Art and the Homeless

The essential ingredient of commedia dell'arte is the mask worn by its players. Modern players dispense with the mask because they no longer fear repercussions for their biting satire. Originally, masks hid the identity of the actor and therefore allowed the free, uninhibited expression of risqué, pointed, and impromptu satire. The rich and powerful were most often the subject of performances, and if they failed to contribute to the troupe's welfare, they might well find themselves the subject of the play. In some instances, the very rich and famous — often the targets of ridicule — participated in performances behind masks. Everyone knew who they were, just as everyone understood that the loosely, reality-based plots mirrored contemporary satire. Similarly, today’s comedy troupes improvise on the foibles of politicians and other dignitaries. With the introduction of patrons, clients, and formal contracts, the formerly freeform performances evolved into structured theater — as ...

... search the Chester Dale collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is a renowned assemblage of masterworks spanning Impressionism to Modernism, featuring key pieces by artists such as Monet, Renoir, Picasso, and Dali. The collection was donated by Chester Dale, a prominent American collector and patron of the arts, and is celebrated for its significance in showcasing the evolution of modern European painting. This collection is often highlighted in exhibitions and reviews as a highlight of the museum’s permanent holdings, with past exhibitions like, “From Impressionism to Modernism,” offering in-depth exploration of its themed and historical context. Visitors frequently praise the collection for its artistic depth and quality, with many noting the exceptional works by masters like Picasso and Dali, including Salvador Dalí’s portrait of Chester Dale. While the collection is part of the...

The painting “Family of Saltimbanques,” by Pablo Picasso, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., has a well-documented provenance going back to its creation in 1905. The painting was originally purchased directly from Picasso in 1908 by André Level, a Parisian lawyer and financier, for the collection La Peau de l'Ours. Six years later, in 1914, it was sold at Hôtel Drouot in Paris and acquired by the Thannhauser Galleries in Munich. Between November 1914 and June 1915, the painting was bought by Hertha Koenig, a German poet and art patron, and who was a close friend of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. The work then passed to the Valentine Gallery in New York, where it was sold in 1931 to Chester Dale, a New York banker and art collector. Dale, who amassed a significant collection of modern French art, bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art upon his death in 1962, and it officially entered the museum’s collection in 1963. The painting has since become a ce...

... search the famous aria from i pagliacci The most iconic highlight from I Pagliacci must be the tragic aria "Vesti la giubba", sung by the protagonist Canio, as he prepares to perform as a clown -despite discovering his wife Nedda’s infidelity. This powerful tenor aria, expressing the anguish of the "tragic clown" who must smile through pain, is one of the most famous in opera history. The opera’s emotional climax occurs in the final act when Canio, overwhelmed by jealousy, kills both Nedda and her lover Silvio during the performance, blurring the line between the play and reality. The work, composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo in 1892, is a cornerstone of the verismo opera movement, drawing on real-life tragedy and the traditions of Commedia dell’arte.  ... is archive file available for the rice krispies tv commercial which used the aria vesti la giubba Yes, an archive file of the Kellogg's Rice Krispies TV commercial featuring the opera aria Vesti la giubba is a...

Every day when I get started—before I check the news—I say, “Please let today not be an apocalypse day.” Bombshell news is always a distraction. That's just how it has to be. I watched the attack on the World Trade Center, as it happened, from my workplace window. I shall never be the same. Today—luckily—was not a day of apocalypse. That is to say—to be exact—it was not a totally apocalyptic day. It was more like an half-an-apocalypse day. It was even a mildly funny day. Amid the other dire events of the morning only one stood-out; the whole (media) world got a good look at Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the (late) Ayatollah Khamenei.  I am going by the photo on his Wikipedia page because I lost the initial story. At first I brushed it off as less than apocalyptic and, therefore, not worthy of concern. Never-the-less, if you know me, I can't sleep at night because of a random scandal reported in the day's news. My day got as far as lunch when I had to go back and re-read the morn...

As I write this, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is winding-down. The most shocking revelations are behind us, with less than a trickle of undiscovered associations being "revealed" in the day's news. The public's secondary reaction has only just begun. What is meant by that analogy is the absence of pain felt immediately upon sustaining a serious injury or burn. The pain is felt in the long, healing process, ahead. So it is with the Epstein files. And, after the bandages are removed, the unsightly scars will be a lasting reminder of the whole episode: the legacy of trauma.  I was not directly affected; but, believe me when I say, as former President Bill Clinton made famous the saying, “I feel your pain.” Thus, I come not to praise Caesar, but to bury him; Jeffrey Epstein, I mean. The closest exposure I got was having visited—briefly—the famous performing arts academy Interlochen, where Epstein plied his trade in seducing young women and powerful men. Epstein's crime...