#gilded barbet

[herpsandbirds]

Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus), family Capitonidae, order Piciformes, San Jorge Eco-lodge, Sumaco Bajo, Ecuador

photograph by @magic.birding

[desimonewayland]

José María Sert (1874-1945)

'Vision de Naples'

An eleven-leaf screen, circa 1923

Giltwood and black glaze; decorated with scenes against the Bay of Naples, 390 x 800 cm.

Sotheby’s

Catalogue Note:

José Maria Sert (1874-1945), the "Tiepolo of the Ritz", is part of the closed circle of the great society artists of the 20th century. He married the famous Misia Godebska whom Forain introduced to him, better known as Misia Sert, a central figure in artistic and literary Paris at the end of the 19th century and between the wars. Muse successively of Mallarmé, Vuillard, Renoir, Proust, Diaghilev and Cocteau, Misia was also the confidante of Gabrielle Chanel for whom Sert created this screen.

Undermined by the Parisian avant-garde, he is part of a primarily decorative painting tradition influenced by Goya, Manet and of course Tiepolo. In his studio in the rue Barbet de Jouy, Sert created a grandiose decor in the image of his painting, mixing baroque furniture, gilded bronzes, crystals and Coromandel screens. Gabrielle Chanel retained this lesson in decoration and applied it in all her Parisian residences thereafter, as her apartment on rue Cambon still testifies. Sert held a salon there where he received the entire Café Society of the time, who commissioned him for multiple projects. Specializing in very large wall decorations and screens, he went from polychrome painting to monochrome painting on a gold background, which better suited his exuberant style. He received important commissions at the turn of the century throughout Europe and more particularly in England (between 1914 and 1915 for Lady Ripon at Combe Court and Sir Philip Sassoon at Lympe and between 1918 and 1919 for Sir Saxton Noble at Wretham Hall). He received his first commission in the United States in 1924 for Mr. Joshua Cosden's music room in Palm Beach. An exhibition in New York at the Wildenstein Galleries completed his launch across the Atlantic. He then undertook grandiose projects such as an entire room at the Waldorf Astoria in New York in 1930, and the entrance main building of Rockefeller Center, built in 1933.

"Art loses the last representative of great painting", wrote Paul Claudel in Le Figaro on 14 December 1945, on the death of his friend José María Sert. The monumentality of his work and the power of his personality made Sert an artist unanimously admired in his time.

[todaysbird]

the gilded barbet is a bird that, like other barbets, is found in south america - they are very closely related to toucans, and their ranges overlap. they share some traits with toucans, but have a much stubbier bill. the gilded barbet is largely frugivorous, but occasionally will also feed on insects or vegetation.

[thalassarche]

Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus) - photo by Greg Lavaty

[bitesizedpromises]

Your Musing Heart

ZevWarden Week 2022 Day 7 -  Seasons

Pairing: Zevran/Katoss (Original Non-Warden Character)

Characters: Zevran Arainai, Original Male Character

Summary: Comte Augustin Barbet has something that Zevran wants.

Word Count: 1606

** 

I loved a maid as red as autumn

 with sunset in her hair.

**

Midnight had long passed when the party guests, drunk and merry, stumbled out of the manor. Most left alone, while the rest departed in pairs, walking hand-in-hand into the night – a reckless act that was guaranteed to earn them the scorn of their actual spouses. Augustin was one of the last to leave. He was stumbling and was humming to himself as he made his way towards his carriage. His attendant waited patiently as he got in – it took him several tries, somehow he his foot always missed the step – then they set off towards the fabulous villa that the young Comte used for his summer residence.

His faithful servants awaited him, even in this late hour. Augustin gave them instructions on when to wake him up tomorrow and what he'd have for breakfast, then dismissed them for the night. He began to slowly ascend the staircase. His luxurious bedroom took up almost the entire third floor of the villa.

He went inside his bedroom and closed the door behind him. He heard the doorknob click and a moment later an ice cold dagger was pressed against his throat. Feeling its sharp edge on his skin sobered him in an instant.

„W-what?“ Augustin yelped. “What's going on?!”

„My apologies, Comte.“ The voice was coming from his left. It was a foreigner's voice, rich and oddly jovial. “Undoubtedly you are burning with desire to sleep. You have a very comfortable bed over there, I see, and I do feel so terrible for keeping you away from it. So, I suggest you do as I tell you, and your head will be on that pillow in no time!”

„A-are you a burglar?” Augustin asked, terrified. The idea of yelling for help flashed in his mind, but the servants' quarters were on the first floor. By the time they managed to get to his room, he'd already be lying in a pool of his own blood. “What do you want? Is it money? Because I have money, a lot of money! You can have them, just don't hurt me!”

„Oh my greedy friend, money is nothing to me.“ The man laughed. “No, there is something else I want from you.”

“It's yours! Just say what it is!”

He mentally listed all the valuables he currently kept in the villa: the silverware, the gilded porcelain, his golden chain, the silk belt with sapphires and silver threads. That one was dear to him, a gift from the lovely daughter of a Marquis. She'd also given him the heavy gold ring that he was currently wearing. The possibility of losing either of those was a painful, but one he knew he could recover from. What he couldn't recover from was a slashed throat.

„Eight years ago,” the thief began, “the man who is now one of the most celebrated artists in Orlais, Matthieu Lucroy, was just a ragged young man who was traversing Thedas in search of artistic inspiration – and a rich patron. His journey led him to Denerim and he, like many a traveller before him, wound up in a little brothel called the Pearl. Now, history does not tell us what Matthieu did there, but it is known that he was so infatuated with of the whores there that he painted him. That painting he would gift to a friend of his, a Rivaini scholar. That scholar would then go on to sell the painting to a rich silk merchant from the Free Marches. When the merchant died last year, his sons sold off all his belongings, and thus the painting found itself in new hands – your hands, Comte.“

„And you want the painting?“ Augustin asked. He wanted to laugh in relief, but the dagger was still pressing against his throat. “Alright, it's yours. It's in my changing room.”

“Lead the way then.”

The thief released him. Augustin touched his throat gingerly and, with no small amount of relief, he discovered he didn't even have a scratch. He gestured to the other end of the room.

“It's over there, behind that door.”

While he spoke, he glanced quickly at the other. He saw a short thin man, clad entirely in black. His clothes were plain and tight-fitting; a silk scarf covered the lover half of his face and he'd pulled his black hood over his head, so all Augustin could see of him was a pair of taunting eyes the colour of honey. He couldn't tell how old the man was, but he guessed he was around 30.

The man chuckled and put a gloved hand on Augustin's back, pushing him lightly towards the door.

„Come on, Comte. I am sure you're dying to go to bed already.“

“Y-yeah ...”

Augustin trudged towards the changing room slowly. He owned several Lucroy works, but he didn't need to ask to guess which one the thief was after. It was one of Matthieu's earliest paintings, its value was expected to grow as time went by. But Augustin had not bought it because of its value. He didn't know much about art, but there was something in that particular painting that attracted him. He wondered how a thief had even come to know of its existence.

The changing room was cramped with his clothes and shoes. When he stepped inside, the thief looked around with interest. He nodded in approval several times.

“Such beautiful clothes. There are very few people, my dear Comte, who possess both a good taste for fashion and the money to afford it.” He lazily scratched his jaw with his dagger. “Now, where is the painting?”

Augustin pointed at the only bare spot in the room. The painting hung on the wall, right under a torch. The heavy gilded frame Augustine had put it in created a illusion of grandiosity when in reality, the canvas itself was rather small.

Despite its size, it was undoubtedly a beautiful painting, perhaps even a masterpiece. Matthieu was still developing his style when he created it, and as a result it appeared much more unrefined than his later works. The figures appeared blurry, their contours blending together. The main colours used were yellow, red and brown.

The focus of the painting was a young boy with fiery hair. He sat behind a table, with his elbows resting on it. A cornucopia of fruit was scattered all over the table and the floor beneath it: apples, pears, grapes. The boy was staring right ahead; he was smiling happily with a single grape pressed between his lips, as if the painter had caught him mid-bite.

„T-there it is ...“ Augustin said needlessly.

The thief took a step forward. He stared at the painting for a while. His eyes were shining.

„Beautiful, isn't he?“ He asked with a hushed voice.

„I … yes, I think so.“

The subject of the painting, despite being a lowly commoner, and a whore at that, was alluring. With the way he was looking at the viewer, one could not be faulted for thinking the boy was alive and beckoning.

“The painting's called 'Autumn's Child'.”

„A very fitting name, yes?“ The thief took the painting off the wall. “Well, I shall be taking it with me. And this lovely shawl too – I must wrap it in something, you understand, to protect it from damage.”

Augustin nodded. His hand went up to his throat again. He followed the thief back into the bedroom, feeling a bit dazed. This burglary was quite odd, he thought – though, of course, he didn't have much experience with burglaries.

The thief went out to the balcony and Augustin realised that the doors to it were unlocked and opened. He hurried after the man, and saw the thick rope that was hanging off the railing. Ah, so that was how the thief had come into his room unnoticed!

The thief turned and gave Augustin a deep bow.

„I wish you pleasant dreams, Comte.“

He climbed on top of the railing and took the rope while holding the painting under his arm. Augustin was watching him, confused by this strange person, but also relieved that he'd come out of it unharmed.

„Wait just a second,“ Augustin said, stepping forward impulsively. The thief paused and turned to look at him. “I was gone all evening. My bedroom was empty for hours.” His voice was trembling again, this time with indignation. “Even if you didn't know where I kept the painting, you had ample time to search for it. Why didn't you?”

The thief threw his head back and laughed.

“I am not a perfect man, Comte. I have my weaknesses too,” he said. “Yes, I could have come and gone without anyone knowing. But, you see ...” He shrugged. “I couldn't resist the temptation. You see, I knew where the painting was from the start. A changing room, it is an odd place for a painting, Comte. No one will see it, except you.”

“I-I .. w-well ...”

“No, no.” The thief raised his hand. “You needn't explain yourself. I know it all. You wanted to keep this beauty all to yourself. Autumn's child, Comte's property.” He chuckled. “But, as I said, I am a man with weaknesses. I don't like it when people take what is mine. So, I had to punish you a little. You understand, no?”

He laughed at Augustin's confusion, then jumped over the railing and dove into the dark. Silence fell over for a moment, then the air erupted with the chirping of crickets. Amongst them, Augustin could hear the light rustling of steps in the garden below.

[tropicalforesttv]

forest sounds 7 hours - Trop forest EC morning7 hours - black screen forest sounds 7 hours Day insects many winged, continuous bird calls. Birds include White-throated (Cuvier’s) Toucan with Channel-billed (Yellow-ridged) Toucans, Tawny-crowned Greenlet and Gilded Barbet. Loop.

THANKS FOR WATCHING SUBSCRIBER MY CHANNEL: https://tinyurl.com/TropicalForestTV

[rockjumperbirdingtours]

Photo of the Day – The Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus) is found in the western Amazonian forests. The bird is most commonly found in terra firme and varzea forest, but is not restricted to these, and can be found elsewhere.

This lovely photo was taken by tour leader, Dušan Brinkhuizen.

[cocinasabrosa]

Gilded Barbet (Capito auratus)

[hahalua7]

Gilded barbet - male (Capito auratus) by David R Via Flickr: Providencia, Ecuador

[tropicalforesttv]

Trop forest EC nightfall - calming music for stress and sleep - relax music for stress relief. Evening insect rhythms, frogs, drips, debris falling, occasional bird, light is quickly weakening. Birds include Undulated Tinamou and Tawny-bellied Screech-Owl. Evening insect rhythms, frogs, Red Howler Monkey distant and becoming louder, occasional water drips with winged insects, animal lurks in vicinity. Birds include Gilded Barbet and Undulated Tinamou.

SUBSCRIBER MY CHANNEL: https://tinyurl.com/TropicalForestTV

[tropicalforesttv]

Trop forest EC morning wet 6 hours (#5) - Ecuador nature sounds relaxing music 2021. Gentle morning drips with insect rhythms and squeeze-toy bird sounds, close at times, wing flutters. Birds include: Black-necked Red-Cotinga, Striated Antthrush, Rufous-tailed Flatbill Gilded Barbet and Green-backed Trogon.  UBSCRIBER MY CHANNEL: https://tinyurl.com/TropicalForestTV

[tropicalforesttv]

Trop forest EC morning wet 6 hours (#4) - nature sounds relaxing music 2021. Drippy morning ambience with insect rhythms and wings, bird calls, very distant Red Howler Monkey, prominent insect is annoying at times. Birds include: Crimson-crested Woodpecker, Gilded Barbet, unidentified parakeets, Red-bellied Macaws, Ruddy Pigeon and Yellow-rumped Cacique.

THANKS FOR WATCHING SUBSCRIBER MY CHANNEL: https://tinyurl.com/TropicalForestTV

[tropicalforesttv]

Trop forest EC morning early wet sound 3hours - natural sound 2021 - nature sounds relaxing music Gentle morning drips with insect rhythms and squeeze-toy bird sounds, close at times, wing flutters. Birds include: Black-necked Red-Cotinga, Striated Antthrush, Rufous-tailed Flatbill Gilded Barbet and Green-backed Trogon. 

---- THANKS FOR WATCHING 

SUBSCRIBER MY CHANNEL: https://tinyurl.com/TropicalForestTV