Gentlemen with Glasses

During our Appropriation of Loupgarou in New Orleans #loupgarou we visited the Ogden Museum ofSouthern Art. Why, because we all know Loupgarou are passionate about art.

There are paintings, photographs, drawings and sculptures by artists from Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and several other Southern States.

One painting in particular grabbed my attention. Portrait of a Bespectacled Gentleman by Jean Joseph Vaudechamp 

painted in 1832. 

Why did he not take his glasses off while having his portrait painted? Who was he? What is the Gentleman’s story? Who commissioned the work?  How often had I seen a portrait where a Gentleman wore glasses?

This week enjoy Gentlemen with Glasses. 

Degas New Orleans

My daughter called me a few weeks ago and tells me we are going to New Orleans. OK!  A friend and I put together a great itinerary on a very helpful web-sight of places we wanted to go, places to eat and things to do. We carefully, or so we thought, planned our three days. 

On the list was to see the Degas house and eat at the little cafe up the street called Cafe Degas. In our excitement we over looked one thing. Neither the house nor the cafe were open on Monday. We tried to rearrange plans but somethings could not be changed so we had our Lyft driver take us by the house. 

In the fall of 1872 Edgar Degas traveled from Paris to New Orleans. He wanted to visit with his mother's Creole family, the Mussons. When he arrived the city was still recovering from the ravages of  the Civil War. He was presented with stark destruction and uncommon beauty from every angle. 



The home of his family was very large and in the 1920s it was divided into two separate homes.



A restoration was completed on the main house and it is open for tours.


Degas in New Orleans

He stayed just 5 months 


Degas in New Orleans
and is known to have created 18 paintings and at least 4 drawings  of his family and their life in New Orleans. 

This week enjoy Degas New Orleans. 

Mirror Mirror Here I Stand

Mirror, mirror here I stand.
Who is the fairest in the land?

Wilhelm Grimm wrote this many years ago and it comes from a story we know as Snow White.
It is a German Fairy Tale and was originally called Sneewhittchen and was tale number 53.


There have been several studies done and theories put forth as to the origin of the tale. Was it based on fact or pure fictional imagination.


The “Talking Mirror” at the Spessart Museum in Lohr am Main

I will tell you that in the Spessart Museum in the Lohr Castle is a mirror called The Talking Mirror.



Lohr am Main Spessart-Museum

This mirror is known for its ability to tell the truth. A gift to a new wife who became the step mother of a young girl named Maria Sophia Margarethe Catharina in 1743.

The creator of the mirror was Kurmainzische Spiegelmanufaktur,  Lohr Mirror Manufacture.

This week enjoy what the mirror shows.

Artist's Daughters

I have four daughters. No, I was not trying for a son. 
Let me rephrase. I was gifted with four daughters. 
They are all very different and yet some are the same.  My oldest and youngest are the more alike and the two in the middle while seeming the same are so vastly different from each other and each sister. 
Sometimes I look at them and wonder "where did you come from? and Whose child are you really?" 
They seem nothing like me yet three of them know more about me, Tamara, the person  than I ever believed could be possible. 
They know how I see my world and they will join me there. They laugh at me and will make fun of me and I have seen them all be fiercely protective of me. 
Daughters.
This week we will take a look at Artist's Daughters.