Diego Velasquez
Art Neuendorffer
> Pay no attention to Art. His idea of a "decent argument" includes
> the inference that a man born in 1923 would be 54 years old in 2001
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My idea of a "decent argument" includes the inference that
a Vere born in 1560 would *NOT* be 54 years old in 1609.
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http://www.westminster-abbey.org/library/burial/vere.htm
<<Sir Francis Vere (1560-1609) has a large monument of alabaster
and black marble showing him lying on a carved rush mattress in
civilian dress under a slab on which is laid out his suit of armour.
The slab is supported on the shoulders of four life-sized knights
in armour who kneel at each corner. The monument seems to have
been inspired by that of Count Engelbert II
of Nassau-Dillenburg in the church at Breda:
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/images/assets/web/P-SK-A-1011-00?coulisse
The Latin inscription can be translated:
To Francis Vere, Knight, son of Geoffrey and nephew of John earl of
Oxford, governor of Brill and Portsmouth, chief leader of the English
forces in Belgium, died 28 August 1609, in the 54th year of his age.
Elizabeth, his wife, in great sadness and sobbing with tears,
placed this supreme monument to conjugal faith and love.>>
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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark Act 5, Scene 2
PRINCE FORTINBRAS: Let four captains
Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage;
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http://www2.prestel.co.uk/littleton/gm2_dr.htm
<<At Westminster Abbey, a very costly tomb was erected in 1609 by the
grieving widow of the soldier-knight, Sir Francis Vere. This splendid
marble monument, which is still mentioned in Abbey literature, later
became the resting place for several other members of the Vere family.
Its design having been sculptured from a similar one existing at the
court of Nassau, in the Dutch town of Breda. And it is this Flemish
connexion that brings us to the next part of the epitaph in a quite
extraordinary way. 'Sieh All', the monument proclaims. The meaning
sounds clear, but the verb used is not an English word. It is from the
German tongue, and would have been in common use during the 16th
century, particularly in places where Low German was spoken. See! All,
That He Has Written, we are told. Have the Shakespeare papers really
lain undiscovered in Westminster Abbey since the early part of the
17th century? Was de Vere secretly interred in the family tomb at the
same time. The Abbey records are understandably silent on this matter,
but Percival Golding, a first cousin of de Vere, wrote a history of
the family in which he stated that 'Edward de Vere ... lieth buried
at Westminster', (The Armes, Honours, Matches and Issues of the
Ancient and Illustrious family of Veer).>>
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http://sharon.esrac.ele.tue.nl/pub/aprs/maps/BREDA.GIF
http://grid.let.rug.nl/~welling/maps/breda.jpg
"BREDA." 1911 Online Encyclopedia
http://84.1911encyclopedia.org/B/BR/BREDA.htm
<<BREDA, a fortified town in the province of North Brabant, Holland,
at the confluence of the canalized rivers Merk and Aa. The fortress of
Breda, which was once considered impregnable, has been dismantled, but
the town is still protected by extensive lines of fortification and
lies in the midst of a district which can be readily laid under water.
The principal Protestant church is a Gothic building dating from the
end of the 13th century, with a fine tower, and a choir of later date
(1410). Among the many interesting monuments is the imposing tomb of
the stadtholder Count Engelbert II. of Nassau and his wife. This is
the work of Tomasino Vincenz of Bologna, who, though a pupil of
Raphael in painting, in sculpture followed Michelangelo,
to whom the work is sometimes ascribed.
Breda was captured by surprise by the Spaniards in. 1581; but in 1590
it fell again into the hands of Maurice of Nassau, 68 picked men
contriving to get into the town concealed under *THE TURF* in a
peat-boat. The so-called Spaniards Hole still marks the spot where the
peat-boat lay. Its surrender in 1625, after a ten months siege, to
the Spaniards under Spinola is the subject of the famous picture
by Velasquez in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. In 1637 Breda was
recaptured by Frederick Henry of Orange after a four months siege,& in
1648 it was finally ceded to Holland by the treaty of Westphalia.
Breda was the residence, during his exile, of Charles II., who, by
the declaration of Breda (1660), made known the conditions of his
acceptance of the crown of England. In 1696 William, prince of Orange
and king of England, built the new castle, one of the finest
buildings of the period, which now serves as the military academy.>>
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http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/velazquez/breda.jpg
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McDavity's a Mystery Strat: he's pompous & he's pious,
For he's the master Goon who denies he has a bias.
He's the BAFFLEment of the S.O.S., the Fellowship's despair:
But when museum security arrives - McDavity's not there!
McDavity, McDavity, there's no one like McDavity,
He's broken EVERy skeptic law, he even broke the glass o' Dee.
His powers of levitation would curl John Baker's hair,
But when a crime's discoVERED, then McDavity's not there!
When the Oslo museum finds a Munch has gone astray,
Or Drumlanrig Castle loses some Da Vinci by the way,
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair -
But it's useless to investigate - McDavity's not there!
And when the loss has been disclosed, the Nautonnier says:
"It must have been McDavity: he forgot the Velazquez!"
You'll be sure to find him resting, or about to take a pee,
Or engaged in some complex algebraic topology.
McDavity, McDavity, there's no one like McDavity,
There nEVER was a Strat of so deceitful a depravity
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare:
At whatEVER time the deed took place - McDavity WASN'T THERE!
And they say of all the Strats whose wicked deeds are widely known
(I might mention Ross-a-Terry, I might mention house-a-Stone)
They're nothing more than agents for the Goon who all the TIME
Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of CRIME!
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June 6, 1533: Ludovico Ariosto dies
June 6, 1579: a William Shaxper DROWNS in the Avon river
June 6, 1599: Diego Velasquez born
June 6, 1799: Pushkin born
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http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/velazquez/
<<Velázquez (or Velásquez), Diego (1599-1660). Spain's greatest
painter was also one of the supreme artists of all time. A master
of technique, highly individual in style, Diego Velasquez may have
had a greater influence on European art than any other painter.
Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez was born in Seville, Spain,
presumably shortly before his baptism on June 6, 1599. His father
was of noble Portuguese descent. In his teens he studied art with
Francisco Pacheco, whose daughter he married. The young Velasquez
once declared, "I would rather be the first painter of common things
than second in higher art." He learned much from studying nature.
After his marriage at the age of 19, Velasquez went to Madrid. When
he was 24 he painted a portrait of Philip IV, who became his patron.
The artist made two visits to Italy. On his first, in 1629,
he copied masterpieces in Venice & Rome. He returned to Italy
20 years later & bought many paintings--by Titian, Tintoretto,
& Paolo Veronese--and statuary for the king's collection.
Through acquaintance, while in Italy, with the work of Caravaggio,
he learned something of the potentialities of a very limited
palette, black & neutrals, as is evident in many of his
portraits, which are subtle harmonies of grays & blacks.
Except for these journeys Velasquez lived in Madrid as court painter.
In 1660 Velasquez had charge of his last & greatest ceremony--the
wedding of the Infanta Maria Theresa to Louis XIV of France.
This was a most elaborate affair. Worn out from these labors,
Velasquez contracted a fever from which he died on August 6.
Velasquez was called the "noblest and most commanding man among the
artists of his country." He was a master realist, and no painter has
surpassed him in the ability to seize essential features and fix them
on canvas with a few broad, sure strokes. Because of Velasquez' great
skill in merging color, light, space, rhythm of line, and mass in
such a way that all have equal value, he was known as "the painter's
painter." Ever since he taught Bartolomé Murillo, Velasquez has
directly or indirectly led painters to make original contributions to
the development of art. Others who have been noticeably influenced by
him are Francisco de Goya, Camille Corot, Gustave Courbet, Edouard
Manet, and James McNeill Whistler. His famous paintings include
The Surrender of Breda, an equestrian portrait of Philip IV,
The Spinners, The Maids of Honor, Pope Innocent X, Christ
at Emmaus, and a portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa.>>
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August 6, 1945 => Hiroshima Transfigured.
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<<August 6 => Feast of the Transfiguration, marking Jesus' going up on
Mount Tabor and being seen in great radiance by Sts Peter and John,
in the presence of the prophets Elijah and Moses.>>
http://www.nortexinfo.net/McDaniel/0806.htm
On August 6, 1862, Dodgson wrote in his diary:
<<In the afternoon Harcourt and I took the three Liddells up to
Godstow, where we had tea; we tried the game of "The Ural Mountains"
on the way, but it did not prove very successful, and I had to go on
with my interminable fairy-tale of _Alice's Adventures_. We got back
soon after eight, and had supper in my rooms, the children coming over
for a short while. A very enjoyable expedition-the last, I should
think, to which Ina is likely to be allowed to come-her 14th time.>>
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"Nosey" Parker [Archb. of Cant.] born August 6, 1504
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<<On August 6, 1623, longtime friend & protectorof Galileo
Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope Urban VIII.>>
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On August 6, 1623, Anne Hathaway dies in Stratford
following a rare OCCULTATION of Uranus by Jupiter.
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/aramirez/cielos/remoto/occplan.html
Greg. date/time
1623/08/15 16.51 0°00'04"99 JUP - URA 15.58" 1.81" 9W
[Surely someone must have seen these two planets
close together with one of the new telescopes!
Uranus is practically visible to the naked eye.]
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On the 14th anniversary of Anne Hathaway's death [August 6, 1637]
Ben Jonson was BURIED UPRIGHT against the wall of his crypt.
'Two feet by two feet will do for all I want'. - Jonson
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August 6, 1660 : DieGo VElASquez dies
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<<LAS VEGAS (Reuter) 1/21/97 - ``Colonel'' Tom Parker, Elvis
Presley's manager for 22 years, died of a stroke on Tuesday at age
87. Little is known about Parker's early life. The 1993 edition of the
Almanac of Famous People lists Parker as probably born in 1910 in
Breda, the Netherlands, and lists a variant of his name as Andreas
Cornelius Van Kuijk. Parker worked in carnivals before beginning to
manage singers in the 1940s. Some accounts have portrayed Presley and
Parker as having had a stormy relationship and suggested that Parker
managed the star's life with an iron fist. Parker managed Presley's
career from 1955 until his death in 1977, guiding the singer from
obscurity to worldwide fame as a rock 'n' roll idol and movie star.
The ``Colonel'' was an honorary title. ``He was the world's greatest
manager in my estimation. He took a boy singer from the streets of
Memphis (Tennessee) and made him into one of the world's greatest
superstars,'' said Banke, publicist for the Las Vegas Hilton.
Parker told Variety in 1994 that he had had lots of offers
to write books about Presley but had turned them all down.
``You know what they want -- dirt,'' Parker said.
``I'm not a dirt farmer.''>>
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Art Neuendorffer