Coffee by Pierre Bonnard

Coffee:

is a 1915 painting by Pierre Bonnard, who died on January 23, 1947, at age 79.

Holiday Reading

Holiday Reading:

by Carl Larsson, who died on January 22, 1919, at the age of 65.

Queen of Paradis

Queen of Paradis (Tubi) is a 2020 documentary described by IMDb this way:

After the success of artist Reine Paradis' breakout photo series 'Jungle', filmmaker Carl Lindstrom follows her on a surreal journey across the United States as she works to complete her highly anticipated second series 'Midnight'.

This is another movie outside my typical fare, as I tend to avoid documemtaries and biographical films, but this is absolutely delightful. I had been unaware of Paradis and enjoyed this introduction. It is well-reviewed.

trailer:

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Children

The Game of Lotto (1865), by Charles Joshua Chaplin

Children is a short story by Anton Chekhov, who died on this date in 1904 of tuberculosis at the age of 44. You can read this story online at this link. It begins,

Papa and mamma and Aunt Nadya are not at home. They have gone to a christening party at the house of that old officer who rides on a little grey horse. While waiting for them to come home, Grisha, Anya, Alyosha, Sonya, and the cook’s son, Andrey, are sitting at the table in the dining room, playing at loto. To tell the truth, it is bedtime, but how can one go to sleep without hearing from mamma what the baby was like at the christening, and what they had for supper? The table, lighted by a hanging lamp, is dotted with numbers, nutshells, scraps of paper, and little bits of glass. Two cards lie in front of each player, and a heap of bits of glass for covering the numbers. In the middle of the table is a white saucer with five kopecks in it. Beside the saucer, a half-eaten apple, a pair of scissors, and a plate on which they have been told to put their nutshells. The children are playing for money. The stake is a kopeck. The rule is: if anyone cheats, he is turned out at once. There is no one in the dining room but the players, and nurse, Agafya Ivanovna, is in the kitchen, showing the cook how to cut a pattern, while their elder brother, Vasya, a schoolboy in the fifth class, is lying on the sofa in the drawing room, feeling bored.

They are playing with zest. ...

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The Tower (1928)

Study of an Old Man, by Rembrandt

The Tower

(excerpt)

I

What shall I do with this absurdity —
O heart, O troubled heart — this caricature,
Decrepit age that has been tied to me
As to a dog's tail?
Never had I more
Excited, passionate, fantastical
Imagination, nor an ear and eye
That more expected the impossible —
No, not in boyhood when with rod and fly,
Or the humbler worm, I climbed Ben Bulben's back
And had the livelong summer day to spend.
It seems that I must bid the Muse go pack,
Choose Plato and Plotinus for a friend
Until imagination, ear and eye,
Can be content with argument and deal
In abstract things; or be derided by
A sort of battered kettle at the heel.

II

I pace upon the battlements and stare
On the foundations of a house, or where
Tree, like a sooty finger, starts from the earth;
And send imagination forth
Under the day's declining beam, and call
Images and memories
From ruin or from ancient trees,
For I would ask a question of them all.
...

The poem, described by Wikipedia as "a passionate indictment of a man wrestling with age", can be read in its entirety here. It was written by W.B. Yeats, who died on this date in 1939 in France at the age of 73.

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I've shared all the snow people I have for this season, although I have a few that serve as Christmas tree decorations. Maybe I should put some of those with winter decorations so I have enough to post one a day through January. Here's Sia's song "Snowman":

Breakfast

Breakfast:

is a 1917 painting by Pierre Bonnard, who died on this date in 1947. Please post something drink related and join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

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We're moving from record-breaking lows and a 5-inch snow that stayed for a week into rain and higher than normal temperatures for the rest of the week. If you like four seasons and variety in your weather we are the place to be!

Artworks That Define Christmas

This Guardian article includes some beautiful images but not a single depiction of a drink.

I'll be having espresso in this sweet cup The Daughter gave me. Please post your own drink reference and join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

This is our Advent calendar, made for us by Mother when the kids were little:

The Cup of Chocolate

The Cup of Chocolate:

by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)

I don't drink much hot chocolate, but it is appealing to me this morning. Join me? I'll be at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Woman Reading by Lamplight

Woman Reading by Lamplight:

by Carl Vilhelm Holsøe, a Danish artist who died on this date in 1935. Please join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering, where a post with any drink reference is your ticket to participate.

Still Life with Teapot and Fruit

Still Life with Teapot and Fruit:

image from WikiArt

is a 1910 painting by Henri Rousseau, who died on September 2 in that same year. From Wikipedia:

Ridiculed during his lifetime by critics, he came to be recognized as a self-taught genius whose works are of high artistic quality. Rousseau's work exerted an extensive influence on several generations of avant-garde artists

Let this be an encouragement in your own artistic endeavors.

Please join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering. Post whatever you like as long as there's some beverage-related connection.

A Boyer Wedding Feast

A Boyer Wedding Feast:

by Konstatin Makovsky (6/20/1839-9/17/1915), who was an influential Russian painter. This 1883 painting shows a toast at a wedding feast following a boyar marriage. The bride looks sad and reluctant, while the elderly attendant standing behind her encourages the bride to kiss the groom. The work won a gold medal at the World's Fair in 1885 and is considered to be one of Makovsky's most popular works. It is currently located in Hillwood museum, Washington DC, U.S.

Please share a drink related post with us over at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Drinks in Art

Daily Art Magazine has an article on Drinks in Art which introduces its images with this:

What matters is always having a good drink within your reach. And there were a few painters who represented delicious (and dangerous) drinks in their artworks. So, prepare your tea, (or get a beer), sit back, and relax while I show you some of the most interesting drinks in art.

Click through and enjoy those lovely paintings. Such a variety! I'll be having tea:

Please share your own drink-related post and join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Still Life with Teapot and Fruits

Still Life with Teapot and Fruits:

by Paul Gauguin, who died on May 8, 1903, at the age of 54.

Here's a 35-minute overview of the man and his work:

Please share your own drink-related post and join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

In My Own Shire, If I Was Sad

Blackman Street, London, Grimshaw John Atkinson (1885)

In My Own Shire, If I Was Sad:

In my own shire, if I was sad,
Homely comforters I had:
The earth, because my heart was sore,
Sorrowed for the son she bore;
And standing hills, long to remain,
Shared their short-lived comrade’s pain
And bound for the same bourn as I,
On every road I wandered by,
Trod beside me, close and dear,
The beautiful and death-struck year:
Whether in the woodland brown
I heard the beechnut rustle down, And saw the purple crocus pale
Flower about the autumn dale;
Or littering far the fields of May Lady-smocks a-bleaching lay,
And like a skylit water stood
The bluebells in the azured wood.

Yonder, lightening other loads,
The seasons range the country roads,
But here in London streets I ken
No such helpmates, only men;
And these are not in plight to bear,
If they would, another’s care.
They have enough as ’tis: I see
In many an eye that measures me
The mortal sickness of a mind
Too unhappy to be kind.
Undone with misery, all they can
Is to hate their fellow man;
And till they drop they needs must still
Look at you and wish you ill.

is an 1896 poem by A. E. Housman, who died on this date in 1936 at the age of 77.

Still life with glass with red wine and a peeled orange

Still life with glass with red wine and a peeled orange:

by Vilhelm Hammershøi, who died on February 13, 1916. There is an in-depth article on his art and influence at this link. There is a 4-minute appreciation here:

Please post something drink-related and join us at Elizabeth's T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Still Life with Glass and Jug on a Table

Still Life with Glass and Jug on a Table:

by Leon Bonvin, who died on January 30, 1866. He approached gallerists on rue Laffitte and rue du Bac, but he made few sales of his watercolors. In January 1866, Bonvin traveled to Paris again to offer his watercolors to a dealer, who rejected them as too dark. Desperate, he hung himself the next day in the forest and was discovered a few days later. He was 31 years of age.

Please share your own post with a drink reference and join us at Elizabeth's Tea Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

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Due to the Tyre Nichols tragedy, my attention has been focused on local news and Facebook this week. Investigations continue as does news coverage, though the national news outlets have left. The investigation is widening to cover why the county sheriff officers were present without the knowledge of the sheriff and why fire department personnel didn't render aid. In addition to the 5 police officers fired and criminally charged, 2 more police officer have been suspended and 2 fire department EMTs and a fire department lieutenant have been fired. It's a mess.

The Terrace at Vernonnet

The Terrace at Vernonnet:

is a 1938 painting by Pierre Bonnard, who died on January 23 in 1947. Please share your own drink-related post at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

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The Husband's experience with COVID has been blessedly mild as cases go. He got prescription meds quickly and has completed his isolation period. Symptoms continue, but he's able to go back to work. Because he's a 65+ year old insulin-dependent diabetic heart patient who has had cancer twice he's at high risk for complications, and I can't tell you how relieved we both are that he's navigating this process outside the hospital and seeing steady improvement. Onward!

The Christmas Story

Adoration of the Shepherds -Giorgione

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. -Luke 2:2-20 King James Version

Rick Steves' European Christmas

Rick Steves' European Christmas:

Bar Maria Rosa

Bar Maria Rosa (1966):

by Ola Billgren, a Swedish artist who died November 4, 2001.

Please post something drink-related on your own blog and join me for the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.