Category: Uncategorized

In 1914, Egon Schiele’s works were exhibited around Germany as part of the travelling Werkbund Exhibition, and in Rome, Brussels and Paris. In the summer, he started making drypoint etchings.

Egon Schiele (1890–1918), Krumau an der Moldau (The Small Town III) (1913-14), oil and black chalk on canvas, 99.5 x 120.5 cm, Die Sammlung Leopold, Vienna, Austria. Image by Yelkrokoyade, via Wikimedia Commons.

Krumau an der Moldau (The Small Town III) (1913-14) is based on a view over the town of Krumau from Castle Hill, which is on the opposite bank of the river. Comparison with photographs reveals how faithful this painting is, but Schiele replaced a more modern block of flats at the lower right with a building which appears more in keeping with the mediaeval town.

Although Schiele has continued to remove much of the depth from his view, its buildings still retain some degree of perspective, as…

Genever is a variant spelling of Jenever, the Dutch form of Juniper, referring to a shrub or tree with dark-blue berry-like cones that can be used for flavoring gin and has some medicinal use; Jenever is the name of a Dutch wine flavored with juniper. It comes from Latin iuniperus (juniper tree), of uncertain origin though it’s been linked to Latin iuncus (rush, reed) derived from a PIE source. It sounds similar to Jennifer but the two are not related in any way.

Origin: Latin, Proto-Indo-European

Pinterest

Variants:

• Jenever (Dutch, English)
• Genievre (French)
• Genièvre (French)

For those of us who live beyond the Tropics, I look on autumn/fall as being compensation in advance for what we’re about to suffer in the winter, and Spring as our reward for getting through. In this and the next article, I’d like to celebrate over three centuries of magnificent paintings of the spectacle which we enjoy during the autumn. I will keep my commentary to a minimum, and just let you enjoy these marvellous paintings.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526/7–1593), Autumn (1573), oil on canvas, 76 x 64 cm, Musée du Louvre, Paris. Wikimedia Commons.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), An Autumn Landscape with a View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (c 1636), oil on oak, 131.2 x 229.2 cm, The National Gallery (Sir George Beaumont Gift, 1823/8), London. Courtesy of and © The National Gallery, London.

One of Rubens’ last paintings, made during his ‘retirement’ and probably within five…

At the start of 1912, Egon Schiele was living with his model Wally Neuzil in the town of Neulengbach, to the west of Vienna. Even there, his lifestyle attracted attention, and local kids started hanging about his studio. In April, this led to an allegation that he had seduced a girl who was under the age of consent, and he was arrested and held in custody during the investigation.

While he was in prison, his studio was searched, and his drawings and paintings of nude figures were discovered, and some confiscated. The charges were therefore extended to include the exhibition of erotic images in a place where children could see them. It was of that, rather than seduction of a minor, for which he was eventually found guilty. He served a further three days in prison as his sentence, and worse still the judge burned one of his drawings in…

Between 1897-1907, although primarily trained as a painter, Kolo Moser (1868–1918) was one of the foremost designers in central Europe. He was first a teacher then a professor at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, holding the latter post until his death. His friend, the architect and designer Josef Hoffmann, designed the Jugendstil house that Moser moved into, and Moser himself designed its furniture.

Koloman Moser (1868–1918), Trout Swimming (1899), design for fabric, watercolour and pencil on paper, 44 x 38 cm, Private collection. Wikimedia Commons.

Among the many products which Moser designed were fabrics manufactured by Backhausen, for whom he produced this drawing of Trout Swimming in 1899. This coincided with a phase in Klimt’s work in which fish, air bubbles, and water appeared, for example in his Fish Blood (1898), published in the Secession’s magazine Ver Sacrum, and Mermaids (Silverfish) (c 1899): see this article.

Koloman…

Regardless of political views and personal sentiments many people would openly admit that in terms of their national anthem, the former German Democratic Republic definitely managed to do something right.

Auferstanden aus Ruinen – “Risen from Ruins” – had a gripping melody and an intensely moving text. The song became the official national anthem of the GDR on November 5, 1949.

On that day the new state’s (the GDR itself was born only in October that year) chief executive body, the Council of Ministers of the GDR, announced its decision concerning the choice of the national anthem. With music written by Hanns Eisler (in a record time of three weeks!) and the lyrics by a poet Johannes Robert Becher who later became the East German Minister of Culture, the song was melodious without being too difficult, poignant without being overwhelming and focused on the most burning issue in German politics at the…