Month: April 2018

Calendar: April 12

 

A Year: Day to Day Men: 12th of April

Bruno in the Half-Light

April 12, 1484 was the birthdate of the Italian architect, Antonio de Sangallo the Younger.

Antonio Sangallo was born into a family of artists; his grandfather Vrancesco Giamberti was a woodworker, and his uncles Giuliano and Antonnio de Sangallo were noted architects of the time. The young Sangallo followed his uncles to Rome to pursue a career in architecture; he quickly became an apprentice under Donato Bramante, who introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome.

Sangallo eventually drew the attention of the Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (who would later become the Pope Paul III), from whom he received a number of commissions. He designed for the Farnese family the Palace on the Piazza Farnese and the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena in the town of Gradoli. He also designed fortifications for Capo di Monte and Caprarola, which became the Farnese’s country estate.

He was one of several artists hired to design the Villa Madama by Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, the future Pope Clement VII, becoming personally responsible for the final design of the building itself. Through these projects, Sangallo acquired the reputation of a master architect in the city of Rome. When his teacher Bramante died in 1514, Sangallo, along with Raphael and Giovanni Giocondo, was appointed to oversee the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica by Pope Leo X. Sangallo was hired extensively by Leo X, not only as an architect, but also as an engineer tasked to restore and save a number of buildings.

Sangallo had maintained a good relationship with the popes, and thus was constantly involved in the designing and building process of Saint Peter’s Basilica from 1513 until at least 1536. As “capomaestro”, he was in charge of the day-to-day construction on the basilica for many years. He also created a design for the basilica, of which a wooden model exists today.

Sangallo was also a noted military architect, working on the fortifications of numerous cities such as Parma, Placenza and Ancona. In Orvieto, he was also tasked by Pope Clement VII with building a well, called Saint Patrick’s Well, noted as a marvel of engineering. Its double helix ramps around a central open shaft allowed oxen carrying water to go down via one of the ramps and up via the other without having to turn around; despite its 175-foot depth, the ramps are well lit through windows cut into the center section.

Calendar: April 11

A Year: Day to Day Men: 11th of April

A Hurried Pace

April 11, 1869 was the birthdate of Adolf Gustav Thorsen, the Norwegian sculptor.

Gustav Thorsen was sent to Oslo as a youth to learn wood carving at a local school. However, the sudden death of his father compelled him to move back to Mandal, his birthplace, to help his family. Thorsen later lived for a time with his grandparents on a farm in Vigeland. He returned to Oslo in 1888, this time determined to be a professional sculptor.

In the late 1880s, Thorsen adopted adopted the new family surname, ’Vigeland’, from the area where he and his grandparents had lived. He came to the attention of sculptor Brynjulf Bergslien, who supported him and gave him practical training. In 1889 Gustav Vigeland exhibited his first work, “Hagar and Ishmael”. 

Gustav Vigeland spent the years 1891 to 1896 in several voyages abroad, which included periods at  Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin and Florence. He frequented Auguste Rodin’s workshop in the French capital and experimented with ancient and Renaissance artworks in Italy. In these years the themes that would later dominate Vigeland’s inspiration, death and the relationship between man and woman, first appeared. He held his first personal exhibitions in Norway in 1894 and 1896, which received notable critical praise. By 1905 Vigeland was considered the most talented Norwegian sculptor and received numerous commissions for statues and busts of renowned compatriots.

In 1906 Vigeland proposed a chalk model for a monumental fountain. Initially, the idea of the Oslo municipality was to put the fountain in Eidsvolis Plass, the square in front of the Parliament of Norway. Vigeland’s work was generally welcomed, but the location created a dispute and the completion of the work was postponed. In the meantime He enlarged the original project plans, adding several sculpture groups and a high granite column in 1919.

Gustav Vigeland moved to his new studio on Nobels gate in the borough of Frogner during 1924. The studio was located in the vicinity of Frogner Park, which he had chosen as the definitive location for his fountain. Over the following twenty years, Vigeland was devoted to the project of an open exhibition of his works, which becam what is now known as Vigeland Sculpture Arrangement (Vigelandsanlegget) in Frogner Park. The Vigeland installation features 212 bronze and granite sculptures all designed by Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures culminate in the famous Monolith with its 121 figures struggling to reach the top of the sculpture.

James Fisher

James Fisher, “Althea R”

“The way in which I make the paintings is strongly influenced by Ukiyo-e Japanese woodblock printing. This is evident in the areas of flat translucent colour laid in layers over textured surfaces to build images. References to Japanese lacquer work and textiles are made through decorative and metallic inlays within the painting surfaces.

I have also been considering how biography can be worked with as another form of fabrication in terms of myth making and telling stories about our selves. My paintings are titled with reference to biography and enable me in particular to explore the lives of notable – forgotten – women. By using the names of (often ghostly) characters – from folklore or comics, for example – I am also able to conflate biography with fiction: making things with making things up.”

-James Fisher, 2016

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Bagpipes, “The Gael”

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Bagpipes, “The Gael”

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army.

The regiment has its own Pipes and Drums, who were first formed in 1946 and tour widely, performing in parades, concerts, and competitions. Their “Amazing Grace” performance piece reached number one in the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa in 1972.

Tom Robbins: “Flesh is Water. Stones are like Bones. Satisfied. Patient.”

Photographers Unknown, Faces of Man : Flesh and Stone

“Bones are patient. Bones never tire nor do they run away. When you come upon a man who has been dead many years, his bones will still be lying there, in place, content, patiently waiting, but his flesh will have gotten up and left him. Water is like flesh. Water will not stand still. It is always off to somewhere else; restless, talkative, and curious. Even water in a covered jar will disappear in time. Flesh is water. Stones are like bones. Satisfied. Patient. Dependable. Tell me, then, Alobar, in order to achieve immortality, should you emulate water or stone? Should you trust your flesh or your bones?”

–Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

Calendar: April 10

 

A Year: Day to Day Men: 10th of April

In Cool Water

Mount Tambora’s eruptions reached a violent climax on April 10, 1815.

Mount Tambora is on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia. It experienced several centuries of dormancy before 1815, caused by the gradual cooling of the hydrous magma in its closed magma chamber. During this cooling, crystallization of the magma occurred. resulting in an over-pressurization of the chamber and a rising of the temperature. In 1812, the volcano began to rumble and generated a dark cloud.

On the 5th of April in 1815, a very large eruption occurred, followed by thunderous detonation sounds heard in Makassar on Sulawesi 240 miles away, and as far as Ternate on the Molucca Islands 870 miles away. On the morning of April 6, volcanic ash began to fall in East Java with faint detonation sounds lasting until the 10th of April. Detonation sounds were heard on  April 10th at Sumatra, more than 1,600 miles away.

At about 7 pm on April 10th, the eruptions intensified. Three columns of flame rose up and merged. The whole mountain was turned into a flowing mass of “liquid fire”. Pumice stones of up to 8 inches in diameter started to rain down around 8 pm, followed by ash at around 9–10 pm. Pyroclastic flows cascaded down the mountain to the sea on all sides of the peninsula, wiping out the village of Tambora. Loud explosions were heard until the next evening, April 11. The ash veil spread as far as West Java and South Sulawesi.

The explosion had an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7 (on a scale of 0 to 8) making it one of the most powerful in recorded history. An estimated 10 cubic miles of pyroclastic rock were ejected, weighting about 10 billion tons. This left a caldera measuring about four miles across and 2,300 feet deep. Before the explosion, Mount Tambora’s peak elevation was about 14,100 feet, making it one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago. After the explosion, its peak elevation had dropped to 9,354 feet, about two thirds of its previous height.

The 1855 Zollinger report puts the number of direct deaths at 10,000, probably caused by pyroclastic flows. On Sumbawa island, 38,000 people starved to death; on Lombok island about 10,000 people died from disease and hunger. However, other journal reports put the combined deaths from volcanic activity and from post-eruption famine and epidemic diseases higher at 70,000 to 100,000 people. The ash from the eruption dispersed around the world, lowering global temperatures and triggering harvest failures.