Orpheus and the animals (ancient mosaics)

According to Greek legends, Orpheus’s music had the power to attract wild animals which would gather around him to hear his music.

Lendas gregas atribuem à música tocada por Orfeu a capacidade de atrair os animais selvagens para a ouvir em seu redor.

Unknown-'Orpheus and the beasts'-Roman mosaic-from Tarsus   Antakya (Turkey)-Archaeological Museum (10568)

Unknown-'Orpheus and the animals'-Roman mosaic   Shahba (Syria)-Archaeological Museum

Unknown-'Orpheus and the animals'-Roman mosaic-3th century-from Piazza della Vittoria (building A)   Palermo-Museo Archeologico Regionale 'Antonio Salinas' (NI 2287)  

Unknown-'Orpheus and the animals'-Roman mosaic   Paphos (Cyprus)- Archaeological Museum (house of Orpheus)

Unknown-'Orpheus taming wild animals'-Roman mosaic    Dallas (Texas)-Museum of Art

Moscow Contemporary Russian History Museum

Initially it was named “Central Revolutionary Museum”. Its assets include important pictorial documentation about the Bolshevik revolution of October 1918.

Recebeu inicialmente a designação de “Central Revolutionary Museum”. No seu espólio contém importante documentação pictórica sobre a revolução bolchevique de Outubro de 1918.

Piotr Petrovich Belousov (1912-1989)-'Lenin with delegates to the 3rd Konsomol-congress 1920'-oil on canvas-1949

Vassili Veniaminovich Khvostenko (1895-1960)-'Lenin in a armoured car during the October revolution 1918-oil on canvas-1935

Fiodor Alexandrowitsch Modorow (1890-1967)-'meeting of the Central Committee  of the Soviet Communist Party, 1939 (from left to right Mikojan, Stalin, Molotov, Kalinin)'-oil on canvas

Anatoli Yar-Kravchenko (1911-1983)-'Maxim Gorki reads his novel the girl and death, to Stalin, Molotov, generalVoroshilov on 11.11.1931'-oil on canvas-1950

Vera Dreznina (1924- )-'Felix Dzerzhinsky, chief of the Soviet Secret Police, the Tsheka, among children of a worker's comune'-oil on canvas-1953

Some Orientalists

Some European painters of the 19th century   were called Orientalists for having traveled and painted in Muslim countries, especially in the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. They considered the customs they found as exotic.


Alguns pintores europeus do séc. XIX foram denominados orientalistas por terem viajado e pintado em países Muçulmanos, sobretudo do Império Otomano e Norte de África. Consideravam exóticos os costumes encontrados.

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859-1938)-'the slave and the lion'-oil on canvas   Private collection

Francesco Ballesio (1860-1923)-'at the bazaar'-oil on canvas

Luis Ricardo Falero (1851-1891)-'an Oriental beauty'-oil on canvas   Private collection

Fabio Fabbi (1861-1946)-'wedding procession in Cairo'-oil on canvas

Henri Decaisne (1799-1859)-'a Turk smoking a pipe'-oil on canvas   Cherbourg-Musée d'Art Thomas Henry

Woman reading a letter

Learning to read involves a complex and lengthy process and requires motivation and effort. Illiteracy prevents the reading comprehension activity. Compulsory public education is more or less two centuries old. Initially it was almost exclusively dedicated to young males. Rafael Bluteau (Vocabulary, 1712, p. 618) mentions the saying which shows the indifference towards the teaching of reading to women: “when a mule hee-haws, and a woman speaks Latin, there is rarely a good end”.

A aprendizagem da leitura requer um processo complexo e demorado e exige motivação e esforço. A iliteracia ameaça a compreensão da leitura. O ensino público mais ou menos obrigatório tem menos de dois séculos. Inicialmente era praticamente dedicado aos jovens do sexo masculino. Rafael Bluteau (Vocabulário, 1712, pg 618) menciona o ditado onde mostra o desinteresse pelo ensino da leitura no sector feminino «mula que faz him, e a mulher que fala latim, raramente há bom fim».

Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667)-'woman reading a letter-oil on panel-(1662-1665)   Dublin-National Gallery of Ireland

Pieter Janssens Elinga (1623->1682)-'reading woman'-oil on canvas-ca 1660   München-Alte Pinakothek

Gerard Terborch (1617-1681)- 'woman reading a letter'-oil on canvas   London-Royal collection

Auguste Toulmouche (1829-1890)-'the love letter'-oil on canvas-1883

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)-'woman reading a letter-oil on canvas-(1663-1664)   Amsterdam-Rijksmuseum

Selene and Endymion

Daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia, sister of Helios and Eos, goddess Selene represents the Moon’s phases and personifies it. She fell in love with the mortal Endymion, a shepherd of Caria, who she kept asleep so that he wouldn’t get old. She is associated with Hecate and Artemis.

Filha dos Titãs Hiperion e Téia, irmã de Eos e Hélios, a deusa Selene representa as fases da Lua e personifica este astro. Apaixonou-se pelo mortal Endimion, pastor da Cária, que mantinha adormecido para não envelhecer. Aparece associada a Hécate e Artémis.

Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)-'Selene and Endymion'-oil on canvas-ca 1630   Detroit-Institute of Arts

George Frederick Watts (1817-1904)-' Selene and Endymion'-oil on canvas-ca 1872   Private collection

Victor Florence Pollet (1811-1882)-'Selene and Endymion'-watercolor on paper   London-Victoria and Albert Museum

Jérôme Martin Langlois (1779-1838)-'Diana and Endymion'-oil on canvas   Private collection

Annibale Carracci (1560-1609)-'Diana and the sleeping Endymion'-fresco-ca 1600   Roma-Palazzo Farnese (Galleria)

Battle of Waterloo or Mont Saint-Jean (June 18, 1815)

During the 6th Alliance the Russian army entered Paris (March 30, 1814). Napoleon abdicated in Fontainebleau (April 11, 1814) and was sent into exile on the island of Elba. He returned to Cannes (March 1, 1815). He reorganized the army and fought at Waterloo against the 7th Alliance. He lost, and finally abdicated to be deported to the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic.

Durante a 6ª aliança o exército Russo entrou em Paris (March 30, 1814). Napoleão abdicou em Fontainebleau (April 11, 1814) e exilaram-no na ilha de Elba. Regressou a Cannes (March 1, 1815). Reorganizou o exército e combateu em Waterloo contra a 7ª aliança. Perdeu, abdicou definitivamente e foi deportado para a ilha de Santa Helena no Atlântico sul.

Clement-Auguste Andrieux (1829-1880) 'battle of Waterloo'-oil on canvas-1852   Versailles-Musée National du Châteaux et des Trianons

Antoine-Charles Horace Vernet (1758-1836) and Jacques François Swebach (1769-1825)-'battle of Waterloo'-coloured lythograph

Ernest Crofts (1847-1911)-'battle of Waterloo'

Henri-Félix-Emmanuel Philippoteau (1815-1884)-'battle of Waterloo (French cuirassiers charging onto the British squares)'

John Heaviside Clarke (1771-1863)-'morning after the battle of Waterloo'-oil on canvas-1816

Budapest (1938) by Antal Berkes (1874-1938)

Budapest is located in the place where the Celts settled Aquincum. At the time of the Roman Empire it became the capital of Lower Pannonia. The Magyars, who arrived there in the 9th century, had to cope with the Mongolian plundering in the years 1241-1242. Budapest was part of the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Budapeste situa-se no local onde os Celtas instalaram Aquincum. Na época do Império Romano tornou-se capital da Baixa Panónia. Os Magiares, chegados à região no séc. IX, suportaram a pilhagem Mongólica nos anos de 1241-1242. Esteve integrada nos Impérios Otomano e Austro-Húngaro.

Antal Berkes (1874-1938)-'pictures of the old square (Kepe)'-oil on canvas

Antal Berkes (1874-1938)-'street scene (utcai)'-oil on canvas

Antal Berkes (1874-1938)-'street scene '-oil on canvas

Antal Berkes (1874-1938)-'street in Budapest (utca)'-oil on canvas

Antal Berkes (1874-1938)-'main street (foutca) '-oil on canvas

Near East and Egypt by Leander Russ (1809-1864)

The Austrian painter Leander Russ (1809-1864) traveled over Egypt and the Near East in the mid of 19th century.

O pintor Austríaco Leander Russ (1809-1864) viajou pelo Egipto e Próximo Oriente em meados do séc. XIX.

Leander Russ (1809-1864)-'the Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem'-watercolor on paper-1842  Wien- Graphische Sammlung Albertina

Leander Russ (1809-1864)-'the storming of Acre'-watercolor on paper-1842  Wien- Graphische Sammlung Albertina

Leander Russ (1809-1864)-'view of Bethlehem'-watercolor on paper-1842   Wien- Graphische Sammlung Albertina

Leander Russ (1809-1864)-'at the Pyramids'-watercolor on paper-1842  Wien- Graphische Sammlung Albertina

Leander Russ (1809-1864)-'a fellah village near Cairo'-watercolor on paper 1842   Wien-Graphische Sammlung Albertina

French history by Jacques de Breville (1853-1931)

The French illustrator Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray Breville (1853-1931) left many documents on the history of his country, some of them showing a satirical perspective.

O ilustrador francês Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931) deixou inúmeros documentos sobre a história do seu país, alguns mais ou menos satíricos.

Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931)-'a gaulish family cooking a bear'-oil on canvas

Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931)-'king Dagobert I (ca 603-639) putting his trouser on the wrong way round'-oil on canvas

Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931)-'assassination of Henri IV by François Ravaillac in the rue de la Ferronerie on 14th May 1610'-oil on canvas   Paris-École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (bibliothèque)

Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931)-'Louis XIV in the courtyard of Versailles ultering his celebrated phrase J'ai failli attendre'-oil on canvas

Jacques-Marie-Gaston Onfray de Breville (1853-1931)-'Marshal Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) the Liberator-oil on canvas

American way of life

“American way of life” refers to all kind of intellectual and civic behavior practiced since the beginning of the emigration of people dissatisfied with European models.  It is expressed in the inalienable rights registered in the Declaration of Independence.

Por estilo de vida americano entende-se o tipo de comportamento intelectual e cívico praticado desde o início da emigração de descontentes com os modelos europeus. Encontra-se expresso nos direitos inalienáveis inscritos na Declaração da Independência.

Charles Marion Russell (1864-1936)-'a bronc to breakfast'-oil on canvas-1912

Charles Marion Russell (1864-1936)-'lassoing a steer'-oil on board-1897   Private collection

John George Brown (1831-1913)-'a sure shot'-oil on canvas-ca 1875   New York-Brooklyn Museum

John George Brown (1831-1913)-'the bully of the neighborhood'-oil on canvas

Frederic Remington (1861-1909)-'the hunter's supper'-oil on canvas-ca 1909   Oklahoma City-National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum