Tonight's picture was taken the the day after Thanksgiving in 2008. Mattie and Peter had a post-Thanksgiving tradition. They would create a wonderful Christmas light display in our commons area for everyone to see! When they first started it, it was a simple string of lights. Then with each subsequent year the design GREW and a mechanical creature also seemed to be added to the layout from year to year. In 2008, Mattie selected the dog you see in this photo to be added to the display! The dog looked just like Scooby Doo (a character he LOVED)! The display had mechanical reindeer, snowmen, candy canes, you name it! People from all over our complex would tell us how much they LOVED our display and in fact it would inspire neighbors to decorate their balconies. After Mattie died, the tradition of decorating our common space also died.
Quote of the day: Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of human freedoms - To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. To choose one's own way. Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to chose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. ~ Viktor Frankl
(from left to right: Annette, Naomi, Karen, and Vicki)
I learned last night that one of Annette's son's was diagnosed with an inoperable form of brain cancer in March. So clearly though the type of cancer was different and the circumstances and age of her son also varied, Peter and I could very much relate to the psychosocial issues that her entire family are now facing and unfortunately will face for the rest of their lives.
Today we journeyed to Greenwich, CT, which isn't far from where we are staying in New York. About 17 miles!!! We visited the Bruce Museum and saw an exhibit entitled, "Northern Baroque Splendor: The Hohenbuchau Collection from: Liechtenstein. The Princely Collections, Vienna." Known as the “Golden Age” of Netherlandish art, the 17th century witnessed the birth of new genres of painting, from still life and landscape to scenes of everyday life. Indeed, by merging drama and dynamism with exacting naturalism and human sympathy, Northern Baroque artists created a new, enduringly compelling kind of painting. The Bruce Museum explores the variety and splendor of Northern Baroque Art across the 17th century. The Hohenbuchau Collection is one of the largest and most varied collections of Northern Baroque art assembled in recent years and is now on long-term loan from LIECHTENSTEIN, the Princely Collections, Vienna. This selective showing at the Bruce Museum is the inaugural venue in the U.S. before it travels to Cincinnati.
Primarily comprised of Dutch and Flemish 17th century paintings, it exhibits all the naturalism, visual honesty and technical brilliance for which those schools are famous. While many modern collections of Old Masters specialize in a single style or subject matter, the Hohenbuchau Collection is admirable for offering examples of virtually all the genres (figures, landscapes, still lifes) produced by Lowland artists; the collection is distinguished for the many quality individual paintings executed by more than one artist, working in collaboration.
There were 80 painting on display, I am showing four of the ones that caught my attention below!
"Temptation of Christ in a Broad Landscape" by Denys van Alsloot and Hendrick de Clerck ~ 1611
Hendrick de Clerck painted the figures and Denys van Alsloot painted the landscape and what made this a unique piece was they both signed this painting. This scene depicts the temptation of Christ in which Satan approached him dressed as a wily monk. There are many different scenes captured in this one painting! Another one was in the top left hand corner. Christ stands at the mountaintop surrounded by angels after refusing Satan's offer of the world's kingdoms in exchange for worship.
"The Holy Family Surrounded by a Garland of Roses" by Daniel Seghers and Simon de Vos
de Vos painted the Holy Family in the center, where Mary attends to needlework and Joseph chisels wood and Christ gathers good chips. While Segher's surrounding roses and ivy symbolizes Christian love and immortality.
These roses are absolutely breathtaking and truly capture your attention from clear across a room!
"Flowers in a vase, with a kingfisher and a lizard" by Jacob Marrell
This painting celebrates the tulip! Marrell was particularly drawn to the red and white striped tulip, which was rare and very expensive back then! This painting was done only two years before the famous "tulipomania" of 1636-37, when speculation of the bulb market reached dizzying heights and ruined many careers. Like many Dutch and Flemish Still Lifes, this bouquet could not have existed in reality in the 17th century because the various flowers depicted here were unable to bloom simultaneously (unlike today, in which we have access to flowers at any time of year, this wasn't the case back then, instead such a bouquet existed in one's mind ONLY). Therefore such paintings advertised the virtues and powers of these artists.
"Forest floor still life with thistles, reptiles, frog, snail, butterflies, and other insects" by Otto Marseus van Schrieck
What captures one's attention about this Flemish painting is the incredible use of luminosity and the fluorescent effect of the content portrayed within them! It was as if these butterflies were going to fly off the canvas and into the room! They were that beautifully done. Just vibrant, colorful, and aglow. So many of these paintings within this exhibit chase your attention because of their technique, color, and lighting. True works of art.
Wind Formation, Victoria Lower Glacier
In 2012, Diane Tuft traveled to Antarctica after receiving a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Artists and Writers Program. Her images chronicle the extraordinary results of that expedition with stunning photographs that capture Antarctica’s raw, untouched splendor with colors, textures, and compositions that verge on the surreal.
This is a photo of the Invertebrates found in the Antarctic waters! This wouldn't my cup of tea, but Mattie would have loved seeing these creatures in their jars! Mattie would have also appreciated the room devoted to feeding live crabs and horse shoe crabs at the museum! This was actually a very informative session in which we got to see how horse shoe crabs, whelk shells, and even clams and oysters process and eat food.
Vicki, Karen, and Naomi on Greenwich Avenue in downtown historic Greenwich, Connecticut! Mind you it was 32 degrees and freezing! Yet we were out walking in it.
I was the worst out of all of us, needing a break from the cold. So we ducked into a store to get warm! We landed up in a huge store that featured fine china, household items of all kinds and these adorable holiday displays.
Also on our adventure today, we drove through the exclusive community of Belle Haven! This is where I would say the life style of the Rich and Famous live! The houses are beautiful and tucked into this private and exclusive community is this charming and old world Inn, the Thomas Henkelmann Homestead Inn. http://www.homesteadinn.com/index.php
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