Tag Archives: beauty

BEAUTIFUL DELUSION

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leo-tolstoy-quote

Leo Tolstoy (9 September, 1828 – 20 November, 1910), was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright and philosopher who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Tolstoy was a master of realistic fiction and is widely considered one of the greatest novelists of all time. Ilya_Repin_-_Leo_TolstoyHe is best known for two long novels, War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). Tolstoy first achieved literary acclaim in his 20s with his semi-autobiographical trilogy of novels, Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth (1852–1856) and Sevastopol Sketches (1855), based on his experiences in the Crimean War. His fiction output also includes two additional novels, dozens of short stories, and several famous novellas, including The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and Hadji Murad. In addition to novels and short stories, he also wrote plays and philosophical essays on Christianity, nonviolent resistance, art and pacifism.

The Kreutzer Sonata is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata. The novella was published in 1889 and promptly censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an argument for the ideal of sexual abstinence and an in-depth first-person description of jealous rage.

Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker, social reformer, and Georgist.  His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal 20th-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.. 

(source: Wikipedia.org)

9 Principles of Japanese Aesthetics

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As a painter and writer I was delighted by this wonderful article about the aesthetics of the Japanese.  In my opinion, no culture on Earth has a more highly refined sense of aesthetic. The principles of Japanese art described in this article are eloquently illustrated!

9 Principles of Japanese Art and Culture

ART IS THE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF BEAUTY

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Vermeer: Portraits of A Lifetime

I am very sure that my new book, Vermeer: Portraits of A Lifetime, will be considered by many people to be delusional or heretical.  Many will dismiss my observations and comments because they don’t follow the dictates of  “authoritative research” or the opinions of art “experts”.

This book may threaten persons who have a financial vested interest in the Vermeer paintings that still exist today, as their livelihood or financial well-being depend to some degree on the value currently assigned to the paintings.

Although the monetary value of Vermeer’s paintings have been vastly inflated, in part, due to the mystique created by authorities or speculators, it is not my intention to devaluate them. It is not my intention to invalidate property that was sold or bartered by Vermeer and his wife, Catharina, hundreds of years ago.  Quite the contrary.

My intention is to honor the lives of Johannes, Catharina, their eleven surviving children and Maria Thins, his mother-in-law and patroness.

This book does not represent or endorse any financial, spiritual, religious, political organization or practice or philosophy of any kind.  All personal observations and opinions offered by the author herein are purely and solely personal opinions, with no other source than those noted in the footnotes or appendix.

Any and all individuals or organizations from whom research and/or opinions have been borrowed or sited for referential purposes in this book are not affiliated with and do not in any way acknowledge the validity of or endorse the findings or assertions of the author or publisher of this book.

Finally, this book is not intended for people who have a vested interest, or who “know best”.  Personal observations, whether visual, empathetic or conjectural, of the author about the life and death of Vermeer, 300 years after the fact, are wholly subjective.

BEAUTIFUL SADNESS

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The Montreaux Jazz Festival in July 2010 was the last filmed performance by Gary Moore before his untimely death in February 2011.  The song in this video is “STILL GOT THE BLUES FOR YOU”.  It features incomparably heart-wrenching lyrics and one of the most magnificent guitar solos ever performed.

If you have ever been heartbroken over the loss of a Lover or Loved One this song will make you cry or feel like crying, not matter how long ago that loss may have happened.  This is the ultimate “beautiful sadness” song.  One of the reasons that a lost love is so painful and seems to forever is because the beauty, pleasurable moments , spiritual affinity we shared with our lost companion is indestructible.  We cannot destroy or deny moments of pleasure, no matter how long or how hard we try.  So, we might as well relish the beauty of sadness — and fondly remember the lost loves of our lives.  They are far too few and too infrequent.