#prussian russian artist

[polish-art-tournament]

a couple more artists who were submitted that i don't think qualify or i'm not sure about but would appreciate some feedback from people who might know more about them or have Opinions:

Alexandra Exter - russian? born in białystok, studied in kyiv, painted in russia and france

Fernand Léger - i guess his wife was polish (belariussian?) but apart from this i can't think of any reason he should be in

Elisa Bloch - born in wrocław when it was german, emigrated to france as a kid

Olga Chernysheva - come on, she is just straight up russian????

Ryan Gander - british but the submitted sculpture is exhibited in poland

Theodor Erdmann Kalide - german, lived in the prussian partition, the sculpture submitted is in bytom

Theodore Roszak - born in poznań, emigrated to the US as a kid

Anastasia Rydlevskaya - belarussian, lives and works in gdańsk

Fanny Rabel - born in lublin, emigrated to paris then mexico as a child

additionally:

Wit Stwosz - no dobra, niemiec, ale jest na tyle ikoniczny i w powszechnym mniemaniu spolszczony, że raczej go zaakceptuję

anonimowy probably niemiecki autor ołtarza św. jadwigi śląskiej - primo anonimowy, secundo ołtarz od 600 lat jest w polsce, więc też zaakceptujemy

Paweł Merwart - kinda sorta probably more french than polish but we had him in the previous tournament and also his biography and his work slap so i want him in the tournament

[queerasfact]

Queer Calendar 2023

We put together a calendar of key (mostly queer) dates at the start of the year to help us with scheduling - so I thought I’d share it around! Including pride and visibility days, some queer birthdays and anniversaries, and a few other bits and bobs. Click the links for more info - I dream one day of having a queer story for every day of the year!

This is obviously not an exhaustive list - if I’ve overlooked something important to you, feel free to add it in the reblogs!

January

3 - Bisexual American jazz-age heiress Henrietta Bingham born 1901

8 - Queer Australian bushranger Captain Moonlite born 1845; gay American art collector Ned Warren born 1860

11 - Pennsylvania celebrates Rosetta Tharpe Day in honour of bisexual musician Rosetta Tharpe

12 - Japanese lesbian author Nobuko Yoshiya born 1896

22 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit)

24 - Roman emperor Hadrian, famous for his relationship with Antinous, born 76CE; gay Prussian King Frederick the Great born 1712

27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day

February

LGBT+ History Month (UK, Hungary)

Black History Month (USA and Canada)

1 - Feast of St Brigid, a saint especially important to Irish queer women

5 - Operation Soap, a police raid on gay bathhouses in Toronto, Canada, spurs massive protests, 1981

7 - National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

18 - US Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde born 1934

12 - National Freedom to Marry Day (USA)

19-25 - Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

March

Women’s History Month

1 - Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day

8 - International Women’s Day

9 - Bi British writer David Garnett born 1892

12 - Bi Polish-Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky born 1889 or 1890

13 March-15 April - Deaf History Month

14 - American lesbian bookseller and publisher Sylvia Beach born 1887

16 - French lesbian artist Rosa Bonheur born 1822

20 - Bi US musician Rosetta Tharpe born 1915

21 - World Poetry Day

24 - The Wachowski sisters’ cyberpunk trans allegory The Matrix premiers 1999

April

Jazz Appreciation Month

Black Women’s History Month

National Poetry Month (USA)

3 - British lesbian diarist Anne Lister born 1791

8 - Trans British racing driver and fighter pilot Roberta Cowell born 1918

9 -  Bi Australia poet Lesbia Harford born 1891; Easter Sunday

10 - National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

14 - Day of Silence

15 - Queer Norwegian photographer and suffragist Marie Høeg born 1866

17 - Costa-Rican-Mexican lesbian singer Chavela Vargas born 1919

21-22 - Eid al-Fitr

25 - Gay English King Edward II born 1284

26 - Lesbian Day of Visibility; bi American blues singer Ma Rainey born 1886

29 - International Dance Day

30 - International Jazz Day

May

1 - Trans British doctor and Buddhist monk Michael Dillon born 1915

7 - International Family Equality Day

7 - Gay Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky born 1840

15 - Australian drag road-trip comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiers in 1994

 17 - IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia)

18 - International Museum Day

19 - Agender Pride Day

22 - US lesbian tailor and poet Charity Bryant born 1777

22 - Harvey Milk Day marks the birth of gay US politician Harvey Milk 1930

23 - Premier of Pride, telling the story of the 1980s British activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

24 - Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day; Queer Chinese-Japanese spy Kawashima Yoshiko born 1907

26 - queer American astronaut Sally Ride born 1951

29 - Taiwanese lesbian writer Qiu Miaojin born 1969

June

Pride Month

Indigenous History Month (Canada)

3 - Bisexual American-French performer, activist and WWII spy Josephine Baker born 1906

5 - Queer Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca born 1898; bi English economic John Maynard Keynes born 1883

8 - Mechanic and founder of Australia’s first all-female garage, Alice Anderson, born 1897

10 - Bisexual Israeli poet Yona Wallach born 1944

12 - Pulse Night of Remembrance, commemorating the 2012 shooting at the Pulse nightclub, Orlando

14 - Australian activists found the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in 2004

18 - Sally Ride becomes the first know queer woman in space

24 - The first Sydney Mardi Gras 1978

25 - The rainbow flag first flown as a queer symbol in 1978

28 - Stonewall Riots, 1969

28 June-2 July - Eid al-Adha

30 - Gay German-Israeli activist, WWII resistance member and Holocaust survivor Gad Beck born 1923

July

1 - Gay Dutch WWII resistance fighter Willem Arondeus killed - his last words were “Tell the people homosexuals are no cowards”

2-9 - NAIDOC Week (Australia) celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

6 - Bi Mexican artist Frida Kahlo born 1907

12 or 13 - Roman emperor Julius Caesar born c.100BCE

14 - International Non-Binary People’s Day

23 - Shelly Bauman, owner of Seattle gay club Shelly’s Leg, born 1947; American lesbian cetenarian Ruth Ellis born 1899; gay American professor, tattooist and sex researcher Sam Steward born 1909

25 - Italian-Australian trans man Harry Crawford born 1875

August

8 - International Cat Day

9 - Queer Finnish artist, author and creator of Moomins Tove Jansson born 1914

9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

11 - Russian lesbian poet Sofya Parnok born 1885

12 - Queer American blues musician Gladys Bentley born 1907

13 - International Left-Handers Day

22 - Gay WWII Dutch resistance fight Willem Arondeus born 1894

24 - Trans American drag queen and activist Marsha P Johnson born 1945

26 - National Dog Day

30 - Bi British author Mary Shelley 1797

31 - Wear it Purple Day (Australia - queer youth awareness)

September

5 - Frontman of Queen Freddie Mercury born 1946

6 - Trans Scottish doctor and farmer Ewan Forbes born 1912

13 - 1990 documentary on New York’s ball culture Paris is Burning premiers

15-17 - Rosh Hashanah

16-23 - Bisexual Awareness Week

17 - Gay Prussian-American Inspector General of the US Army Baron von Steuben born 1730

23 - Celebrate Bisexuality Day

24 - Gay Australian artist William Dobell born 1889

30 - International Podcast Day

October

Black History Month (Europe)

4 - World Animal Day

5 - National Poetry Day (UK)

5 - Queer French diplomat and spy the Chevalière d’Éon born 1728

8 - International Lesbian Day

9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day (USA)

11 - National Coming Out Day

16 - Irish writer Oscar Wilde born 1854

18 - International Pronouns Day

22-28 - Asexual Awareness Week

26 - Intersex Awareness Day

31 - American lesbian tailor Sylvia Drake born 1784

November

8 - Intersex Day of Remembrance

12 - Diwali; Queer Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born c.1648

13-19 - Transgender Awareness Week

20 - Trans American writer, lawyer, activist and priest Pauli Murray born 1910; Transgender Day of Remembrance

27 - Antinous, lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, born c.111; German lesbian drama Mädchen in Uniform premiers, 1931

29 - Queer American writer Louisa May Alcott born 1832

December

AIDS Awareness Month

1 - World AIDS Day

2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

8 - Pansexual Pride Day; queer Swedish monarch Christina of Sweden born 1626

10 - Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners host Pits and Perverts concern to raise mining for striking Welsh miners, 1984

14 - World Monkey Day

15 - Roman emperor Nero born 37CE

24 - American drag king and bouncer Stormé DeLarverie born 1920

25 - Christmas

29 - Trans American jazz musician Billy Tipton born 1914

[theliterarywolf]

How do you feel about the opposite side of it? BWC stuff and the like? Not necessarily the same like. Way extreme side but just the white people being dominant type deal.

(For context, this is continuing off of this conversation)

What does it say about me that I had to look up what BWC stands for in this context?

I guess it's never really come across my feed. I mean, aside from seeing artists' commissioner horror stories (like that one artist who was damn near traumatized by a commissioner trying to get a quote for a piece with his white OC being surrounded by and fawned over by a bunch of black female characters, complete with tribal tattoos.

Note: I am not using the exact wording that the commissioner used because I don't want to give you guys the brain aneurysm I got from reading it.

I think the closest that I've come across, ahem, 'BWC' content would have been back in the heyday of the funny nation anime (not using the actual title because I've seen some of the visceral reactions people have to being reminded it exists) where pieces were literally centered around the German/Prussian/Russian stereotypes of having huge dicks.

[the-paintrist]

Augusto Nicodemo - Portrait of Jacob Philipp Hackert in His Studio, Naples - 1797

oil on canvas, height: 55.8 cm (21.9 in) Edit this at Wikidata; width: 42.1 cm (16.5 in) 

Alte Nationalgalerie,  institution Berlin State Museums, Germany

Jacob Philipp Hackert (15 September 1737 – 28 April 1807) was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy.

Hackert was born in 1737 in Prenzlau in the Margraviate of Brandenburg (now in Germany). He trained with his father Philipp (a portraitist and painter of animals) and his uncle, before going to the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin in 1758. Later he traveled to Swedish Pomerania and Stockholm, at the invitation of Adolf Friedrich von Olthof, a Swedish government official and businessman. For a time, he lived with Von Olthof and painted decorative murals at his estate.

He spent from 1765 to 1768 in Paris with the Swiss artist Balthasar Anton Dunker, where he focused on painting in gouache. He met and was inspired by Claude Joseph Vernet, who was already famous as a painter of landscapes and seascapes, and the German engraver Johann Georg Wille.

In 1768 Hackert left Paris with his brother Georg, and went to Italy, basing himself mainly in Rome and Naples, where he produced many works for Sir William Hamilton. He travelled all over Italy, gaining a reputation as a talented landscape painter. He became famous everywhere in Europe due to his works for Catherine the Great, the cycle of paintings about Battle of Chesma, and Pope Pius VI.

In 1786 he went to work for Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies in Naples. He advised on the creation of a painting restoration laboratory at the Museo di Capodimonte, suggesting the call from Rome to the court of Naples of the restorer Federico Anders  and supervised the transfer of the Farnese collections from Rome to Naples. As court painter realised famous pictures of Caserta and the Royal Palace of Caserta, besides the paintings series of the Bourobon's ports. During this period he acted also as a secret informant of Russia, his contact being the Russian diplomat Andrey Razumovsky.

When Goethe visited Naples in 1786, he and Hackert became friends.

Hackert had settled in a house in Posillipo. The painters Salvatore Fergola and Salvatore Giusti (1773-1845) were among his pupils.

In 1799, when Naples was declared the Parthenopaean Republic, Hackert lost much of his royal patronage. He moved to Pisa and then Florence. He bought an estate in San Pietro di Careggi, near Florence, and he died there in 1807 and was buried in the so-called "Dutch garden" of Livorno. His remains were then moved to the actual cemetery of the Dutch-German Congregation.

He never married and lived a good part of his life with one of his brothers but he had affairs with some married women, and from one of them he probably had a daughter.

Goethe wrote the first biography of Hackert in 1811.

[paganimagevault]

Amazon attacked by Panther by August Kiss 1841. Altes Museum.

"For thee [Artemis], too, the Amazons, whose mind is set on war, in Ephesos (Ephesus) beside the sea established an image beneath an oak trunk, and Hippo performed a holy rite for thee, and they themselves, O Oupis (Opis) Queen, around the image danced a war-dance--first in shields and armour, and again in a circle arraying a spacious choir. And the loud pipes thereto piped shrill accompaniment, that they might foot the dance together--for not yet did they pierce the bones of the fawn [i.e. to make flutes] . . . And the echo reached unto Sardis and to the Berekynthian range. And they with their feet beat loudly and therewith their quivers rattled. And afterwards around that image was raised a shrine of broad foundations [i.e. the Ephesian shrine]. That it shall dawn behold nothing more divine, naught richer. Easily would it outdo Pytho [Delphoi]."

-Callimachus, Hymn 3 to Artemis 240 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd BCE)

...

"Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the designer of the museum originally wanted to place here the equestrian statues of the two Prussian kings donating the museum, Frederick William III and IV. In fact, the museum, built between 1823 and 1830 as Königliches Museum, housed the royal private collections, and aimed at sharing their antique heritage with the educated bourgeoisie. However, Frederick William IV did not want royal statues here. Nevertheless, the idea was already on its way, and the stair railings cried out after equestrian statues.

The first equestrian statue, the Amazon killing a tiger or simply Amazon by the Silesia-born but Berlin-educated sculptor August Kiss was placed on the right rail in 1843. The September 30 issue of Illustrirte Zeitung reported in detail about its set-up and also provided art criticism. According to the author monogrammed L. R., the greatest merit of the work is that it was cast from public donation. The artist “was bold enough” to model the sculpture in life size in his studio, and only later a “large association of enthusiastic friends of art, led by the King” (of which Schinkel was also a member) collected the sum necessary to casting. This is, then, the first – albeit not visible – link between the museum and the sculpture: the active participation – “sacrifice” – of the educated burgeoisie in the enrichment of the new center of bourgeois culture – or, in the vocabulary and conception, its “temple”.

The prolific critic Karl August Varnhagen also praises the sculpture for this reason: “It is a great, bold, expressive and powerful work. … One can see that the horse is already lost, but the person is triumphing. The beautiful amazon radiating with spiritual superiority will survive, and will at least take revenge for the horse.” This concern for a secondary figure is unusual from a critic, but we know that Varnhagen fought the Napoleonic wars under Austrian, Prussian and Russian flags, and was able to exactly gauge what it means to lose a horse in an emergency. However, no one is yet concerned for the tiger at this time.

The Fairmount Park Art Association (now the Association for Public Art) acquired the plaster casts for both works in 1889, but the Amazon cast was in such poor condition that it could not be shipped to the United States.

With the assistance of the German government, a new plaster cast was made from the original bronze and exhibited in Memorial Hall until 1909. The decision to commission only American art prompted the Association to present the Amazon as a gift to Harvard’s Germanic Museum. However, once construction began on the new building for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Association arranged to cast another copy so that it could sit across from The Lion Fighter."

-taken from associationforpublicart and riowang's blogspot

[genesiskoussiafes]

Stylized self portrait

[waifu-napoleon]

“Night before battle”

Short historical shipping fic.

Pairing: Alexander I. X Frederick William III. (implied Queen Louise X Alexander I. X Frederick William III.)

Word count: 1839

Rating: SFW

Setting: Tsar Alexander I. and king Frederick William III. sharing an emotional moment the night before the battle of Leipzig.

The tsar stepped out of his tent and stretched his limbs. He had been consulting with the Austrian monarch Francis for another hour to discuss their war strategies once more and check up on various political issues that were necessary to talk about but also mindnumbingly boring. If only he had insisted on leaving the meeting when Frederick left about 20 minutes earlier than he did. 'Oh well...'

Alexander looked around the giant camp their combined armies set up. The monarchs had erected theirs on top of a hill, granting them a perfect view of the camp as well as the battlefield they will fight on tomorrow. Flickering lights of small campfires in the distance made his skin tingle, knowing that Napoleon Bonaparte was out of reach and yet close enough to make the coalition allies feel like he is breathing down their necks. He shook his head to get those thoughts out of his head and instead tried to focus on their own camp. Their soldier are getting along much better than he anticipated but fighting for the same cause may just have that effect on people. He could see Austrians and Prussians sharing drinks with his own Russian soldiers, some even gathered around a campfire to help each other clean their weapons or eating together while singing songs. Alexander couldn't help but smile at the scene. If only people could get along like this all the time. A giggle escaped his lips. 'Maybe Frederick's desire for peace and harmony is rubbing off on me. Ah. Speak of the devil!' He spotted the Prussian king sitting at a campfire not too far away, covered in a blanket and sitting on a log of wood, bent over something in his hands that Alexander couldn't quite make out. He decided to give him some company. Knowing Frederick, he's probably overthinking the whole situation again, making up tons of scenarios of possible outcomes in his head all the way from victory over Napoleon to his own death. Alexander decided to pull Frederick out of that spiral. He knew very well how hard it is for his friend to climb out of that hole by himself. He approached the campfire, greeting a few soldiers along the way and stopped a few feet in front of Frederick, who didn't look up but nodded in acknowledgment nonetheless. Now the tsar was close enough to see what Frederick was holding, and his heart dropped instantly.

It was a little medallion with a small painting of Frederick's wife Louise on the inside. He gently caressed the picture of his dead wife and Alexander was certain that Frederick was crying very quietly. The younger man got down on his knees, not at all minding the dirt on his pants and looked at the painting. Alexander never received a painted medallion from Louise, for obvious reasons, but he still remembered the letters, presents and little drawings she sent him. They were an important part of his personal little treasure along with presents and letters he received from Frederick and various other items he deems worthy of being of personal value. He even kept the tiny box Louise used to sent him cherries. Remembering the times he would spend with Louise was bittersweet. How they used to dance to their favorite music, how the would go for long walks in the sun, how she sang for him. He swallowed. It was hard for him to believe that she has been gone for years now. Alexander looked up at Frederick. The king had his head down still, his grip slowly tightening around the medallion as barely visible tears fell down to the ground. The campfire illuminated the mourning king in an almost artistic, albeit tragic fashion. Alexander tried to come up with something, anything to say, but all he could think of was... “I miss her too...”

The Prussian king finally showed a reaction, very slowly looking up at Alexander, their gazes meeting. Seeing those tear-filled blue eyes of his loved one made the Russian tsar's heart feel even heavier than it already did. “I wish...” Frederick started but hesitated, his voice shaky, “I wish she was here...” “Me too...” Alexander whispered and grabbed Frederick's hands, stroking his cold skin with his thumbs. “I love her so much...” Frederick sobbed. “Me too...” The younger man carefully lifted up Frederick's hands which were still holding the medallion and placed a soft kiss on the little portrait. “I'm sure she is looking down on us right now. Cheering for us. I'm certain she will be our good luck charm. With Louise on our side, nothing can stop us from freeing Prussia, or rather all of Europe, from Napoleon's grasp.” he tried to encourage the Prussian king, say something that would bring back hope or at least give him a sliver of strength. Alexander couldn't tell if it was working, Frederick was just way too good at hiding most of his emotions until he completely breaks down and all of them come pouring out like a rainstorm. Frederick sighed and wiped the tears away with the back of a hand. “I wish it was me instead of her.” “You know just as well as me that she would not approve of you saying that.” Alexander immediately responded, seemingly much to Frederick's surprise. “She would never want you to go through the same pain she did.” Frederick swallowed. “You're right,” he whispered after a very long pause, “she would want for us to be happy...” Alexander nodded, smiling warmly. He could feel the knot in his stomach loosening and his heart feeling warmer again. “Exactly.”

The Russian tsar sat down next to Frederick. A cold breeze went through the camp, making the flames dance under the stars. He could feel the other man's warmth on his shoulder. It was refreshing. The silence before a huge battle was both unbearable to the point it was almost painful and yet also soothing and beautiful at the same time. 'What a masochistic thing to feel.' Alexander thought. Maybe it would be best to change the subject, both for the sake of getting rid of this silence between the two of them and to prevent Frederick from getting lost in the maze of his own mind. He looked around, observing the soldiers around them and what kind of conversations they were having during battle preparations, when he remembered something he meant to ask Frederick a while ago. “What will you do once we've won the battle?” Frederick looked up at the Russian like being woken up from a dream. He blinked a few times. “Hm. Retrieve what Napoleon has stolen. And visit Louise's grave. Also spend time with the kids.” he mumbled, looking at the medallion one last time before putting it back around his neck with a sigh. “The quadriga?” Alexander asked to which Frederick nodded, “Oh yeah, I remember, Napoleon took it as a trophy. Putting it back on top of the gate would make for an awesome victory celebration. I can already hear the citizens chanting your name.” The tsar grinned when he made Frederick laugh with that image in his mind. “That is embarrassing to think about.” the Prussian king said, rubbing his forehead with his hand, a gesture he almost always makes whenever he was being shy. Alexander playfully bumped the other man's shoulder with his own. “Come on, let the people celebrate! Once Napoleon is defeated you will go down in history as one of the greatest kings Prussia's ever had!” “A terrible decision.” They both shared a heartwarming laugh. Alexander welcomed this change of demeanor, making Frederick happy is something he always enjoyed. From the tiniest smile to outright tears of joy, if he managed to make the king feel better than before then he was satisfied. Sometimes this satisfaction would turn into pleasure, which may or may not have led to some interesting situations between them, memories Alexander will treasure like gold until the end of time, and he regrets absolutely nothing. The intimacy he shared with both Frederick and Louise was unlike any he had ever experienced before. If only things were different. If they hadn't been monarchs then maybe they would have been able to properly spend their lives together.

“What will you do?” The sound of Frederick's voice pulled Alexander out of his train of thought. He blinked and looked at the Prussian with puzzled eyes. “Wait. Let me guess,“ Frederick smiled, „throw a party? Dance all night?“ “Sounds intriguing.” Alexander grinned. He tilted his head to lean on Frederick's shoulder, his blonde hair tickling Frederick's cheek. The Prussian king looked over at the handful of soldiers standing close-by but none of them seemed to notice, or care, about the tsar's gesture of affection. Alexander's voice pulled Frederick's attention back to their conversation. “Although I think I've got a better idea on what I'd do first.” “What's that?” Frederick asked with genuine curiosity. The younger man smiled gently and reached out to grab his hand. “I'd totally kiss you first chance I get...” he whispered and Frederick could feel a bit of warmth in his cheeks. Alexander sat up straight again and caught Frederick's gaze. “... And say 'let's go home'.”

A few seconds of silence filled the air as the Prussian king processed those words. Tears started forming in his eyes which he immediately started wiping away but to no effect. They kept coming, no matter how hard he tried to calm down. Alexander couldn't help but huff a laugh. “It's really easy to push your buttons once one gets to know you better.” “Shut up.” Frederick mumbled, trying to hide his embarrassment behind his hands. Alexander's quiet giggle now turned into a full on laugh. He cupped Frederick's face in his hands and leaned forward to make their foreheads touch, getting lost in those dark blue eyes shining like stars in the night. “Make me.” he whispered. Frederick looked around to check the other people surrounding the fire, especially his son, who had been glancing over at them a few times during their conversation. Once he finished scouting out the disinterest of their possible audience he leaned in for a quick, but still gentle and loving kiss. Alexander loved the feeling of Frederick's beard tickling his skin whenever they kissed, even if it was just a tiny peck like this one was. A barely audible sound of protest escaped his throat when Frederick retreated again, widening the gap between their faces. “More once we've won.” he said in his typical sparing-of-words fashion. The Russian frowned jokingly. “Tightwad.” “More like providing motivation.” Alexander snickered. “If winning a war is all it takes to be kissed by you then I am ready to pull a Napoleon and conquer most of the world.” Frederick shook his head with a smile, reaching out with his arms, gently wrapping them around the younger man. “No need to,” he whispered, “you're already a big part of my world.”

[mishinashen]

Self-Portrait by Alphonse Mucha, 1899

Alfons Maria Mucha (Czech: 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator, and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, and designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

In the second part of his career, at the age of 43, he returned to his homeland of Bohemia-Moravia region in Austria and devoted himself to painting a series of twenty monumental canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of all the Slavic peoples of the world, which he painted between 1912 and 1926. In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered it his most important work. It is now on display in Prague.

Alphonse Mucha was born on 24 July 1860 in the small town of Ivančice in southern Moravia, then a province of the Austrian Empire (currently a region of the Czech Republic). His family had a very modest income; his father Ondřej was a court usher, and his mother Amálie was a miller's daughter. Ondřej had six children, all with names starting with A. Alphonse was his first child with Amálie, followed by Anna and Anděla.

Alphonse showed an early talent for drawing; a local merchant impressed by his work provided him with paper for free, though it was considered a luxury. In the preschool period, he drew exclusively with his left hand. He also had a talent for music: he was an alto singer and violin player

After completing volksschule, he wanted to continue with his studies, but his family was not able to fund them, as they were already funding the studies of his three step-siblings] His music teacher sent him to Pavel Křížkovský, choirmaster of St Thomas's Abbey in Brno, to be admitted to the choir and to have his studies funded by the monastery. Křížovský was impressed by his talent, but he was not able to admit and fund him, as he had just admitted another talented young musician, Leoš Janáček.

Křížovský sent him to a choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul, who admitted him as a chorister and funded his studies at the gymnasium in Brno, where he received his secondary school education. After his voice broke, he gave up his chorister position, but played as a violinist during masses.

He became devoutly religious, and wrote later, "For me, the notions of painting, going to church, and music are so closely knit that often I cannot decide whether I like church for its music, or music for its place in the mystery which it accompanies." He grew up in an environment of intense Czech nationalism in all the arts, from music to literature and painting. He designed flyers and posters for patriotic rallies.

His singing abilities allowed him to continue his musical education at the Gymnázium Brno in the Moravian capital of Brno, but his true ambition was to become an artist. He found some employment designing theatrical scenery and other decorations. In 1878 he applied without success to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, but was rejected and advised to "find a different career". In 1880, at the age of 19, he traveled to Vienna, the political and cultural capital of the Empire, and found employment as an apprentice scenery painter for a company which made sets for Vienna theaters. While in Vienna, he discovered the museums, churches, palaces and especially theaters, for which he received free tickets from his employer. He also discovered Hans Makart, a very prominent academic painter, who created murals for many of the palaces and government buildings in Vienna, and was a master of portraits and historical paintings in grand format. His style turned Mucha in that artistic direction and influenced his later work. He also began experimenting with photography, which became an important tool in his later work.

To his misfortune, a terrible fire in 1881 destroyed the Ringtheater, the major client of his firm. Later in 1881, almost without funds, he took a train as far north as his money would take him. He arrived in Mikulov in southern Moravia, and began making portraits, decorative art and lettering for tombstones. His work was appreciated, and he was commissioned by Count Eduard Khuen Belasi, a local landlord and nobleman, to paint a series of murals for his residence at Emmahof Castle, and then at his ancestral home in the Tyrol, Gandegg Castle. The paintings at Emmahof were destroyed by fire in 1948, but his early versions in small format exist (now on display at the museum in Brno). He showed his skill at mythological themes, the female form, and lush vegetal decoration. Belasi, who was also an amateur painter, took Mucha on expeditions to see art in Venice, Florence and Milan, and introduced him to many artists, including the famous Bavarian romantic painter, Wilhelm Kray, who lived in Munich.

Count Belasi decided to bring Mucha to Munich for formal training, and paid his tuition fees and living expenses at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. He moved there in September 1885. It is not clear how Mucha actually studied at the Munich Academy; there is no record of his being enrolled as a student there. However, he did become friends with a number of notable Slavic artists there, including the Czechs Karel Vítězslav Mašek and Ludek Marold and the Russian Leonid Pasternak, father of the famous poet and novelist Boris Pasternak. He founded a Czech students' club, and contributed political illustrations to nationalist publications in Prague. In 1886 he received a notable commission for a painting of the Czech patron saints Cyril and Methodius, from a group of Czech emigrants, including some of his relatives, who had founded a Roman Catholic church in the town of Pisek, North Dakota. He was very happy with the artistic environment of Munich: he wrote to friends, "Here I am in my new element, painting. I cross all sorts of currents, but without effort, and even with joy. Here, for the first time, I can find the objectives to reach which used to seem inaccessible." However, he found he could not remain forever in Munich; the Bavarian authorities imposed increasing restrictions upon foreign students and residents. Count Belasi suggested that he travel either to Rome or to Paris. With Belasi's financial support, he decided in 1887 to move to Paris.

Mucha moved to Paris in 1888 where he enrolled in the Académie Julian[18] and the following year, 1889, Académie Colarossi. The two schools taught a wide variety of different styles. His first professors at the Academie Julien were Jules Lefebvre who specialized in female nudes and allegorical paintings, and Jean-Paul Laurens, whose specialties were historical and religious paintings in a realistic and dramatic style. At the end of 1889, as he approached the age of thirty, his patron, Count Belasi, decided that Mucha had received enough education and ended his subsidies.

When he arrived in Paris, Mucha found shelter with the help of the large Slavic community. He lived in a boarding house called the Crémerie at 13 rue de la Grande Chaumière, whose owner, Charlotte Caron, was famous for sheltering struggling artists; when needed she accepted paintings or drawings in place of rent. Mucha decided to follow the path of another Czech painter he knew from Munich, Ludek Marold, who had made a successful career as an illustrator for magazines. In 1890 and 1891, he began providing illustrations for the weekly magazine La Vie populaire, which published novels in weekly segments. His illustration for a novel by Guy de Maupassant, called The Useless Beauty, was on the cover of 22 May 1890 edition. He also made illustrations for Le Petit Français Illustré, which published stories for young people in both magazine and book form. For this magazine he provided dramatic scenes of battles and other historic events, including a cover illustration of a scene from the Franco-Prussian War which was on 23 January 1892 edition.

His illustrations began to give him a regular income. He was able to buy a harmonium to continue his musical interests, and his first camera, which used glass-plate negatives. He took pictures of himself and his friends, and also regularly used it to compose his drawings. He became friends with Paul Gauguin, and shared a studio with him for a time when Gauguin returned from Tahiti in the summer of 1893. In late autumn 1894 he also became friends with the playwright August Strindberg, with whom he had a common interest in philosophy and mysticism.

His magazine illustrations led to book illustration; he was commissioned to provide illustrations for Scenes and Episodes of German History by historian Charles Seignobos. Four of his illustrations, including one depicting the death of Frederic Barbarossa, were chosen for display at the 1894 Paris Salon of Artists. He received a medal of honor, his first official recognition.

Mucha added another important client in the early 1890s; the Central Library of Fine Arts, which specialized in the publication of books about art, architecture and the decorative arts. It later launched a new magazine in 1897 called Art et Decoration, which played an early and important role in publicizing the Art Nouveau style. He continued to publish illustrations for his other clients, including illustrating a children's book of poetry by Eugène Manuel, and illustrations for a magazine of the theater arts, called La Costume au théâtre.

[stillunusual]

A "memorable date in the military history of Russia" that wasn't.... According to Google translate, Russia has decided that the 15th of July is a "memorable date of the military history of Russia" because "on this day in 1410, Russian troops and their allies defeated the German knights in the Battle of Grunwald". Wait....what????? Back in the real world, this is just another Russian lie.... The battle of Grunwald (Žalgiris) was one of the largest and most significant battles that took place in medieval Europe, and was a decisive victory for the combined forces of King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland and Vytautas the Grand Duke of Lithuania, against the Teutonic Knights. The Lithuanian army under the command of Grand Duke Vytautas was comprised of 40 banners and included troops from all parts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which at that time included the whole of modern Belarus, parts of what is now western Russia and most of Ukraine. The only tangible connection between the battle of Grunwald and Russia is the fact that three of the Lithuanian banners were from Smolensk. But although Smolensk is in Russia today, back in 1410 it was in Lithuania, and the Smolensk banners (whose ethnic composition is not known) were led into battle by Prince Simeon Lingwen - the King of Poland's brother. And as a Russian state didn't actually exist at the time, and its precursor - the Grand Duchy of Moscow - played no part in the battle whatsoever, calling it a "memorable date of the military history of Russia" really is a bit of a stretch....

However, this ludicrous claim demonstrates the extent to which the winos and crackheads who churn out the Kremlin's propaganda try to rewrite history by shamelessly making stuff up and lying about pretty much everything (just like they do about current events). On the other hand, you do have to admire their dedication. Russia began to falsely appropriate this particular event in the history of Poland and Lithuania a few years ago, and I guess that anyone who is prepared to go all the way back to the 15th century to find new things to lie about really takes the art of lying very seriously.  Incidentally, the battle scene depicted in the screenshot above is taken from a painting called "The Battle Of Grunwald" by Polish artist Jan Matejko. During the Second World War this painting was hidden in Lublin to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Germans. "The Battle Of Grunwald" and another of Matejko's paintings called "Prussian Homage" (which depicts Albrecht of Hohenzollern, the Duke of Prussia, kneeling in submission while paying homage to Polish King Zygmunt I in Kraków on 10th April 1525) topped their list of "most wanted" Polish artworks. But although the Germans looted or destroyed many other artifacts of Polish culture during WW2, they never managed to find either of these paintings ("Prussian Homage" was hidden in the town of Zamość)....

[readwithesha]

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is a young-adult historical fiction novel published in 2016. The book has won the 2017 Carnegie Medal and was a #1 New York Times Bestseller. The daughter of a Lithuanian refugee, Sepetys has been declared a "champion of the interstitial people so often ignored—whole populations lost in the cracks of history" by the New York Times Book Review. I've read Salt to the Sea countless times because, as I mentioned in another post, I am an absolute sucker for historical books that focus on war's effects on regular people. Salt to the Sea is set in East Prussia in January of 1945. The book begins with our first narrator, Joan Vilkas, a young nurse that fled from Soviet-occupied Lithuania to Germany. She worked as a surgeon's assistant in East Prussia. She travels with a group of refugees across Prussia to safety, helping wherever possible. Another narrator, Florian Beck, is an East Prussian restoration artist. He worked for the Nazis restoring European art. Once he realizes that they were using him to restore stolen art, he gets revenge by stealing Hitler's favorite piece from the Amber Room. On the run, he saves our third narrator, Emilia Stozek, from a Russian soldier. Emilia is a young Polish girl that was sent to a farm in East Prussia for her safety. At the farm, however, she was raped by Russian soldiers and became pregnant. She follows Florian, whom she sees as her "knight", when they stop to rest in a shack. This is where they join Joana and her group of refugees. Trapped between the falling Nazi regime and the advancing Soviet army, this group of refugees has no choice but to travel through a brutal winter to West Germany, where they hope to board a ship to safety. Thrown together, the refugees, all harboring their secrets and guilt, are slow to trust one another. As they escape the Red Army, the group must learn to depend on each other to survive. Once they make it to the chaotic port of Gotenhafen, they must lie to the Wehrmacht to get Emilia, hated by both the Soviets and Nazis, onto a ship. They end up boarding the Wilhelm Gustloff, the largest ship in the port. This is where Florian meets Alfred Frick, a young acne-riddled Nazi stationed at the port. Alfred is a proud, almost delusional young man who is very concerned with becoming a hero. He writes mental letters to his "love" back home, Hannelore, who we learn is the Jewish neighbor that he reported on himself. In these mental letters, Frick paints himself as brave and important when he is anything but. Florian is able to manipulate him into helping him hide on the ship by telling him he is doing a heroic service for the Reich. This book's action does not come from battles and strategy; it comes from the grit and survival of the refugees. From multiple points of view, we get to witness how this war has caused destruction in everyone's lives and how they refuse to let it keep them down. They love and sacrifice for one another in beautiful and gut-wrenching ways. Told in brief chapters, we see what drives each character: Guilt, fate, shame, and fear. I love this book. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it keeps you locked in from start to finish. The Wilhelm Gustloff was a real ship sunk by a Soviet submarine in 1945. Of the estimated 10,500 people on board, over 9,000 of them drowned in the freezing water. Which of our beloved characters perish in this tragedy? You'll have to find out for yourself.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Vivant, il a manqué le monde ; mort, il le possède.

- François René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), Vie de Napoléon, livres XIX à XXIV des Mémoires d’outre-tombe (posthume)

Of course we don’t have any photograph or film of Napoleon’s death on 5 May 1821 on Saint Hélène. But we do have the next best thing: a painting. Charles de Steuben depiction of Napoleon's deathbed and his faithful entourage that served as witnesses to his dying moments became the one of the most important paintings of the post-Napoleonic era but then faded from modern memory.

I first came across it by accident when I was in my teens at my Swiss boarding school. There were times I found myself with school friends going away on hiking trips around the high Alpine chain of the Allgäu Alps and we would drive through Lake Constance to get there, or we would hike around the Lake itself through the Bodensee-Rundwanderweg.

Perched high above Lake Constance and nestled in large parklands, stood Schloss Arenenberg which overlooks the lower part of Lake Constance. At first, it appears a relatively modest country house. But this was no usual pretty looking house. Arenenberg was owned by well-heeled families before it was sold to Hortense de Beauharnais, the adopted daughter and sister-in-law of the French Emperor himself, Napoleon Bonaparte. She had it rebuilt in the French Empire style and lived there from 1817 with her son Louis Napoleon, later Emperor Napoleon III, who is said to have spoken the Thurgau dialect in addition to French. This elegantly furnished castle then was once the residence of the last emperor of France.

The alterations made first by Queen Hortense and later by Empress Eugénie have been carefully preserved and the house still bears the marks of both women. Queen Hortense's drawing room is perfectly preserved and visitors can still admire her magnificent library (all marked with the Empress' cipher) containing over one thousand books. Likewise, in the room where the queen died, every object has been maintained in its original condition: pieces of furniture and personal belongings are gathered here to evoke her memory in a very touching manner. As for Empress Eugénie's rooms, they too have been very carefully preserved. Her private drawing room is a perfect illustration of the Second Empire style with sculptures by Carpeaux and portraits of the imperial family by Winterhalter.

After 1873, the Empress and the Imperial Prince brought the palace back to life by making regular summer visits, which they continued until 1878. However, on the tragic death of her son in 1879, Eugénie found it difficult to return to a place so full of painful memories. And so in 1906 she donated the estate to the canton of Thurgovie as a testimony of her gratitude for the region's faithful hospitality towards the Napoleon family. And in accordance with the Empress' wishes, the residence was turned into a museum devoted to Napoleon.

In what is now the Napoleonic Museum, the original furnishings have been preserved, and the palace gardens had been fully restored. This in itself might be worth a visit for the view over Lake Constance which is stunning. For Napoleonic era buffs though its the incredible art collection which is its real treasure. It houses an important art collection including works by the First-Empire artists Chinard Canova, Gros, Robert Lefèvre, Gérard, Isabey and Girodet-Trioson, and by the Second-Empire painters and sculptors Alfred de Dreux, Winterhalter, Carpeaux, Meissonier, Hébert, Flandrin, Detaille, Nieuwerkerke and Giraud.

But what caught my eye was this painting, ‘La Mort de Napoléon’ by Charles de Steuben. I didn’t know anything about it or the artist for that matter, but one of my more erudite school friends who, being French, was into Napoleonic stuff in a huge way, and she explained it all to me. Of course I knew a fair bit about Napoleon growing up because my grandfather and father, being military men themselves, were Napoleonic warfare buffs and it rubbed off onto me. I just knew about Napoleon the military genius. I never thought about him once he was beaten at Waterloo in 1815. So I never really engaged with Napoleon the man. And yet here I was staring at his last breath of mortality caught forever in time through art. Not for the first time I had mixed feelings about Napoleon Bonaparte, both the man and the myth (built up around him since his death).

On 5 May, 1821, at 5.49pm in Longwood House on the remote island of St Helena, in the words of the famed French man of letters,  François-René de Chateaubriand, ‘the mightiest breath of life which ever animated human clay’ came no more. To the British, Dutch, and Prussian coalition who had exiled Naopleon Bonaparte there in 1815, he was a despot, but to France, he was seen as a devotee of the Enlightenment.

In the decade following his demise, Napoleon’s image underwent a transformation in France. The monarchy had been restored, but by the late 1820s, it was growing unpopular. King Charles X was seen as a threat to the civil liberties established during the Napoleonic era. This mistrust revived Napoleon’s reputation and put him in a more heroic light.

Fascination with the French leader’s death led Charles de Steuben, a German-born Romantic painter living in Paris, to immortalise the momentous event. Steuben’s painting depicts the moment of Napoleon’s death and seeks to capture the sense of awe in the room at the death of a man whose legendary career had begun in the French Revolution. It was this, ultimate moment that Steuben wished to immortalise in a painting which has since become what could almost be described as the official version of the scene.

There is no question that Steuben’s painting became the most famous and most iconic depiction of Napoleon’s death in art history. In another painting, executed during the years 1825-1830, Steuben was to give a realistic view of the emperor dictating his memoirs to general Gourgaud. This same realism also pervades his version of Napoleon’s death, and it is totally unlike Horace Vernet’s, Le songe de Bertrand ou L’Apothéose de Napoléon (Bertrand’s Dream or the apotheosis of Napoleon) which, although painted in the same year, is an allegorical celebration of the emperor’s martyrdom and as such the first stone in the edifice of the Napoleonic legend.

And what a legend Napoleon’s life was turned into for time immemorial. Napoleon declared himself France’s First Consul in 1799 and then emperor in 1804. For the next decade, he led France against a series of European coalitions during the Napoleonic Wars and expanded his empire throughout much of continental Europe before his defeat in 1814. He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba, but he escaped and briefly reasserted control over France before a crushing final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Napoleon’s military prowess earned him the fear of his enemies, but his civil reforms in France brought him the respect of his people. The Napoleonic Code, introduced in 1804, replaced the existing patchwork of French laws with a unified national system built on the principles of the Enlightenment: universal male suffrage, property rights, equality (for men), and religious freedom. Even in his final exile on St. Helena, Napoleon proved a magnetic presence. Passengers of ships docked to resupply would hurry to meet the great general. He developed strong personal bonds with the coterie who had accompanied him into exile. Although some speculate that he was murdered, most agree that Napoleon’s death in 1821, at the age of 51, was the result of stomach cancer.

By contrast, Charles de Steuben was born in 1788, his youth and artistic training coinciding with Napoleon’s rise to power. He was the son of the Duke of Württemberg officer Carl Hans Ernst von Steuben. At the age of twelve he moved with his father, who entered Russian service as a captain, to Saint Petersburg, where he studied drawing at the Art Academy classes as a guest student. Thanks his father's social contacts in the court of the Tsar, in the summer of 1802 he accompanied the young Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1786–1859) and granddaughter of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, to the Thuringian cultural city of Weimar, where the Tsar's daughter two years later married Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1783–1853). Steuben, then fourteen years old, was a Page at the ducal court, a position for which the career prospects would be in the military or administration. The poet Friedrich Schiller was a family friend who at once recognised De Steuben's artistic talent and instilled in him his political ideal of free self-determination regardless of courtly constraints.

At the behest of Pierre Fontaine in 1828 de Steuben painted La Clémence de Henri IV après la Bataille d'Ivry, depicting a victorious Henry IV of France at the Battle of Ivry. De Steuben's Bataille de Poitiers, en octobre 732, painted between 1834 and 1837, shows the triumphant Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours, also known as the Battle of Poitiers. He painted Jeanne la folle around the same time and he was commissioned by Louis Philippe to paint a series of portraits of past Kings of France.

Life in the French capital was a repeated source of internal conflict for Steuben. The allure of bohemian Paris and his military-dominated upbringing made him a wanderer between worlds. As an official commitment to his adopted country he became a French citizen in 1823. However, the irregularity of his income as a freelance artist was in contrast to his sense of duty and social responsibility. To secure his family financially, he took a job as an art teacher at École Polytechnique, where he briefly trained Gustave Courbet. In 1840 he was awarded a gold medal at the Salon de Paris for his highly acclaimed paintings.

The love of classical painting was a lifelong passion of Steuben. He was a close friend to Eugène Delacroix, the leader of the French Romantic school of painting, whom he portrayed several times. Steuben was also part of this artistic movement, which replaced classicism in French painting. "The painter of the Revolution," as Jacques-Louis David was called by his students, joined art with politics in his works. The subjects of his historical paintings supported historical change. He painted mainly in sharp colour contrasts, heavy solid contours and clear outlines. The severity of this style led many contemporary artists - including Prud'hon - to a romanticised counter movement. They preferred the shadowy softness and gentle colour gradations of Italian Renaissance painters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Antonio da Correggio, whose works they studied intensively. Steuben, who had begun his training with David, felt the school was becoming increasingly rigid and dogmatic. Critics praised his deliberate compositions, excellent brush stroke and impressive colour effects. But some of his critics felt that his pursuit of dramatic design of rich people also showed, at times, a pronounced tendency toward the histrionic.

The portrayal of key moments in Napoleon’s dramatic military career would feature among some of Steuben’s best known works. But it is this death scene that Steuben is most remembered for.

Using his high-level contacts among figures in Napoleon’s circle, Steuben interviewed and sketched many of the people who had been present when Napoleon died at Longwood House on St. Helena. He wanted to attempt o give the most accurate representation of the scene possible. Indeed, the painter interviewed the companions of Napoleon’s captivity on their return to France and had them pose for their portraits. Only the Abbé Vignali, captain Crokat and the doctor Arnott were painted from memory. The Grand maréchal Bertrand made sketches of the plan of the room, noting the positions of the different pieces of furniture and people in the room. All the protagonists within the painting brought together some of their souvenirs and in posing for the painter, each person can be seen contributing to a work of collective memory, very much with posterity in mind.

Painstakingly researched, Steuben painted  a carefully composed scene of hushed grief. Notable among the figures are Gen. Henri Bertrand, who loyally followed Napoleon into exile; Bertrand’s wife, Fanny; and their children, of whom Napoleon had become very fond.

The best known version of “La Mort de Napoléon” was completed in 1828. French writer Stendhal considered it “a masterpiece of expression.” In 1830 the installation of a more liberal monarchy in France further boosted admiration of Napoleon, who suddenly became a wildly popular figure in theatre, art, and music. This fervour led to the diffusion of Steuben’s deathbed scene in the form of engravings throughout Europe in the 1830s. As Napoleon’s stock arose within French culture and arts, so did Steuben’s depiction of Napoleon’s death. It became a grandeur of vision that permeated Steuben’s masterpiece of historical reconstruction.

Initially forming part of the collection of the Colonel de Chambrure, the painting was put up for auction in Paris, on 9 March 1830, with other Napoleonic works, notably Horace Vernet’s Les Adieux de Fontainebleau (The Fontainebleau adieux) and Steuben’s Retour de l’île d’Elbe (The return from the island of Elba). The catalogue noted that the painting had already been viewed in the colonel’s collection by “three thousand connoisseurs” – which alone would have made it a success -, but its renown was to be further amplified by the production of the famous engraving. The diffusion of this engraving by Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazet (1830-1831, held at the Musée de Malmaison), reprinted and copied countless times throughout the 19th century, made the scene a classic in popular imagery, on a level of popularity with paintings such as Millet’s Angelus.

A / Grand Marshal Henri-Gatien Bertrand. Utterly loyal servant of Napoleon’s to the last. His memoirs of the exile on St Helena were not published until 1849. Only the year 1821 has ever been translated into English.

B / General Charles Tristan de Montholon. Courtier and companion of Napoleon’s exile. Montholon managed to ease Bertrand out and become Napoleon’s closest companion at the end, highly rewarded in Napoleon’s will, which Montholon helped write. Montholon’s untrustworthy memoirs were published in 1846/47.

C / Doctor Francesco Antommarchi. Corsican anatomy specialist. Sent by Napoleon’s mother from Rome to St Helena to be Napoleon’s personal physician on the expulsion of Barry O’Meara. Napoleon disliked and distrusted Antommarchi. Antommarchi’s untrustworthy memoirs were very influential and published in 1825.

D / Angelo Paolo Vignali, Abbé. Corsican assistant-chaplain, sent by Madame Mère from Rome to St Helena in 1819.

E / Countess Françoise Elisabeth “Fanny” Bertrand and her children: Napoléon (F), who carried the censer at Napoleon’s funeral; Hortense (G); Henry (H); and Arthur (I), youngest by six years of all the Bertrand children and born on the island. She was wife of the Grand Marshal, very unwilling participant in the exile on St Helena. Her relations with Napoleon were difficult since she refused to live at Longwood. She spoke fluent English. Was however very loyal to Napoleon.

J / Louis Marchand. Napoleon’s valet from 1814 on and one of his closest servants. As Napoleon noted in his will, “The service he [Marchand] rendered were those of a friend”.

K / “Ali”, Louis Étienne Saint-Denis. Known as “the Mamluk Ali”, one of Napoleon’s longest-serving and intimate servants; He became Librarian at Longwood and was an indefatigable copyist of imperial manuscripts.

L / Ali’s English (Catholic) wife, Mary ‘Betsy’ Hall. She was sent out from England by UK relatives of the Countess Bertrand to be governess/nursemaid to the Bertrand children. Married Ali aged 23 in October 1819.

M / Jean Abra(ha)m Noverraz. From the Vaud region in Switzerland. Very tall and imposing figure that Napoleon called his “Helvetic bear”. He was himself ill during Napoleon’s illness.

N / Noverraz’s wife, Joséphine née Brulé. They married in married in July 1819, and she was the Countess Montholon’s lady’s maid. Noverraz and Saint-Denis had a fist fight for the hand of Joséphine.

O / Jean Baptiste Alexandre Pierron. The cook, dessert specialist, long in Napoleon’s service and who had accompanied Napoleon to Elba.

P /Jacques Chandelier. Iincorrectly identified on the picture as Santini who had left the island in 1817. A cook, from the service of Pauline Bonaparte, Napoleon’s sister, who arrived on St Helena with the group from Rome in 1819.

Q /Jacques Coursot. Butler, from the service of Madame Mère, Napoleon’s mother, he arrived on St Helena with the group from Rome in 1819.

R / Doctor Francis Burton. Irish surgeon in the 66th regiment who had arrived on St Helena only on 31st March 1821. He is renowned for having made Napoleon’s death mask (with ensign John Ward and Antommarchi).

S/ Doctor Archibald Arnott. Surgeon in the 20th regiment. Brought in to tend to Napoleon in extremis on 1 April 1821.

T/ Captain William Crokat. A Scot, orderly officer at Longwood for less than a month, having replaced Engelbert Lutyens on 15 April. He received the honour of carrying the news of Napoleon’s death back to London and also the reward, namely, a promotion and £500, privileges of which Lutyens was deliberately deprived by the governor.

[queerasfact]

Hi! I (obviously) love the podcast & was just wondering if you keep a list of all the dog/pet names that come up? My family is getting a puppy and I'm trying to find a queer name for him. Currently Oscar (as tribute to Wilde) is in the lead. Our other dog is called Gatsby (none of us have actually read the book but I'd heard it's a bit gay - my parents do not know that that's the reason I suggested it...)

Here's some dog photos as I can't join your patreon yet:

Hello! First off I love your dogs, and they are exactly what we needed on a Friday afternoon in lockdown (I saved this as a draft so it’s not Friday anymore but we did enjoy them on ouor Friday evening <3 ).

Secondly, we don't keep a list of pet names (sadly) and I can't believe we've never considered it until now! But I'll do my best to write down those I remember for you and I hope one will take your fancy:

Bishka - Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's dog

Biche, Phillis, Diana, Thisbe, Hasenfuss, Alcmene, Pan, Amoretto, Superbo, Pax, and Lulu - Prussian monarch Frederick the Great's Italian Greyhounds

Dorothy, Tiffany, Tom, Jerry, Delilah, Goliath, Lily, Miko, Oscar and Romeo - Parsi-British singer Freddie Mercury's cats (that he used to phone from overseas when on tour)

Margaret - American singer Rosetta Tharpe's horse, and Chubby, her white poodle

Patapan - English writer Horace Walpole's dog

Black-and-white-together-we-shall-overcome aka "Doc" - American activist, lawyer and writer Pauli Murray's dog

Bill - American politician Harvey Milk's toucan

Azor - Prussian-American general Baron von Steuben’s Italian greyhound

Nero and Fathma - French artist Rosa Bonheur’s lions

Chiquita - American-French performer Josephine Baker’s cheetah, and Glug Glug, Manny and many others, her monkeys

This probably isn’t all of them but I hope one of these names inspires you!

Lots of love to you and your dogs,

-Alice

[historyman101]

Prince Jozef Antoni Poniatowski (1763-1813)

So after I got my mug from Epic History TV with @aminoscribbles‘ great artistic rendering, I figure I should write a post about Marshal Poniatowski and why he is such a fascinating character in my mind. (and I may write a story about him in the future, who knows)

Poniatowski is mostly remembered for being one of the French Empire’s marshals during the Napoleonic Wars (1804-1815). He’s something of an oddball among them as he was the only non-Frenchman to be awarded the rank, and he also held it for the shortest time. But in his life, he was an adept commander, an effective administrator, and the definition of a Polish patriot.

Before serving Napoleon, Poniatowski was the nephew of the last King of Poland (Stanislaw August Poniatowski). When he joined the Polish Army at the rank of Major-General, Poland was already a crippled country, partitioned once by its neighbors Russia, Prussia, and Austria. He partook in a failed uprising against the Russians in 1794 (alongside the American Revolutionary War hero Tadeusz Kosciusko), after which Poland vanished from the map. For a long time, Poniatowski was without employment or titles, living in semi-retirement in  Warsaw.

That was until Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Poland in 1806.

After the Prussian defeat in 1806, Napoleon’s victorious Grande Armee entered Poland, hailed as liberators. Many native Poles, including Poniatowski, saw Napoleon as Poland’s best chance at regaining independence. He spared no expense to advocate for Polish statehood to the French Emperor.

After the French victory over the Russians at Friedland in 1807, the Duchy of Warsaw was created, and Poniatowski was made Minister of War. In this role, he had the monumental task of rebuilding the Polish Army from scratch. Polish troops became renowned as some of the finest in Napoleon’s army, even forming part of his elite Imperial Guard. 

Brave, resourceful, and inspirational, Poniatowski was an adept commander of Duchy of Warsaw forces in Napoleon’s service. He saw action in 1809 against Austria and again in 1812 against Russia. He finally won his marshal’s baton in Germany during the 1813 Battle of Leipzig (or the Battle of the Nations), where he bravely covered the French retreat. He was wounded several times and tried to escape capture by crossing the Elster river, but was swept off his saddle and drowned.

He had been a marshal for just four days.

While Poniatowski’s loyalty to Napoleon ultimately achieved nothing, he quickly became a legend after his death. To many fellow countrymen, he was a model of patriotism that inspired future generations. In Krakow, his remains are buried beside other Polish heroes like Jan Sobiecki III (victor of the 1683 Battle of Vienna) and Tadeusz Kosciusko, and a statue in his honor stands outside the Presidential Palace in Warsaw.

In short, he is a national hero. 

There was not a single contemporary who spoke poorly of him, and he was  widely respected for his courage, loyalty, and sense of honor. His men adored him, and when he was killed in action at Leipzig, his loss was keenly felt by all. While Napoleon was in exile on St. Helena writing his memoirs, he called Poniatowski:

“A man of noble character, full of honor and bravery.”

In many ways, Poniatowski reminds me of the classic romantic hero we would read in fairy tales as children. Devoted, courageous, and thoughtful. Even when the odds seemed stacked against Napoleon in the waning days of his empire, and the Duchy of Warsaw effectively ceased to exist, Poniatowski never backed down and never quit fighting. He remained loyal while others turned their back, if only because he remembered what Napoleon did for his countrymen.

I can only wonder what would have become of him had Napoleon’s empire lasted a little longer.

[ltwilliammowett]

Admiral Sir Sidney Smith

Well, Sidney Smith was one of the most colourful personalities of his time. He was arrogant, wilful, pompous, energetic, extravagant, capable, brave, theatrical and boastful. A flamboyant genius who could not stop talking about himself, and who claimed that he was perhaps the best English-Frenchman that ever lived , he was nonetheless always happy to dispense praise on others, generally after they had been inspired to great deeds by his over-brimming self-confidence, diligence and determination. He had a reputation for being kind-tempered, kind-hearted, and generally agreeable, but in warfare took more risks with the lives of his men than his contemporary, Lord Cochrane.

Admiral Sir Sidney Smith,by  Louis-Marie Autissier 1823 

If you listened to original voices from the time.  Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge declared that Smith made him sick, while Admiral Lord Exmouth called him gay and thoughtless. And even Nelson is reported to have said he was the gayest man in the Navy who behaved like one. Well he was of a slight build, penetrating dark eyes, a high-arched nose, striking and sharp looks and dark curly hair. Smith, like his father who had been a rake, was a lady s man, with very good manners and a razor-sharp mind, proficient in several languages and artistic talents. All in all, Sir Sidney Smith, whose real name was William Sidney Smith, was an interesting man. 

He was born on 21 June 1764 in Park Lane, London, joined the Royal Navy in 1777 and soon distinguished himself in combat. He first distinguished himself in the American Revolutionary War, as a result of which he was promoted to lieutenant in 1780. This was despite the fact that he was not yet 19 years old. He served on HMS Alcide 74- guns, under Captain Charles Thompson, on which he was present at the Battle of Chesapeake on 5 September 1781, at St Kitts on 25 and 26 January 1782 and at the Saintes on 12 April. These successes led to his promotion to Master and Commander as early as 1782, and only one year later on 7 May to Post Captain. At that time he was only 18 years old. During this time he had built up a reputation as one of the most successful prize bringers, having managed to capture several prizes with his Sloop Fury, 16-guns and earning a sum of around 30,000 pounds. (By today's standards, that would be about 5 million pounds.) After that, his luck ran out, because he was discharged from the service and was then on half- pay, because of peace.

Now unemployed, he moved to Bath to study French, but when he heard in 1787 that there might be a war with Morocco, he secretly went there to study the coast and the language. In short, he tried his hand at being a spy. But when he returned home to present his findings to the admiralty, he was not able to do so. Because there was no more talk of a possible war and he was once again empty-handed. After his efforts to take up an ambassadorial role in China had been unsuccessful, Smith took six months' leave in Sweden in 1789. The following January, he reappeared in London with an embassy from King Gustav III of Sweden and a request to be allowed to serve in the monarch's fleet. The government did not approve of this unofficial emissary and so he returned to Sweden claiming to be in possession of dispatches for the King to serve as a volunteer in the war with the Russians. Assigned as commander of the light squadron, his fleet of a hundred galleys and gunboats dislodged the Russians from the islands protecting Vyborg Bay, where they had blockaded the Swedish fleet in June, thus leading to their relief.

Battle of Vyborg Bay June 25, 1790 , by Ivan Aivazovsky 1846

Although he did not act officially, he was knighted by the King of Sweden in 1790 for his actions, which caused great amusement in England. Yet he returned home briefly, only to try his luck at the Prussian court for the next two years. Initially tolerated and advised against the Russians at court, his political views became more and more disapproved of and in 1892 he tried to enter Turkish service. When he heard in 1793 that there was going to be a war between England and France, he tried to come back home and although he was still under half-pay, he was given a new commission. Although he did not act officially, he was knighted by the King of Sweden in 1790 for his actions, which caused great amusement in England. Yet he returned home briefly, only to try his luck at the Prussian court for the next two years. Initially tolerated and advised against the Russians at court, his political views became more and more disapproved of and in 1892 he tried to enter Turkish service.

When he heard in 1793 that there would be a war between England and France, he tried to return home. He obtained a felucca and, dressed in Arab robes and turban, sailed to Toulon to offer his services to Admiral Lord Hood, who was trying to support the French royalist forces. It was on this occasion that Sydney Smith and Horatio Nelson first met.  The young revolutionary Colonel of Artillery Napoleon Bonaparte was rapidly decimating the royalist forces.  Admiral Hood asked Sidney Smith, who was serving as a volunteer, to destroy as many royalist ships in the harbour as possible to protect them from the revolutionaries.  He succeeded in destroying about half the fleet, despite the lack of supporting forces.  In July 1795, again officially in the service of the Royal Navy, his squadron captured and fortified a small island off the coast of Normandy, which served as a forward base for the British blockade of Le Havre for the next seven years.  On 19 April 1796, he used his ship's boats to take out a French ship anchored in Le Havre. 

Sir Sidney Smith Transferred from thence to the Tower of the Temple on the 3rd July 1796

As he sailed out of the harbour, the wind suddenly died and Captain Sidney Smith and his crew were captured. He himself was taken to Temple Prison in Paris. Despite all offers from the British government to buy him out or exchange him for a French captain, the French refused. Sidney's reputation had preceded him and he was known to be a keen spy. He stayed in prison for two years until he managed to free himself with forged release papers. On his return to London, Smith was received by Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty, for a private audience with the King, and as a sign of goodwill, His Majesty sent the esteemed Captain Bergeret back to France in exchange. He was sent to the Mediterranean in 1799 and charged with reinforcing the defences in the Levant for protection against Napoleon, who was moving his army east and north from Egypt.  When Napoleon laid siege to Acre in the same year, Sidney Smith used his guns to support the defenders and his fleet to supply them, and did so as an independent commander . This arrogance with which he performed earned him a sharp rebuke from both Admiral the Earl of St Vincent and Rear Admiral Lord Nelson, who as the next flag officer was particularly outraged that Smith had taken the right to hoist a broad pennant as commodore when he should have been under his command. The situation was only resolved when the broad pennant was brought down and Smith submitted to Nelson .

Napoleon eventually abandoned the siege and said of Sidney Smith, "This man made me miss my destiny."  Smith's success in halting the French advance was rewarded a pension of 1,000 guineas, along with many other awards, including a coveted Chelengk and a sable coat from the Turkish Sultan. For their part, the French were so annoyed with him that Buonaparte apparently tried to have him assassinated. From 1799- 1806 he had small operations in the Mediterranean and in 1800 even tried to conclude an agreement with French General Jean-Baptiste Kléber to evacuate French troops on British ships. However, Admiral Lord Keith did not agree, so there were disputes in Keiro until the agreement was reached in 1802. Sidney had been back in London since 1801. Where he was elected to the British House of Commons as MP for Rochester in 1802. He held this mandate until 1806.

Commodore Smith at Acre

Unlike most senior naval officers in home waters, Smith did not attend Vice Admiral Lord Nelson's funeral in London on 9 January 1806. Instead, after a brief stay in Bath, he arrived in Plymouth on 14 January to sail with a small squadron to the Mediterranean to join Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood. Were he  land forces commanded in southern Italy trying to defeat a superior French force. Despite a great victory, he was replaced by a British Army officer, largely because he once again could not control his famous arrogance. On the one hand, he had exceeded his command, even though he had been rear- admiral since 1805, and on the other, he had antagonised the French generals by sending them newspaper cuttings about his great successes.

In October 1807, he cruised off the mouth of the Tagus and in November escorted Prince Regent John of Portugal, who had been expelled by the French, and the royal family to Rio de Janeiro in the Portuguese colony of Brazil. There, the Prince Regent decorated him as a Grand Knight of the Order of the Tower and the Sword. In February 1808, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British fleet off South America and, contrary to his orders, subsequently planned an attack on the neighbouring Spanish colonies together with the Portuguese. Before these plans could be implemented, he was ordered back home in July 1809.

Sir William Sidney Smith, by William Say 1802

On 31 July 1810, he was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Blue. Between 1812 and 1814 he operated in the Mediterranean as Admiral Pellew's second-in-command, during which time he was decorated in Sicily by King Ferdinand as a Grand Knight of the Cross of the Order of St Ferdinand and of Merit. After Napoléon Bonaparte was defeated in 1814 and exiled on Elba, he returned to England. On 2 January 1815, in recognition of his services, he was struck Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath by King George III, and thus at last received a British knighthood.

On 15 June 1815, he attended the Duchess of Richmond's ball in Brussels. Three days later, hearing gunfire, he rode out and met the Duke of Wellington, who had just defeated the returning Napoléon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo. Smith then accepted the surrenders of the French garrisons at Arras and Amiens and ensured the Allies entry into Paris without a fight, as well as King Louis XVIII's safe return there.

After the war, he lived mainly in Paris with his wife. He took part in the Congress of Vienna and campaigned for the abolition of slavery and debt bondage, and in particular for the raising of funds to free Christian slaves from the Barbary pirates. He was promoted to the rank of Admiral of the Red on 19 July 1821, and Lieutenant-General of the Royal Marines on 28 June 1830, but did not hold a naval command of his own after 1814. His wife died in 1826 and on 20 July 1838 he was raised by Queen Victoria to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Smith died on 26 May 1840 at his residence of No. 9 Rue d Auguesseau in Paris, he was 75 years old.

[indigowallbreaker]

Re: the Mixed Royalties AU someone else sent you, you probably associate Adrestia with Germany because of the black eagle standard of Prussia and the use of "von" in their nobility names. That said, "German royalty" has always been more or less tied up in the HRE, since a unified Germany as we know it really didn't exist until just before WWI, and even what we would call a formal German monarchy only lasted for about 47 years over 3 rulers (at least as Wikipedia defines it) - for this AU, Prussia itself or Austria-Hungary might be another viable option if one didn't go with Russia. Funnily enough, though Dimitri strikes me as being more a French heir than anything else (I think it's the lions and the Fleur-de-lis motif on Faerghus heraldry), I actually think HE would work well for a Russian heir. The territories are similarly large with harsh, cold climates, his name is definitely more Russian inspired (especially with his fan nickname of "Dima"), and heck, Russia even adopted mainly French language, dress, and culture during its cultural revolution (thanks, Peter the Great), so that might even explain why I get French vibes off Dimitri. Adrestia Austria-Hungary, Faergus as Russia, and Almyra as the Ottomans (with the Alliance I then assume to be somewhere like Georgia, Bulgaria, or even north of the Black Sea like Ukrane) puts them all in a lot closer geographic relation to each other as well than shipping Dimitri all the way off to isolated England.

Okay so: 

1) Someone else DM’ed me talking about Austria-Hungry for Adrestian so safe to say we’re at least in the Holy Roman Empire feel. The eagle imagery and ‘von’ is quite Prussian. When I listed Germany I wasn’t thinking of historical accuracy-- more like, influence or inspiration. Obviously the history of Germany is, if you pardon my language, a fucking mess, so I don’t mean to say the Adrestian Empire reflects any specific part of Germany/HRE/Prussia’s past.

2) Dimitri is a much more Russian name but the names of places or families in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus are heavily drawn from Britannic and Welsh myth. For example; ‘Blaiddyd’ or ‘Bladud’ refers to a legendary king of the Britons and the Welsh form of the name ‘Blaiddyd’ which translates to “wolf-lord”. Obviously it’s a fictional place so you can place it anywhere on a real-world map you like, but there’s heavy UK influences in general (even the taking of the southern half of Sreng can echo taking the northern part of Ireland) that are hard for me to ignore personally.

All this to say, the game isn’t Fantasy Europe so trying to draw direct parallels is never going to be easy and there’s no one right answer for this kind of AU. I think it’s more important to just explore the aspects from different regions that the writers/artists drew on. You mentioned getting French vibes from Dimitri, which I never picked up-- but you pointing out the lion and “the Fleur-de-lis motif on Faerghus heraldry” has me interested in the idea. The Kingdom’s physical description does match Russia closer than England. Who even knows about the Alliance other than “the Aquatic Capital” and it’s proximity to Almyra? And DO NOT get me started on the other places like Brigid or Dagda!

It’s a patchwork of a game, to be sure, and could spawn any number of versions of the AU.  

[something-tofightfor]

Modified ask game - here we go!

I hit a follower milestone a little while ago - number isn’t important, but THANK YOU ALL FOR FOLLOWING ME. There are a lot of you, and I’msure that the follows are all for very different reasons, but I VERY MUCH appreciate every one of you, even if we’ve never interacted. As a way for my new followers to get to know me (if they want) I’ve compiled a list of ask games / random questions and will be posting below the cut.  Send me as many as you want, or if there’s anything not listed that you’re interested in knowing, go ahead and ask. I’ll be answering these throughout the week.  Also in the interest of being friendly and proving that I’m a real live person, I’m publicly stating that in certain cases, I’m very open to becoming non-tumblr friends. This means using other social media to communicate - whatsapp, discord (I have an account but have never used it), instagram, that godawful bird app (which is almost exclusively filled with snarky tweets and baseball opinions) ... there are even a few people on here that have my phone number. 

Why do I say this? Because some of the people I’ve met on here have become very good, very close friends. Tumblr sucks a lot. The notifications are wonky, messages don’t send ... whatever it is, it’s unreliable. I know that people on here tend to be very wary about telling people *real* things about themselves, so I respect your privacy, but wanted to put that out there. I’m not just going to pass out my info to someone that messages me on anon and asks, or says hello for the first time, but if we’ve spoken before, and it’s something you’re interested in, let me know. I swear  that on my other social media you’ll see how boring I am; I just pretend to be cool and interesting on tumblr with my hot takes and gardening and pictures of Neptune.

apricot: opinion on 3 in 1 body wash/hair wash?

crop top: what is your least favorite word?

glow sticks: are you into witchcraft?

stereo: do you have a favorite drink?

holographic: indoor or outdoor malls?

silly string: do you play an instrument? is their anything you’d like to play?

blackberries: what’s your favorite album from the 2000s?

picnic baskets: what’s your favorite picture book?

bold: favorite font?

platform shoes: what would your dream roller coaster be?

paper crowns: if you were a color, what color would you be?

vinyl: what’s your favorite scent?

glitter: what’s a good memory from primary school?

silly bands: what’s your favorite plant?

neon: friendship bracelets?

loud: shells or sea glass?

sunflower: what makes you nostalgic?

boots: what was your favorite show as a kid?

springs: what’s your favorite material?

whiteboards: old book smell or new book smell?

pop tarts: what’s your favorite weird drink or food combo?

sequins: how do you name playlists?

lamps: what type of clothes do you like to wear?

old cars: what’s the most fun word you know?

hats: what do you like to do in cities?

Cats or dogs? Why?

Snakes or spiders? Why?

Baths or showers? Why?

Drink you order from the bar?

How do you like your meat cooked?

What is your go to karaoke song?

The beach or the snow?

House or apartment?

Do you get angry playing board games? Monopoly? Scrabble? Clue?

Would you play Russian Roulette?

Truth or dare?

Do you prefer pants or a dress? Either to wear or to see others wearing.

Coke or Pepsi?

Cigarettes or cigars?

How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike?

What is your earliest memory?

What was your first kiss like?

How do you feel about your mother?

How do you feel about your father?

When you picture home, what do you see?

What is your favorite fairytale?

Why is that your favorite fairytale?

What is your favorite song?

Why is that your favorite song?

What is your favorite sound?

Why is that your favorite sound?

Pens or pencils?

How do you feel about cheese?

What type of cheese if your favorite?

What would you wear to a funeral?

Do you wear pajamas to bed?

Coffee or tea? How do you take either? Two sugars? A bit of milk?

iPhone or Android?

What do you do when no one is looking?

Favorite flower?

Why is that your favorite flower?

Do you have any siblings?

Which sibling is your favorite?

Do you have any children?

Which child is your favorite?

What’s your favorite classic novel? 1984? Oliver Twist? Little Women?

Have you ever been in love?

Where do you go when you want to be alone?

What would be your super power?

What would be your ideal date?

What part of yourself do you wish you could change?

red: describe your favorite shirt

orange: if you could, would you change your eye color? why? to what color, if so?

yellow: name of an artist you think is underappreciated

green: do you have a favourite flower?

blue: preferred type of weather?

purple: a poem you think describes your closest friend

magenta: do you keep your fingernails long or short?

turquoise: favorite sea animal?

fuchsia: favorite land animal?

cyan: are you religious? spiritual?

sea green: can you fold a fitted sheet?

violet: are you a part of the lgbt+ community?

amber: what's saved as your phone's lockscreen?

aqua: do you thrift?

pink: what's your natural hair color?

beige: have any pets? what're their names?

black: would you ever try going vegetarian or vegan?

coral: an animal you wish hadn't gone extinct?

grey: how many languages do you speak? do you want to learn any more

maroon: do you care for clothing brands?

rose: favourite scent on a person?

charcoal: have you ever been camping?

claret: do you play an instrument? do you want to learn to play any?

copper: gold or silver jewelry?

cream: any piercings or tattoos? do you want any?

emerald: if you had the option, would you choose to move and live in another country? which one?

lavender: relationship status?

erin: what was/is your best school subject?

mauve: any unpopular opinions?

coconut: a subject you enjoy learning about?

frost: a -core you enjoy?

porcelain: an tv show you used to love?

gold: do you wear your socks mismatched?

honey: your thoughts on magic- does it exist?

rust: form of art you enjoy doing?

ginger: any sideblogs?

cherry: YouTubers you enjoy watching?

wine: do you have a 'type'?

mahogany: your sun, moon, and rising signs?

blood: twin beds, queen, or king?

hot pink: did you/do you had/have strong feelings against the color pink?

plum: a food you've never tried?

lilac: dogs, cats, or fish?

amethyst: do you collect anything?

mulberry: earbuds or headphones?

azure: jean jackets?

denim: kill the spider or take it outside?

sapphire: do you think you can sing well?

mint: favourite flavour of gum?

pecan: shuffle your playlist, what's the first song that comes up?

penny: ice cream or cake?

ash: can you do your own makeup?

jade: ever written fanfiction?

grape: how many blogs do you follow?

chestnut: type of phone you have?

prussian blue: what's your first choice at the vending machine?

aquamarine: beach or pool?

brass: least favorite food condiment?

mustard: how much sugar in your tea/coffee?

silver: ever broken a bone?

burgundy: ever ridden a motorcycle?

scarlet: favorite holiday?