all the nonsense she preached. The depiction of her is certainly nothing at all like her actual appearance (there’s a photo at the link.)
A Medical Inspection. Or Miracles Will Never Cease. Thomas Rowlandson, Etching coloured, 1814. Subject: Obstetrics, Prophesy, Pregnancy, Anecdotes, Religious Mania, Joanna Southcott (1750-1814).
Yesterday evening found me distracted again, chasing one tangent after another until I landed on Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638), a most talented painter. He was a Northern Mannerist, and given all the foibles of that particular style, he made his characters luminous and achingly beautiful, even when they were misbehaving. Click all images for full size. The first painting which caught my eye was A Monk With A Beguine, painted in 1591:
Een monnik en een begijn, A monk with a beguine, by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem.
The detail and light are wonderful, it’s all so…lustrous. And reluctantly lusty. You can almost feel their consciences attempting to get the better of them, and failing. The story of the Beguines is an interesting one. I think there’s a lot to be said for such structures as the beguines, just sans religion. At the time, this was a good option for a lot of women, when they had few choices in life.
What grabbed my attention next was Venus and Adonis:
Venus and Adonis, by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem.
You can see in Adonis’s face there’s some problem, one which has him quite emotional, while Venus has the solid air of confidence and casual comfort. Again, the details are astonishing in their beauty and light; the pearls are translucent.
I’ll add just one more here, The Fall of the Titans, which leads me to the conclusion that all men should have a dragonfly for their dick. Yep. Here’s a detail first, then the full painting:
Detail from The Fall of the Titans by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem.
The Fall of the Titans by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem.
Look at the faces, those expressions. Incredibly poignant, once you can stop looking at the dragonflied and butterflied* genitals. Also, dragonfly dick and the character at the bottom right are same person.
*Not meant in that way!
© C. Ford, all rights reserved. Bad flash, sorry. Click for full size.
Good tools are important. Having the right tools is very important too. I can highly recommend the Staedtler sharpener (mine is in obvious need of a clean). It works beautifully and renders a very sharp tip. Speaking of sharp tips, everyone who has worked with pencil, colour or not, is familiar with point breakage during drawing. This sends tiny bits of core all over the place. If you’re working in ordinary pencil, it’s not a major deal if it smears, as it’s easily erased. That is so not the case with colour pencils, Prismacolor in particular. Normally, I use a fox tail brush to clean, but these can cause problems with colour pencils, in that no matter how lightly you wield one, it’s still heavy enough to cause many a smear. The solution? Feathers. I use 3 types of feather. Not only can you pick up minuscule bits of pencil with them, they are very good to brush an area of your work without smearing. The turkey feather is the lightest, and excellent at picking up bits; the other two are stiffer, with more weight, and good for an overall sweep. If you have a bunch of bits and dust, gently press the feather down on them, and it will pick them up. Don’t forget to clean your feather after. Just using your fingers on the feathers works fine.
Living rural, I don’t have to go far to find feathers, but if you’re deep in an urbanscape, feathers of all types are easily found in craft stores. The benefit there is that you can buy feathers by the bag, so you’ll have more than enough for your needs.
ETA:
22 seconds in the microwave, kept all the info. Just sharpened it, seems to have worked. This was also a sharp reminder of a major failing on my part – not paying attention. I’m so colour focused, I completely ignore observing the condition of the pencil. Now that I had a very good look at this one, there are a number of gouges and scores, particularly on the ‘back’ of it, and there was a suspicious piece transparent tape, too. So, while it’s good to know you can fix your pencil up, it pays to be very observant of the pencil itself before you bring it home.
Click for full size. Text translation in the comments.
Cardinal.
Bishop.
Click for full size. There are five of these, so most below the fold.
Singular Effects Of The Universal Vegetable Pills… Charles Jameson Grant, Lithograph coloured. Subject: Proprietary Medicines, James Morison, Morison’s Pills, Vegetable compounds.
![The Problem [right} and the New Choice [left].](https://i2.wp.com/freethoughtblogs.com/affinity/files/2018/06/ThornProblem.jpg?ssl=1)
The Problem [right} and the New Choice [left].
I tried to make it work on the piece, but it just didn’t come together, so I got to start all over again. If, like me, you tend to get abnormally attached to a certain colour, get as many as you can, it will save you much aggravation in the long run.
Starting Over. Bad Flash Photography.
Click for full size. I like the way Death addresses them as Mr. King and Mrs. Queen.
Todt zum König:
Herr König Ewr G’walt hat ein End,
Ich führ euch hie bey meiner Hend,
An diesen dürren Brüder-Tantz,
Da gibt man euch deß Todes-Krantz.
Death to The king:
Mr. King, your power has an end,
I lead you here by my hand
to this dance with dry brothers.
There they’ll give you the death-garland.
Der König:
Ich hab gewaltiglich gelebt,
Und in hohen Ehren geschwebt:
Nun bin ich in deß Todtes Banden,
Verstricket sehr in seinen Handen.
The king:
I have lived powerfully
and hovered in high honour.
Now I’m in Death’s bond,
caught in his hands.
Todt zur Königin:
Fraw Königin Euwr Frewd ist auß,
Springen mit mir ins Todten-Hauß,
Euch hilfft kein Schöne, Gold noch Gelt,
Ich spring mit euch in jene Welt.
Death to The Queen:
Mrs. Queen, your joy has ended,
dance with me into the death-house.
Neither beauty, gold nor money will help you.
I’m dancing with you into the next world.
Die Königin:
O Weh vnd Ach, O weh vnd jmmer,
Wo ist jetzund mein Frawenzimmer,
Mit denen ich hatt Frewden viel:
O Todt thu g’mach, mit mir nicht eyl.
The queen:
Oh woe and alas, oh woe for ever.
Where is now my band of maids
with whom I had many pleasures?
Oh Death, take it easy, don’t hurry with me.
This is the oil which birthed Antimacassars. My great-grandmothers and grandmother had antimacassars on everything. Click for full size!
Macassar Oil, An oily Puff for Soft Heads. Thomas Rowlandson, Etching coloured, 1814. Subject: Macassar Oil, Rowland’s Oil,Alexander Rowland,baldness,hair Tonic, Hair Oil,Proprietary Medicines.
If you missed the beginning, it’s here. Click for full size. ETA: I’ve found translations, but I’m not sure as to their reliability.
Emperor.
Todt zum Keyser:
HErr Keyser mit dem grawen Bart,
Euwr Reuw habt ihr zu lang gespart,
Drumb sperrt euch nicht, Ihr müßt darvon,
Und tantz’n nach meiner Pfeiffen thon.
Death to The Emperor:
Mr. Emperor with the gray beard,
You have long saved your repentance.
Therefore, do not struggle, you must from here
and dance after my fife’s tone.
Der Keyser.
Ich kundte das Reich gar wol mehren
Mit Streitten, Fechten, Unrecht wehren:
Nun hat der Todt uberwunden mich,
Daß ich bin keinem Keyser gleich.
The Emperor.
I was able to increase the kingdom considerably,
with war and fight prevented injustice.
Now Death has won over me,
so that I’m not [any longer] like an emperor.
Empress.
Todt zur Keyserin:
ICh tantz euch vor Fraw Keyserin,
Springen hernach, der tantz ist mein:
Euwr Hofleut sind von Euch gewichen,
Der Todt hat euch hie auch erschlichen.
Death to The Empress:
I dance beforeyou, Mrs. Empress,
Dance after, the dance is mine.
Your courtiers have left you,
Death has here sneaked up on you too.
Die Keyserin:
VIel Wollüst hat mein stoltzer Leib,
Ich lebt alß eines Keysers Weib:
Nun muß ich an diesen Tantz kommen,
Mir ist all Muth und Frewd genommen.
The empress:
My proud body had much pleasure.
I lived as an emperor’s wife.
Now I must come to this dance.
All spirits and joy have been taken from me.
From rq, a most beautiful art work: So out of that comment conversation earlier this morning/today, I made some art that looks completely unrelated but came out of the emotions. Also it is called “Life is Not a Ringing Bell” and I have decided to dedicate it to Rick. Such a beautiful piece, filled with quiet emotion and love. Life is not ringing a bell, but it is having a partner who loves you enough to nag you into doing what you should, and having a friend who can express that so well. Thank you is so very inadequate. Click for full size.
© rq, all rights reserved.
Click for full size.
The Winding Up of the Medical Report of the Walcheren Expedition. Thomas Rowlandson, Etching coloured, 1810. Subject: Lucas Pepys (1742-1830), Robert Jackson (1750-1827), Thomas Keate (1745-1821), Dr. James’ Fever Powder, Chelsea Hospital, Walcheren Campaign, Military Medicine, Medical Boards, Drugs.
The Walcheren Campaign involved little fighting, but heavy losses from the sickness popularly dubbed “Walcheren Fever”. Although more than 4,000 British troops died during the expedition, only 106 died in combat; the survivors withdrew on 9 December. […] Along with the 4,000 men that had died during the campaign, almost 12,000 were still ill by February 1810 and many others remained permanently weakened. Those sent to the Peninsular War to join Wellington’s army caused a permanent doubling of the sick lists there.
As for ‘Look Ass Peeps’ (Lucas Pepys):
In 1794 Pepys was made physician-general to the army, and was president of an army medical board, on which it was his duty to nominate all the army physicians. When so many soldiers fell ill of fever at Walcheren, he was ordered to go there and report. As a consequence the board was abolished; but Pepys was granted a pension.
I got right distracted today while working on the Healing Arts posts, distracted right into the amazing world of The Dance Of Death. There’s a large body of work by different artists devoted to this particular aspect of death, and they widely range in style, to say the very least. All of the art work is very beautiful, and is often poignant, witty, and sly. The main message being that death is no respecter of persons.
So this will be a sort of companion series to the Healing Arts. I’m going to start with Basel’s Dance of Death by Hieronymus Hess (1799-1850). These are based on copies of a mural which was done around around 1435-1441. The wall with the original mural was lost long ago, in 1804. Some fragments survive and are housed in a museum. We open with The Ossuary and Death’s first conquest, The Pope. Death looks positively gleeful walking off with the pope. I’m quite enchanted with Hess’s portrayal of Death as a mostly fleshed character who must maintain modesty when it comes to the private bits. Death also changes gender in Hess’s portrayals, and there are obvious character shifts in Death, dependent on just who is being claimed. In The Pope, it almost looks as if Death were wearing a skull mask.
The Ossuary. Click for full size.
Death and the Pope. Click for full size.