Immortality through Art-Photography

Immortality through Art - Music

Music is a form of art that uses sound elements- pitch, rhythm, and dynamics- and silence to express feelings, thoughts, and ideas. It has been considered a powerful universal language by many in that it appeals to human emotions which are universal.
Most of us have listened to Bach’s "Toccata And Fugue In D Minor" composed in 1707, Handel’s "Water Music" composed in 1717, Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons" composed in 1723, Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” composed in 1787, Boccherini’s "Minuet" composed in 1771 or Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 5" composed in 1808. They sound as new and refreshing as they did the day they were played the first time, don’t they?

I hope you will agree with me, after listening to the following "older" compositions, that though less known to most of the public they are as beautiful.

“O Maria Virgine” composed by Anonymous in the 12^thcentury and interpreted by the vocal ensemble In Mulieribus - http://www.earlymusic.org/audio/o-maria-virgine

"N'aray je jamais mieulx que j'ay", a splendid Rondeau (a secular piece of music) for three voices composed in the second half of the 15^th century by English composer of the early Renaissance, Robert Morton- http://www.earlymusic.org/audio/play/1615.

Early Venetian lute pieces written at the end of the 15^th century - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWsigszVR0M&feature=share&list=UUVi-RPZ7d68-hz_C2BpnrOg

Renaissance Gigue written in the early 17^th century by the French composer Jean_Lacquemant DuBuisson and played by Martina Kirchhof, Viola da Gamba; Lutz Kirchhof, Baroque Lute- http://www.earlymusic.org/audio/play/4214

Baroque Allemande composed by Martino Pesenti in the 17^th century played by Duo Kirchhof (Lutz Kirchhorf, Baroque Lute & Martina Kirchhof, Viola da Gamba) -http://www.earlymusic.org/audio/play/4008

Each of these masterpieces are as young and fresh as centuries ago. They didn't "age" did they? They are immortal.

Immortality through Art-Famous Monuments

Please join me in admiring some of the legendary monuments, places of worship, structures, and buildings in the world that are a living proof of human  ingenuity.

1. Stonehenge, prehistoric monument in UK built between 3000-2000 BC

2. Egyptian Great Pyramid and the Sphinx at Giza were built between 2584–2561 BC

 

 

3.  Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines, built in the mountains of Ifuago 2000 years ago

4. The Parthenon, in the Acropolis of Athens, Greece , built between 432–447 BC

 

5. The Coliseum (Colosseum), Rome, Italy, built ca. 70–80 AD

 6. Tower of London , UK, built in  1078  

 

7. The Great Wall of China (The Ming Dynasty) is  8,851.8 km (5,500 miles) long and was built between 1368-1644

8. Taj Mahal, Agra, India, built in 1632–1653

 

 

9. The Royal Palace in Amsterdam , the Netherlands, completed in  1665



10. The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia,  built in 1764

 

11. The Statue of Liberty, New York City, US, built in 1886

 12. The Eiffel Tower in Paris , France, built between 1887-1889

Immortality through Art-Famous Paintings

Exceptional art in all its forms (music, writing, painting, sculpting, architecture) transcends time, it endures; as a result it becomes immortal.

 

Among the most famous Paleolithic cave paintings I will name here the polychrome rock paintings of the Lascaux Caves in  Southwestern France, and Altamira caves in Northern Spain whose paintings are estimated to be 17,300 years old. The Lascaux Caves have nearly 2,000 figures which represent large animals, mostly horses, bulls, stags, human figures and abstract signs, some more beautiful than the others.

Have a look at the images of the  horse and the deer in Lascaux

and this bison in Altamira.

I am sure you will agree with me in that the Cro-Magnon peoples, who painted them in the Old Stone Age, had a genuine artistic skill and sense of color. Both Lascaux and Altamira caves , due to their outstanding cultural importance , belong to the common heritage of mankind.and are on UNESCO World Heritage List (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/).

Botticelli’s Primavera (c 1482),

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa or La Gioconda (c 1507),

 

Rembrandt’s The Night Watch (1642),

 

 

Vermeer ‘s Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665),

 

Monet’s Mouth of the Seine (1865)

 

are just a few of the world painting masterpieces that long outlived their artists and thus became immortal.

 

The same goes for world famous sculptures, poems, novels, musical and architectural pieces. Regardless of their age they represent cultural "landmarks" and "milestones" in human creation which still inspire and amaze us all.





My Precious Inexpensive Paintings

All oil paintings in this blog are hand painted originals on canvas unless indicated otherwise. Some are signed, some not. All are, to my humble opinion, masterpieces in their own right.

Ladies on the beech signed by Tyler, dimensions: 8" x 10"

 

White peonies signed by Enderby, dimensions: 18.5" x 22.5"

 

 

 

Original seascape print by Latty J. Bauchard, dimensions: 24.25" x 30.25"

 

 

Original watercolor by Jean Buchanan

 

 

 

Ah Painting!

What would be our lives without paintings? Dull, bland, and sad.

Painting is the oldest way of expressing human creativity in the process of applying color to a surface with a brush, a sponge, a rock, a knife, or own fingers. It appeared long before writing, around 25,000-30,000 years BP (Before the Present), when  hunters painted pictures on cave walls.

Nevertheless, some historians claim that the paintings at the Grotte Chauvet in France, which are the oldest in the world, are approximately 32,000 years old.

From the prehistoric cave paintings to Claude Monet's Seine Basin with Argenteuil (1872) the visual arts have come a long way; the impact on us, however, is the same: admiration, pleasure, and joy.

 

And now my small collection of oil and watercolor paintings, and ink pen drawings. None are made by me. Some are originals some very good copies. Enjoy!

What is about Life...

...that makes it worth living? I say it is the beauty in nature, people, things that surrounds us and last but not least in the human spirit. How many of you believe that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?" It is still true after so many centuries of existence. This adage first appeared in the 3rd century BC in Greek, then later was adopted by John Lyly, Shakespeare ("Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye"), Benjamin Franklin, and David Hume. Nevertheless, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford, was the writer who created the idiom in its current form in 1878.

Welcome to my blog. Fill your spirit with images of my precious, inexpensive paintings, positive thoughts, and natural remedies.

Carpe Diem! Seize the moment! Wise men advised mankind centuries ago. Advice still stands.

Splendour in the Grass

What though the radiance

 which was once so bright

 Be now for ever taken from my sight,

 Though nothing can bring back the hour

 Of splendour in the grass,

 of glory in the flower,

 We will grieve not, rather find

 Strength in what remains behind;

 In the primal sympathy

 Which having been must ever be;

 In the soothing thoughts that spring

 Out of human suffering;

 In the faith that looks through death,

 In years that bring the philosophic mind.

-- William Wordsworth