Robert Bateman's Heloise and Abelard

I ran across this painting while browsing Christie's website (hey, a girl can dream). It was pained by Robert Bateman(1842-1922), a lesser known artist who is considered more a member of the aesthetic movement than of the pre-raphaelite movement (i.e., he most likely preferred velvet knee-pants to medieval inspired garb).

Bateman was only known to have created 32 paintings during his career, and few have survived. His most well-known work, the Pool of Bethseda, was actually attributed to another artist with the same initials ( Richard Beavis )until 1965! His work has gained recognition over the past few decades as a result of its inclusion in several high-profile Pre-Raphaelite Exhibitions, including The Last Romantics, which appeared at the Barbican Art Gallery in 1989, and The Age of Rossetti, Burne-Jones and Watts: Symbolism in Britain 1860-1910, held at the Tate Gallery in 1997. Bateman was a tremendous fan of Edward Burne-Jones work and a accomplished artist in his own right, but he also pursued gardening and sculpture.

As for this painting, most people assume that the figures depicted are star-crossed lovers Heloise and Abelard, but nobody knows for sure, since Bateman didn't actually give a name to the picture himself. I'm interested to know what you guys think! I do think it's clearly a painting of two lovers whose time is running out. If you click to enlarge the painting, you'll see that Bateman has inscribed the phrase "carpe diem" near the base of the sundial. You will also note the dying sunflower draped over the sundial. (again, it's tough to think of two famous historical or fictional lovers whose time wasn't running out).

The painting is expected to fetch between £30,000 - £50,000 at auction ($46,350 - $77,250 USD).

For more information, visit Christie's website

Attacking Suburban Sprawl in Vauban, Germany

I always find it incredibly depressing to drive from Edmonton to Calgary. It's starting to look like one unending stream of suburbs. While there are still plenty of wide, open spaces, they get smaller every year and the suburbs of both cities just keep on growing. I'm starting to wonder how long it will take before the three-hour drive between the cities evolves into a hellish tour of one giant housing development after another.

It's shocking what a tremendous amount of space these homes take up. They seem huge, which is of course a large part of their appeal. But at the same time, they are so close together that you can look in your neighbours windows! Even our flat has more privacy than that! You have to wonder why people don't just give up the pretence and share a wall with their neighbors. But I guess that violates the whole "my McMansion is my castle" mentality.

It's also pretty hard to imagine the suburbs without cars, but that is just what they have done in Vauban, Germany. Vauban has decided to take a new approach to suburban planning, creating friendly neighborhoods with easy access to public transportation. Parking one's car on the street is discouraged. And although car ownership is not forbidden, it is a bit of a pain (there are only two places to park in the entire town). As a result, 70 percent of residents have chosen to give up their cars. People either carpool or take public transportation. And because driving isn't really an option, small stores that cater to the pedestrian population thrive.

In addition, free standing homes are forbidden in Vauban, helping to eliminate a lot of wasted space (honestly, who really hangs out in the two square feet of land that separates houses from each other in these new developments? And why do they even bother putting windows on that side of the house, since the only thing you can look at is your neighbors siding (and maybe your neighbors, if you're lucky).

I really hope that this idea takes off, though there are some definite drawbacks to car-free living(especially where I live). Cars are lifesavers during the long Edmonton winter. When it's -30 C (-22 F for the Americans), you don't really feel like walking much of anywhere. Even if they grocery store is pretty close. So I guess I can see why suburban parking lots are so popular here. Still, I'm sure that things can be done to make developments more pedestrian/public transportation/bike-friendly. Hmm. What would William Morris do?

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Ladurée Macarons

I haven't really had any cravings during my pregnancy, but if there's one thing that I can't stop thinking about lately, it's the lovely macarons (not to be confused with macaroons) from Ladurée. I think this is partly due to the empty Ladurée box sitting in my living room that I can't bear to part with. Everytime I see it I am transported back to memories of those heavenly, perfumed, morsels. I'm not usually one to get overly ecstatic about my food. I'm not a huge chocolate addict (don't get me wrong, I love chocolate, but I'm not one of those girls that "needs chocolate" or craves it particularly).

Anyway, there's just something about Ladurée's macarons that just sets them apart. But there doesn't seem a way to get them that doesn't involve a 9 hour flight (which, I suppose, is part of their charm). Anyway, I dearly wish that they would at least open one shop somewhere on this continent. Currently they have shops in Monaco, London, Tokyo and Switzerland. Would it kill them to open a shop in Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver? Or even New York?

Hmm. Well, until then, I guess I'll just have to cherish the memories. And maybe try bribing friends to bring them back from overseas trips. And perhaps even learn to make a decent macaron myself!

A Baby Announcement!

Yes, yes, I have an announcement. My husband and I are currently expecting our first baby. Right now I'm 15 weeks and my husband and I are both extremely excited.

I have had an eerily symptom-free pregnancy. Aside from some tiredness and the occasional mood-swing (along with constant freaking-out-out-loud about the baby's health--thank you, Javier, for being so understanding!), I probably wouldn't have even known I was expecting! It's still a little shocking (and definitely reassuring) to go to the doctor's office and listen to the baby's heartbeat. It's very exciting, of course, but also a little hard to believe! (I've developed a lot more sympathy towards those women that claim they delivered a baby without even knowing they were pregnant).

The baby is due in October, and I must say I'm really looking forward maternity leave. Here in Canada we get an entire year, and I am so excited! Hopefully in between the sleepless nights I'll also have some more free time to blog and work on my writing--and maybe I'll even have some time to read!

I haven't decided yet if I will be starting a separate "baby blog" or not. I love reading other people's baby blogs, so I'm definitely toying with the idea. However, I'm not totally sure how much I'll have to say about motherhood! I guess we'll just have to wait and find out.

*Perhaps another symptom of pregnancy: I have started making up jokes in Spanglish, which make me laugh like crazy, even though I know it's positively loony. Early on in my pregnancy, I was watching Jeopardy with Javier and I got the answer (or is it the question?) wrong final Jeopardy answer wrong. In what I thought at the time was a brilliant bit of word play, I announced "yo perdi!" (Spanish for "I lost"), which sounds a lot like the word "Jeopardy." I think I laughed for an hour. Wow.

"Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms: New Currents in Aestheticism and Decadence"

If you're lucky enough to be in New York city at the end of this month, be sure to check out "Blood, Absinthe, and Aphorisms: New Currents in Aestheticism and Decadence." The conference is being held free of charge with no prior registration required at the City University of New York, New York, NY from April 30- May 1, 2009.

The conference will be bringing together scholars from various academic backgrounds "to examine aestheticism and decadence in late Victorian literature, art, theater, politics, and popular culture." Reginia Gagnier will be this year's keynote speaker and the opening roundtable will examine "What's New in Decadence and Aestheticism." Other speakers include Dennis Dennisoff, Joseph Bristow, Linda K. Hughes, Richard Dellamora, and Margaret D. Stetz. Topics covered include presentations on C. R. Ashbee and British utopias, Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, and romanticism; Aubrey Beardsley and the art of the poster (that one sounds like a lot of fun!); Edward Carpenter and domestic interiors, and Black decadence in the work of M. P. Shiel.

The conference will be held at the Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY.

For more information, check out the conference's website.

Sin and Salvation: Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision

For those of you in the Toronto area who have not yet had the chance to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario's current Pre-Raphaelite exhibit, there's still time! "Sin and Salvation: Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision" will be running until May 10, 2009. Sixty of William Holman Hunt's paintings are on display at the exhibit, including Isabella and the Pot of Basil, The Awakening Conscience and The Light of the World.




In addition to the paintings, the museum is also displaying the costumes that Hunt and his family used to pose for artworks (Hunt himself used to enjoy dressing up while he was painting--I saw a great photograph of him a while ago in full safari getup while he was painting The Scapegoat). It sounds like an amazing exhibit. I only wish I lived closer to Toronto!


For more information on the exhibit, please visit the Art Gallery of Ontario's website.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Announces Sequel to Phantom of the Opera

Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber has been busy working away at a sequel to his 1986 hit, The Phantom of the Opera. The sequel, entitled Love Never Dies, will premiere in London this fall and is slated for production in Toronto and Tokyo shortly thereafter.

Love Never Dies is set in Coney Island (of all places), and features an older Christine, her husband Raoul and son Gustav. Christine agrees to a "one night only" performance and everything goes terribly wrong...

I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera when I was fifteen. I heard the soundtrack to the musical at my friend Alisa's house and was entranced. After that I even managed to get my hands on the original book by Gaston Leroux, which I highly recommend, even though it's quite different from the musical. The book has a very recognizable Victorian Gothic quality to it, and reminds me a lot of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the writing style is very similar).

I'm looking forward to the new show, though I have my reservations about the Coney Island setting (which will probably be delightfully macabre). The music has already been recorded on a concept album, though no word yet on when the album will actually be available for sale. The word is that it might be released before the premiere, but I rather doubt it.

What do you guys think about a sequel to Phantom of the Opera? Would you be excited to see it? Are you worried that Andrew Lloyd Webber will damage the legacy of Phantom of the Opera with a sub-par sequel? Please weigh in.

You can read more about Webber's upcoming production on broadway.com.



Image courtesy Wikimedia.