2016年3月31日木曜日

Vincent van Gogh

When Van Gogh arrived in Arles in February 1888, the area's fruit trees in the orchards were about to bloom.[1] The blossoms of the apricot, peach and plum trees motivated him,[2] and within a month he had created fourteen paintings of blossoming fruit trees.[3] Excited by the subject matter, he completed nearly one painting a day.[4] Around April 21 Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, that he "will have to seek something new, now the orchards have almost finished blossoming."[3]
Flowering trees represented a source of spiritual renewal for Van Gogh; in 1883 he had written of the symbolism of the flowering tree, seeing the evidence of rebirth like the "man who finally produces something poignant as the blossom of a hard, difficult life, is a wonder, like the black hawthorn, or better still the gnarled old apple tree which at certain moments bears blossoms which are among the most delicate and virginal things under the sun."[5]
In 1888 Van Gogh became inspired in southern France and began the most productive period of his painting career. He sought the brilliance and light of the sun which would obscure the detail, simplifying the subjects. It also would make the lines of composition clearer; which would suit his ambition to create the simple patterns that he appreciated in Japanese woodblocks. Arles, he said, was "the Japan of the South." Van Gogh found in the south that colors were more vivid. Pairs of complementary colors, such as "the red and green of the plants, the woven highlights of oranges and blue in the fence, even the pink clouds that enliven the turquoise sky" — create an intensity through their pairing.[6]
Mancoff says of flowering trees and this work,[7]
"In his flowering trees, Vincent attained a sense of spontaneity, freeing himself from the strict self-analytical approach he took in Paris. In Almond Tree in Blossom, Vincent used the light, broken strokes of impressionism and the dabs of colour of divisionism for a sparkling surface effect. The distinctive contours of the tree and its position in the foreground recall the formal qualities of Japanese prints."
The southern region and the flowering trees seems to have awakened Van Gogh from his doldrums into a state of clear direction, hyper-activity and good cheer. He wrote, "I am up to my ears in work for the trees are in blossom and I want to paint a Provençal orchard of astonishing gaiety." While in the past a very active period would have drained him, this time he was invigorated.[8]

To paint the flowering orchards, Van Gogh contended with the winds which were so strong that he drove pegs into the ground to which he fastened his easel. Even so, he found painting the orchards "too lovely" to miss.[9]





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2016年3月19日土曜日

Beatriz Galindo

Beatriz Galindo, sometimes spelled Beatrix, (born 1465? Salamanca – 23 November 1534 in Madrid) was a Spanish Latinist and educator. She was a writer, humanist and a teacher of Queen Isabella of Castile and her children. She was one of the most educated women of her time. There is uncertainty about her date of birth; some authors believe it is 1464 or 1474. She was also known as "La Latina."

Beatriz Galindo was born in a family of Zamoran origin in the lower nobility of hidalgos, formerly wealthy but almost destitute.
Her family chose her among her sisters to be a nun, since she was fond of reading, so they allowed her to take more education in grammar at one of the dependent institutions of University of Salamanca to help her career before taking the orders, but her great skill in Latin set her on an academic career before she was twelve years old. It is likely that she was at one time a student of the great Spanish scholar Antonio de Nebrija. [1]
She was nicknamed La Latina for her skill in Latin, and was appointed tutor to the children of Queen Isabella of Castile.[2] She taught Catherine of Aragon, the future wife of Henry VIII of England, and Joanna of Castile, the future wife of Philip of Habsburg and later known as Juana the Mad.[3]

She wrote in Latin, producing poetry, and a commentary on Aristotle.[3]

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