—Elizabeth Taylor
c. 1460
Manuscript (Ms. français 2695), 386 x 298 mm
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
Design of the decoration attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger
(German, Augsburg 1497/98–1543 London)
Medium: Steel, gold, leather, copper alloys
Armorer: Helmet signed by Bamen Tomotsugu (Japanese, Eichizan province, Toyohara, active 18th century)
Date: 18th century
Geography: Toyohara, Okinawa prefecture
Culture: Japanese, Toyohara, Eichizan province
Medium: Iron, lacquer, copper-gold alloy (shakudō), silver, silk, horse hair, ivory
Dimensions: as mounted: H. 58 5/8 in. W. 18 3/4 in.
Designer: Paul Poiret (French, Paris 1879–1944 Paris)
Date: 1911
Medium: metal, silk, cotton
Dimensions: Length (a): 50 1/4 in. (127.6 cm) Diameter (b): 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm)
—William Holden
Date: ca. 1450, German
Medium: Wood, leather, linen, gesso, pigments, silver
Dimensions: H. 22 in. W. 16 in.
Oil on canvas, 115 x 150 cm Pinacoteca Capitolina, Rome
Smith and Wesson .32 Single-Action Revolver, Serial no. 17156, ca. 1889–90
American, Springfield, Massachusetts and New York,
Steel, silver, laminated metal; L., 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); barrel L., 3 in. (7.6 cm); Cal., .32 in. (8 mm); Wt., 15 oz. (438 g)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
—Cary Grant
Portrait of a Chambermaid
c. 1625
Oil on panel, 64 x 48 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
Date: 1690–1700
Medium: silk, leather
Dimensions: Length: 10 in.
”These are the faces of children I embraced and kissed and loved. I cannot imagine that they are dead, that none would survive… A million and a half children among the six million… But this I knew… I wanted to save their faces, not their ashes.”
—Roman Vishniac
1983
oil on canvas
36 x 40 inches
Audrey wanted children and Holden had had a vasectomy. She did not have much luck with husbands but her sons loved her dearly. I gave a cookbook of her recipes to my daughter-in-law for Christmas.
RJ Wagner’s biography has an interesting observation. Movies showed people many times life sized but TV was much more intimate. Some great movie stars just didn’t fit the small screen. He was very flattered to be invited home for dinner one time by a woman who recognized him in the supermarket. He liked being considered the nice young man next door.
Great photos. You know I always check up on your blog while I’m eating lunch; on Fridays, I always know it will be a relaxing read.
BTW, until I saw the caption under the Japanese armor, I thought it was some work of modern art, made of automotive floor mats and those beaded things people used to put on driver’s seats! It just shows how subjective an aesthetic can be.
Wonderful pictures as always Robert. Two girls with the shadows is interesting. I am amazed at how so many of these very old paintings you show that are 100s of years old seem just as vibrant today as in the 15th century.
I have thought about the Cary Grant quote. I might as a PS – that success can be elusive – you have to know where to look. Some people look in all the wrong places.
On Cary Grant my mother said an interesting thing the other day. Said he was considered to be one of the best dressed men in the country. Refused to even carry anything in his pockets as it would ruin the crease.
We were also talking about by late father, who grew up in Los Angeles. While at UCLA at the fraternity house during a party Joe E. Brown’s son came by with Elizabeth Taylor.
Of all the Hollywood Stars of the Golden era, I think knowing Audrey would be near the top for me.
Actually that was William Powell, not Cary Grant, and only in the movies.
It is all about illusion: thirty-five times larger than life in two dimensions. Probably no one who thought, or behaved, otherwise.
There’s something about the beautiful Tiffany & Co. / Smith and Wesson .32 design that makes me want to hold it; not shoot it, just hold it. A former customer of mine owned a small design firm in Chicago that created the stylish milk containers that have been around for awhile now http://images.machinedesign.com/images/archive/wrap0202jpg_00000034136.jpg
The design of those milk containers has the same affect on me, makes me want to hold one.
Would the location of your “Silent Picture” shot be in close proximity to the steel door with the welded hinge, the picture from a few weeks ago? Just curious.
The placement of the “Young Jewish girls” picture directly above the one of your granddaughter is quite powerful.
Kimosabbe:
Beautiful objects just begged to be touched.
This silent picture was snapped in an alley off Pico Robertson near Glenville. The Hinge picture was taken about a mile and a half away, at a lightbulb store on South Pico. Most of my Silent Pictures have been taken in the Pico Robertson area of Los Angeles.
I’m always aware of the wonderful life we Jews have in America. The rest of the world— with very few exceptions — is a swamp of Jew-hatred.
Thank you! My brother-in-law lives not far from there, in Laurel Canyon. I’ll do a drive-through of Pico Robertson on my next visit, looks interesting.
Kudos and thank you again for making my Friday a little bit better.
I love John Wayne (my childhood hero) and Audrey Hepburn, et al, but the Roman Vishniac photo burns a deep hole into my psyche… so many innocent children.
Your granddaughter is precious! Have a wonderful Sabbath, Robert.
Prophet Joe:
Glad we can enliven your weekends.
Every day seems to bring bad news. I actually fear for the survival of this Republic when I see half the country supporting Stalinist throwback Bernie Sanders and the American Peronista Hillary Clinton.
As always, thanks for your articulate and warm comments.