Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/Single/2015-03-18

A woman who loved kings, a king who loved angels, a god who loved women, a butterfly that loves sunshine, and a bloke on a bike (and other mythical creatures)

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  Charles Catton
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  Jay Gould

Four featured articles were promoted this week.

• Gary Cooper (nominated by Bede735) Gary Cooper was born Frank James Cooper in 1901. He began his career in silent films as a stunt rider, before paying for a screen test to become an actor. He had become disgusted with the cruelty shown to the horses used in the Westerns he appeared in. Casting director Nan Collins, who became his agent, suggested that he change his name to "Gary" after her hometown of Gary, Indiana. There were other Frank Coopers also pursuing acting careers, not to mention careers in marmalade. He "liked the name immediately." Gradually, Cooper began to land roles with more screen time. He was noticed by Samuel Goldwyn Productions, who signed him in June 1926 for $50 a week (probably equivalent to $3,000 now). His first sound film, The Virginian, made him a Hollywood star. His most famous film is 1952's High Noon, with Grace Kelly. Playing the part of a sheriff menaced by outlaws and abandoned by the townsfolk he serves, Cooper's performance was aided by his stomach ulcers, the pain from which gave him an air of "self-doubt".
• Cosmic Stories and Stirring Science Stories (nominated by Mike Christie) These two science fiction magazines were edited by Donald A. Wollheim and published by Albing Publications, a father-and-son team operating from a desk in the corner of someone else's office. Wollheim had noticed a magazine called Stirring Detective and Western Stories published by Albing, and had written to them inquiring whether they'd be interested in adding science fiction to their list. The two magazines alternated monthly, with Stirring Science Stories appearing first in February 1941. Wolheim got his friends in the Futurians to donate stories (his contract meant he also wasn't getting paid until the third issue was published). Writers included Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, C.M. Kornbluth, and James Blish. Albing published six issues, and a seventh was published by Manhattan Fiction Publications, but wartime restrictions on paper caused the magazines to fold.
• Les Holden (nominated by Ian Rose) "Lucky Les" was an Australian fighter pilot in the Great War, and afterwards a commercial aviator. He was also known as the "homing pigeon"; both sobriquets refer to two instances in three days where he returned from strafing German trenches with his aeroplane a "flying wreck". Holden went on to become an "ace", with five confirmed kills. After the war, he returned to Australia and joined the civilian reserve of the Royal Australian Air Force, before purchasing a Giant Moth to fly on charter operations out of Sydney. Holden's Air Transport Services established air freight services in Papua New Guinea. Holden was killed in 1932 when a plane in which he was a passenger crashed at Byron Bay.
• Benjamin Tillman (nominated by Wehwalt) Benjamin Tillman was a one-eyed white supremacist and politician who was Democratic Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894 and a U.S. senator from 1895 to his death in 1918. He became known as "Pitchfork Ben" for his advocacy of the interests of (white) farmers, as well as for his threat to impale President Grover Cleveland on said farm implement. Once governor, he determined to force African Americans from political life altogether, denying that Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal" was true even when Jefferson wrote it. His oratory used the techniques of accusation and insinuation, even as a senator. Tillman's views on white supremacy were so extreme that he held "that blacks must submit to either domination or extermination." He was against extermination, on the grounds that many white men might lose their lives achieving it.

• Men in blue
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  Benjamin Tillman
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  Stirring Science Stories, February 1941
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  Les Holden

Four featured lists were promoted this week.

• List of South Africa cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut (nominated by Vensatry) A list of those cricketers who, playing for South Africa in a Test match for the first time, have taken five or more wickets in a single innings. The difficulty of this can be seen in the fact that only 144 cricketers of any national team have achieved such a feat, of which 22 have been South African. The list starts with Albert Rose-Innes in 1889, and the latest is Kyle Abbot in 2013.
• List of works by Georgette Heyer (nominated by Ruby2010) Georgette Heyer was an English author who published her first novel, The Black Moth, as a nineteen-year-old in 1921. It was set in the Georgian period, and featured Lord Jack Carstares, who became a highwayman after he took the blame when his younger brother cheated at cards. The novel displayed themes that would run through her novels: romance, history, and no end of the doings of the nobility. The male lead is usually described as "saturnine" or gloomy. Heyer went on to establish the Regency romance, which entailed thorough historical research on the nine years of the Regency era. In her heyday, she wrote one romance and one thriller a year. Heyer's last novel was My Lord John, unfinished at her death in 1974, and published posthumously. It's a story of John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford and his brothers; Heyer was fascinated by the period in which the House of Lancaster held sway, and regarded John as a "great man".
• Kangana Ranaut, roles and awards (nominated by Krimuk90) Kangana Ranaut, an Indian actress, has appeared in 29 Bollywood films. She has played a wide range of roles, such as a village girl in the Tamil film Dhaam Dhoom, a supermodel with a penchant for abusing substances in Fashion, and a form-changing mutant in Krrish 3. The latter film, released in 2013, is one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films (that's gross as in money, not gross as in... oh never mind).
• Kareena Kapoor Khan filmography (nominated by BOLLYWOOD DREAMZ, Frank Boy, and Krimuk90) Kareena Kapoor Khan is an Indian actress who has appeared in more than 50 Bollywood films since her debut in Refugee (2000). Like Kangana, Kareena has played a multitude of roles, of which our favourite is Riana Braganza, "a hairdresser who accidentally marries an uptight architect", in the film Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu.

• Nymphs, Fortune and Mythology
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  Allegory of Fortune by naughty Salvator Rosa. Gemstones, coins, pearls, roses and grapes flow from Fortuna's cornucopia onto the donkey, the symbol of the Pope himself... Rosa was almost arrested for this artwork as it was seen as a satirical attack on the Pope.
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  Jupiter and Io by Correggio. The cloud is Jupiter, who took on disguises in order to cover his various escapades.
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  The cute La Nymphe surprise, the painter Édouard Manet's lover and wife, painted with his own hands. Manet had special feelings for this painting, and it remained in the artist’s possession his entire life. They married in 1863, two years after this was painted.

35 featured pictures were promoted this week.

• Centaurea jacea (created by Uoaei1, nominated by Crisco 1492) Known in English as brown knapweed, this perennial often hybridises with black knapweed, whose flowers can be purple, yellow, or white, but can be distinguished by the flower heads which look like they've got rays.
• La Nymphe surprise (created by Édouard Manet, nominated by National Names 2000) La Nymphe surprise is a portrait by Édouard Manet of his piano teacher and lover, the pianist Suzanne, with whom he had a secret love affair. This love affair developed while the young Manet was still living in his parents' house. The girl was three years older than the 17-year-old Manet and their relationship was kept secret from his family for a long time. Manet and Suzanne married after ten years in 1863, two years after the completion of this painting in 1861. The relationship lasted throughout their lives. At the wedding, Manet surprised his betrothed pianist by performing the piece "Chopsticks" on the church organ.
• Four Times of the Day: Morning, Midday, Evening, and Night (created by Joseph Vernet , nominated by The Herald) French painter Joseph Vernet painted the four oils entitled Four Times of the Day in 1757. The series was intended to show Morning, Mid-day, Evening and Night, depicted here as charming seascapes. At this time, Vernet was in the middle of a project commissioned by Louis XV to depict the seaports of France, of which he managed thirteen before the project was abandoned. This project can be seen as part of the grand description of France under Louis XV and the Cassini family of astronomers and cartographers, resulting in the first geometrical map of the kingdom.
• The Little Street (created by Johannes Vermeer, nominated by SchroCat) This marvellous 1658 streetscape by Johannes Vermeer shows the warm brick of Delft under a cloudy Dutch sky. The quietness and placidity of the scene is remarkable, considering that four years earlier, a quarter of the town was destroyed by the explosion of the Dutch army's gunpowder magazine.
• Scott Thwaites (created by KTC, nominated by KTC) Scott Thwaites is a British racing cyclist. In this photograph, he is competing in the 2014 Tour of Britain. Thwaites is gradually ascending in the world of cycling. However, in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he was pushed back into third place by Jack Bauer, who put on a sprint after he was passed by a hijacked bus.
• Trinidad and Tobago currency from 1905: One dollar and Two dollars (created by Thomas de la Rue for Trinidad and Tobago, nominated by Godot13 ) These Trinidad and Tobago dollar notes were the first notes issued by the Trinidad and Tobago government; previous notes were issued by banks. The dollar was used as an accounting currency, with the British currency of pounds, shillings, and pence being the circulating currency. The exchange rate was held at 4 dollars and 80 cents to the pound.
• Van Gogh self-portrait from 1899 (created by Vincent van Gogh, nominated by SchroCat) Vincent van Gogh produced about 40 self-portraits over a period of ten years; this is one of the last two he painted. According to Van Gogh, his facial expression had become much calmer, but his eyes "have the same insecure look as before". It's in the Musée d'Orsay, who say of it that the undulations of his hair and beard are "echoed and amplified in the hallucinatory arabesques of the background." The later cat paintings of Louis Wain develop this theme of hallucinatory arabesques to the nth degree.
• Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor (created by Carolus-Duran, nominated by Crisco 1492) The Mrs. Astor was a prominent American socialite in the late 1800s. This portrait, by the French artist Carolus-Duran, hung in the Astors' brownstone townhouse on 5th Avenue; she would greet guests while standing in front of it. The ball gown may have been designed by Jacques Doucet – two gowns made by him for Mrs. Astor are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There's some debate as to the colour of the dress in this painting, as the yellow cast makes it difficult to discern what the original hue was. Remind you of something?
• Jay Gould (created by Uncredited photographer , restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden) Jay Gould was rated the eighth worst American CEO of all time by Condé Nast Portfolio for his unscrupulous behaviour.
• The Yellow House (created by Vincent van Gogh , nominated by National Names 2000) The Yellow House is a painting executed by Vincent van Gogh in September 1888. It shows the right wing of the frontmost building; Van Gogh rented four rooms, a kitchen and an atelier on the ground floor, and a bedroom (his) and guest room (Gauguin's) on the first – the guest room is the one with both shutters open. Van Gogh ate in the restaurant painted pink on the extreme left of the painting. Like any self-respecting utility company, the local gas works have dug the road up to lay pipes. Van Gogh was thus able to have gas lighting in his atelier. Originally titled La Maison et son entourage, Van Gogh later called it La Rue, ostensibly "paying homage to a suite of sketches showing streets in Paris, by Jean-François Raffaëlli, and recently published in Le Figaro." The Yellow House was hit by a bomb in 1944, leaving only the right side standing.
• The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame (created by Maximilien Luce, nominated by SchroCat) Maximilien Luce was a French artist and anarchist activist who began his artistic career engraving prints on wood for newspapers and journals. When the woodcuts began to be replaced by zinc plates, Luce moved to full-time painting. He was introduced to the Divisionist technique of Georges Seurat, and began painting in a Pointillist style, of which this painting is an example. It was painted by Luce when he was moving from his Neo-Impressionist period to his later Populist period.
• Jane Digby (created by William Charles Ross, nominated by Alborzagros ) This miniature by the artist William Charles Ross portrays the fascinating Jane Digby. She was the daughter of an admiral, whose fortune was made when he seized a Spanish treasure ship in 1799. She married a baron, and then went on to have affairs with two kings, a prince, a colonel, a count, another baron, and a general before marrying Sheikh Mijwal al-Musrab, twenty years her junior, and spending the last 28 years of her life with him in a goat-hair tent in the Syrian desert and in her palatial villa in Damascus. Their marriage was a happy one. Some say this kind of thing never works out. Reality says otherwise.
• Charles Catton (created by Charles Catton, nominated by Alborzagros ) Charles Catton, the most notable of the 35 Catton children, was a coach-painter and artist. In fact Catton was an outstanding coach-painter, so outstanding that he became coach-painter to King George III. Catton was also one of the founding members of the Royal Academy, exhibiting landscapes, with the occasional portrait and animaliery.
• Boys Bathing on the River Wensum, Norwich (created by John Crome, nominated by Alborzagros) An oil painting by John Crome, an English artist of the Romantic era sometimes known as "Old Crome" to distinguish him from his son, John Berney Crome, sometimes known as "Who?" Old Crome is known for being, along with John Constable, one of the first British artists to draw trees whose species can be identified. There are four species of tree in this painting... err... err... (moves quickly on). The River Wensum, depicted here, is fed by chalk streams, and is perfectly suitable for bathing boys of all ages (just throw 'em in), although these days somewhat polluted by agricultural runoff. (Them boys gonna come out moo-tants! Moo-tants I tell yer!)
• Francis Bourgeois (created by Francis Bourgeois, nominated by Alborzagros) Frankie Bourgeois, artist and art dealer, painted by William Beechey, whose finest painting, George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops, got him a knighthood. Too large to remove from its frame, the troop review painting was destroyed in the 1992 Windsor Castle fire. But Frankie's legacy is more substantial – the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in which he is buried. The roof of the mausoleum was the inspiration for the roof of Giles Gilbert Scott's K2 telephone box.
• Lady Dorothy Browne, née Mileham; Sir Thomas Browne (created by Joan Carlile, nominated by Alborzagros) Two heads in harmony, painted by Joan Carlile, an English portrait painter of the 17th century and one of the "first women to practise painting professionally". Thomas Browne was a polymath who "exuded tolerance and goodwill towards humanity". He believed in angels and witchcraft, and his testimony at a 1662 witch trial led to the execution of two women. Browne also wrote Urn Burial, described by a wine connoisseur as "the longest piece, perhaps, of absolutely sublime rhetoric to be found in the prose literature of the world". Well, that's your holiday reading sorted out – two weeks on a beach with a book on cremation practices.
• Profile Portrait of a Young Lady (created by Antonio del Pollaiolo, nominated by Brandmeister) Yes, it's a Profile Portrait of a Young Lady, attributed to four different artists, of which the lead contender is Antonio del Pollaiolo. Painted with oil on poplar wood in 1465, the painting features an unidentified lady in an exquisite brocade dress, whose posture suggests she is sitting in the marble embrasure of a window or balcony. Good job she's not nude – Leonardo described Pollaiolo's nudes as "looking like a sack of nuts... or bundle of radishes".
• Self-portrait in a Straw Hat (created by Le Brun, nominated by SchroCat) A self-portrait by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, shown here in a delightful hat. ^{(Some say phony hat, so she is not posted to avoid conficts)} Le Brun was an outstanding artist and official portraitist to Marie Antoinette.
• Jupiter and Io (created by Correggio, nominated by Hafspajen) Jupiter and Io is a painting by Corregio, depicting the moment of sensuality as Io pulls the smoky paw of Jupiter towards her. Jupiter, often tempted by other women, used to disguise himself so that Juno, his wife, wouldn't notice his extra-marital activities. Somehow, the women he seduced never took exception to being pawed by a swan, an eagle, a bull, or, in this case, a dirty black cloud. The scene depicted is inspired by Ovid's classic Metamorphoses. The painting typifies the unabashed eroticism, radiance, and cool, pearly colors associated with Correggio's best work.
• Saint Basil's Cathedral (created by Petar Milošević, nominated by Crisco 1492) Saved by a future Udarnik's bravery from demolition in the 1930s, Saint Basil's Cathedral was built on the orders of Ivan the Terrible in the shape of a bonfire. A full-size model made of wooden lath was first built on the site, then covered in brick, on stone foundations. The builders, "fascinated by the flexibility of the new technology [of brick]", used it as a decorative medium both inside and out, and left the brickwork visible. Even the masonry was covered over with stucco and painted to resemble brick. The cathedral was named after a funny saint, the crazy-wise mystic St Basil, who used to walk around naked, break in to wealthy people's shops, and steal food to give it the poor: kinda socialism in practice – others were talking about it, he was doing it. He was also quarreling with Ivan the Terrible for being bloody cruel (spoiler: Basil was right). The tsar would probably have killed any other man criticizing him, but he left Basil alone, because he was seen as an extremely holy man.
• Wilton Diptych left panel and Wilton Diptych, right panel (created by anonymous, nominated by SchroCat) The Wilton Diptych was Richard II's portable altarpiece, painted using very expensive lapis lazuli and gold leaf, and showing him kneeling in devotion before the Christ child. The painting is in tempera, the ground paint being mixed with egg yolk and laid in thin glazes. The iconography is packed with meaning personal to the king; he is accompanied by his three patron saints (two Anglo-Saxon kings and John the Baptist), both Richard and the eleven angels wear his livery badge of a white hart, and the Christ child is reaching towards a pennant of the Cross of St George, on top of which is mounted a small globe with a tiny map of England – "this scepter'd isle" over which Richard held his royal prerogative. Richard had a private retinue of military men for protection – the eleven angels wearing their livery badges are the heavenly equivalent of his bodyguard. Why there are eleven is not known – the number held negative connotations for the medieval mind.
• Allegory of Fortune (created by Salvator Rosa, nominated by Sagaciousphil) Allegory of Fortune, by the Italian painter Salvator Rosa, is "a satirical attack on Pope Alexander VII's patronage", with "its implication that too often foolish artists received rewards that did not match their talent". The Goddess of Fortune is upending her cornucopia of gifts upon a donkey wearing a cardinal's red and gold cloak – the animal is the Pope himself in four-legged form. Rosa's meaning was only too apparent, and he was forced to issue a Manifesto denying that the animals were churchmen, nobles, or despots. Nevertheless, this painting almost resulted in Rosa being jailed and excommunicated; only the intervention of the pope's brother, Don Marco Chigi, saved him from this humiliation.
• Queen Elizabeth II Great Court (created by Diliff, nominated by Diliff) The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court is the largest covered square in Europe. The space was originally filled with books – the round structure in the middle is the British Museum Reading Room, which has been preserved by building a new wall around it (the room was previously surrounded by bookshelves). It is, of course, the place where Karl Marx used to come to read and write – "then one day he didn't come and we never heard of him again" said the Chief Librarian.
• Hygin-Auguste Cavé (created by Ingres , nominated by Crisco 1492) Hygin-Auguste Cavé, journalist, attorney, civil servant, playwright, librettist, Director of Palaces and Factories, Royal Commissioner for the Comédie-Française, Master of Requests, anthologist, and general secretary in the Ministry of the Interior, was French. "He is perhaps best known as the subject of a portrait by Ingres". And here it is.
• Taractrocera ceramas (created by Jeevan Jose, nominated by Crisco 1492) Taractrocera ceramas, known as the Tamil Grass Dart, is a butterfly found in the southern parts of India and northern Burma. It can be found on the grassy verges of roads cut through the jungle-clad slopes of the Western Ghats, and "is very fond of the sunshine", according to the unreferenced article.
• Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (created by Paul Cézanne , nominated by Étienne Dolet) Leaning Viaduct and Trees, by the French artist Paul Cézanne, shows the Montagne Sainte-Victoire.
• Madonna and Child (created by Masaccio , nominated by SchroCat) Madonna and Child, by Masaccio, shows the Christ Child as "an exceedingly babyish baby". The painting is reckoned to be a step away from International Gothic, as the faces are more realistic and modelling has been used to create pictorial space.
• The Fall of Man (created by Hugo van der Goes, nominated by Brandmeister) Hugo van der Goes was a Flemish painter who painted The Fall of Man in the period 1470–1475, shortly before he entered a monastery. His most famous work is the Portinari Altarpiece. Here, he shows the moment where Eve picks two apples from the Tree of Knowledge. Adam is about to hold his hand out to receive one, and the human-newt hybrid watches intently as Eve reaches upward to pluck the second apple.
• [[:|Terry Plank]] (created by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation , nominated by Alborzagros) Terry Plank is an American geochemist and volcanologist. She grew up in a house built in a quarry, and spent her childhood collecting rocks. She won a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as a "genius grant", in 2012. Hint: you can help improve articles like this one at WikiProject Women scientists.
• Mount Etna eruption (created by Boris Behncke, nominated by Étienne Dolet) Over eight minutes of hot lava footage, a montage of Mount Etna having a paroxysm, filmed from various points on the flanks on the night of 16–17 November 2013 and accompanied by a running commentary from awe-struck French tourists. Thanks, French tourists!

• Classics
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  Wilton diptych
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  Antonio del Pollaiuolo - Profile Portrait of a Young Lady
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  Hugo van der Goes - The Fall of Man - from the Vienna Diptych

One featured topic was promoted this week.

• Vidya Balan (nominated by User:Krimuk90) Vidya Balan, an Indian actress, has appeared in a number of Bollywood films, for which she has received several awards. Through her depictions of such characters as Krishna Verma, the wife of a gang lord, in Ishqiya, and Sabrina Lall, the sister of Jessica Lal, she has been "acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine."

• Claude-Joseph Vernet, The Four Times of the Day
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  The four times of day: Morning
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  The four times of day: Midday
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  The four times of day: Evening
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  The four times of day: Night