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Laughing Cavalier
The ''Laughing Cavalier'' (1624) is a portrait by the Dutch Golden Age painter Frans Hals in the Wallace Collection in London, which has been described as "one of the most brilliant of all Baroque portraits". The title is an invention of the Victorian public and press, dating from its exhibition in the opening display at the Bethnal Green Museum in 1872–1875, just after its arrival in England, after which it was regularly reproduced as a print, and became one of the best known old master paintings in Britain. The unknown subject is in fact not laughing, but can be said to have an enigmatic smile, much amplified by his upturned moustache. Description The portrait measures 83 × 67.3 cm (32.7 × 26.5 in) and is inscribed at top right "Æ'TA SVÆ 26/A°1624", which expands to "aetatis suae 26, anno 1624" in Latin and means that the portrait was painted when the sitter was 26 and in the year 1624. The identity of the man is unknown, and though the recorded 19th-century tit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil On Canvas
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of the world. The advantages of oil for painting images include "greater flexibility, richer and denser colour, the use of layers, and a wider range from light to dark". But the process is slower, especially when one layer of paint needs to be allowed to dry before another is applied. The oldest known oil paintings were created by Buddhist artists in Afghanistan and date back to the 7th century AD. The technique of binding pigments in oil was later brought to Europe in the 15th century, about 900 years later. The adoption of oil paint by Europeans began with Early Netherlandish painting in Northern Europe, and by the height of the Renaissance, oil painting techniques had almost completely replaced the use of tempera paints in the majority ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury (mythology)
Mercury (; la, Mercurius ) is a major god in Roman religion and mythology, being one of the 12 Dii Consentes within the ancient Roman pantheon. He is the god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence, messages, communication (including divination), travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery, and thieves; he also serves as the guide of souls to the underworld. In Roman mythology, he was considered to be either the son of Maia, one of the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas, and Jupiter, or of Caelus and Dies. In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms; both gods share characteristics with the Greek god Hermes. He is often depicted holding the caduceus in his left hand. Similar to his Greek equivalent Hermes, he was awarded a magic wand by Apollo, which later turned into the caduceus, the staff with intertwined snakes. Etymology The name "Mercury" is possibly related to the Latin words ' ("merchandise"; cf. ''merchant'', ''commerce'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate. History The origin of the Royal Academy of Arts lies in an attempt in 1755 by members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, principally the sculptor Henry Cheere, to found an autonomous academy of arts. Prior to this a number of artists were members of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, including Cheere and William Hogarth, or were involved in small-scale private art academies, such as the St Martin's Lane Academy. Although Cheere's attempt failed, the eventual charter, called an 'Instrument', used to establish the Royal Academy of Arts over a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West End Of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings and entertainment venues, including West End theatres, are concentrated. The term was first used in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross.Mills, A., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) The West End covers parts of the boroughs of Westminster and Camden.Greater London Authority, The London Plan: The Sub Regions'' While the City of London is the main business and financial district in London, the West End is the main commercial and entertainment centre of the city. It is the largest central business district in the United Kingdom, comparable to Midtown Manhattan in New York City, the 8th arrondissement in Paris, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, or Shibuya in Tokyo. It is one of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By the 16th century the term applied to a wider rural area, the ''Hamlet of Bethnal Green'', which subsequently became a Parish, then a Metropolitan Borough before merging with neighbouring areas to become the north-western part of the new London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Economic focus shifted from mainstream farming produce for the City of London – through highly perishable goods production ( market gardening), weaving, dock and building work and light industry – to a high proportion of commuters to city businesses, public sector/care sector roles, construction, courier businesses and home-working digital and creative industries. Identifiable slums in the maps of Booth in '' Life and Labour of the People in London'' (3 editio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Mayer De Rothschild
James Mayer de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (born Jakob Mayer Rothschild; 15 May 1792 – 15 November 1868) was a German- French banker and the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild family. Early life James de Rothschild was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the fifth son and youngest child of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812) and Guttle Schnapper (1753–1849). Career In 1812, he moved to Paris to co-ordinate the purchase of specie and bullion for his brother Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777–1836), and in 1814 and 1815 he was the linchpin in Nathan's plan to furnish Wellington's armies with funds. In 1817 he expanded the family banking empire to the city, opening De Rothschild Frères. By 1823 the Paris House was firmly established as banker to the French government. An adviser of ministers and kings, he became the most powerful banker in the country and following the Napoleonic Wars, played a major role in financing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess Of Hertford
Captain Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford KG (22 February 1800 – 25 August 1870) was an English aristocrat and sometime politician who spent his life in France devoted to collecting art. From birth to 1822 he was styled Viscount Beauchamp and from 1822 to 1843 Earl of Yarmouth. Early life Lord Hertford was the son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford and Maria Seymour-Conway, Marchioness of Hertford. He had two siblings, Lord Henry Seymour-Conway, who also died unmarried, and Lady Frances Maria Seymour-Conway (the wife of the Marquis de Chevigne). His paternal grandparents were Francis Ingram-Seymour-Conway, 2nd Marquess of Hertford and, his second wife, Hon. Isabella Anne Ingram (eldest daughter and co-heiress of Charles Ingram, 9th Viscount of Irvine), who was the mistress of the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. Although Lord Hertford was born in England, he was brought up in Paris by his mother, who had become estranged from his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comte De Pourtalès Collection
The Art Collection of James-Alexandre, comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier was a collection of sculpture, antiques and paintings owned by James-Alexandre de Pourtalès, Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier until his death in 1855. History The Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (1776–1855), was a Swiss-French banker who served as Chamberlain to the King of Prussia and was awarded the title of Count by King Frederick William III, who ruled Prussia during the Napoleonic Wars and the end of the Holy Roman Empire. The collection was largely held at Hôtel de Pourtalès, his hôtel particulier (essentially a grand townhouse) on Rue Tronchet in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The collection, which started with a vase, included the '' Laughing Cavalier'' by Frans Hals and works by Bronzino, Rembrandt, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and a Sandro Botticelli portrait. In 1825, he donated a mummy and coffin he acquired from the Thedenat-Duvent sale, to the Berlin Museum. In February and March 1865, ten ye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James-Alexandre De Pourtalès
James-Alexandre de Pourtalès, Comte de Pourtalès-Gorgier (28 November 1776 – 24 March 1855) was a Swiss-French banker, diplomat and art collector. Early life The Count de Pourtalès was born in Neuchâtel, then in the Principality of Neuchâtel under Prussian rule, into a large family of Protestant financiers on 28 November 1776. He was the son of Countess Rose Augustine Marie de Luze (1751–1791) and Jacques-Louis de Pourtalès (1722–1814), a banker in Naples who amassed a fortune in commerce and was made a count by King Frederick William II. Among his siblings were Louis de Pourtalès (husband of Sophie d'Audanger) and Frédéric de Pourtalès (husband of Marie Louise de Castellane and grandfather of Friedrich von Pourtalès). His paternal grandparents were Jérémie de Pourtalès and Marguerite de Luze (who was the younger sister of his maternal great-grandfather). The Pourtalès family were French Huguenots who settled in Neuchâtel following the revocation of the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital. The Hague is also the capital of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Hague is the core municipality of the Greater The Hague urban area, which comprises the city itself and its suburban municipalities, containing over 800,000 people, making it the third-largest urban area in the Netherlands, again after the urban areas of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, with a population of approximately ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, paleontology, archives, manuscripts, printed books, the circular economy, and science and computing. The primary purpose of tracing the provenance of an object or entity is normally to provide contextual and circumstantial evidence for its original production or discovery, by establishing, as far as practicable, its later history, especially the sequences of its formal ownership, custody and places of storage. The practice has a particular value in helping authenticate objects. Comparative techniques, expert opinions and the results of scientific tests may also be used to these ends, but establishing provenance is essentially a matter of documentation. The term dates to the 1780s in Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited, Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
