#19th Century European History

[pebblegalaxy]

Lay Down Your Arms by Bertha von Suttner: A Timeless Plea for Peace and Disarmament #TBRChallenge #bookchatter #BookReview

Lay Down Your Arms by Bertha von Suttner: A Groundbreaking Plea for Peace Introduction: A Pioneering Voice in the Fight for Peace Lay Down Your Arms (original title: Die Waffen nieder!), written by Austrian novelist and peace activist Bertha von Suttner in 1889, is more than just a novel. It is a manifesto, a passionate plea for peace, and a groundbreaking work of anti-war literature. This…

[uhhgoodd]

Young Woman With Sword by Jules-Élie Delaunay (1828-1891)

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Woman in a boat, 1886

Albert Edelfelt

[collectionstilllife]

Josef Schuster (Austrian, 1812-1890) • Still life of Alpine flowers in a landscape • Unknown date

[vintage-russia]

From anthropological album "The Russians" (1867)

[thepaintedroom]

Marie-Desiree Bourgoin (French, 1839–1912) • Sarah Bernhardt Sculpting in Her Studio • 1879 • Watercolor and gouache over graphite • Metropolitan Museum of Art

[cimmerianweathers]

Young Woman with Bird (detail), painted by a follower of Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), unknown date. Oil on canvas.

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Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz (Polish, 1854–1893) • Self-Portrait with Apron and Brushes • 1887

[arthistoryanimalia]

For a belated #WorldAlbatrossDay:

1. Pl.6, Oceanic birds of South America, V.1, New York, 1936

2. Pl.40, Wild life of the world, London, 1916

3. Pl.XXVI, Le monde de la mer, Paris, 1866

Via BHL

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Young Woman Washing herself (1896) — Edvard Munch

[die-rosastrasse]

Fritz Zuber-Bühler

Swiss, 1822-1896

Reclining beauty (details)

[useless-catalanfacts]

Did you know that a Japanese samurai is buried in a village in Northern Catalonia? 🏯 Here's how he ended up in the other side of the world.

Nomura Kosaburo was born in a samurai family in 19th-century Okayama (Japan). His father was a retainer of the Bizen province, serving Lord Ikeda's family. When he was 12 years old, his father died and he inherited his stipends, becoming a samurai himself.

In 1869, he started attending the Army Officers' School “heigaku-ryō” in Osaka (Japan). The school selected 10 of its students to go study in different schools in France. The young Kosaburo was one of the chosen ones, and was sent to the Lycée Louis le Grand in Paris (France). He studied mathematics and received excellent grades, and was scheduled to join a staff officer school, but his plans were cut short when he contracted Tuberculosis.

In 1878, he was advised to go to Southern France, because its dry air was recommended for the treatment of illnesses such as Tuberculosis. He chose the village of Els Banys i Palaldà (Northern Catalonia), a spa town known for its termal water since Ancient Roman times and which had recently built a new military hospital.

Nomura did not survive the illness, he died in 1876. He was buried in the local cemetery, in the tomb you can see in the photos above. The Japanese text means "Tomb of Nomura Kosaburo, Japanese Military Cadet". Below, a text in French says "Here lies Kosaburo Nomura, Japanese military student. Died in Amélie-les-Bains on June 26th 1876 at the age of 21. Perpetual concession." (Amélie-les-Bains is the French name for the village).

His tomb was almost forgotten for 130 years, but now the association Les Amis de Kosaburo - Kosaburo no tomodachi ("Friends of Kosaburo") study his history and preserve his memory in Els Banys i Palaldà and Okayama.

Photos from Vallespir Canigó. Information from Els Banys i Paladà City Council (Mairie Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda-Montalba) and Association Les Amis de Kosaburo.

[uhhgoodd]

The Forerunner (1894) by Eugène Trigoulet

[galleryofart]

The Black Brunswicker

Artist: John Everett Millais (British, 1829–1896)

Date: 1860

Genre: Genre Art

Medium: OIl on canvas

Collection: Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom

Description

The theme of ‘The Black Brunswickers’ is an imaginative incident depicting a historical moment. The Black Brunswickers were a special troop raised by Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick (1771 - 1815) in 1809. The regiment consisted of the best German gentlemen and was known as the ‘Death or Glory’, a name which derived from their distinctive death’s head hat badge and their apparent devotion to duty. The troops suffered severe losses at the battle of Quatre Bras at Waterloo in 1815. In a letter to his wife Effie, Millais described his idea and his enthusiasm for the subject:

"My subject appears to me, too, most fortunate, and Russell (the war correspondent of The Times) thinks it first-rate… I have it all in my mind’s eye and feel confident that it will be a prodigious success. The costume and incident are so powerful that I am astonished it has never been touched upon before. Russell was quite struck with it, and he is the best man for knowing the public taste. Nothing could be kinder than his interest, and he is to set about getting all the information that is required."

Millais spent three months painting ‘The Black Brunswickers’. Studies for the work exist both in the Lady Lever Art Gallery’s archives as well as in Tate Britain. Millais used Charles Dickens’s daughter, Kate, as the model for the girl and a private in the Life Guards for the soldier. Each had to model separately using a lay figure to lean against.

Millais wished to be historically accurate in making the girl’s dress look quite antique (it is actually a compromise between the fashions of 1809 and 1815 when waists were still kept high). The intensity of emotions is well conveyed in the close encounter of the couple, the girl’s body attempting to obstruct the soldier from his task and prevent his destiny.

The dark and enclosed space enhances the tragedy of the scene, and the work appeals both to viewers’ patriotism and sentimentality. The only distraction is perhaps the brilliant shine of the girl’s dress. The dog at the soldier’s feet also draws attention to the humanity of the subject. On the wall of the room is an engraving of a painting by JL David (1748 - 1825), which depicts Napoleon crossing the Alps. It serves as a reminder of Waterloo while also alluding to current events in 1860, when Napoleon III entered a war in Northern Italy in an attempt to expel the Austrians.

[collectionstilllife]

Albert Anker (Swiss, 1831-1910) • Still life: coffee and potatoes • 1897

[vintage-russia]

Sacrificial feast in the Sudnozero/Venehjärvi village,Kemskiy uyezd of Arkhangelsk governorate (1894)

Photo by Konrad Inha (1865-1930)