Spanish Archives - Page 2 of 10 - Inspiration & motivation in the everyday

Bijou place you may not know

Any discovery of a treasure hidden in plain sight brings an epic delight.

And also the nagging inner voice “How come you have missed it for so long?”.

Take for example the visitors to the French Riviera. Even the regular tourists blissfully miss the Riviera’s bijou called the village of Saint- Joan- Cap – Ferrat.

The reason is definitely not logistical. Cap-Ferrat is a natural peninsula on the French Riviera only 10 km away from Nice and 18 km from Monaco.

A taxi driver from Nice airport can reach a hotel in Cap-Ferrat in 30 min.

There are trains, buses and boats available during throughout the year.

Fortunately, Cap-Ferrat’s unpopularity with mass tourism helps to preserve its natural and created beauty.

Uncrowded beaches, picturesque coves, spectacular views towards the neighbouring bays of Villefranche-sur-mer and Beaulieu-sur-mer and hiking costal paths form a part of the resort’s charms.

The climate remains mild all year round, with very little rain in the summer and relatively warm winters.

The steep elevation from the sea to the Alps mountains shelters the cape from the strong Mistral wind.

The French movie “Chocolat”with the famous actors Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp presented the arrival of the Mistral as symbolising a mysterious longing for something. Metaphorically or not, experiencing the Mistral wind in Cap-Ferrat is unforgettable.

The peninsula is build on dry rocks with limited fresh water.

The water supply problem was resolved in the late 19th century.

This improvement encouraged the planting of olive threes, pine woods and subtropical plantations of palm trees, Hibiscus and Jacarandas.

All the flora remains man-made.

The history of the peninsula unfolds as dramatic as its landscape.

From a humble fishing village Saint-Jean- Cap-Ferrat became a magnet for the reach and royalty.

The town has ancient roots. In the 6th century a hermit monk from Egypt called Hospitals lived in a ruined tower on the peninsula and in his honour the cape was named Cap-Saint Hospice.

From the 14th century, the county of Nice, including Cap-Ferrat came under the House of Savoy.

In 1860 France annexed it.

A pivotal moment for the Cap Ferrat community was the arrival of King Leopold II of Belgium who bought a large estate on the peninsula, built luxury villas and constructed beautiful gardens .

The beautiful Jardin Botanique Les Cedres he created still exists today.

The village of Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat separated from the town of Villefranche-sur-mer in 1904 and adopted the current name Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat in 1907.

In 2012 the prices of real estate in Cap Ferrat were the second most expensive in the world after Monaco.

What sets Cap-Ferrat apart from the other Mediterranean resorts? Without doubt the magnificent nature, the preserved charm, the heritage, the balance between tradition and modernity.

Cap-Ferrat offers authenticity, exclusivity and undeniable charm.

A little bit of heaven

The phrase “French Riviera” contains an obvious geographical reference. It relates to the Southeastern coast of France. On the West the Riviera begins at Cassis, a small town 20 km east of Marseille and continues to the French border with Italy to the East.

The word “Riviera” has a Latin origin and means a “bank” or a “shore”. Italians used it to describe the coastal area of Liguria in the northwest of the country. So, the word “Riviera” depicts “a region characterised by the rough contact of sea and mountain”.

Surprisingly, the invention of the name “French Riviera” belongs to the British aristocracy. Traditionally, every upper class Englishman had to take the Grand Tour to Italy in his formative years. Around 1760 the nobility updated the tradition with a new trend- the fashion to visit Nice and the French Riviera in winter.

The British fascination with the French Riviera began with a book. Scottish novelist Tobias Smollett wrote about the health benefits of the mild winter climate in the Nice area. His book “Travels Through France and Italy” was published in 1766 and became very popular among wealthy Britains.

Seizing the opportunity another Scotsman, Doctor John Brown, started prescribing a “climate-therapy” (change of climate to help cure diseases) to his rich and noble patients. Voila, the fashionable health resort and the name “French Riviera” for the region was born.

I personally prefer the French phrase “Cote d’Azur” (with accent on o) instead of ‘French Riviera”.

The literal translation means a “coast of deep blue” – the deep blue waters of Mediterranean sea and the vivid blue of the unclouded sky.

The name is poetic because it was given by the poet Stephen Liegard. He was a lawyer and a senior civil servant, a poet and a dandy and published a book about the region of Nice called “La Cote d’Azur”in 1887 .

He called the area “a country of blue sea, sky and flower”. The beautiful name stuck.

Whenever the Southeastern Mediterranean coast of France is mentioned, its name always holds a luxury connotation. European and Russian Royalties, wealthy people, famous artists and nowadays celebrities have been and continue to be regular visitors to the region. An integral part of the glamorous allure of the Code d’Azur is provided by the word’s most prestigious casinos.

The pioneers of the gambling industry on the French Riviera were a ruling Prince and a fraudulent entrepreneur.

Prince Charles III of the governing Grimaldi family of Monaco was facing a financial crisis in the middle of the 19th century. His solution to these money troubles came in the form of legalising gambling and establishing a casino and a company “La Societe de Bains de Mer” to manage it in December 1860.

He hired the famous architect Charles Garnier (Opera Garnier in Paris) to build the casino.

The gambling did not take off very well.

The Prince went into negotiations with a French entrepreneur called Francois Blanc.

Francois had a colourful entrepreneurial past including an arrest and trial for fraudulent business strategies in Bordeaux.

In the middle of 19th century Francois was managing a hugely successful Casino in Bad Homburg, Germany. The problem was that the German casino attracted clients mostly in the summer.

Francois immediately recognised the ability of the Riviera to attract wealthy clients in the winter and all year round.

The negotiations were long and painful. At the end the Prince conveyed shares of the “La Societe de Bains de Mer” to Francois Blanc. The company owned the rights to public service – supply of water and gas, the right to build hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues around the casino. Francois invested in developing the infrastructure (roads and railway) of the country ensuring easy access to Monaco.

The incredible successful rate of the casino led to a huge surge in the gambling industry on the Riviera. A series of exclusive, opulent casinos were build in Cannes, Nice, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Menton. They offer history, elegance and entertainment to their clients.

So, I can suggest another name for the French Riviera and Cote d’Azur. The name is “Heaven” – an escape to a cosmopolitan space of serene beauty , extravagance and unparalleled comfort.

WALTZING IN LONDON

Everyone has heard about the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall in London – a well-known classical music summer festival in the capital of England.

Nevertheless, many unenlightened fans of classical music are unable to guess the meaning of the word Proms in the festival name. So did I until last Saturday. My love for the Viennese Golden era music forced me to face my ignorance.

To look literally at its meaning ! It came in the form of an ugly empty space called arena in the middle of the auditorium of the Royal Albert Hall .

While I was sitting comfortable in my swing chair, a large group of people assembled in the arena.

Some people were sitting on the floor, others were standing up, all looking casual, yet excited.

What could probably possess these people to choose the discomfort of standing over to the convenience of the velvet-dressed seats?

There was no time to ponder.

The orchestra came on stage and the Finnish conductor Anna-Maria Helsing gracefully raised her baton.

Everyone in the arena stood up. The plain middle space disappeared under the arena members and suddenly we all were united. The musicians, the audience, the TV and Radio crew – we all were one, dancing the waltz of Johann Strauss II.

I guessed the first row of the standing up community had the best view, right in front of the orchestra. May be it was worth it to sacrifice the luxury of the seat for the opportunity of listening and observing the musicians close up.

Or may be not.

Nowadays the Royal Albert Hall offers a very impressive sound quality. Before 1969 a strong echo caused by the roof design presented a real acoustic issue. Visitors joked that the echo helped them to hear the music twice for the price of one ticket.

Everything changed when acoustic diffusers (fibreglass discs) were installed on the ceiling of the hall. They effectively reflect the sound back to the auditorium and were lovingly named “mushrooms”.

The rising star of the Metropolitan Opera, the American soprano Erin Morley made her debut on the stage. The audience cheered her enthusiastically.

At the interval time I asked a family in front of me how long the break was gong to be. They replied “Usually 20 min.” With accent on usually. There is some pride in being a regular at the Proms.

The programme continued with popular and not so famous Viennese musical pieces – exactly the intention of the co-founders Robert Newman and Henry Wood more than 125 years ago. They aimed to popularise classical music with a large audience.

“By the beautiful blue Danube” waltz’s popularity goes without any question and deserves the special privilege of being the final piece of the concert. It is the best musical piece full of magic, beauty and nostalgia.

Finally, the secret behind the name Proms. The reference comes from the popular tradition called Promming.

Promming means to stand up in the middle arena or in the galleries of the theatre. One of the definite attractions of Promming is on the cheap price of the ticket. It costs only £8 and can be bought on the day of the concert from 9:30 in the morning.

For the very popular concerts the prommmers need to queue almost all day but who understand the joy of queuing better than the British people.

Prommers bring a special element of informality, disorganisation and enthusiasm to the Royal Albert Hall that breaks the seriousness and stiffness of classical concerts.

Still, I prefer to enjoy this gorgeous Viennese music pleasantly leaning on the back of my chair.

In September I will be listening to the Strauss music in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. It seems naturally to waltz in Vienna.

Life is better with a spa day

Spring is here! The sun shines brightly and promises great days ahead!
The moment has arrived for pampering the body and soul with a spa day!

The Chewton Glen Hotel will unequivocally win any competition for “The best spa facilities and service” in the local area. For a simple reason – the spa is delightfully spacious and relaxing.

I have not been to the Chewton Glen spa for a while. During my last visit the detrimental consequences of the lockdown were easily spotted.
So, let’s go to check up the place now!

First impressions bring hope!

The grounds of the hotel, beautifully designed and meticulously maintained, beam in full glory.

The eye-catching red colours of the flowers complement the vibrant green of the gardens, blossoming trees glow in white and pink.

My expectations are rising, good surprises continue.

The check-in process lasts only a few minutes, mostly due to a new system for the lockers in the changing room.

The old system with hand bands for the lockers has been updated to an easy digital process.

The first stop is the Pool Bar for breakfast. I must admit the choice of breakfast is not so diverse as in previous years yet it is definitely very healthy.

I choose a chia and pineapple cocktail and an espresso coffee.

Spot on – delicious!

In the Bar the atmosphere is comforting and luxurious. Two ladies are ordering a bottle of champagne and a cooked breakfast. The girl next to me is reading her newspaper and a few couples are engaged in lively discussions.

The changing rooms are as always clean and roomy.

Shame that one of my favourite facilities does not work.

Apart from that all good, even new snow-white robes are available.

The outdoor whirlpool offers a soothing experience under the warmth of the spring sun.

All jets work in the hydrotherapy spa pool inside.

The two neck and shoulder jets appear to be operating with decreased power, still the reduction prevents the water spraying on other users as happened in the past.

Afterwards, the heating beds offer soothing bliss.

I would strongly suggest that the spa management replace the dying pot plants in the hall of the hydrotherapy pool with artificial ones. Obviously, it is hard to maintain healthy plants in this area.

The spa hall attracts with its high ceiling and a reasonable size swimming pool. It is full of light and has spectacular views of the hotel gardens.

Still, some things never change. From 11 am, for an hour, the swimming pool becomes an area for aqua fitness. Everyone around the pool is invited to join in if they are keen on this type of organised activity.

Around the middle of the spa day, the most pleasant surprise presents itself in the form of a tasty healthy buffet lunch. There is a good choice of high quality nutritious and fresh food.

The spa afternoon finely slides into the glorious experience of a full body warm oil massage and the use of the steaming room and sauna – a really hot afternoon.

Finally, it is time to go home. I feel enjoyably tired, clean and glowing.

I always believe my friend when she says:
“Spa days are like pizza – always a good idea!”

“A lady hanging from the ceiling by her teeth”

Part One

Although the French Impressionist Edgar Degas is widely known as a painter of ballerinas he did, on one occasion, depict a circus acrobat.

The story of this masterpiece, titled “Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando” is extraordinary.

When Degas encountered Miss LaLa (real name Anna Olga Albertina Brown) she was performing at the legendary Circus Fernando located on the southern edge of the bohemian quarter, Montmartre.

Her signature “iron-jaw act” consisted of a dangerous ascent of the aerialist to the roof of the circus by clinching a rope between her teeth.

She also entertained her audience by hanging upside down from a “trapeze” and holding, by a rope in her mouth, a little boy, then a woman, and later a man.

The climax of the performance included lifting with her mouth a “cannon barrel” weighing more than 300 kg which was “packed with gun powder and lit”. Miss LaLa never lost her grip.

In simple words, in the winter of 1878 Miss Lala was more famous than the artist and a local journalist wrote “…to admit that you have not seen her is to lose your reputation as a Parisian”.

Degas lived just a few blocks away from the circus and visited most of Miss LaLa and her troupe’s performances and rehearsals during the season.

He completed the painting and offered it to the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition which took place in an apartment on the Avenue de L’Opera.

The exhibition opened on 10th April 1879.

To the great annoyance of his peers, Degas did not bring the painting until 27th April.

No one knew the real reason for the postponement but if that was a marketing strategy by Degas, it backfired badly.

The painting did not attract the expected attention. Two art critics wrote uncomplimentary reviews of the depiction.

After two weeks of public exposure, a disappointed Degas took the picture back to his studio where it remained for the next 23 years, gathering dust.

Eventually, in 1902 Degas gave the painting on consignment to his regular dealer Paul Durant-Ruel under the name “L’acrobate” and under this name it joined an exhibition in Berlin in 1903.

In January 1905 Paul Durant-Ruel organised an extensive Impressionist exhibition in London presenting 315 paintings including Degas’ “Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando”. Only 13 paintings were sold.

On the last day of the exhibition Cawthra Mulock, a 22-year old Canadian man, also known as “The Boy Millionaire of Toronto” visited the gallery and bought the acrobat’s painting.

Mr. Mulock, who inherited a vast fortune from his aunt at the age of 15, was on a business trip to London at the time of the exhibition.

To recapture, for a period of 26 years the Miss LaLa painting was publicly displayed on only THREE occasions and in 1905 it sailed to Toronto, Canada.

For the next 15 years it hung in Mulock’s mansion on Jarvis Street in Toronto, admired only by visitors to the house.

In 1917 Degas died in Paris. The sensational Miss La La had long been forgotten. She had settled in Brussels, managing a cafe and an inn for stage artists.

In 1918 the Toronto millionaire died in New York from Spanish flu.

His widow sold Degas’ painting to an Art Gallery in Toronto.

It was then bought by an art dealer for $6,500 and in 1923 it figured publicly for the FOURTH time in 44 years in an exhibition in the French Gallery in London.

That same year, the philanthropist Samuel Courtauld established his Fund for purchasing modern paintings for the National Gallery in London.

In 1924 the Fund bought the painting.

“A lady hanging from the ceiling by her teeth” had found her home.

To be continued…

Crafting lemonade with Michelangelo

London is stealing the hearts of art lovers this summer. The city offers unlimited and worthy options to immerse oneself in the creative world of renowned painters.

My choice fell upon two eminent artists from the Renaissance era – Michelangelo di Ludovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) and Michelangelo Merisi (1571- 1610), better known by the name of Caravaggio – the name of his home town in Lombardy in Northern Italy.

The British Museum presented the drawings from the last three decades of Michelangelo’s life in Rome and the National Gallery showcased Caravaggio’s last painting “ The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula”.

Both Old Masters loved painting figures (including figures of handsome young boys). Yet, they depicted them using completely different techniques.

Michelangelo painted in a fresco manner.

Literally, fresco means fresh in Italian.

The artist pioneered a method of applying the paint straight on a still-wet wall plaster producing a result that was highly resilient to environmental factors.

The exhibition is a real eye-opener of the hard work involved in this technique.

Michelangelo set up a meticulous process of creating preparatory sketches.

He figured out the composition of the artwork by drawing a succession of studies.

In them he experimented with the figures, displaying remarkable precision in outlining the smallest details of human bodies.

Figures and faces were drawn again and again until the intended emotional intensity was achieved.

Then these studies were used to produce a full-size drawing called cartoon.

Patiently and accurately little holes were punched on the outlines of the cartoon, the drawing was then held against the wall while chalk was applied to it several times.

The chalk would go through the holes to the wall, creating guidance for the artist.

The exhibition displayed the cartoon Epifania, the only complete Michelangelo cartoon that has survived.

It is 2.32 metres tall,1.65 metres wide and contains 26 sheets of paper.

Eventually, Michelangelo abandoned the Epifania project but offered the cartoon to one of his pupils who completed the painting.

The exhibition presented the cartoon and the painting, reunited for the first time since the 1550s.

The other Michelangelo preferred oil painting on canvas. Caravaggio did not discriminate when it came to his canvases. He often painted on fabrics with already existing depicts.

The artist also did not execute a preparatory phase.

That does not mean he entirely skipped the step of detailed studies or drawings.

The truth is he developed a technique attuned to his artistic temperament and time management.

Probably he came about this method in his early years as a poor artist in Rome. At that time he worked for a painter from Sicily who paid him for “each head” drawn, so time was of the essence.

Caravaggio gradually mastered his ability to paint without preparatory drawings and employed this technique throughout his career.

His work began with painting the surface of the canvas with grey, brown or black colours.

Then he scratched fine lines on the suffice by using the handle of the paint brush to outline the most important details of his compositions.

Next, he painted directly with colour while the models posed in front of him.

It seems to me that both Michelangelos have put forward the idea that not originality but self-belief in “My Way” is a crucial ingredient in the mastery of making lemonade from life’s lemons.

Caravaggio – the darkness and the light

In the first decades of 17th century Caravaggio meteorically rose to fame and achieved the status of one of the most commissioned painters in Rome.

He revolutionised the art for ever, and inspired other European artists, called Caravaggisti, to adopt his innovative style of painting.

Yet, in the middle of 17th century Caravaggio was forgotten. He remained forgotten for three centuries until 1951 when the art historian Roberto Longhi organised an exhibition of Caravaggio’s work in Milan.

The Old Master was re-discovered.

The National Gallery in London recently exhibited two masterpieces of Caravaggio.

Both of them have unfamiliar religious titles “The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula” and “Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist”.

Both were painted in the last year of the artist’s life.

The latter is part of the permanent collection of the Gallery.

The exhibition’s design parallels the dramatic and naturalistic manner of Caravaggio.

The hall is small and shady. Diminished lights reveal the artist’s favourite earthy colours – black, brown and red.

From the shadows two paintings mysteriously emerge and captivate the spectator.

It feels easy to understand Caravaggio’s world.

Standing in front of the “Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist” the viewers grasp immediately that a murder has been committed.

Only three figures and one head are in the painting. Actually half-figures surrounded by threatening blackness. The murderer has a “boxer’s broken nose”, redness on his chicks and his torso is strong and muscular. The brute holds the head by its hair and clutches his sword with the cruel pride of a job well done.

An old woman with a wrinkled, sorrowful face and praying hands peers over the head of the dead man.

A beautiful girl in front of her grips the tray on which the murderer is placing the head. She desperately tries to avoid looking at it. There is some guilt and regret in her facial expression and some awkwardness in her half-turned body.

The head on the tray conveys terror and cruelness coming from the meticulously painted white-yellowish lifeless face, wounded ear and flowing blood.

A light from a single source, external to the painting highlights the faces and hands enhancing the dramatic effect.

If art lovers like detective stories and thrillers like me – they have it all: drama, mystery, threats, barbarism and sorrow, beauty and ugliness. Like real life.

It does not matter whether the religious story and/or the religious characters are known to the audience. The human story unfolds and the observer participates in it.

Martin Scorsese, the Hollywood director of the movie “Killers of the Flower Moon” felt “Immediately taken” by the “cinematic effect” of Caravaggio’s art and regularly visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to study his work.

Many film-makers and photographers have studied and adopted the painter’s unique way of contrasting light and darkness.

Caravaggio’s art has been resurrected like a mystical Phoenix.

The painter not only moved the European art towards the new Baroque Age of the 17th and 18th centuries but in some strange way Caravaggio influenced two contemporary art genres that even did not exist two century ago.

An interesting fact in this connection is that Caravaggio’s patron in Rome,

Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte, who helped catapult the artist to glory was a very educated and progressive Renaissance man.

He enthusiastically supported new trends in art and science.

In his Palazzio he kept a telescope given to him by Galileo Galilei who as we well know was distrusted by the Church and the Inquisition but enjoyed the protection of the visionary Cardinal.

When blackness threatens, be a Cavaraggisti, create your own light!

The last and lost Caravaggio

It was one of those coincidences that I call destiny.

Destiny as in a pleasant surprise.

Netflix presented a new adaptation of the Patricia Hammersmith’s novel “The talented Mr Ripley” by the director Steven Zaillian in the spring of 2024.

The version contains 8 black and white episodes with the brilliant Andrew Scott in the role of Tom Ripley.

In one of the episodes the considerably less talented and much richer character Dickie Greenleaf introduces Tom Ripley to the Italian painter of the 17th century, Caravaggio (“The Seven Works of Mercy” in a church in Naples).

Later in the series Tom appreciates the work of the artist in Galleria Borghese in Rome and in the final episode Caravaggio’s spirit mysteriously appears trying to escape the chasing Maltese Knights.

The presence of one of the greatest masters of the Renaissance

in a 2024 movie magically coincided with the exhibition of

his last painting ” The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula”

in the National Gallery in London.

The history of the painting is as twisted and troubled as the life of its creator.

In spring of 1610 the Genoese nobleman Marcantonio Doria, through his business agent in Naples, commissioned Caravaggio to compose a religious canvas on the subject of Saint Ursula.

At this time the artist lived in Naples as a fugitive, waiting for the Pope to pardon him for the murder he committed four years earlier in Rome.

Caravaggio worked fast and delivered the commissioned art work to the agent on time.

Now we know that the agent Lanfranco Massa left the picture of Saint Ursula in the sunshine for a day in order to send it to his employer “perfectly dry” then he shipped it to Genoa in May 1610.

And then the painting vanished.

Two months later Caravaggio was dead.

Therefore “The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula” acquired the status of “the last painting” and also “the lost one” for nearly four centuries.

Until 1980.

The story began when an art historian Vincenzo Pacelli received a tip-off that the state archives of Naples kept papers of the Doria family (Remember, the Genoese Prince).

Indeed, Pacelli discovered two letters written by the already mentioned agent Massa to his boss Doria dated 11th and 27th May 1610.

The letters undoubtedly confirm that Caravaggio painted ““The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula”.

Pacelli and Fernando Bologna, an art historian, with interest and expertise in the works of Caravaggio, wrote an article about the discovery in a quarterly journal Prospettiva specialising in ancient and modern art history in 1980.

The true identity of the author of “the lost painting” was revealed to the world.

Where was the painting located during these long 370 years?

Understandably, after exposure to the sun, the canvas arrived in not very good condition in Genoa in 1610.

It stayed with the Doria family until some of the family members moved back to Naples in and took the painting with them in 1832. The masterpiece belonged to the interior decoration of their Palazzo Doria D’Angri for years.

At the beginning of 20th century the villa was acquired by a family called Romana-Avezzano. In 1963 the picture of Saint Ursula was displayed at an exhibition in Naples, somehow “undercover”, as it was credited to another artist.

In 1973 the painting was bought by the Banca Commercial Italiana as the work of one of the Caravaggio’s followers, Maria Preto (1613- 1699) from Calabria.

In 1999 Banca Commercial Italiana merged with Banca Intesa Sanpaolo and the masterpiece of Caravaggio found its new owners.

They organised public access to the painting by displaying it in the Galleria d’Italia on Via Toledo in Rome.

If you missed the exhibition in London this summer, fear not, you have an excuse to jump on a plane to Rome to meet Caravaggio.

If not, I will post a series of articles about the life and work of this exceptionally talented and restless man who propelled art to the new era of Baroque.

At the end I will ask like Dickie asking Tom “Do you like Caravaggio?”.

Finding freedom when trapped

Liberating oneself from constraints is a tough task.

Nelson Mandela, who had extensive knowledge on matters of liberty and imprisonment famously said that freedom “is not merely to cast off one’s chains.” There is much more to it.

Unexpectedly, the exhibition “Michelangelo: Last Decades” organised by the British Museum, London has added some deeper layers to the paradox of being free when trapped.

The genius of the Renaissance, Michelangelo, held strong professional opinions.

He believed that sculpture was a supreme art and identified himself as a sculptor. Michelangelo ranked painting inferior and disliked it.

The artist even wrote a poem about the misery of painting: “My painting is dead…I am not in the right place – I am not a painter.”

Talented and successful people like Michelangelo routinely make enemies.

His well-known distaste of painting inspired the influential architect, and Michelangelo’s rival, Donato Bramante to set a nasty trap for him.

Bramante convinced Pope Julius II to commission the artist to paint the vault of the Sistine Chapel – a Herculean project, designed to ensure Michelangelo’s failure.

The ceiling of the chapel consisted of a thousand square metres and the painter had to compose around 300 figures.

The sculptor had little knowledge and skills of fresco technique, nevertheless his work would be judged against the brilliance of Rafael who was working on another project in The Vatican at the same time.

Without doubt, Michelangelo was “hacked”. He could not refuse the Pope’s commission. Others would inevitably compare his work to the mastery of Rafael.

What do you do in a situation like that?

The easiest way is to try to avoid it.

Michelangelo sincerely declared that Rafael was a much better painter than him and suggested his appointment for the task.

This did not work.

Full of resentment, Michelangelo firmly negotiated the parameters of his task.

The sculptor declined to employ the fresco method popular at that time and invented his own unique technique.

He also dismissed the fresco experts brought especially from Florence to advise him and used just four assistants for the less important parts of the paintings.

Michelangelo locked the door of the Chapel and allowed two workers to be there with him.

The artist also disapproved of the scaffolding erected by Bramante and built “an ingenious system of mobile scaffolding”. Finally, he announced that he was going to paint not only the ceiling of the vault but also the walls.

The work commenced on 15th May 1508 and the Chapel was opened to the public four years later on 31st October 1512.

The project was a major “suck”.

Michelangelo wanted to abandon it many times.

His relationship with the Pope was fraught with difficulty and caused many crises and arguments.

Mould appeared on the walls, spread to the paintings and damaged them.

Michelangelo had to paint standing on the scaffolding, reaching up to the ceiling and craning his neck for more than 12 hours a day.

It probably was unbelievably claustrophobic in this small place between the ceiling and the scaffolding with paint running down on him endlessly.

The physical demands and burdens of the work led to serious health problems for years to come.

Still, Michelangelo endured and emerged victorious from the trap.

In a letter he wrote “ I worked harder than anyone who ever lived. I am not well and worn out with this stupendous labour, and yet, I am patient in order to achieve the desired end”.

For centuries, the world has cherished the “desired end” as truly divine.

The “freedom”

could be

the choice to stay in the game,

push through

and give your best in the face of despair.

Mercury as a ruler of astrology

I should not blow my own trumpet but it does feel good to do so.

During my astrology study I have often heard that astrology is ruled by Uranus. Even though some arguments could be made in this direction, personally I am hesitant to accept this statement as being the whole story.

Perhaps people repeat this tired stereotype without really thinking it through or they are compelled by the flattering image of the astrologer as an unorthodox genius.

In my opinion, a strong case could be made that astrology is ruled by Saturn and Mercury. Recently I have written about Saturn’s rulership of astrology in my post “Why could Saturn rule astrology?“
https://www.natterwithnina.co.uk/why-could-saturn-rule-astrology/.

Meanwhile Mercury went retrograde and the rear event of Jupiter’s conjunction with Uranus in Taurus occurred. It brought about a big crises in my faith in astrology.

Fortunately, Mercury turn direct two days ago and I decided to listen to one of my favourite astrologers Rick Levine talking about the houses in the chart.

Amazingly, he confirmed that astrology could be governed by Saturn and Mercury. He also talked about modern astrology, the astrology of nowadays and the future.

https://youtu.be/dcu05EJEK3s?si=_EYms9gISlCsu5Hv

With this encouragement I will proceed to share my thoughts about the possibility of Mercury being an astrological governor.

My main arguments are based on the neutral nature of Mercury and its acceptance and easiness with paradoxes.

Mercury is impartial. Mercury does understand that basic astrological elements such as planets, signs, houses and aspects do not exist on the shaking ground of “good” and “bad`’, “benefic” and “malefic”, “feminine” and “masculine”, “positive” and “negative”.

He deals with data without entering into the disputable areas of morality and outdated classifications.

Yet, remember, Mercury is the God of communication and learning including divination.

He was the only God who could go to the underworld, traveling with the souls across the River Styx and come back.

Mercury understands that paradoxes are the essence of life.

Paradoxes can make it exciting. Paradoxes can make it hard.

Paradoxes make “putting people into boxes” redundant.

Mercurial genius thrives on the ability to find the common ground between polarities, unfamiliarities, unknown terrains and to suggest feasible solutions or at least workable explanations and directions.

Astrological art highlights the paradoxes in the chart, tries to make sense of them and to take guidance from them.

Astrology is stratospherically more than producing long lists of key words, explaining what the single elements mean or using the last technological tool.

Spring is here! The sun shines brightly and promises great days ahead! The moment has arrived for pampering the body and soul with a spa day!