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Praetorium Honoris

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Pause, Take a Deep Breath, Let It Out, Slowly

The Fog Warning - Winslow Homer
(Source)
I needed a pause, a sanity stand down if you will, what with all the turmoil and controversy in these tumultuous times. I had some very nasty things prepared to say about certain politicians, pundits, and celebrities. Then I thought, why waste my breath? (As it's writing and not speaking it's not really breath, but it sounds somehow poetic. Or something. Beats saying "wasting pixels." Aren't pixels infinite and eternal? Or something?)

Anyhoo. I thought I would present to you some of my favorite paintings and artists. Perhaps just pictures that tickled my fancy whilst searching hither and yon for pictures which calm the soul and (perhaps) make you think about things other than current affairs. Which I think we can all agree, across the political spectrum, aren't all that great right now. Leave a bit to be desired they do.

So, art. Perhaps some aircraft too, I'm kinda winging it here...

(For some great music to listen to while perusing the paintings, jump to the end, turn it on, and enjoy!)

Crab Fishing - Winslow Homer
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Song of the Lark - Winslow Homer
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A Huntsman and Dogs - Winslow Homer
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That fellow sure could paint, fellow New Englander for whatever that's worth. Seascapes, landscapes, his catalog is pretty big and full of good stuff.

Of course, I am a huge fan of military artwork...

Het transport der kolonialen - Isaac Israëls
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 Le régiment des Gardes Françaises dans la bataille de Fontenoy en 1745 - Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille
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Les grenadiers à cheval à la bataille d'Eylau : Haut les têtes (le colonel Lepic) - Jean-Baptiste Édouard Detaille
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Detaille is perhaps my favorite painter of military scenes. He evokes the mood and spirit of the periods he depicted very well. At least I think so, even though I wasn't there, I have a very vivid imagination.

The March to Valley Forge - William B. T. Trego
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Steady the drums and fifes! - Lady Elizabeth Butler
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Lady Butler was a very talented painter, she was one of the few ladies to manage to achieve fame in the field of military art. Her most famous painting, at least to military historians, is this one...

Scotland Forever! - Lady Elizabeth Butler
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Ah, but enough of the mournful mutter of musketry, the rattle of drums, and the blaring of cavalry bugles. Let us look to more peaceful pursuits for the moment.

Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte - Georges Seurat
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One of my favorite impressionists is Claude Monet. In the first one shown, La Grenouillére, you can almost hear the water lapping against the shore, the boats bobbing with the current.

La Grenouillére - Claude Monet
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Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge - Claude Monet
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The painting which gave the Impressionist Movement its name -

Impression, soleil levant - Claude Monet
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La Pie - Claude Monet
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Almost forgot, I did promise aircraft, didn't I?

Runway Alert - Gil Cohen
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Mission From Taegu - Gil Cohen
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Source)
Mr. Cohen is a superb artist, you can see (and purchase) his work here.

Let's wrap this up with one of my favorite pieces of music, Vivaldi, The Four Seasons. As it's October, Autumn seems appropriate.

Peace be with you.





30 comments:

  1. Ahh. I needed some art work. Last year I went to an art show at the Kimball in Ft. Worth to see the Early Works of Monet. La Pie was one of my favorites.

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    1. It is a superb painting. Having grown up in Vermont, that scene reminds me of home.

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  2. Mission from Taegu sparked a memory. I read everything I could find about WW2 when I was a kid. I remember pictures of the runways with this weird steel matting.... Marston matting.

    At a high school track meet in west Texas back in the 70's, I was leaning up against a fence, and noticed it was Marston matting. I was really excited to be able to see it in person, and touch it. My buddies thought I'd lost my mind....

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    1. Amazing how the engineers could turn a field into an airfield with that stuff. (After leveling it, of course.)

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  3. Was unaware of the artist for Scotland Forever, learn something new every day. Cohen's works really strike a chord for me and have ever since I ran across Wings-Fine-Arts website. Enjoyed the visuals on this posting Sarge!

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  4. That Monet fellow reminds me of when I had the cataracts.

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  5. My wife and I happened to visit the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk when this exhibit was there. The link allows viewing of the work that was at the museum.

    http://www.chrysler.org/exhibitions/the-artists-garden/

    And yes, I need some time for quiet reflection.

    Thank you.

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    1. WOW! I was completely unaware of the American Impressionist "Garden Movement." Such beautiful work. Thanks for sharing that link John. Magnificent!

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    2. Ooh, that was a nice link! It shows a Thomas Hart Benton exhibit too!

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  6. Vivaldi really sets the mood.
    If you listen carefully, you can hear the lea es turning and letting go.

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  7. Now I'm listening to the extended playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgpJVI3tDbY Thanks for the recommendation.

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  8. I get the point of Monet, but you really did this post just for the halibut, didn't you?

    Seriously, though, great works all. You have a fine eye.

    And as soon as I started scrolling down "Mission from Taegu" and saw the tail and canopy, I knew it had to be an F-84. Totally cool. Finally, artwork commemorating a place and a plane my dad flew (F-84G jus post-active shooting at Taegu.) The one movie we have of his time in Korea shows lots of Marston matting, and all those 50's era tents.

    Vivaldi has always been one of my favorites (and my dad's, coincidentally (or not) composers, and "The Four Seasons" is one of those pieces I can listen to over and over again, finding new things hidden in it. He (Vivaldi) did a superb job of evoking the seasons.

    Thanks.

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    1. Hahaha! Nice bon mot!

      Thanks Andrew. (I had to include the Taegu painting, I've been there. But it looked a LOT different in '77.)

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    2. Dad's movie showed both hip-deep mud and hip-deep snow. The movie was filmed on two days, one week apart. Yikes!

      From what I've seen of Taegu on the web, no mud would be allowed within 5 miles of the place. The Koreans seem to keep the place surgical clean (at least, from the pictures.)

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    3. They do like to keep things tidy. DAMHIK.

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  9. A fine collection of Art! Here's hoping Art doesn't miss them!

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  10. Thanks for the post. The pictures are very nice and the commenters quite funny.

    Paul L. Quandt

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  11. A nice palate cleanser and re-set. Can't go wrong with Baroque music! Spent much of the past two days in various waiting rooms, assaulted by CNN, Today, and similar ilk. This was much needed and appreciated.

    /
    L.J.

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  12. I love when you post artworks, Sarge; I've saved most of them. One folder for aviation art, one for other military & historical art, one just for art, as a catch-all.
    I never was a big Monet fan, but these showed me that, if nothing else, the man could capture water. Not many artists whose work I've seen could.
    --Tennessee Budd

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    1. That's one of the things I like about Monet.

      Glad you liked the post Tennessee!

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  13. Great Whites find them tasty! https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-efun&biw=1366&bih=768&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=aj_XWcrjE6zJjwTYkbeYAw&q=halibut+bitten+by+Great+White&oq=halibut+bitten+by+Great+White&gs_l=mobile-gws-img.3...33288.38739.0.40532.12.12.0.0.0.0.1233.2998.5j0j4j0j1j7-1.11.0....0...1.1.64.mobile-gws-img..4.0.0....345.l4PnKsC9Xes#imgrc=9LX8JwSxl0GaYM:

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    1. Now THAT is an impressive link. (Said before I went there...)

      :)

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