Tag Archives: History

Tredegar House – a ‘faire place of stone’

The Tredegar House dates back to the medieval age. The red brick house, described as a ‘faire place of stone’, was built in the 1670s by Sir William Morgan and his wife, Blanche. The wealthy couple turned the old stone manor house into an extravagant and fashionable country mansion. But it was really Sir Charles Gould Morgan, a brilliant businessman, who in the late 1700s expanded the estate to over 40,000 acres and with mining and shrewd investments solidified the family wealth for almost 200 years.

The Edney Gates were made and erected, between 1714 and 1718, at a cost of over £1,000. That would be over $250,000 today.

I found this a somewhat troubling courtyard. It is very large and completely enclosed in the center of the house with nothing in it except a lamp post and hand pump. You enter it through one of only two small doors. It has no access to outside the building. I asked the docent what was it used for. He said, “Ya know, stuff.”

Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar

The Crimean War broke out in 1854 when a 22 year old Godfrey was a captain in the 17th Lancers. He was anxious to make a name for himself and led his section of the Light Brigade into the ‘Valley of Death’ at the Battle of Balaclava. Both the Viscount and his famous horse, ‘Sir Briggs’, returned to Tredegar heroes. ‘Sir Briggs’ was well cared for and lived to be 28. He was buried in the Cedar Garden at Tredegar House with full military honors.

*Sir Godfrey Morgan & Sir Briggs at The Battle of Balaclava*

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Godfrey’s great-nephew Evan marks the end of the Morgan family at Tredegar House. Evan was a multi-millionaire that never even thought about working. He was considered one of the most outrageous and toxic eccentrics to ever stain the aristocracy. He threw wild parties, befriended occultists and practiced black magic. One of his favorite party tricks was to hide a parrot in his clothes only to have it emerge from the zipper of his trousers to the amusement of his drunken party guests. Although a notoriously promiscuous and flamboyant homosexual, he somehow managed to marry twice. First to an English actress and then to the Russian princess Olga Sergeivna Dolgorouky, which was annulled less than four years later. Evan died in 1949, disgraced, broke and without an heir. His relatives were forced to sell Tredegar House to pay debts and estate taxes.

Yo Ho Ho!

The Morgans certainly come from hearty stock. Sir Henry Morgan, a great grandson of the original Morgans, made his fame and fortune on the high seas. He is considered one of the greatest scoundels in history. He roamed the Caribbean as a Privateer plundering Spanish ships and settlements with the approval of the Crown. The ever-shifting political climate between England and Spain made staying in the good graces of the King a difficult task. Henry was responsible for so many atrocities and brutal rampages that eventually the King could no longer tolerate his lawless behavior and Sir Henry found himself arrested and imprisoned. In the end he bribed his way out of trouble and became a wealthy plantation owner and Governor of Jamaica.

His exploits have become the stuff of legend. He was immortalized by John Steinbeck in his 1940 novel ‘Cup of Gold’, Rafael Sabatini’s novels ‘the Black Swan’ and ‘Captain Blood’ were adapted for films that made Errol Flynn and Tyrone Powers stars and launched an entire swashbuckler genre. Even Sci-Fi writer Isaac Asimov took a swing at the buccaneer in ‘Robots In Time’ when time travelers meet up with the Captain while searching for a fugitive robot. He is probably most well known today as the Captain Morgan that stands proudly on bottles of rum around the world.

The Croome Boom

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Croome began with Thomas Coventry who had purchased Croome D’Abitôt in 1592, but the Croome Court we see today was really the creation of George Coventry, the 6th Earl of Coventry.

After inheriting Croome Court George quickly married the famous Irish beauty and London society hostess Maria Gunning in a move designed to prop up his dwindling fortunes. He then set about using all her money to update and transform the aging Neo-Palladian mansion. He commissioned Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to redesign both the house and the expansive grounds. This was the architect and landscape designers first large-scale commission and is often described as his ‘first and favorite child’. He completely transformed the vast landscape, literally moving the entire local village out of view of the house and hiding it behind a newly planted veil of trees. He knocked down the old Medieval church and replaced it with a lovely Gothic church on a hilltop above the park. Brown cleared the grounds of everything formal and added flowering shrubberies, wooded walking paths, temples, follies, carriage drives, a Chinese Bridge, a lake and, even, a 1 3/4 mile long hand-dug illusionary serpentine river, all designed to create a perfect natural parkland as far as the eye could see. Although, now devoid of sumptuous furniture, paintings, tapestries, carpets and a small army of house servants, Croome Court remains stately and grand.

*The windows were designed to capture landscape views*

Unlike George Coventry, Maria didn’t inherit her status and fortune, she had to earn it, the ”old fashioned way”. In the early 1740s, the Gunning’s fortunes were so diminished that Maria’s mother encouraged her daughters to take up acting, a profession filled with “working girls” and considered very unrespectable. Still teenagers, the sisters, dressed as Lady Macbeth and Juliet, attended a ball in Dublin Castle and were presented to the Duke of Hamilton. He was so impressed with their beauty and, perhaps even a little more, that he granted the family a pension allowing them to flee Ireland and rejoin English society. While trolling for titled husbands, the girls attended scores of balls and parties where they eventually met the elderly King George II who was hugely amused by the notoriously tactless Maria. The King’s approval solidified her place at the Court of St James and newspapers began following her every move. She quickly became an 18th century influencer. In 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. George’s marriage to Maria was short lived. Her love of fashion quite literally killed her. Her lead-based whitening make up caused skin eruptions, which then encouraged women to apply more make up to cover the blemishes, eventually causing lead poisoning. Considered a beautiful but vain woman, Maria eventually became known in society circles as a “victim of cosmetics” succumbing to the lead and mercury toxins in her beauty creams at the age of 28.

During their marriage Maria’s husband had became involved with the scandalous Kitty Fisher, which caused his wife much distress. The women even traded barbs in public. Kitty, a prominent British courtesan from her teenage years onward, was a brilliant marketer who developed a carefully molded public image This was enhanced by portraits done by Sir Joshua Reynolds and other well known artists of the day who emphasized Fisher’s beauty, audacity, and charm. These portraits, coupled with numerous newspaper and magazine articles promoted her notorious reputation and made her one of the world’s first celebrities, famous simply for being famous. She eventually married an Admirals son in 1766 and retired to the country only to die a year later at 26. It is thought that she died of lead poisoning as well.

So many books and articles claiming to tell Kitty’s life story were published, both during and after her life, that separating fact from fiction is difficult. She was portrayed by Paulette Goddard in the 1945 blockbuster film Kitty, which told a Pygmalion-like rags-to-riches story of a beautiful young cockney pickpocket who is completely made over by an impoverished aristocrat in hopes of arranging her marriage to a wealthy peer, in order to repair their fortunes and regain their social status.

Butte, Montana

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Violence, Vice and Pork Chop Sandwiches

Butte, Mt. was formally established in 1864, it began as a mining camp that lured would-be prospectors from around the globe. It was one of the largest copper boomtowns in the West. The city is still home to the largest number of Irish Americans per capita of any city in the United States.

This influx of miners gave Butte a reputation as a wide-open town where any vice was obtainable. Beer halls and brothels all thrived. The city’s red-light district, called the “Line” was filled with elegant bordellos and the notorious “Venus Alley”, where women plied their trade in small “cribs”.

The red-light district remained open until 1982 and was one of the last such urban districts in the United States.

German immigrants first opened breweries in the 1890s and were a large part of the city’s early economy. Everyone, including children, enjoyed all types of locally brewed beers.
Butte was also the site of various historical events involving its mining industry, labor unions, socialist politics, labor riots, civil unrest and lynchings. Between 1910 and 1920 hundreds of lives were lost in mining accidents, each followed by strikes, protests and walkouts. Between 1914 and 1920, the U.S. National Guard had to occupy the city six times to restore law and order.

Frank Little

Frank was an Industrial Workers of the World organizer in july of 1917 when he arrived in Butte to build strike support, picket lines and spread the strike to other trades in the city.
In the early hours of August 1st six masked men believed to be renegade police working for the despised Anaconda Copper Company broke into Nora Byrne’s steel block boardinghouse where Frank was staying. He was beaten mercilessly, tied to the bumper of a car, dragged through the streets to the Milwaukee Bridge and hanged from a railroad trestle.
A note with the words “First and last warning” and the Montana vigilante numbers 3-7-77 was pinned to his thigh.

An estimated 10,000 workers and 3,500 citizens lined the route of Frank Little’s funeral procession. The funeral is still the largest in Butte history. He was buried in Butte’s Mountain View Cemetery.

His epitaph reads “Slain by capitalist interests for organizing and inspiring his fellow men.” Days after his lynching, martial law was declared. Labor radicals were then arrested and charged with espionage. The miners strike and union were crushed. Nobody was ever arrested for the murder of Frank Little.

Pork Chop Sandwiches

Despite all the murder and mayhem Butte’s real claim to fame is the Pork Chop Sandwich, invented nearly 100 years ago. According to the Butte-Silverbow Archives, John Burklund created the first pork chop sandwich in 1924. He sold his popular sandwiches to hungry miners out of the back of a wagon at the corner of Mercury and Main streets.

Before long, demand for Burklund’s tasty treats grew and he opened his first shop with only a countertop, 10 stools and a window where customers could walk up and place their orders. The orginal location is still opened today

Uptown Historic District

Over the years the city’s Uptown Historic District has remained relatively intact and is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the US, with almost 6,000 properties.

The Sheep Shearer’s Union

The Sheep Shearer’s Union of North American #1 was incorporated in 1903. The Sheep Shearers Merchandise and Commission Company, Inc. was opened in 1908. Still operating today, The Union and the Merchandising Company are one of only four in the world.

Smithers & Son

C. Owen Smithers came to Butte in 1921 and worked as a staff photographer for the Anaconda Standard. Over the years he became an avid collector of photographs from Montana’s frontier era and displayed them in his studio at 41 West Granite Street.

The Smithers Collection of Historical Photographs was listed among the city’s must see tourist attractions in the 1940 WPA Federal Writers Project’s Guide to Montana. After his death over 15,000 historical photographs were donated to the Butte – Silver Bow Archives.

The Metal Bank & Trust Company

The Metals Bank and Trust Co. was founded in 1882. One of Butte’s most well known citizens, Patrick Largey, was president of the bank. He also managed a company that had suffered a powder house explosion in 1895.

The accident cost one Thomas J. Riley a leg. As you can well imagine, Riley held a grudge and on January 11, 1898 Riley entered the bank, called the bank manager to the cashier window and an argument ensued. After five minutes Riley pulled a gun and shot Largey in the forehead, killing him instantly.

The Wah Chong Tai Co.

The Wah Chong Tai Company constructed its building in 1891 in the heart of what was Butte’s Chinatown. It housed a mercantile stocked with a general line of Chinese goods, including porcelain, teas and silk. In 1909 the company added the Mai Was Noodle Company. The “beautiful, luxurious” noodle parlor occupied the second floor of the building.

In the 1890’s, nearly 400 Chinese lived in this area. Chinese physicians, druggists, tailors, laundries and restaurants like this served the population.

The Leggat Hotel

The Leggat Hotel officially opened its doors on January 22, 1914 and was advertised as being nearly fireproof. The new hotel had the most modern conveniences including a buffet, Turkish baths, a barber shop and shower-baths located between the suites.

Gus’s Lunch

This building sits at an intersection that was the dividing line between Butte’s Chinatown and red-light district. The attached building was a Chinese boarding house and brothel called The Lucky Seven. Gus’s Lunch occupied the building from the 1930’s to the 50s. It is now the Silver Dollar Saloon.

Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon

The Push Saloon opened at this location in 1894. At the time it was one of 165 saloons in Butte catering to Swedes, Frenchmen, Scots, Irish, Blacks and rich and poor alike. Just a four block walk up Main Street offered over 35 similar establishments. The Silver Dollar took over after prohibition in 1934 and is still a link to Butte’s colorful and distinctive past. Advertisements for Chili & Sandwiches and Blatz’s Old Heidelberg Beer still grace the sides of the building.

The Hotel Finlen

In 1924, the Hotel Finlen opened the doors to a grand, 9-story hotel with 250 rooms. It was designed in the second French empire style after the Hotel Astor in New York City and has been a center of commerce and culture since. It has been regarded as one of the grandest hotels in the region and hosted notable figures and dignitaries including John F Kennedy, Thomas Edison, Richard Nixon, and Charles Lindbergh.

The Exer-Dance Building

In 1892 John F. Kelly commissioned the Butte architectural firm of Freys, Bartlett and McMillan to design this Queen Anne style structure, known as the Exer-Dance Building. The ground-floor commercial space housed Kelly’s wholesale fruit and produce firm with apartments and lodgings available on the upper floors. Butte’s first radio station, KGIR, began broadcasting from a studio located on the third floor of this building on January 31, 1929.

The Scandia Hall

The Scandinavian Brotherhood endeavored to unify Scandinavians through fellowship, high standards of citizenship, and “to fulfill a vacancy in the social world.” This ornately embellished three-story meeting hall, Butte No. 1, was built in 1898. This was the “Mother Lodge” being the first lodge hall built by this national organization.

Club 13

This historic, once handsome brick building was built around 1884, and opened as the Milwaukee Beer Hall. Originally designed as an upper class place for drinks in the downtown area, aimed at the gentry class, but eventually the profits from prostitution were impossible to ignore.
The women had their “cribs” on the second floor of the clothing store next door. After a woman was chosen, the client would go next door, enter the clothing shop, and go upstairs. The woman would walk across the wooden catwalk to the second floor to meet him. The law was none the wiser or simply chose to ignore it.

Citizens Of Note

Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel

Over the years a vast array of successful and notable people have been tied to Butte including artists, sports figures, politicians and businessmen, but her most famous son is undoubtedly Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel. At the tender age of 8, Evel attended a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show and from that moment on his career choice as a motorcycle daredevil was a forgone conclusion. He would make history over the course of his career by attempting more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps and, in the process, making himself a household name.

Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most broken bones in a lifetime, 433.

Dashiell Hammett

In 1917, the author, Dashiell Hammett was working as a strikebreaker in Butte for the Pinkerton’s, and was offered $5,000 to assassinate Frank Little. He was filled with guilt and troubled deeply that a person would think him capable of committing murder. He would later depict Butte as the city, Poisonville, in his novel Red Harvest.

Some reviewers regarded his book as a remarkable achievement, on a parallel with Hemingway. It is considered the last word in atrocity, cynicism and horror in which every character is trying to deceive all the others and in which the truth slowly becomes visible through a fog of deception.

Wim Wender

In 2004, acclaimed German film director, Wim Wenders, made the film Don’t Come Knocking about a Western movie star fleeing Hollywood to seek his long lost love in Butte, Montana. Wenders worked with photographic images of desolate landscapes and themes of memory, time, loss, nostalgia and movement.

He began a long-running photographic project in the early 1980s that he pursued for over 20 years. The initial photographic series was titled “Written in the West” and was produced while Wenders criss-crossed the American West in preparation for his films Paris, Texas and Don’t Come Knocking.

The Kingdom of Saxony

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Saxony

Saxony is the 10th largest of Germany’s 16 states. It has history that spans over a millennium. Slavs and Germanic people settled here in the first century BC.

We’re here to visit Saxony’s two largest cities.

Leipzig – The Better Berlin

Leipzig is the most populous city in the state of Saxony, Germany, with a population of 1.1 million in the metropolitan area. It sits at the intersection of the ancient Via Regia (the Royal Road) and the Via Imperii (the Imperial Road), the two most important medieval trade routes of the Holy Roman Empire. Literally, the epicenter of the commercial world.

The Leipzig Trade Fair, Leipziger Messe, was started in the Middle Ages and remains the oldest surviving trade fair in the world.

DDR Leipziger Messe Office

Leipzig was one of Europe’s largest centers of learning and culture prior to WWII and, although a major urban center within the GDR, its cultural and economic importance declined under the Soviets.

Star atop the Soviet Era Trade Fair Center

Since the Wall came down in 1989, Leipzig has been informally dubbed “Hero City” (Heldenstadt) in recognition of the role it played in ending the East German regime. Recently, the city has been nicknamed the “Boomtown of East Germany”, “Hypezig” or “The Better Berlin” and is being celebrated by the media as a hip urban centre. Leipzig is now considered the most livable city in Germany and is currently listed as a Gamma World City.

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof is the world’s largest railway station measured by floor area.

Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

Opera House

Downtown Statue

There are over 20 covered passages or shopping arcades in Leipzig’s city center and Wendi dragged me through all of them.

Museums

The GDR Museum

Museum der bildenden Künste

Museum der bildenden Künste

The giant dinosaur is a fountain of sorts. Blood drips into the bucket from his mouth and is pumped back through his body in a continuous loop.

Museum der bildenden Künste

Arno Rink

Arno Rink

The much admired German artist passed away last year at the age of 77. Museum der bildenden Künste is celebrating his life and work with a huge career spanning retrospective.

Museum der bildenden Künste

Aeneas, 1986-87 – Arno Rink

Stürzender Aggressor, 1973 – Falling Aggressor – Arno Rink

Canto Libre – Free Singing – Arno Rink

Terror II – 1978-79 – Arno Rink

The Grassi Museum of Applied Arts

The Grassi Museum of Applied Arts

The Grassi Museum of Applied Arts in Leipzig is primarily a ceramics museum which covers a huge range of ceramic work from antiquity to the present day. The museum is laid out as a sort of passage through time. You begin in ancient Greece and finish in 20th century Europe, but it’s the contemporary work that rocked me to the core.

18th Century Tea Cup

Lots of Tea Cups

“Amour fou” – Carolein Smit

“Violet and Daisy” – Carolein Smit

The 30 piece exhibition, “Amour for”, by Dutchwoman Carolein Smit is one of the singularly most fascinating, disturbing, captivating and sadistically funny shows I’ve ever witnessed. And I say witnessed as opposed to viewed because it is a little like seeing a strange crime scene. The work is so precise and polished that it’s easy to dismiss the painstaking effort and enormous talent that has gone into creating these fantastic creatures. Every pearl is hand rolled from clay, every strand of hair is individually fashioned and precisely placed with tweezers. And, my God, just think about all those strange dreams!

The museum wrote, “Carolein Smit combines opposites in her ceramic sculptures, reminiscent of an Amour fou, an apparently unreasonable and yet most passionate and addictive love. Where does innocence turn into guilt, life into death? Where is the transfer, the turning point? Those are the questions that the Dutchwoman tries to answer. Her mysterious figurations appear as precious and tantalizing as they seem dangerous, fragile and painful. At the same time, they are filled with cryptic humor. They are works of modern times, but their alter egos are rooted in the world of curiosity cabinets, collections of devotional objects and mythically-fantastic little branches of art history.”

“Death and the Maiden” – Carolein Smit

“The Cat” – Carolein Smit

“Girl with Dog” – Front – Carolein Smit

“Girl with Dog” – Back – Carolein Smit

“Pearls” – Carolein Smit

“Lamb with Three Headed Monster in Flames” – Carolein Smit

Check her out – http://www.caroleinsmit.com – She doesn’t look weird at all.

Leipzig and the Nazis

I’m of an age where World War II shaped my thinking. Mine and all of my friend’s parents were directly effected by the war. About half my neighborhood was Jewish and every single family was rocked to the core in the aftermath of the horror in Europe.

In 1933 there were 11,000 Jews living in Leipzig. By 1942 only 2,000 remained. On June 18, 1943 the last 18 were shipped to concentration camps. Of all the Jews deported from Leipzig only 53 survived.

As hard as it is to imagine, it’s estimated that one in ten Germans still harbors anti-Semitic views. We have been to five flea markets and all of them had vendors with Nazi memorabilia, which is illegal to sell in Germany, but apparently, not enforced. With the addition of over a million Syrian refugees the problem has just gotten worse. It has been suggested in the Bundestag that middle eastern immigrants seeking residency should be compelled to view a concentration camp and attend lectures on the holocaust to help them recover from their ingrained bias and disbelief of these factual events.

Karl Friedrich Goerdeler – A Man of Contradictions

Oberbürgermeister Karl Friedrich Goerdeler

Karl Friedrich Goerdeler was clearly a conflicted man. Elected mayor of Leipzig on May 22, 1930, he was well known as an opponent of the Nazi regime, for their evil thuggish tactics, not their anti-Semitism.

He resigned in 1937 after his Nazi deputy ordered the destruction of the city’s famed statue of Felix Mendelssohn. On Kristallnacht in 1938, the 1855 Moorish Revival Leipzig synagogue, one of the city’s most architecturally significant buildings, was deliberately destroyed. Following this Karl Goerdeler was overwhelmed with despair over what he considered to be the triumph of evil and hatched an ill fated plan to help save Jews deported to Polish Concentration Camps. He was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis, and yet, while on death row he was still anti-Semitic. In 1944, in his “Thoughts of a Man condemned to Death”, he wrote, “We should not attempt to minimize what has been happening, but we should also emphasize the great guilt of the Jews, who had invaded our public life in ways that lacked customary restraint^”.

He was finally hanged on February 2, 1945. In a farewell letter Goerdeler wrote of himself and his co-conspirators, “I ask the world to accept our martyrdom as penance for the German people.”

Dresden

Photo by Bgabel

Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendor. During the 19th century, the city became a major centre of economy, including motor car production, food processing, banking and the manufacture of medical equipment. By the early 20th century, Dresden was particularly well known for its camera works and its cigarette factories. Between 1918 and 1934, Dresden was capital of the first Free State of Saxony. Dresden was a centre of European modern art until 1933, when the Nazis came to town.

Zwinger

Dresden Castle

Summer Fest – Opening Mass

We are here for two exceptional museums,

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister

The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, houses old masters, mostly Italian and German. It’s located in the Semper Gallery and is part of the much larger Zwinger Courtyard. This is an amazing site, but I’ll try to keep it short with just a few things I thought were fun.

Canaletto

With the aid of a Camera Obscura, Canaletto created precise urban views known as vedute. His paintings are almost photographically realistic images of 18th century Venice.

He sold his diffuse atmospheric paintings of the lagoon city to aristocrats who traveled through Europe on their educational Grand Tour.

This is the courtyard we are in today.

The Zwinger Courtyard in Dresden – 1751-52 – Canaletto

The Canal Grande in Venice with the Rialto Bridge – 1724 – Canaletto

Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura

As a drawing aid, the camera obscura allowed tracing the projected image to produce a highly accurate representation and an easy way to achieve a proper graphical perpspective. The camera obscura box was developed further into the photographic camera when camera obscura boxes were used to expose light-sensitive materials to the projected image.

The Tower of Babel

According to the tale, humanity was united in the generations following the Great Flood and spoke a single language. While migrating eastward they came to the land of Shiner and agreed to build a city and a tower tall enough to reach heaven. God observed this and was so upset that he confounded their speech, so that they could no longer understand each other, and scattered them around the world.

The Tower of Babel – 1595 – Marten Van Valckenborch d.Ä.

I love the whole notion of the Tower of Babel. As a parable is addresses a few issues, why we speak multiple languages, why we have many different cultures and are not united by either a common goal or belief system. It sort of puts the blame on God’s shoulders by suggesting that he has punished us for trying to physically reach him and the kingdom of heaven before our time is due. I think, at least in Western cultures, most people no longer think of Heaven as an actual physical place you could climb to but more as a spiritual or ethereal plane. But perhaps I’m wrong. The great American singer and songwriter David Bryne, wrote in his song Heaven that it’s a place where nothing ever happens and “they play my favorite song over and over”, presumably for eternity. A dire prediction, indeed.

The Chocolate Girl – 1744 – Jean-Étienne Liotard

Jean-Étienne Liotard

This pastel painting by the Swiss artist, Jean-Étienne Leotard, was already famous in the 18th century. Leotard has completely eliminated all traces of brushwork and produced immaculately modulated tones, creating the impression of utmost perfection. After a lengthy trip to Constantinople, the much-travelled portraitist began wearing Middle Eastern costumes and referred ti himself as” le painter turn” – the Turkish painter.

Anton Graff

Graff was a court painter in Desden and was much esteemed as a portraitist by the aristocracy and bourgeoisie. His numerous self-portraits reflect the self-confidence and pride of an artist that has won fame. He devotes particular attention to the intense, concentrated gaze, through which he conveys his character and individuality.

Self Portrait at The Age of 58 – 1794-95 – Anton Graff

Self Portrait as An Old Man – 1805-06 – Anton Graff

Young Lady with Drawing Utensils

Young Lady with Drawing Utensils – 1816 – Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein

Looted in April 1938 from the Jewish sisters Jenny and Bertha Rosier. Both died in Treblinka Concentration Camp in 1942 and the painting passed through the hands of German art dealers until it was finally restituted to the heirs of the original owners in 2010.

The Albertinum

Albertinum

The Albertinum was built between 1884 and 1887 by extending a former arsenal. Damaged in the February 13, 1945 bombing of Dresden in World War II, the Albertinum was restored by 1953. It now hosts the New Masters Gallery and the Sculpture Collection. The museum presents paintings and sculptures from Romanticism to the present, covering a period of some 200 years.

The Albertinum

Otto Dix – 1924 – August Sander

When the First World War erupted, Otto Dix volunteered for the German Army. He was assigned to a field artillery regiment in Dresden. In the autumn of 1915 he was a non-commissioned officer of a machine-gun unit on the Western front and took part in the Battle of the Somme. In November 1917, his unit was transferred to the Eastern front until the end of hostilities with Russia. By February 1918 he was stationed in Flanders. Back on the western front, he fought in the German Spring Offensive. He earned the Iron Cross and reached the rank of vizefeldwebel. In August of that year he was wounded in the neck. He was discharged from service in 22 December 1918 and was home for Christmas.

Dix was profoundly affected by the sights of the war and later described a recurring nightmare in which he crawled through destroyed houses. He represented his traumatic experiences in many subsequent works. The “War” triptych is one of Otto Dix’s most famous.

War – 1929-32 – Otto Dix

The Survivors – 1963 – Willi Sitte

Self-Portrait with Cap – 1930 -Curt Querner

Self-Portrait – 1984 – Paul Michaelis

With a self-mocking gesture, the 70 year old Michaelis playfully explores the question as to whether and how a person’s character and frame of mind can be captured on canvas. With his head slightly twisted and his lips pressed together, he examines his subject in this self-portrait.

“Socialist Contemporary Art” 1961 – 1967

In 1961 an indépendant department of “Socialist Contemporary Art” was established to implement the “Bitterfeld Way” whose purpose was to introduce workers to art and to eliminate the division between art and daily life.

Depictions of Workers

In the officially sanctioned artistic style of Socialist Realism, man is the focal point. The SED propagated an idealized socialist image of man, which was developed programmatically in the 1950s under the utopian concepts of the “New Man” and from the 1960s onwards as the “socialist personality”. The New Man was characterized as somebody who possessed a wide range of knowledge and skills, was hard-working, had a pronounced socialist consciousness, always behaved is a disciplined and moral way in accordance with socialist principles, was interested and active in the areas of culture and sports, and generally demonstrated a positive, optimistic attitude to life. Sounds like advertising to me.

Group Portrait – Schirmer’s Carpentry Brigade – 1972 – Werner Tübke

“Schirmer’s Carpentry Brigade” – This portrait of a brigade of carpenters in Leipzig, was exhibited at the 7th Art Exhibition of the GDR in 1972 and sparked a controversial debate. The contrast between a modern theme and an old masterly-Renaissance style of painting was disconcerting.

Seamstresses – 1982 – Harald Metzkes

“Seamstresses” – The bustling but concentrated activity of a working day in a nationalized company in the GDR is the subject of this painting. Metzkes developed a reputation as the “Cézannist of Berlin”, a soubriquet derived from his realistic, restrained portraits and his affinity to the French artist.

Brigade Leader – 1952 – Heinz Lohmar

Chess Player – 1964 – Willi Neubert

“Chess Player” – The man in the painting is recognizable by his clothing as a worker while playing chess represented the ideal of the “all-round developed socialist personality”.

House Peace Committee – 1952 – Rudolf Bergander

“House Peace Committee” – This painting was not purchased until 1960 because of it’s controversial loose style. So-called “discussion pictures’ were intended to demonstrate the value of the democracy established in the GDR.

Foreman – 1960 – Walter Howard

Woman In Uniform – 1983 – Annette Schröter

“Woman In Uniform” – The concept of the uniform dress runs counter to the female role in the traditionally male field of the military. With this picture, Schröter was campaigning against the nightmare of a law requiring women to perform military service in the GDR.

The New Owner – 1951 – Hermann Bruse

“The New Owner” – The catalogue for the 1979 “Weggefährten-Zeitgenossen” exhibition in Berlin stated, “The aim was to impress on the public consciousness the image of the new social status of the worker. An early example, in which the composition and posture of the subject merged to form an intrinsic unity, is Hermann Bruse’s “The New Owner”. The prestigious picture format in which the subject is depicted from the hips up, or as a full-length, seems now to have become standard for portraits of workers in the GDR.”

After Deployment – 1973 – Christoph Wetzel

“After Deployment” – Christoph Wetzel’s graduation project at the Hochschule for Bildende Künste Dresden is the only painting in the collection showing a member of the GDR army, the Nationale Volksarmee. Rather than depicting a combat-ready defender of his country, Wetzel presents him as a vulnerable man with his back bared.

Nazi Footnotes

Looted Art

Hildebrand Gurlitt

The destruction of Dresden allowed Hildebrand Gurlitt, a major Nazi museum director and art dealer, to hide a large collection of artwork that had been stolen during the Nazi era. During interrogation after capture, Gurlitt told US Army authorities that his art collection and documentation of transactions had been mostly destroyed at his home in Kaitzer Strasse. The authorities seized 115 pieces of art but returned them after he had convinced them that he had acquired them lawfully. He claimed he was a victim of Nazi persecution due to his Jewish heritage. Gurlitt was released and continued trading in art works until his death in a car crash in 1956.

On 22 September 2010, German customs officials at the German–Switzerland border found €9,000 in cash on his son Cornelius Gurlitt, which led to a search warrant of his apartment in Schwabing, Munich. On 28 February 2012 they found 1,406 artworks, with a present estimated worth of one billion Euros. Priceless art treasures hung on every wall. Authorities initially banned reporting on the raid, which only came to light in 2013.

The Bombing of Dresden

Dresden Bombing

The bombing of Dresden by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces between February 13 and 15, 1945. The sheer scale of the attack remains controversial. Over 5 tons of incendiary and high explosive bombs on the city. The combination of bombs damaged and incinerated buildings, denying their use by retreating German troops and refugees. Widely quoted Nazi propaganda reports at the time, claimed 200,000 deaths, but in 2010, after five years of research, the German Dresden Historians’ Commission concluded that casualties numbered between 18,000 and 25,000. The Allies described the operation as the legitimate bombing of a military and industrial targets, but several researchers have argued that mostly women and children died. Allied military authorities have stood by the decision to carry out the bombings, reaffirming that it reduced the German military’s ability to wage war.

The End

I hate to end on such a somber note, but it is, what it is. We love to share what we are lucky enough to see and do. We hope you enjoyed some of it. See you next time.

Tot Ziens En Veel Succes – Good Bye and Good Luck

Good bye from the Hilton Amsterdam

The Wendi Files 2018.2

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This End Is Near

As we approach the end of this year’s sojourn, let’s catch up on the antics of my pesky compadre.

The Alte Museum in Berlin, Germany

Central Station, Amsterdam, NL

Staatliches Museum in Schwerin, Germany

At NMOMA in Edinburgh, Scotland

National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland

The Monument, Leipzig, Germany

Amsterdam, NL

KrollerMuller, NL

Fraser Castle, Scotland

Culross, Scotland

Crathes Castle, Scotland

Vintage Market in Leipzig, Germany

“Aperol Spritz” at Cospudener See, Leipzig, Germany

Foam Galley Amsterdam, NL

Simpson shoes in Leipzig, Germany

With Helmut Newton in Berlin, Germany

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany

Amsterdam, NL

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, Germany

Amsterdam, NL

Foam Gallery in Amsterdam

Edinburgh, Scotland

And a hearty farewell. See you all next time.

A Monument For The Ages

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Monument to the Battle of the Nations – Völkerschlachtdenkmal

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations commemorates the Battle of the Nations which took place on this site for three days in October of 1813. Over 500,000 soldiers amassed in one of the largest battles in history as coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden fought against Napoleon’s troops.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations – Stock Photo

The monument stands on the spot of some of the bloodiest fighting. It is reputed that there are over 100,000 dead buried in mass graves here. Realizing his defeat, Napoleon ordered the retreat of his army and returned to France. By the next year, the Allied forces invaded France, Napoleon abdicated and in May of 1814 was exiled to Elba.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations Reflection Pool

The granite and sandstone memorial, at 299 ft high, is one of the tallest monuments in all of Europe.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations – 299 ft tall.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations

The 39 foot main figure on the front of the memorial represents the Archangel Michael, considered the “War God of Germans”.

The Archangel Michael

The first level, the Crypt, is adorned by eight large statues representing the faces of fallen warriors.

The Crypt

Each one is protected by the Totenwächter or the Guardians of the Dead.

Guardians of the Dead & Faces of the Fallen Warriors

The Crypt With The Hall of Fame Above

The second story, the Ruhmeshalle or the Hall of Fame, features four 31 foot statues. Each represents one of the four legendary historic qualities ascribed to the German people: bravery, faith, sacrifice, and fertility.

The Hall of Fame – Faith

The Hall of Fame – Bravery

The Hall of Fame – Sacrifice

The Hall of Fame – Fertility

The cupola is decorated with primitive Germanic shapes, inspired by Egyptian and Assyrian sculpture and the inside of the Dome features a calvary of soldiers.

The Dome

Horsemen of the Dome

Oaks surround the monument, a symbol of masculine strength and endurance. These oaks are complemented with evergreens that symbolize feminine fertility.

Oak Trees Line The Reflection Pool At The Monument to the Battle of the Nations

The View From The Top

The View Southeast

On a clear day you can see the town of Halle, 50 km to the NE.

The View Northeast

The Nazi’s Last Stand in Leipzig, 1945

The monument was designed to commemorate the spirit of the German people, the establishment of a lasting German community and their maturation into an “organized ethnic group”. Hitler frequently used the monument as a venue for his meetings in Leipzig.

Nazi Rally at the Monument to the Battle of the Nations

As the Allied noose tightened around Leipzig, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal monument would become the scene of one of Nazi Germany’s last stand.

Brig. Gen. of Police Wilhelm von Grolmann controlled the 3,400-strong paramilitary Leipzig police force. He saw nothing to be gained in a futile defense of the city and hoped to spare Leipzig from total destruction. Unfortunately, Colonel Hans von Poncet, who commanded a handful of German defenders, insisted he was under a direct order from Hitler not to surrender. On April 18th he withdrew to the Battle of the Nations Monument with about 150 men and enough ammunition and foodstuffs to last three months.

An US Soldier In The Crypt – Warfare History Network

On the morning of April 19, Colonel Poncet, occupying the nearly impregnable position, was still defiant as the heavy artillery shells did little damage to the sturdy walls of the monument. The Germans were holding 17 American prisoners inside so American General Reinhardt decided against using flamethrowers to burn the Germans out and began negotiations. At 2am on April 20th, the diehard Nazi commander strode out of the main entrance and the monument was secured. During the negotiations, Lt. Col. Knight granted permission to the remaining handful of German solders for a 48 hour leave, allowing them to pay one last visit their homes in Leipzig. Knight supervised the disarming of the enlisted prisoners and Captain Hans Trefousse, an interrogator of German prisoners with the 273rd Infantry Regiment, guided more than a dozen of the German officers through the lines to their homes. When it was time for them to return to captivity only one failed to appear, leaving behind a note of apology.

An Allied Soldier Leads Nazi Prisoners To The Hauptbahnhof In Leipzig – Warfare History Network

Russian Spin

In July, the Americans withdrew from Leipzig, moving westward to the designated postwar zone of occupation and allowed the Red Army to move in. Thus began a period of Communist rule in East Germany that lasted until 1989. The government of the new German Democratic Republic was unsure whether to allow the monument to stand since it stood for steadfast German Nationalism, but because the monument was primarily linked to a battle in which Russian and German soldiers had fought together against Napoleon, it was spun to represent an example of Deutsch-russische Waffenbrüderschaft or Russo-German brotherhood-in-arms and was allowed to remain. In 1956, authorities stated that the monument could be interpreted as a symbol of “long-standing German-Russian friendship”.

Trabant at the Monument to the Battle of the Nations

After years of neglect, a 16 year restoration was started in 2003. With the exception of some landscaping and designated parking the project is just about complete.

Schwerin – the Florence of the North

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Schwerin

This lovely storybook city in Northern Germany is referred to as the Florence of the North. The capital of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommen, Schwerin has a population of about 150,000. It is surrounded by lakes, the largest of these being the Schweriner See, the third largest in Germany.

City Market Square

At the end of World War II, Schwerin was taken by United States troops. It was then turned over to the British on June 1, 1945. One month later, on July 1st, it was handed over to the Soviet forces, and the British and American forces pulled back from the line of contact to the predesignated occupation zones.

Schwerin was then in the Soviet Occupation Zone which was to become the German Democratic Republic (GDR). After reunification in 1990 it once again became the capital of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommen.

The Trace of the Lion Monument

This monument on the Market Square in Schwerin was built in 1995 by the controversial German sculptor Peter Lenk. It commemorates the 800th anniversary of the death of the city’s founder Heinrich the Lion. During his lifetime, Henry, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, was one of the most powerful men in his region of the world. He founded the city of Schwerin in 1160, Munich in 1157 and Lübeck in 1159. During his reign, he ruled over a territory that reached from the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas all the way to the Alps.

The Trace of the Lion Monument – Stock Photo

The nearly 15-foot-tall monument features a lion, Henry’s heraldic animal. The sides show curious scenes associated with Henry’s life. The most bizarre scene depicts the duke riding through a gauntlet of people flashing their buttocks. Legend has it that when Henry arrived in the town of Bardowick, its contemptuous residents received him with their pants pulled down to reveal their bare behinds in an expression of anger at the Duke’s punitive trade policy that promoted Schwerin and Lübeck as important trading places and caused Bardowick to lose it’s prestige.

The Trace of the Lion Monument

Schloss Schwerin – Schwerin Palace

Stock Photo

The first records of a Slavic fort at this small island date from AD 973. In 1160, the fort became a target of Henry the Lion. The Slavs destroyed the fort before leaving but Henry recognized the strategic importance of the location and immediately started building new defenses. He also had the first foundations of the city of Schwerin laid the same year. In 1167, Henry gave the County of Schwerin to his vassal Gunzelin von Hagen, who formed a ducal hereditary line that lasted until the revolution of 1918 which resulted in the abdication of the Grand Duke.

Schwerin Palace

SchwerinCastle

Schwerin Palace – The Throne Room

The shelves that surround this beautifully paneled room are supported by individually craved animals.

Petermännchen ,“Little Peterman”

Every good castle has to have a ghost. Meet Petermännchen.

Petermännchen – “Little Peterman” – Quid Si Sic “What If So”

This good-natured household spirit is only a few feet tall, is often described as carrying many keys, roaming through the vaults and tunnels underneath the castle, unlocking doors as he goes. He has a cavalier look with a stylish moustache, wearing a waistcoat, riding boots with spurs and a feathered hat. He is said to carry a lantern and sword and is the keeper and watchman of the castle, rewarding those who are honest and good. Conversely he will punish or drive away thieves and intruders. To do so Petermännchen will cause a nuisance or play pranks, crashing and banging through the night. He also wakes soldiers who have fallen asleep on their watch in order to save them from being punished.

The Winter Room

The ceiling decoration in the Winter Room is made of paper mache and covered with three millimeters of gold foil. The builders discovered that paper mache was far superior to paster or stone carving. It’s faster, lighter, cheaper and can be pressed into molds so the designs are infinitely repeatable.

The Winter Room

Queen Luisa of Prussia

This beautiful portrait of Queen Luisa of Prussia hangs in the Winter Room and was painted in 1812 by W. Temite from a drawing made on her deathbed. The covered hands and palm fronds in the veil would have indicated to viewers that the portrait was posthumous.

Queen Luisa of Prussia

Albrecht II

I’ve always insisted that no matter how peculiar some folks seem to look there had to be some point in the day when they caught sight of their own reflection and thought, “Yea, I look pretty cool.”

Albrecht II

I’ll bet the pliers hanging from his waist were to help get in and out of that getup.

Albrecht II – Detail

The Staatliches Museum

Staatliches Museum

The Staatliches Museum Schwerin (State Museum Schwerin) was established in 1882 and is nationally known for its medieval collections well as one of Europe’s most significant collections of French-American artist Marcel Duchamp.

Staatliches Museum

Besides the Alte Meisters (Old Masters), we are here primarily for the GDR Show.

Hinter dem Horizont – Beyond the Horizon …
GDR art from the collections of the Staatliches Museum Schwerin

Schwebendes Liebespaar (Floating Lovers) – Wolfgang Mattheuer – 1970

The exhibition brings together around 100 paintings, drawings, graphics and sculptures some maintaining the prescribed ideologies of the times, others not so much. Here’s just a few.

Bildnis Karl Michel (Portrait of Karl Michel) – Clemens Gröszer – 1988/1989

Der Fotograf Dieter Schmidt (The Photographer Dieter Schmidt) Volker Stelzmann – 1975

Christine – Volker Stelzmann – 1974

The Bitterfeld Way

Artists were called upon to seek out their subject matter in factories or in the countryside. Proximity to the working populace was a programmatic specification of the cultural policy.

“In our time, a contribution to socialist art must consist primarily in encouraging the working people of socialist society to actively shape their lives.”

Fischer und Studenten (Fishermen and Students) – Konrad Homberg -1963/1964

Aufbau der Stalinalee (Construction of the Stalinalee) – Hedwig Holtz-Sommer – 1952

Schweinemeister Richard Thieß (Pork Master Richard Thiess) – Carl Hinrichs -1963

Junger Bauarbeiter (Young Construction Worker) – Walter Howard – 1964/1965

“The working day seems to be approaching its end. The excitement at the prospect of knocking off is unmistakable. This image, marked by optimism and a lust for life, can be understood as a metaphor for the dawning of a new age.”

Jugendbrigade im Aufbruch (Youth Brigade On The Move) – Carl Hinrichs -1962

On Gorbachev’s Reforms In The Soviet Union

“Incidentally, if your neighbor redid the wallpaper in his apartment, would you feel obliged to redo the wallpaper in your apartment as well?”

Jean-Baptiste Oudry – An Alte Meister

Oudry was a much favored 18th century French painter that specialized in animals in conflict, but also had a keen eye for the historical significance of many of these amazing creatures.

Rhinozeros (Rhinoceros) – Jean-Baptiste Oudry – 1749

The Indian rhinoceros “Jungfer Clara” came to Versailles and Paris in 1749. Oudry studied her at the fair at St, Germain. At the time very few people had seen one of these creatures. It must have seemed as alien to the 18th century viewer as a Martian. The life-size portrayal became a memorial to this magnificent rhinoceros.

Rhinozeros (Rhinoceros) – Jean-Baptiste Oudry – 1749

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste, produced a highly successful and widespread engraving of Clara’s portrait, which allowed a much larger audience to view this amazing animal.

These large scale paintings of animals at battle were highly favored in the royal houses and palaces of Europe in the 18th century.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Let’s finish with a great German artist.

Selbstbildnis/Self-Portrait – Paul Kuhfuss – 1925

Paul Kuhfuss, a classically trained Berlin artist, was hugely prolific and left an archive of over 5,300 works of art.

Herr Kuhfuss was also a man of conscience. In October of 1935, he was denounced by the Gestapo as member of the artist association “Berlin North”, for his resistance to the Nazi cultural propaganda and his defense of Jewish colleagues. Participation in art exhibitions in Berlin was no longer possible until after the war.

Berlin – A Case of Creeping Sameness

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Berlin – Great, In Spite of Itself

I don’t know how many of you remember Ian Shoales. He would do commentary and social observations in the 80’s and was my favorite segment on NPR’s All Things Considered. In one show he talked about the real intent and purpose of McDonalds. He suggested that their success and proliferation throughout America, and ultimately the world, is really about sameness and predictability. By offering the exact same Big Mac with Cheese in Columbus, Ohio as in Seattle, Washington you relieve the consumer/traveler of the anxiety of making a bad choice and you fill them with warmth and comfort. It doesn’t matter that it’s not the best burger, the important thing is the sameness. You combine this with, at least in the 80’s, the virtually identical pimple faced and polite teenager at the drive-thru window and all your fears and reservations are dispelled.

Our Hotel

Now fast forward to 2018 and the Global Village. We find that every major city we visit is striving for exactly the same thing. Wendi and I walked down the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin 26 years ago and stopped in beer halls, ate bratwurst and schnitzel while listening to Oom-pah bands blasting out German tunes to the delight of everyone. Now after spending three very hot days here we find it is more international then national. We went in search of the aforementioned schnitzel, bratwurst and beer halls but were confronted with pizza, pasta, falafel, curry, tacos and HipHop, anything that makes the visitor feel more at home and less here. With the exception of street signs almost everything German has been pushed aside and replaced with samples of cuisine and culture from other places. Even the new architecture would be at home in any major city in the world as more traditional buildings peek through the giant skyscrapers.

That’s Wendi’s hat.

Who know? Perhaps I’ve got it all wrong and that for decades Germans have been saying, “Hey, I gotta get me some of that fast food.”

Art’s The Thing

Man doesn’t live by sausage and beer alone. Does he? Anyway, art is really the thing that rings our bell and the art here is great, especially the German art.

We managed to make our way to four museums that were all terrific.

CO/Berlin

First up was the CO/Berlin, a contemporary photo museum that is showing an amazingly curated show of Polaroid images , most by the great German film director Wim Wender. He took the photos while traveling during the 70s and uses them to help illustrate the social significance this technology has had and how digital imagery is a direct offshoot of it. The Grandfather of the Selfie.

The Camera

Stock Image

Edwin Land attended Harvard University but did not finish his studies or receive a degree. His wife told his biographer that she would prod him for answers to homework problems, write up the work and turn it in so that he could receive credit for the course.

At work he would conceive of an idea, experiment and brainstorm, taking no breaks, until it was solved. Food was brought to him and he had to be reminded to eat. He was rumored to have worn the same clothes for eighteen consecutive days while working on a diffcult problem. As the company grew, Land had teams of assistants working in shifts at his side. As one group grew tired, the next was brought in to continue.

Polaroid originally manufactured sixty units of the First Land Camera. Fifty-seven went on sale at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston for the 1948 Christmas holiday. Polaroid marketers imagined they would have time enough to manufacture a second run before the first batch ran out but all fifty-seven cameras were sold on the very first day.

I was lucky enough to hear Edwin Land speak during an Icons of Photography series at MIT in Cambridge in the early 70s and he was quick to point out that he thought the initial attraction of the instant camera was so people could make “personal” pictures at home without having to take the film to a lab for development and “scrutiny”.

The Alte Nationalgalerie

Next up was the Alte Nationalgalerie, situated on Museum Island, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage site. This national gallery has an amazing permanent collection that includes a few of all the greats.

Wanderlust

The current exhibition, “Wanderlust”, follows art from 1800 through the early 1900s which illustrated Europeans new found love of the self-determined journey on foot that came to represent a new, intensified encounter with nature in particular and life in general. These wanderings represented a significant development of world knowledge for artists and writers who were trekking through the Alps and all over France, Germany, Norway, Great Britain, Denmark and Russia. Every painting in the show depicts a wanderer in the wilderness.

Loving to travel like we do, this show had a particular connection for us.

This famous painting “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich was the center piece and inspiration for the show. It has come to represent a metaphor for life, as we stand and look out across the great unknown.

“Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” – Caspar David Friedrich 1818

At a time when women were all trussed up, this was considered one of the first Feminist paintings, showing a woman wandering alone and dressed for freedom of motion.

“Bergstelgerin” – Jens Ferdinand Willumsen 1912

Gassies was inspired to paint this during his travels through England and Scotland. In this large painting he accentuates the winds ferocity with clearly visible brush strokes.

“Scottish Landscape” – Jean-Bruno Gassies 1826

Nolde paints a solitary traveler on a path that leads to an unclear destination, suggesting hardship and danger, somewhat popular themes during the Romantic period.

“Winter” – Emil Noide 1907

Most of the paintings in the show were on loan from other museums so most photography was verboten, but I did want to show a few pictures from the permanent collection that I thought were fun.

There was no nameplate on this so I have no idea who painted it. I can only hope that the model didn’t have to sit too long and got the sausages in the end.

Any of us who have spent time with children can relate to this.

“Small But Subborn” – Wilhelm Busch 1875

Before there was Disney there was Victor Müller.

“Snow White” – Victor Müller 1862

I’m thinking that Arnold Bocklin worried a bit about the passage of time.

Self-Portrait With Death Playing The Fiddle – Arnold Bocklin 1872

I love the Dutch. Leave to them to take what we think of as a solo pursuit, the women alone at her spinning wheel, and putting the whole village to work, even the kids.

“Flax Barn In Laren” – Max Liebermann 1887

For our dear friend Sabine.

“Sabine Lepsius” – Self-Portrait 1885

The Neues Museum

Right next door was the Neues Museum. We’re here for the “Margiana. A Bronze Age Kingdom in Turkmenistan” show and their collection of Egyptian artifacts.

I’m going to forego the broken pottery and jump right to the show stopper, the mysterious “Berlin Golden Hat”. This is the only fully preserved specimen of the four known conical Golden Hats from the late European Bronze Age, 1,000 to 800 BC. It is generally assumed that the hats were worn by priests of the Sun Cult that appears to have been widespread in Central Europe at the time. A detailed study of the Berlin example showed that the symbols represent a lunisolar calendar and would have aided the wearer/priest in predicting the dates and periods of both lunar and solar events.

The Berlin Golden Hat

The Museum für Fotografie

We finished our quick visit with an afternoon at the Museum für Fotografie. This museum is a joint collaboration between the Kunstbibliothek and the Helmut Newton Foundation and exhibits a huge array of contemporary photography that challenges our notions about what constitutes fine art photography and fashion photography.

Museum für Fotografie

These 9′ Amazon Women greet you in the main foyer. It’s funny to think that in the early 80s Helmut Newton shocked the fashion and photography world when he first exhibited them. Now they seem almost quaint, just good clean naked fun.

In the Aftermath of WWII

There’s no denying that, in regards to the horror of WWII, Berlin was the heart of the beast. Germany has recognized that to be a world leader they would have to expose Nazism for what it was and help educate the world about the events that help create the huge tragedy it represents. All of this is done with the hope that in knowledge is the power to stop this from ever happening again.

The Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror

The Topography of Terror is a documentation center that is visited by 1.5 million people a year and is one of the most frequently visited places of remembrance in Berlin. This is a fascinating site that gives a step by step historical account of exactly how the Nazi party came to seize power and convince an entire population to believe their lies and propaganda.

The Topography of Terror

Let’s not forget the Commies

Check Point Charlie

The Wall

The 17 June Memorial

This huge mural was created by the artist Wolfgang Rüppel and commemorates a worker upraising on June, 17, 1953. It’s original working title was, “The importance of peace for the cultural development of humanity and the necessity of struggle to achieve this goal.” Leave it to the Commies to overcomplicate things.

The 17 June Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial

The Holocaust Memorial

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, or Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial to all the Jewish victims of WWII. It was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. According to Eisenman’s project text, the stones are meant to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. Many visitors and Berliners have also interpreted the contrast between the grey flat stones and the blue sky as a recognition of the “dismal times” of the Holocaust. Needless to say there has been much controversy surrounding the site since it was first constructed in 2003. Regardless, over 1,000 people visit each day and it is truly sobering.

The Holocaust Memorial

On A Cheerier Note

We did manage to find schnitzel at the Duke restaurant in the Ellington Hotel. The food, beer and service were all great.

So what was I on about?

Tales of Tallinn

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The Journey

Helsinki Harbor

We sailed out of Helsinki Harbor on a beautiful sunny day for the 2 1/2 hour ferry ride to Estonia. The ship winds through the islands that dot the coast of Finland and then 80 km across the Baltic Sea.

Helsinki Harbor

Tallinn is Estonia’s capital and cultural hub. It retains its walled, cobblestoned old town, a 15th-century defensive tower, Gothic Town Hall, historic main square and numerous 13th-century churches. The only downside was that we were a little late in our discovery and found the place packed with tourists from all over the world. We tried to not let the crowds diminish our appreciation and spent a few days wandering Vanalinn, the old town, and marveling at the architecture.

The City Gates

Niguliste church & Tallinn Town Hall

Tallinn Town Hall

Niguliste Church,Tallinn Town Hall & Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Church of the Holy Spirit

Tallinn Town Hall & Niguliste Church

Doors Of Many Colors

I love the uniqueness of the doors. Everyone wants the front portal into their building to be a personal statement, like entrance art. I’m certain people have done entire books about them.

And a few passageways.

And a couple windows.

All Along The Watchtower

Large portions of the wall and many of it’s gates are still intact today. This has contributed to Tallinn’s old town being named a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Construction of the first wall surrounding Tallinn, known as the Margaret Wall, was begun in 1265 by Ruler Margaret Sambiria. In the beginning it was less than 16 ft tall and about 5 ft thick at the base but over the years it was enlarged considerably. By the fourteenth century all the citizens of Tallinn were required to serve guard duty, They had to wear armor and be prepared to fight off invaders.

Margaret Sambiria

Margie was a tough old bird with a reputation as a competent and enlightened ruler with a strong-willed and energetic personality. Her nicknames were ’Burst-horse’* and ‘Black Greta’.

When her husband, King Christopher of Denmark, demanded autonomy from the church it launched a full blown feud. The King insisted that the church pay taxes like any other land owner. Archbishop Jacob Erlandsen, the wealthiest man in the kingdom, refused and forbid any peasants who lived or worked on church properties to serve in Christopher’s Army. Erlandsen excommunicated the king and refused to recognize Christopher’s young son, Eric, as the rightful heir. That was the last straw, the King had the troublesome archbishop arrested and paraded him through the country wearing secular clothing and a fool’s cap with a fox tail . He was then chained and cast into prison.

But payback was swift and on May 29, 1259, in revenge for his mistreatment of Archbishop Erlandsen and oppression of the church, the King drank poisoned communion wine from the hands of one abbot Arnfast .

His son and heir, Eric V of Denmark, was still a child so Margaret was made regent until he reached maturity. Planning ahead, in 1263 Margaret successfully wrote to Pope Urban IV asking him to allow women to inherit the Danish throne. In 1266, her son, King Eric, granted her the rulership of Danish Estonia for life.

* Apparently there are documented cases of some horses racing so hard and fast that their hearts would literally burst.

Modern Tallinn

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that Tallinn is just an old place because it certainly isn’t. It’s a modern prospering and fast growing city with a vibrant downtown. The Rotermann district, in particular, is very cool with small shops and eateries of every description. Don’t hesitate to come, just try to make in the autumn after all the cruise ships and big busses have gone home.

See you in Berlin.

A Quick Scandinavian Drive-By

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We did a quick swing through Oslo and Helsinki. Unfortunately my camera froze up when I was leaving Scotland and I’ve been lost without it, like a ship without a rudder, like Lewis and Clarke without Sacajawea, Ying without Yang. It’s my guiding light, the thing that helps me keep the world in focus, no pun intended. Until I replaced it in Finland, I had to rely on my phone. Can you imagine, my phone! I’m a professional photographer not a telephone operator. Consequently, all I was able to put together was a sort of Mulligan Stew of images, but I have a new camera now so further crisis should be averted.

Oslo

Oslo Opera House

Founded in 1040, Oslo is the capital and most populous city of Norway. With just under 700,000 people, it is the fastest growing major city in Europe. The city is also the hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. In 2012 fDi magazine ranked Oslo number one in terms of quality of life among European large cities in the European Cities of the Future study. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Worldwide Cost of Living study in 2013, it tied with Melbourne, Australia as the fourth most expensive city in the world.

The Nobel Peace Center

Oslo Harbor

Frogner Park

Frogner Park

Frogner Park contains bridges, fountains and the well-known Vigeland or sculpture installation created by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943.

The Monolith – Frogner Park

Frogner Park

The Norsk Folkemuseum

Oslo is dotted with an assortment of Museums from Fine Art to Vikings. We decided to spent some time at the Norsk Folkemuseum, one of the world’s oldest and largest open-air museums, with 155 traditional houses from all parts of Norway and a stave church from the year 1200.

Norsk Folkemuseum

While there I discovered a bit about the Norwegian weather. It seems that with the exception of a short window of normalcy in the spring and fall, Norway has essentially two seasons, light and dark. It seems to me that a long season of 18 to 22 hour daylight sandwiched with another long stretch of 18 to 22 hour nighttime would create a certain level of anxiety.

And like the small flame at the top of a gas well, people need a way to burn off the excess adrenaline created by long periods of sleeplessness juxtaposed with equally lengthy periods of nonstop activity. I suppose they could chain smoke cigarettes or drink obsessively, but the Norwegians are far more practical then that.

They have decided to keep themselves busy with knitting. That’s right knitting. It is apparently a national obsession. Everyone knits, young, old, male, female, everyone!

I joke but don’t think for a minute that this was just fun and games or an idle pastime to while away the long hours. For many this was a means of survival and a source of national pride and identity.

The Exhibition Selbuvotter

Called two-threading knitting, it all began in the winter of 1857 when Marit Emstad knitted her first pair of Rose Mittens and wore them to church in her village of Selbu. These exquisitely handcrafted little hand warmers caught everyone’s attention and the method quickly spread from farm to farm and village to village. Families started to develop and name their own patterns and designs. Knitting became an increasingly important part of village life.

Initially in black patterns on a white background, red, blues and violets also became common for weddings, christenings and other celebrations.

In 1905 the age old production of millstones came to a halt and the mountain villagers need a new source of income. The merchant Frederik Birch turned his extensive marketing and sales network from millstones to knitwear. By the 1930s the Selbu Husflidsentral, Mitten Central, was formed to maintain strict quality control and by 1957 the export of these goods was bringing in over one million NOK a year.

The exhibit shows over 500 pairs all knitted between 2013 and 2016 to aid in the production of the Sebuvotter Book published in 2016.

Helsinki

Located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki has an urban population of about 1 1/4 million. The capital is by far Finland’s most populace city as well as it’s political, cultural, financial and educational center. It has one of the highest urban standards of of living in the world and was ranked the world’s most livable city by the British magazine Monocle in 2011. The 2016 the Economist Intelligence Unit’s livability survey ranked it ninth out of 140 cities. As you would expect it has great museums, terrific parks and very expensive restaurants.