The Last Judgment Polyptych
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The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, a former charitable almshouse of the XVth century that is now a museum, is located in Beaune in Burgundy.
The Hospices de Beaune is a charitable institution in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor and needy. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum visited by more the 400'000 tourists every year. Services for patients are now provided in modern hospital buildings.
An important charity wine auction is held in November each year (formerly in the great hall of the Hôtel-Dieu).
History
The Hôtel-Dieu was founded on 4 August 1443, when Burgundy was ruled by Duke Philip the Good (Philippe le Bon). The Hundred Years War had recently been brought to a close by the signing of the Treaty of Arras in 1435. Massacres, however, continued with marauding bands ("écorcheurs") still roaming the countryside, pillaging and destroying, provoking misery and famine. The majority of the people of Beaune were declared destitute.
Nicolas Rolin, the Duke's Chancellor, and his wife Guigone de Salins, reacted by deciding to create a hospital and refuge for the poor.
The Hospices de Beaune received the first patient on 1 January 1452. Elderly, disabled and sick people, with orphans, women about to give birth and the destitute have all been uninterruptedly welcomed for treatment and refuge, from the Middle Ages until today.
Over the centuries, the hospital radiated outwards, grouping with similar establishments in the surrounding villages of Pommard, Nolay, Meursault. Many donations - farms, property, woods, works of art and of course vineyards - were made to it, by grateful families and generous benefactors. The institution is one of the best and oldest example of historical, philanthropic, and wine-producing heritage, and has become linked with the economic and cultural life of Burgundy.
Inside the Hospices
The courtyard
With a rectangular format, it is the best location to admire the different buildings amongst which three are decorated with a remarkable glazed-tile roof. This technique has probably its origins in Central Europe (possibly from cermanics master Miklós Zsolnay of Pécs, Hungary) but became quickly a landmark of the architecture from Burgundy (other glazed-tiled roofs could be observed in Dijon for instance). These tiles have four colours (red, brown, yellow and green) with interlaced designs. The current tiles have been recreated between 1902 and 1907. The Northern, Eastearn and Western buildings include a two-level gallery with stone columns on the ground floor and wood beams on the first floor. Many dormer and attic windows can be observed with finely detailed wood and iron works. A well with gothic ironwork can also be seen in the centre of the courtyard.
Room of the Poors
Its dimensions are impressive: 50 meters long, 14 meters large and 16 meters high. On the ceiling, the visible painted frame is in an upside down boat-skiff shape and in each beam are sculpted caricatures of some important Beaune inhabitants. On the floor tiling are written Nicolas Rolin's monogram and his motto "Seulle" referring to his wife, Guigone de Salins. The room is furnished with two rows of curtained beds. The central area was dedicated to benches and tables for the meals. The pieces of furniture have been brought together in 1875 by the son in law of the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. Each bed could welcome two patients.
The hospice possesses many artistic treasures, among them the mural paintings of the 17th century in the Salle St Hugues and an altarpiece, the Last Judgment, painted by Rogier van der Weyden.
Wine auction
The charity auction been arranged annually since 1851, taking place on the third Sunday in November amid a three day festival devoted to the food and wines of Burgundy. The Domaine des Hospices de Beaune is a non-profit organisation which owns around 61 hectares (150 acres) of donated vineyard land, much of this classified Grand and Premier cru.With bidding by professionnal and private buyers, the barrels, from 31 cuvées of red wine and 13 of white wine, attain prices usually well in excess of the current commercial values, although the results give some indication of the trend in expected bulk wine prices for the vintage from the rest of the region.
The auction has been organised by Christie's since 2005, setting a record total figure at the the 149th auction in 2009 when 799 barrels were up for sale, and 40% bids by telephone, internet or fax connecting some 500 participants from around the world, the auction has in recent years evolved from a wholesale market to a retail market.
Other website about The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune : Hospices-de-beaune
Source : Wikipedia
Hospices de Beaune
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Fallen Monument Park
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The Fallen Monument Park
Fallen Monument Park is a park outside the Krymsky Val building in Moscow shared by the modern art division of Tretyakov Gallery and Central House of Artists. The origins of this expatriate English name are unknown; in Russian, the park is either simply named Sculpture Park of the Central House of Artists (Russian: Парк скульптуры ЦДХ) or referred to by its legal title, Muzeon Park of Arts.
Muzeon Park was established by the City of Moscow in 1992 and currently displays over 700 sculptures. It is split into themed sections, i.e. the Oriental Garden, Pushkin Square, Portrait Row, although the best known part — the fallen monuments themselves — appeared here before 1992. In October 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, smaller socialist realism statues of Soviet leaders and unidentifiable workers and peasants were removed from their pedestals, hauled to the park and left in their fallen form. They were rectified later, although missing original pedestals. In 1990s these statues shaped the park outline, but as more and more modern sculpture was added and as the young trees grew up, they became a less obvious minority. Opening animation in the film GoldenEye and one of the levels in the Nintendo 64 game of the same name were based on images of the fallen monuments, although in both the game and film the park was located in Saint Petersburg.
Vandalized StalinIn 1995, Muzeon added a World War II section - these sculptures, of the same socialist realism vintage, were never displayed in open air before. In 1998 the park acquired 300 sculptures of victims of communist rule made by Evgeny Chubarov, installed as a single group. The park also holds temporary summer shows of modern artists.
The future of the Park is, most likely, doomed by Elena Baturina's decision to demolish the gallery building and erect a Norman Foster-designed Orange — a mixed-use project spanning the current territory of the park. While the architect plans to allot some of the Orange to the galleries, the project simply leaves no place for the park.
Other website about The Fallen Monument Park : Official website
Source : Wikipedia
The Badlands Guardian
The Badlands Guardian
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The Badlands Guardian
The Badlands Guardian is a geomorphological feature located near Medicine Hat in the south east corner of Alberta, Canada. Viewed from the air, the feature bears a strong resemblance to a human head wearing a full native American headdress. Because of additional man-made structure, it also appears to be wearing earphones. The apparent earphones are a road and an oil well, which has been in place only a few years, and will likely become invisible once the well falls into disuse and its superficial features are eroded.
The head is a drainage feature created through erosion of soft, clay-rich soil by the action of wind and water. The arid badlands are typified by infrequent but intense rain-showers, sparse vegetation and soft sediments. The 'head' may have been created during a short period of fast erosion immediately following intense rainfall. Although the image appears to be a positive feature, it is actually a negative feature (a valley), an instance of the Hollow-Face illusion.
In 2006 Medicine Hat's CHAT-TV Reporter Dale Hunter did a short feature on the Badlands Guardian. It was the winner of the RTNDA National- TV - short feature award for that year.
The feature was originally discovered by Lynn Hickox while examining images on the Google Earth application.Suitable names were canvassed by CBC Radio One program As It Happens. Out of 50 names submitted, seven were suggested to the Cypress County Council. They altered the suggested 'Guardian of the Badlands' to become Badlands Guardian.
The Badlands Guardian was also described by the Sydney Morning Herald as a "net sensation". PCWorld magazine has referred to the formation as a "geological marvel".The Guardian was also covered by Canada's Global Television
Other website about The Badlands Guardian : cbc.ca
Source : Wikipedia
The Cerne Abbas giant
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The Cerne Abbas giant
The Cerne Abbas giant, also referred to as the Rude Man or the Rude Giant, is a hill figure of a giant naked man on a hillside near the village of Cerne Abbas, to the north of Dorchester, in Dorset, England. The 180 ft (55 m) high, 167 ft (51 m) wide figure is carved into the side of a steep hill, and is best viewed from the opposite side of the valley or from the air. The carving is formed by a trench 12 in (30 cm) wide, and about the same depth, which has been cut through grass and earth into the underlying chalk. In his right hand the giant holds a knobbled club 120 ft (37 m) in length. A 1996 study found that some features of the image have changed over time; notably, the study concluded that the figure originally held a cloak in its left arm and stood over a disembodied head.
The figure's origin and age is unknown. Early antiquarians associated it with a Saxon deity, though there is little evidence for such a connection. Other scholars sought to identify it with a Celtic British figure or the Roman Heracles, or some syncretization of the two. The 1996 discoveries strengthened the identification with Heracles, who was often depicted wielding a club and carrying a cloak made from the Nemean Lion. However, since the first descriptions of the figure do not appear until the mid-18th century, many scholars conclude that it is not significantly older than that.Regardless of its age, the Cerne Abbas giant has become an important part of local culture and folklore, which often associates it with fertility.
History
Like several other chalk figures carved into the English countryside, the Cerne Abbas giant is often thought of as an ancient creation. However, like many of the other figures, its history cannot be traced back further than the late 17th century, making an origin during the Celtic, Roman or even Early Medieval periods difficult to demonstrate. Above and to the right of the giant's head is an earthwork known as the "Trendle", or "Frying Pan". Medieval writings refer to this location as "Trendle Hill", but make no mention of the giant, leading to the conclusion that it was probably only carved about 400 years ago. In contrast, the Uffington White Horse — an unquestionably prehistoric hill figure on the Berkshire Downs — was noticed and recorded by medieval authors.
The earliest written reference to the Giant was made in 1694, in a record for payment in the Cerne Abbas churchwarden's accounts of three shillings toward the re-cutting of the giant. The first survey of the giant was published in Gentleman's Magazine in 1764, and in 1774, John Hutchins wrote in his book The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset that the carving had only been done the previous century.
Early antiquarians associated the figure with a Saxon god whose name contained some variant of the element Hel-. This god is attested in several medieval and early modern texts, and was associated with the Cerne Abbas giant by an editor of a 1789 edition of William Camden's Britannia and by William Stukeley, who indicated that locals referred to the giant as "Helis." A Saxon origin is unlikely, but Stukeley was also the first to hypothesize that the figure was Heracles, a suggestion that has found more support.
Some believe that the giant was carved during the English Civil War by servants of the Lord of the Manor, Denzil Holles, and was intended as a parody of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was sometimes mockingly referred to as "England's Hercules" by his enemies. The Heracles connection is strengthened by the 1996 discovery of the cloak, as Heracles was often depicted with a cloak made from the Nemean Lion's skin.
Nineteenth century sources describe the giant as having "between his legs, three rude letters, scarcely legible, and over them in modern figures, 748", (rude meaning "roughly cut") and being the representation of Cenric, the son of Cuthred, King of Wessex.
In 1920, the giant and the 1 acre (4,000 m2) on which he sits was acquired by the National Trust and is listed as a Scheduled Monument. During World War II the giant was disguised in order to prevent his use as a landmark for enemy aircraft.
According to the National Trust, the grass is kept trimmed on a regular basis and the giant is re-chalked every 25 years. Traditionally, the National Trust has relied on sheep from surrounding farms to graze grass at the site. However, in 2008 a lack of sheep, coupled with a wet spring causing extra plant growth, forced a re-chalking of the giant, with 17 tonnes of new chalk being poured in and tamped down by hand.
Folklore
The giant has become an important part of the culture and folklore of Dorset. Some folk stories indicate that the image is an outline of the corpse of a real giant.One story says the giant came from Denmark leading an invasion of the coast, and was beheaded by the people of Cerne Abbas while he slept on the hillside.
Other folklore, first recorded in the Victorian era, associates the figure with fertility. In the past locals would erect a maypole on the earthwork, around which childless couples would dance to promote fertility. According to folk belief, a woman who sleeps on the figure will be blessed with fecundity, and infertility may be cured through sexual intercourse on top of the figure, especially the phallus.
Appearance
In 2008, a group of archaeologists using special equipment found that part of the carving had been allowed to be obliterated. According to these findings, the free arm should have held a depiction of an animal's skin, giving credence to the theory that the giant was a depiction of a hunter, or alternatively, Heracles with the skin of the Nemean lion over his arm. It has also been suggested that his large erection is, in fact, the result of merging a circle representing his navel with a smaller penis during a Victorian re-cut.
Publicity stunts
In modern times the Giant has been used for several publicity stunts and as an advertisement for "...condoms, jeans and bicycles." A low-key example was the sponsorship of the 1983 scouring by the brewers Heineken. As a publicity stunt for the opening of The Simpsons Movie on the 16 July 2007, a giant Homer Simpson brandishing a doughnut was outlined in water-based biodegradable paint to the left of the Cerne Abbas giant. This act angered local neopagans, who pledged to perform rain magic to wash the figure away.
In August 2007 a report in the Dorset Echo said that a man claiming to be the "Purple Phantom" had painted the Cerne Abbas Giant penis purple. It was reported that the man was from Fathers 4 Justice but the group said that they did not know who it was.
Other website about The Cerne Abbas giant : National trust
Source : Wikipedia
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The Uffington White Horse
The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill figure, 374 feet (110 m) long, formed from deep trenches filled with crushed white chalk. The figure is situated on the upper slopes of White Horse Hill in the English civil parish of Uffington (in the county of Oxfordshire, historically Berkshire), some five miles south of the town of Faringdon and a similar distance west of the town of Wantage. The hill forms a part of the scarp of the Berkshire Downs and overlooks the Vale of White Horse to the north. Best views of the Horse are obtained from the air, or from directly across the Vale, particularly around the villages of Great Coxwell, Longcot and Fernham. The site is owned and managed by the National Trust.
History
The figure has been shown to date back some 3,000 years, to the Bronze Age, by means of optically stimulated luminescence dating carried out following archaeological investigations in 1994. These studies produced three dates ranging between 1400 and 600 BC. Iron Age coins that bear a representation of the Uffington White Horse have been found, supporting the early dating of this artifact; suggestions that the figure was fashioned in the Anglo-Saxon period now seem untenable.Numerous other prominent prehistoric sites are located nearby, notably Wayland's Smithy, a long barrow less than two kilometres to the west. The Uffington is by far the oldest of the white horse figures in Britain, and is of an entirely different design than the others.
It has long been debated whether the chalk figure was intended to represent a horse or some other animal. However, it has been called a horse since the eleventh century at least. An Abingdon cartulary, written by monks on vellum, between 1072 and 1084, refers to "mons albi equi" at Uffington ("the White Horse Hill").
The horse is thought to represent a tribal symbol perhaps connected with the builders of Uffington Castle.It is quite similar to horses depicted on pre-Roman British coinage and the Marlborough bucket.
Until the late 19th century the horse was scoured every seven years as part of a more general local fair held on the hill. When regular cleaning is halted the figure quickly becomes obscured; it has always needed frequent work for the figure to remain visible.
In August 2002 the figure was defaced with the addition of a rider and three dogs by members of the "Real Countryside Alliance" (Real CA). The act was denounced by the Countryside Alliance.
The white horse at Folkestone, Kent, is based on this horse. Another larger horse at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, is also based on the horse
Nearby features and recent events
The most significant nearby feature is the Iron Age Uffington Castle, located on higher ground atop a knoll above the White Horse. This hillfort comprises an area of approximately 3 hectares enclosed by a single, well-preserved bank and ditch.
To the west are ice-cut terraces known as the "Giant's Stair".
Some believe these terraces at the bottom of this valley are the result of medieval farming, or alternatively were used for early farming after being formed by natural processes. The steep sided dry valley below the horse is known as the Manger and legend says that the horse grazes there at night.
The Blowing Stone, a perforated sarsen stone, which lies in a garden in Kingston Lisle, two kilometres away and which produces a musical tone when blown through, is thought possibly to have been moved from the White Horse site, in the year 1750.
The Uffington Horse in popular culture
G. K. Chesterton's poem The Ballad of the White Horse gives a Christian interpretation to the continual scouring needed to maintain the impression in the chalk over the intervening millennia.
Rosemary Sutcliff's book Sun Horse, Moon Horse, a book for children, tells the story of the creator of the figure.
Richard Doyle, a cartoonist and illustrator of Punch satirical magazine fame, illustrated the 1859 book The Scouring of the White Horse by Thomas Hughes, the author of Tom Brown's Schooldays. The book mentions both the horse and the Blowing Stone.
The design of the Uffington Horse was used as the album cover of the 1982 album English Settlement by English rock group XTC, who come from the nearby town of Swindon.
The White Horse appears in the top right hand corner of the back of the Nirvana CD In Utero.
It also featured in the 1992 Vincent Ward-directed film Map of the Human Heart.
Kate Bush slides down White Horse Hill in the promo video for her 1985 hit, "Cloudbusting".
It appears as a hill figure and as a silver necklace worn by Tiffany Aching in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel A Hat Full of Sky. In this book, Granny Aching is reported (by Tiffany) to have said "Taint what a horse looks like, it's what a horse be"
The Uffington Horse is the symbol of Wessex Hall at the University of Reading, adopted in 1920 and still in use today.
The Uffington White horse is often presented as an image of Epona in popular works on Neopaganism, based on stylistic similarity with horses depicted on Iron Age British and Gaulish coinage, although the dating makes this very unlikely. There may also be an assumption that Epona statues depicted a white horse (the colour is unknown and this seems to be a confusion with Rhiannon).
Uffington Horse is also the name of a folk-rock group led by Heather Alexander, as well as the title of one of the songs on their first album, Enchantment.
The now defunct computer games developer Mythos Games used the horse as their company logo.
Faringdon Community College and Faringdon Infant School in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, use the White Horse as their logo.
The horse is the emblem of the Berkshire Yeomanry, a Territorial Army unit based in Windsor, Reading and Chertsey.
The White Horse is mentioned throughout the book This Is All by Aidan Chambers.
British artist Stella Vine chose the White Horse as her favourite artwork in a video filmed in May 2008 as part of Artangel's The Big Pix project where artists film a video talking about their favourite artwork or destination. Vine described it as mysterious, atmospheric, pagan and inspiring.
Caroline and Charles Todd's book A Pale Horse (2008) takes place in and around Uffington and centers around the White Horse. Wayland's Smithy is also mentioned.
The White Horse is mentioned in the book What Time Devours (2009) by A.J. Hartley.
White Horse Hill appears under the name of Red Horse Hill in the novel "Runemarks" by Joanne Harris.
Clive Cussler references the Uffington Horse in his novel Trojan Odyssey where it is the symbol of the cult presided over by Epona Eliade
Other website about The Uffington White Horse : Nationaltrust
Source : Wikipedia
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