Τρίτη 26 Ιουλίου 2011

Kirpal Singh, an Indian historical painter

Bhai Mati Das was sawn by Islamists


Kirpal Singh (1923-1990) was a historical painter of India. His most famous works are the atrocities of Islamist Mughals against Sikh populations to the point of genocide during 17-18th century. Famous martyrs as Bhai Mati Das, even infants were executed with extreme cruelty.






Sikh babies were speared before their mothers

Πέμπτη 21 Ιουλίου 2011

Τετάρτη 13 Ιουλίου 2011

Antikamnia calendars

Louis Crucius (or Crusius) completed the necessary requirements to graduate as a pharmacist in 1882 and a doctor in 1890 in St Louis, Missouri. While he was studying he worked in a pharmacy and made humorous sketches that were placed in the window of the store. Although he gave most of his drawings away, Crucius sold a number of them to the Antikamnia (‘opposed to pain’) Chemical Company which had been established in St Louis in 1890. They produced antikamnia medicines containing the coal tar derivative, acetanilid, an anti-fever drug with pain relieving properties somewhat related to paracetamol, but which would be later shown to be a toxic compound not to mention addictive. Antikamnia was mixed with substances like codeine and quinine to enhance the pain relieving effects. 30 of the Crucius ‘dance of death’-inspired drawings were used to make 5 years worth of Antikamnia Chemical Company calendars - between 1897 and 1901. They had a fairly aggressive marketing campaign in which the calendars (aimed at the medical fraternity) as well as postcards and sample packs were distributed to doctors in the United States and overseas. (Bibliodyssey)

Ο Louis Crucius (or Crusius) ήταν φαρμακοποιός και γιατρός στα τέλη του 19ου αιώνα στο Saint Louis του Μισούρι (ΗΠΑ). Ενόσω σπούδαζε, δούλευσε σε φαρμακείο, όπου είχε σχεδιάσει χιουμοριστικά σκίτσα με σκελετούς και τα κρεμούσε στη βιτρίνα του μαγαζιού. Αν και τα περισσότερα τα κατέστρεψε, μερικά (καμιά 30ριά) τα πούλησε στην φαρμακευτική εταιρεία Antikamnia (έναντια στον πόνο), η οποία παρήγαγε τότε το ομώνυμο παυσίπονο (αργότερα αποδείχθηκε τοξικό και εθιστικό), και χρησιμοποιήθηκαν στην εκτύπωση διαφημιστικών ημερολογίων μεταξύ 1897 και 1901 σε μια επιθετική διαφημιστική καμπάνια της σε φαρμακεία και γιατρούς, σε όλο τον κόσμο.


Τετάρτη 6 Ιουλίου 2011

Inside the church in commune Châteauneuf-sur-Loire, France

Châteauneuf-sur-Loire is a beautiful old commune in France. Among the many sights you can visit is the Church of this commune. Inside its Church there is a pretentious tomb of a minister of Luis XIII: a statue of him with an angel calling him to heaven between two impressive sculptures of skeletons as threatening guards of the tomb, and as proping the arch above.


Παρασκευή 1 Ιουλίου 2011

René of Châlon cenotaph in church of St. Etienne in Bar-le-Duc, France

René of Châlon (1519 – 1544) was a Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelre. René inherited the Princedom of Orange on condition that he used the name and coat of arms of the Châlon-Orange family. History knows him therefore as René of Châlon instead of as "René of Nassau-Breda." René of Châlon married Anna of Lorraine (1522-1568) on 20 August 1540 at Bar-le-Duc. They had only one child, a daughter named Maria, who lived only 3 weeks and was buried in the "Grote Kerk" in Breda. In 1544, René took part in the siege of St. Dizier in the service of Emperor Charles V. He was mortally wounded in battle and died with the Emperor attending at his bedside. René was buried in Grote Kerk in Breda, near the resting-place of his short-lived daughter.

A commemorative cenotaph stands in the church of St. Etienne in Bar-le-Duc, France. Sculptor Ligier Richier did this macabre masterpiece in 1547 on request either of Rene or his widow that Chalon portray him in his tomb figure as "not a standard figure but a life-size skeleton with strips of dried skin flapping over a hollow carcass, whose right hand clutches at the empty rib cage while the left hand holds high his heart in a grand gesture" set against a backdrop representing his earthly riches. (Morbid Anatomy)