Saturday, April 29, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: Vermeer v. Veronese

Jan Vermeer
1632 - 1675

1528 - 1588



Friday, April 28, 2017

Michael5000 vs. Shakespeare: The Merry Wives of Windsor


The Play: The Merry Wives of Windsor










Thursday, April 27, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round Elimination: van Ruisdael v. Sánchez Cotán!

Jacob van Ruisdael
1628 - 1682

Juan Sánchez Cotán
1561 - 1637


Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination TIEBREAK: Raeburn v. Renoir!

Here's the back half of the Second-Round Elimination Tiebreak that we kicked off last week.

Sir Henry Raeburn
1756 - 1823

Pierre Auguste Renoir
1841 - 1919


Monday, April 24, 2017

The New Monday Quiz wishes you the joy of the Feast of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen

Since our Saint of the Month for April wasn't, strictly speaking, "real" -- but rather a "Hilarious April Fool's Gag" -- today we will celebrate the feast day of St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen with a New Monday Quiz about his life, times, and works.

1. St. Fidelis was born as Mark Roy in 1577. In that same year, Queen Elizabeth of England commissioned a privateering voyage that was successful both in seizing Spanish treasure -- a 4700% percent profit on investment! -- and as a voyage of discovery, circumnavigating of the world. The flagship, originally called the Pelican, was renamed the Golden Hind during the voyage. Who was the captain?

2. Roy was, as his later name implies, born in Sigmaringen. Here's a map showing where that is. In what modern country is Sigmaringen located?

3. We read that, as a student, Roy avoided alcohol and practiced chastity; apparently this sets him apart from other students. In the same passage, we see that he always wore a cilice. What's a cilice, and why do people wear them?

4. After getting his doctorate, Roy taught philosophy at the University of Freiburg. A later philosophy prof at Freiburg is "widely acknowledged to be one of the most original and important philosophers of the 20th century." Supporters point to his 1927 classic Being and Time, his influential argument that "being" or "being-in-the-world" is more central to human experience than rationality, and his contributions to the fields of phenomenology and existentialism. Critics, however, sometimes suggest that his densely argued prose veers perilously close to gibberish, and note that he was a bit of a Nazi tool. Who is this famous philosopher?

5. Roy took the name of Fidelis when he entered the Capuchin order. The modern beverage we call "Cappuccino" takes its name from "Capuchin" -- what is the basic recipe for cappuccino?

6. Fidelis was sent to the Prättigau district of eastern Switzerland in 1622 to convert Calvinists to Catholicism. What are two examples of something that Calvinists believe that Catholics don't, or vice versa?

7. Fidelis's team arrived in Prättigau on the Feast of the Epiphany. What's an example of an epiphany, without the capital E?

8. Because the locals were hostile to his missionary efforts, Fidelis predicted that he would soon be "food for the worms." 259 years later, Charles Darwin would write of worms that "It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures." What makes worms so important?

9. On April 24, 1622, St. Fidelis was killed by Austrian soldiers. A few days later, a British ship called the Tryall, sailing much too far south and east on the way to Batavia, became the third European vessel to spot what large landmass?

10. St. Fidelius was canonized in 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV. Like many older guys of his time, and a rapidly increasing number in our own time, Pope Benedict struggled with gout. What is gout?

Answers go in the comments! 

Two weeks ago, The New Monday Quiz celebrated fours and tens, on account of how it was 4/10. The answers were:
1. Elements 4 and 10 are Beryllium and Neon.
2. In Genesis 4:10, God is scolding Cain for slaying Abel.
3. Nephi 4:10 begins with the formula "it came to pass," like so many passages of the Book of Mormon.
4. Four Ten was a British racehorse.
5. The fourth and tenth most populous countries are Indonesia and Japan.
6. The answer to the math problem is a gross, or 144.
7. The answer to the other math problem is that no, its diagonal is the square root of 116, which is less than 11 inches, 11 being the square root of 121.
8. If it's "fourth and ten," it's American football and the next play will almost certainly be either a punt or, if the team on offense is far enough down the field, an attempt at a field goal.
9. You could beat four tens with four... queens, for instance, or a straight flush -- five cards in numerical order from the same suit.
10a. the prolific composer is Mozart; 10b the Beatles album is Yellow Submarine.
Out of all the rightness on display in the answers, DrSchnell's rightness was unblemished and absolute!  This makes him the master in perpetuity of all realms of knowledge that involve the intersection of four things and ten things.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: Vasarely v. Velázquez

Victor Vasarely
1908 - 1997
Hungarian; worked in France.


Diego de Silva y Velázquez
1599 - 1660



Friday, April 21, 2017

The Game of Reading Deals With its Abandonment Issues



Game of Reading 1.01 Rules Patch







What's the State of Play?



And of course...

What do you have on your to-read list?

Thursday, April 20, 2017

The Semi-Finals: Benton v. Krøyer!

Third Thursday: Bringing big names to your mid-month!

"Semifinals" designates the Fourth to Seventh Rounds of the Infinite Art Tournament.  This is a Fifth Round Match.  It pits Thomas Hart Benton (4-0-1, 41-19, .683), who just beat Kandinsky by a single vote, against Peter Severin Krøyer (4-0, 37-17, .685), who beat Georges de La Tour, also by a single vote.

Thomas Hart Benton
1889 - 1975
Thomas Hart Benton was one of America's most popular and heavily patronized modern artists during the decades leading up to World War II, and his murals were especially acclaimed.... While his subjects were primarily based in America's heartland, he lived in New York City for twenty years. Considered by many to be reactionary due to his outspoken and inflammatory diatribes against the art world, Benton, a populist, did in fact boldly use his art to protest the KKK, lynching, and fascism during the 1930s and 1940s.... The advent of Abstract Expressionism has all but eclipsed Benton's importance in the history of modern art. - The Art Story

Peter Severin Krøyer
1851 - 1900
The combination of Krøyer's technical bravado and the persistent appeal of his Skagen imagery have made it difficult for art scholars in Denmark to resist him; at the same time, however, the frivolity of content in his paintings has left scholars reticent to give him full credit for his creative enterprise. When the question of substance in Krøyer's paintings is taken up, the reference is often somewhat apologetic. "Krøyer is so masterly in his handling," wrote Krøyer's contemporary N. V. Dorph in 1902, "that he would have to reach great heights to match it with content of commensurate significance. And those heights, he never reaches. There is an undeniable disparity between spirit and hand in Krøyer's art." - Nineteenth Century Art Worldwide
  • Thumped Leon Kossoff in Round 1.
  • Crushed American Jeff Koons, albeit with gentle lyricism, in Round 2.
  • On recount, was found to have beaten Florentine master Domenico Ghirlandaio in Round 3 by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
  • Beat Georges de La Tour in the Fourth Round by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Second-Round Elimination TIEBREAK: Ghiberti v. Reni!

We are gathered here today to get into this thing called a Second-Round Elimination Tiebreak.  It is occasioned by the tying up of Guido Reni and Pierre August Renoir.  They'll pair off against Lorenzo Ghiberti and Sir Henry Raeburn, who tied in an earlier tiebreaker after initially stalemating against William Holman Hunt and Ljubov Popova, respectively.  Got it?  Good.  

Lorenzo Ghiberti
1378 - 1455

Guido Reni
1575 - 1642


Monday, April 17, 2017

Through History With the New Monday Quiz: the 1420s












Through History with The New Monday Quiz: the 1410s

1. The Yongle Emperor restored the Grand Canal.
2. The Teutonic Knights began their decline at Tannenburg.
4. Zheng He was the epic voyager.
8. Portugal began its colonial expansion.


Saturday, April 15, 2017

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round One: Utrillo v. Vallotton!

Maurice Utrillo
1883 - 1955


Félix Vallotton
1865 - 1925

