A quick, yet hard-hitting read, Tracy Chevalier tackles Othello in an accessible and fast-paced retelling. Without losing any of the drama, tragedy, or heartbreak, Chevalier places Othello into a 1970’s suburban playground. This little novel brings to the surface the racism that permeates our past and present, and actually parallels the original story amazingly well within this new context. I would recommend (mature) young readers to read New Boy next to Othello for a full understanding of the play and how literature has a large impact on perceiving and understanding the world around them.
There is a difference between Catholic and Protestant attitudes to painting,“ he explained as he worked, "but it is not necessarily as great as you may think. Paintings may serve a spiritual purpose for Catholics, but remember too that Protestants see God everywhere, in everything. By painting everyday things-tables and chairs, bowls and pitchers, soldiers and maids-are they not celebrating God’s creation as well?
- Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring
Johannes Vermeer was the greatest of the Dutch genre painters, who took his subject matter from everyday life. However, Vermeer did not simply record the world around him, but he carefully crafted poetic constructions based on what he observed.
Estimated to have been painted around 1665, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the Dutch artist’s most famous painting.
The painting has become as intriguing in its modest way as the Mona Lisa. Ineed it is often refered to as ‘The Mona Lisa of the North’. The girl’s face turned toward us from centuries ago demands that we ask, who was she? What was the thinking? What was the artist thinking about her?
It is not a portrait but a tronie - the head of an ideal type, it depicts a young beautiful woman in an exotic dress, wearing an oriental turban and an improbably large pearl in her ear. Even though a girl possibly sat and posed for this painting, it displays too few distinctive features - there are no moles, scars or freckles to be seen.
Set against a black background, the young woman features the striking blue and yellow turban and a glistening pearl. Vermeer’s mastery of light and shade can be seen on her luminous skin, while subtle glimmers of white on her parted red lips make them appear moist. Although we don’t know the identity of the girl, she looks familiar, mostly due to the intimacy of her gaze. However, by leaving the corners of her eyes undefined, the artist offers no clue of her emotional state. Her expression is pleasingly ambiguous, contributing to the work being an iconic masterpiece.
I think there are three qualities that make Girl with a Pearl Earring so seductive. It is very beautiful, for one thing. The striking blue and yellow of the girl’s headscarf, set against a black background, the glistening pearl created in a few swift strokes, the expert capturing of light and shade on her luminous skin, the liquid pools of her eyes: all add up to a work of sublime beauty.
But beauty is not enough to sustain the sort of attention Girl with a Pearl Earring receives. I’ve been looking at this painting for over 30 years, and I’m still not bored of it. Why?
Its second seductive characteristic is that the girl looks familiar. We may not know who she is, but we feel we know her because she is looking at us with such intimacy. We mistake this look for familiarity. I’ve had readers tell me that their daughter or their friend or their neighbor resembles the girl. I’ve seen many women online dressed up as her. Someone once told me that I look like the girl, and that must be why I wrote about the painting.
However, we don’t really know what she looks like – not even the basics like hair or eye color. With her face turned partially away, we can’t really discern its shape. The line of her nose blends into her check so we don’t know if it’s wide, snub, or round. Her look is universal rather than specific. In fact, the painting is not actually a portrait of a particular person, but what the Dutch called a tronie – the head of an ideal “type,” like “a soldier” or “a musician” – or, in this case, “a young beauty.”
This leads to the third and most powerful quality of the painting: its mystery. We don’t know who the girl is or what she’s thinking. Indeed, we know very little about Vermeer. He lived his whole life in the Dutch town of Delft. He married a Catholic woman and probably converted, he lived at his mother-in-law’s, and had 11 children. He was in debt several times. He was an art dealer as well as an artist – and that’s about the extent of our knowledge, apart from his work.
The girl’s expression is pleasingly ambiguous. Is she happy or sad? Is she pushing us away or yearning to look at us? And who is “us,” anyway? I had been studying the painting for years when one day it dawned on me: of course she’s not looking at me like that – I wasn’t there! She’s looking at the painter with that curious wide-eyed gaze. It made me wonder what Vermeer did to her to make her look like that at him. That curiosity was what led me to write a novel about the painting: I wanted to explore the mystery of her gaze. To me Girl with a Pearl Earring is neither a universal tronie, nor a portrait of a specific person. It is a portrait of a relationship.
In considering the painting, there is an immediate beauty that draws us in, and a familiarity that satisfies us. But in the end, it is the mystery that keeps us coming back to it again and again, looking for answers that we never find.
Beauty, familiarity, mystery. These are the qualities of Girl with a Pearl Earring that make it an iconic masterpiece. The painting is like a song that ends on the second-to-last chord: we are drawn to look at it again in the hope that this time the last chord will be played, the painting will resolve itself, the mystery will dissipate, and we can leave the girl alone at last.
Vermeer created 36 paintings that we’re aware of, many of them depicting women on their own, doing everyday things like pouring milk, writing letters, playing lutes. We have no idea who these women are, though they are likely to be members of the family household. This means we don’t know what the relationship is between the girl wearing the pearl earring and the painter.
Tracy Chevalier’s story shares some of the striking qualities of Vermeer’s paintings. Her subject is a single woman caught in a private moment. Like the Dutch master, she’s fascinated by the play of light, the suggestive power of small details, and the subtle thoughts beneath placid expressions.
The story is told by Griet, a young woman in Delft. Her family, never prosperous, has been thrown into desperate circumstances by a recent kiln accident that blinded her father. While her young brother is sent to a harsh tile factory, Griet finds work as a maid in the home of Johannes Vermeer.
Now and then Chevalier’s style seems self-consciously rich. Her poor, illiterate narrator sounds at times as though she’s earned a master’s degree in creative writing, as the author has. But, that aside, Chevalier re-creates common life in Delft with fascinating authenticity. The smells of the marketplace, the drudgery of laundry, the subtle tensions between servants – it all comes across here viscerally.
Vermeer’s house is full of his own children and other people’s paintings. Griet finds it something of a land mine. Their Roman Catholic faith is an unsettling mystery to her. The painter’s daughters are eager to test her authority. His wife resents the competition for her husband’s attention. And the careful old mother-in-law is willing to do anything to increase Vermeer’s meager artistic output.
With wonderfully effective restraint, Chevalier captures the glances and brief comments that gradually lead Griet into her master’s studio, his painting, and finally his heart.
Any sign of intimacy with Vermeer’s work would mean certain dismissal by the painter’s captious, continually pregnant wife, but Griet can’t help but stare at his haunting portraits when everyone else has gone to bed.
Though they’re very quiet moments, the most exciting scenes are those of Griet slowly learning to see with greater perception and understand the nature of light and shadow. Soon, she’s making crucial recommendations to the master about shading, composition, and color.
When Vermeer’s raunchy patron insists on a portrait of Griet, he forces a crisis that exposes the thicket of affections and jealousies coursing below the surface of this house.
"I wanted to know the man who painted like that,” Griet thinks one day while dusting Vermeer’s studio. That knowledge is ultimately denied her - and us - but his elusive quality seems as accurate as the rest of this luminous novel.
Tracy Chevalier’s novel speculating about the painting was of course filmed by Peter Webber, who casts Scarlett Johansson as the girl and Colin Firth as Vermeer. I can think of many ways the film could have gone wrong, but it goes right, because it doesn’t cook up melodrama and romantic intrigue but tells a story that’s content with its simplicity. The painting is contemplative, reflective, subdued, and the film must be, too: We don’t want lurid revelations breaking into its mood.
Sometimes two people will regard each other over a gulf too wide to ever be bridged, and know immediately what could have happened, and that it never will. That is essentially the message of this quiet lush film.
I hope this finds you (because I will post most of it on Instagram later and if you miss it there, I will post it on Twitter and Tumblr and WordPress).
I did something I never thought I would do–again. Nothing serious; I do it all the time. You will call me a drama king because apparently I am. Just so you know, it is your fault I am a drama king.
Do you want to why it is your fault? Because you just had to go off and be the best friend I ever had. What is is wrong with you? You just had to be the perfect mess to my imperfect mess. You had to be the calm to my storm. You just had to know me better than I know myself.
Because of you, I like peas again. I have not liked peas since I was a baby and I ate 5 jars of them. Because of you, I am now addicted to Peppa Pig. I have no idea how many episodes I have recorded since our infamous mug incident.
You just had to point out my obvious talents I never knew I had and turn them into my life’s dreams. You had to be just one degree less crazier than me–which is saying a lot considering 99% of our conversations would make people wonder why neither one of us is sitting in Bedlam babbling about how we killed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
You just had to introduce me to our alter egos and now I cannot go to sleep without thinking about weird British cats and what the hell is going on in the Canadian Tundra while reading quotes by C.S. Lewis and dreaming about destroying Hufflepuff in Quidditch because I am a Gryffindor.
You drive me crazy. You drive me nuts. As if I was not crazy enough as it was you had to come along. And you know what? I have never been happier in my life. I will probably remain this happy for the rest of our lives and if there is another life, I am quite sure we will be there and will terrify a whole new world of people–In French, Italian, Spanish, German, Latin and Portuguese.
I could care LESS if you think I am a drama king or that I am overly sentimental or talk about you too much. Shut up and DEAL with it. I am going to do it anyway and you cannot stop me–until we are in the same room and you proceed to hit me over the head with a box of cookies. I am kidding. You would never hit me with a box full of cookies. You have hardly met a cookie you did not like.
In conclusion, I figured out the secret to finding the perfect guy for me: Tell them what it is really like to love someone like me; how to put up with someone like me. It will terrify the weak ones and intrigue the strong ones. Because no one has ever (and probably never) loved me or put up with me as well as you, they have one very large mountain to climb and some seriously big shoes to fill.
You have got to be the single most incredibly awesomely beautiful person who swears like a sailor in two languages I have ever met in my entire life who knows if WikiHow properly explains cooking pasta using clipart.
We met the very same year these characters met and we are still together like these two characters. In 100 years–even 1000 years–people will look back at us and probably ask, “What the F*k was that? Are you f*king kidding me? You mean these people were real?”
Good. Because sometimes even I wonder if I am living in a dream and I will wake up and all this wonderful will disappear. This is my Happy New Year ‘thing’ for you. So Happy New Year, my dearest, most beloved friend in all the universe. You are the only pain in the ass I do not mind having. You are the thorn in my side that reminds me I can do better (and corrects also my English in a Northern Italian accent with a French Twist).
I love you is not good enough for you, but it will have to do. Thank you for everything.
From the people that keep bringing you stuff (me and @fortunatelyclevercandy) because what else are they going to do during quarantine–comes “I à XIV: Life in My Court”. Based entirely on a reality that doesn’t exist but who cares, it’s hilarious (sometimes). If you loved Versailles: The Series, nothing to see here. Currently on Instagram because no one else would have us.
And, as we celebrate our first year (and our 2nd Christmas):
We decided to ruin your childhood memories with this infamous retelling of a beloved classic. Coming Tomorrow: Check your local listings (or just go to the link).
There is a fleur-de-lis mark struck on the upper portion of the blade. The disc-shaped pommel is made of brass.
Overall length: 96.3 cm (37.9"); Blade length: 77.5 cm (30.5").
Located at Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg, Germany.
2. A Central-European Medieval Sword, circa 1300.
Slender double-edged blade; short fuller at the base stamped with the letter “A” in Gothic script. Straight cross-guard tapering towards the ends. Slender tang, disc pommel with inlaid bronze disc on one side, the inlay on the other side missing.
3. An Eastern European Medieval Sword with Scabbard, first half of the 14th century.
The hilt all encrusted with silver (niello). The blade inlaid with gilt inscriptions. The upper back side of the blade engraved with a Mameluk inscription (arsenal of Alexandria). Leather bound scabbard with silver mounts.
Overall length: 105.3 cm (41.5"); Blade length: 88.4 cm (34.8"); Scabbard length: 89.5 cm (35.2”).
Located at Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg, Germany.
4. Circa 1350.
Reign of Jean II of France (1350-1364), reign of Philippe VI (1328-1350).
Musee de l'Armee, Paris, 678 PO ; J.
Lettering in gilt brass in the central fuller: “Nulla de virtutibus tuis major clementia est” (“None of your virtues are greater than clemency”). Leather grip over wood, partially gilded wrought iron hilt, brass inlay, rock crystal inset into pommel.
Shown as Type XIV.8 in Ewart Oakeshott’s “Records of the Medieval Sword”.
Prince valeureux au combat et homme de lettres, René d'Anjou était expert en l'art des tournois. En imaginant un tournoi opposant le duc de Bretagne au duc de Bourbon, il élabore un cérémonial minutieusement codifié depuis la proclamation du tournoi et ses préparatifs jusqu'à la remise de prix au vainqueur. Le manuscrit français 2695 de la Bibliothèque nationale de France en est le témoin le plus précieux. Exécuté sur papier, probablement après 1462, il s'enrichit d'une superbe série de dessins à l'encre rehaussés de couleur que la critique attribue unanimement à Barthélemy d'Eyck, le peintre dans lequel le bon roi René trouva l'interprète le plus subtil et le plus séduisant de sa propre sensibilité artistique. Ce manuscrit était présenté par l'Inp et la Bibliothèque nationale de France à l'occasion des “Trésors du patrimoine écrit”.
Pauldrons and vambraces attributed to Kolman Helmschmid (German, Augsburg 1471–1532).
Date: ca. 1525 and later.
Culture: German, Augsburg.
Medium: Steel, leather.
Dimensions:
Wt. 48 lb. 7 oz. (21.97 kg); helmet (a); H. 12 in. (30.5 cm); W. 11 in. (27.9 cm); D. 12 ½ in. (31.8 cm); Wt. 6 lb. 1.2 oz. (2755.6 g); gauntlet (p); H. 10 ½ in. (26.7 cm); W. 5 in. (12.7 cm); D. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 4.5 oz. (581.2 g); gauntlet (q); H. 10 ½ in. (26.7 cm); W. 5 in. (12.7 cm); D. 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm); Wt. 1 lb. 5.5 oz. (609.5 g); mail sleeve ®: L. 25 ½ in. (65.0 cm); H. at shoulder 10 3/16 in. (26.0 cm); Diam. (outside) of chest links 5/16 in. (7.6 mm); Diam. (inside) of chest links 3/16 in. (4.8 mm); Diam. (outside) of sleeve links 5/16 in. (7.7 mm); Diam. (inside) of sleeve links 7/32 in. (5.8 mm); mail sleeve (s): L. 26 13/16 in. (68.0 cm); H. at shoulder 11 in. (28.0 cm); Diam. (outside) of chest links 11/32 in. (8.6 mm); Diam. (inside) of chest links 3/16 in. (4.8 mm); Diam. (outside) of sleeve links 9/32 in. (7.1 mm); Diam. (inside) of sleeve links 7/32 in. (5.6 mm).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The pauldrons (shoulder defenses), and vambraces (arm defenses) of this armor are attributed to Kolman Helmschmid based on comparison with his known works. The associated helmet’s (acc. no. 50.237.2) distinctive snub-nosed visor appears to be a form that he originated and used on three other helmets, all dating from the mid-1520s. The decoration of these elements is typical of the style of Daniel Hopfer of Augsburg (about 1470–1536), a celebrated armor-etcher and printmaker, who is known to have decorated armors made by members of the the Helmschmid family.
The remainder of this armor is composed of southern German elements from about 1520 to 1530, except for minor restorations.
Kunz Lochner was one of the few Nuremberg armorers of the mid-sixteenth century to achieve an international reputation. His patrons included the Holy Roman Emperor, the dukes of Saxony, and the king of Poland. This man’s armor bears the mark of Nuremberg; Lochner’s personal mark, a rampant lion; and the date 1548. The armor was originally part of a small garniture that included exchange elements for field and tournament use. Restorations include the cuirass and the gauntlets.
The horse armor bears only the Nuremberg mark but can be attributed to Lochner on stylistic grounds. The elaborately embossed and etched decoration of the peytral (chest defense) includes an abbreviated inscription that may be interpreted: 1548 K[rist] I[ch] T[rau] G[anz] V[nd] G[ar] H[ans] E[rnst] H[erzog] Z[u] Sachsen (1548 In Christ I trust wholly, Hans [Johann] Ernst, Duke of Saxony). Duke Johann Ernst (1521–1553) may have commissioned the horse armor for his attendance at the Diet of Augsburg, a political assembly of the German nobility called in 1548 by Charles V to deal with the crisis of the Reformation.
The hatched ground and lively nature of the decoration are excellent examples of the highest quality of etching found on Italian armor in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Also characteristic are the central band of classically inspired trophies and the horizontal frieze with depictions of saints. Here, the Christ Child as the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) appears in the center, flanked by Saint Christopher and Saint Sebastian.
Dimensions: H. 66 ½ in. (168.9 cm), Wt. 41 lb. (18.6 kg).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This armor was assembled and restored in the 1920s using individual elements that had been discovered in the ruins of the Venetian fortress at Chalcis, on the Greek island of Euboea, which had fallen to the Turks in 1470. The purpose was to present a full armor of the style worn about 1400, a period from which no complete armors survive. Distinctive features are the early form of brigandine (a torso defense constructed of numerous overlapping plates riveted inside a doublet) with two large breast halves and brass borders at the edges of the exposed plates. Portions of the brass at the top edge of the left cuisse (thigh defense), the lower edges of the right greave (lower leg defense), and the visor are genuine; the remainder is restored. The helmet, a visored bascinet, is associated with the armor. The velvet covering of the brigandine dates from the early 20th century.
Le château du Plessis-Bourré est situé sur le territoire de la commune d’Écuillé en Maine-et-Loire, à une quinzaine de kilomètres au nord d’Angers, à mi-chemin des vallées de la Mayenne et de la Sarthe. Il figure parmi les châteaux de la Loire n’ayant que peu subi de modifications quant à leur architecture extérieure depuis sa construction, il y a plus de cinq siècles, ce qui en fait un lieu très sollicité pour des tournages.
