Amherst Villiers

Some years ago I bought a box of airplane-themed vintage posters reproduced on postcards. This was one of the most striking. Amherst Villiers (1900–1991) was an English automotive, aeronautical and astronautic engineer and portrait painter - a 20th century renaissance man. The poster depicts one of his projects, a (failed) attempt to break the world air speed record.

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Si On Avait Besoin d'Une Cinquième Saison by Harmonium

 

 

Si On Avait Besoin d'Une Cinquième Saison (If We Needed a Fifth Season), also known as Les Cinq Saisons (The Five Seasons), is the second studio album by French-Canadian progressive rock band Harmonium, released in 1075. The album, with both folk and symphonic influences, has a seasonal concept; the first four songs each represent one of the traditional four seasons, while the epic final track Histoires Sans Paroles represents the imaginary fifth season. This album is one of the few prog masterpieces sung in French - or any language other than English for that matter.

 

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Frantz

 

Sometimes a still from the movie is the best choice for the movie poster. A case of point is this poster for the 2016 Ozon war drama. Simply beautiful.

 

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Malcolm Arnold's Dances

 

This is such a fun disc, combining all six sets of dances composed by British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold: English (two sets), Scottish, Cornish, Irish and Welsh. They are performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Penny on a Naxos CD.

 

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French landscape by André Lhote

 

Not exactly a household name, but I like to mix it up a bit in the "Paintings" part of the blog. André Lhote (1885 - 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also very active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. This painting from 1912 is very representative for his style.

 

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Flashback

  

Kampen, our home town since 2012, an old photograph of the Oudestraat and the old city hall. Probably taken around 1900. In the left bottom corner, behind the first carriage, the building where now our art gallery is located (ground floor, new front).

 

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Winter by Tori Amos

About the artist: Tori Amos (1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist, and one of the most successful women in her genre. To date she has released over 15 studio albums, many of which have received high praise. 

About the song: the fragile ballad Winter from the phenomenal 1992 debut album Little Earthquakes is one of the best Tori Amos ever recorded. In this song she goes back to her childhood days, and her relationship with her father, dealing with growing up and getting sufficient self-esteem, knowing her father will not always be there to support her. The lyrics are poetic and extraordinarily image provoking ("Skating around the truth who I am, but I know Dad, the ice is getting thin"), climaxing in the recurring image of the wild horses. The beautiful piano work that drifts through the song couldn't have been more effective and mood setting. 

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Social (September 1929)

A magazine one does not encounter frequently on the internet: Social from Cuba (long before communism took over). I could not find more information, but this cover is gorgeous.

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Firefall

Here we have one of my favourite shots. This abstract image shows the top of a large ceramic sculpture that I spotted in the Leeuwarden Ceramics Museum Princessehof in 2018. It looks like a lava lake cascading over the rim - hence the title. I also used this image for my most recent set of name cards.

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String Quintet No. 1 by Johannes Brahms

The String Quintet No. 1 in F major, op. 88, was completed in 1882 by German composer Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897). It is a three movements work, scored for string quartet with a second viola. Brahms described the quintet to his friend Clara Schumann as "one of [his] finest works" and told Simrock, "You have never before had such a beautiful work from me." Indeed, it is a gem. The version shown above is by Members of the Berlin Philharmonic Octet on a Philips Classics CD.

 

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The Blue Train

 

Yes, please, let's take the blue train to the French Cote d'Azur and take in some sunshine. The Calais-Mediterranée Express nicknamed the Blue Train was a luxury French night express train which operated from 1886 to 2003. This Art Deco poster is probably from the thirties and possibly designed by David Juniper.

 

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Daybreaker by Beth Orton

 

Daybreaker is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Orton, released in 2002. With this album, she continues the Folktronica style that marked her earlier efforts. There's nothing new here in that respect, perhaps with a slightly more sombre tone, but it is all very well done, another great set of songs, and her voice still is personal and beautiful. To paraphrase one critic: much of Daybreaker is jaw-droppingly beautiful and brutally poignant, and the record's subtleties blossom over repeated listens. My selection of outstanding songs would include Paris Train, Mount Washington, Carmella, God Song, and Thinking About Tomorrow.

 

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The artist

 

A stunning poster for this 2011 movie directed by Michel Hazanavicius, dealing with the advent of talking pictures in Hollywood in 1929. Simple and effective and a great example of chiaroscuro. 

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French String Quartets by Quatuor Ebène

 

The three 'best' French string quartets combined on one CD in great performances by the Quatuor Ebène on Virgin Classics. Most classical music lovers would agree that Claude Debussy's  String Quartet in G minor from 1893 and Maurice Ravel's String Quartet in F major from 1903 are the top two. For a third there are a few candidates, but for me the clear third choice is Gabriel Fauré's String Quartet in E minor from 1924. A wonderful CD.

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Portrait of Anna Akhmatova by Nathan Altman

 

A name I first encountered a few years ago, when I came across this beautiful portrait from 1914 in a cubism influenced style. The artist is Russian (later Soviet) avant-garde artist Nathan Isaevich Altman (1888 - 1970).

 

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From Greece with love

 

Taken from a series of patriotic postcards by Nanni, created over a century ago, depicting various Great War allies (in this case, Greece). Little more than a sketch, but quite effective. And beautiful.

 

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Bedshaped by Keane

 

About the band: Keane are a British rock band formed in 1995. They achieved mainstream, international success with the release of their 2004 debut album, Hopes and Fears. I consider this one of the best debut albums ever, and unfortunately the quality if their work has gone down gradually since then - even so, they made many worthwhile songs. 

 
About the song: their 2004 debut album Hopes and fears is a beautiful collection of melodic songs, but even so, one track stands out for me: Bedshaped. Musically, a little more complex than most of their songs, and an amazing accomplishment for a new band. Especially the start of the instrumental section, where for a few seconds an Enya like atmosphere is created, which quickly gives away to powerful synthesizer magic. The lyrics are, well, interesting. Somehow I don't think that my wife would regard a line like "bedshaped with legs of stone" as a compliment....

 

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Motor Magazine (May 1923)

 

Motor is an American motorists magazine. It was founded in 1903 by William Randolph Hearst, and published by Hearst Corp. It is still in existence, but went for digital only in 2021 (information from Wikipedia). This is one of a series of 1921/1923 covers by Howard Chandler Christy. Everything works here: the girl's face, the setting, and the contrast between the red and the bluish pastel colours.

 

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Jailhouse Rock

One of the highlights of a trip to Leeuwarden a few years ago was our first visit to the old prison, which is now used as hotel and office space, while preserving many of the aspects of its original purpose. I like the line play here, giving the image an abstract quality. 

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Symphony No. 6 "Chinese Poems" by Krzysztof Penderecki

 

Symphony No. 6 "Chinese Poems" for baritone and orchestra was completed in 2017 by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - 2020). Its style is representative for the more mellow neo-romantic style of his final decades. It is in eight movements, and was obviously influenced to some extent by Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The symphony has an intimate character throughout. It comprises eight songs for baritone on Chinese texts, connected by solo intermezzi, played on the erhu (also known as the Chinese violin) - a fantastic idea even though it will limit public performances. The version shown above is by the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot under Wojciech Rajski, with baritone Stephan Genz and erhu player Joanna Kravchenko on an Accord CD.

 

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Battersea

 

The Battersea Power Station in London is an icon of Art Deco architecture. I first encountered it on the album cover of Pink Floyd's Animals, and about a decade ago I first saw it with my own eyes. This poster is by the famous Charles Avalon.

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Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror by Harold Budd and Brian Eno

 

Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror is a cooperation between composer/pianist Harold Budd and English musician Brian Eno, numbered as the second installment of Eno's Ambient series. The album consists of Budd playing improvisational piano in soundscapes produced by Eno. The result is a beautiful album, hovering between ambient, new age, and contemporary classical music, but above all offering a fascinating evocative soundscape. 

 

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A Good Woman

 

The 2004 Mike Barker movie A Good Woman came with a number of different official posters. I like this retro art deco one, very fitting for a movie set in 1930.

 

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Pieces of Africa by the Kronos Quartet

The Kronos Quartet played a major role in the introduction of contemporary classical music to me. This was the very first album of them I bought and it is still a favourite. Eight works by African composers with lots of African influences in the sounds. Warmly recommended.

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City walls in winter by Willem Schellinks

 

Not my usual fare, but we saw this romantic painting a few years ago in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and it was love at first sight - and it is fitting for a cold winter day. It was painted by Willem Schellinks (1627-1678) just before his death. He took cityscapes like he had seen on his travels to Italy and transposed them to the cold Dutch winter landscape.

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Chocolurtle

The last of the series of chocolate inspired posts. Turtles and tortoises are considered symbols of good luck in Asian cultures (personally, I have evidence that this is right), so I asked AI to make an image of a chocolate turtle. Excellent result, printed it on canvas, and show it during the exhibition - for luck. Afterwards it will get a nice spot in my man cave.

 

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The New Yorker (October 1926)

 

I wanted to select a vintage magazine cover with a chocolate theme, because our gallery is hosting a ChocolArt exhibition these weeks. Rather surprisingly, I could not find one. So I switched to the artist side of the exhibition. Since I'm married to an artist, depiction of a painter and his/her model have a special attraction to me. This cover was done by Constantin Alajalov, a regular contributor to the magazine.

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Dragon's Nest

 

Let's see how long I can continue the current chocolate theme - all because we're having a ChocolArt exhibition in our gallery. This is actually my own contribution to the exhibition, a picture I took years ago.

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Cup of Coffee by Garbage

 

What goes well with chocolate? Right, coffee. So another post inspired by the current ChocolArt exhibition.

 

About the band: Garbage is an American rock band formed in 1993 with Shirley Manson as lead singer. Garbage has released six studio albums and sold over 17 million albums worldwide.

 
About the song: the 2001 album Beautiful Garbage received rather mixed responses. Some critics even accused the alternative rock band of selling out. Granted, it is a little more mainstream, but still a highly accomplished artistic effort. And it does sport the best song they have recorded. Cup of coffee describes the emotions after a love affair has ended in a very recognisable way without ever getting overly sentimental. Great lyrics, including lines such as "And no, of course, we can't be friends, not while I'm still so obsessed - I want to ask where I went wrong, but don't say anything at all". With a very original arrangement (including the eerie sounds of an ondes martinot), and Shirley Manson in vocal top form, this is so far one of the best songs of the 21st Century. 

 

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Chocolat Amor

 

Following up on yesterday's post. Now that the ChocolArt exhibition is in full swing in our gallery - here we have a rare Swiss Art Deco poster for Chocolat Amor Bern, issued around 1930.

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