Portraits Of Friends And Contemporaries

One of the finest collections in North America, the CMA’s miniatures span six centuries, bridge eight European countries as well as America, and number nearly 170 objects. These intimate portraits were exchanged by friends, lovers, and family members as tokens of affection and often commissioned on occasions of departure, marriage, or death. Delicate paintings in watercolor on ivory and vellum or enamel, they might function as relics incorporating human hair, can be set in elaborate boxes or simple frames, and were worn on the body or tucked away in a pocket. This exhibition reawakens the spirit of these works, which are removed by hundreds of years from the hands into which they were originally placed.0Exhibited in its entirety for the first time in over half a century, the stunning collection is presented from a fresh perspective and features more than a dozen new acquisitions. For 600 years, miniature painters were deeply engaged with issues of death, likeness, memory, identity, privacy, and body-centered scale. The exhibition includes works by five prominent contemporary artists - Janine Antoni, Luis González-Palma, Tony Oursler, Dario Robleto, and Hiroshi Sugimoto - who are invested in exploring these same themes today. The contemporary works are placed in an unprecedented, intimate dialogue with the portrait miniatures, revealing new relationships and uncovering hidden secrets.0Exhibition: The Cleveland Museum of Art, USA (10.11.2013-16.2.2014).

An eminent philosopher reflects on the nature of friendship, past and present Friends are a constant feature of our lives, yet friendship itself is difficult to define. Even Michel de Montaigne, author of the seminal essay "Of Friendship," found it nearly impossible to account for the great friendship of his life. Why is something so commonplace and universal so hard to grasp? What is it about the nature of friendship that proves so elusive? In On Friendship, the acclaimed philosopher Alexander Nehamas launches an original and far-ranging investigation of friendship. Exploring the long history of philosophical thinking on the subject, from Aristotle to Emerson and beyond, and drawing on examples from literature, art, drama, and his own life, Nehamas shows that for centuries, friendship was as much a public relationship as it was a private one-inseparable from politics and commerce, favors and perks. Now that it is more firmly in the private realm, Nehamas holds, close friendship is central to the good life. Profound and affecting, On Friendship sheds light on why we love our friends-and how they determine who we are, and who we might become.

Excerpt from Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, Vol. 3 of 3: Illustrative of Portraits in His Gallery In the choice of a general, the selection of a man of power and influence in the country became as necessary to the chance of success as the selection of one who was skilled in war. No doubt the difficulty of finding these qualifications combined in one person proved often a serious embarrassment in the choice of military coni manders; but the nepotism that invested his own rela tions with imaginary capabilities and qualities did not assist the King to overcome this difficulty. The issues of the war proved that neither their exalted rank, nor their military disposition and great personal courage, nor the indomitable energy and spirit which won for Rupert the doubtful honour of becoming a by-word of terror, ever outweighed the numberless evils produced by the introduction of these two young foreigners into a country which was divided by questions of civil and religious rights, and who came as soldiers of fortune to fight against an enemy, not to assist in re-establish ing the falling influence of the Crown or to aid in re kindling the failing affection of the people to the person of the King. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Lives of the Friends and Contemporaries of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, Vol. 1 of 3: Illustrative of Portraits in His Gallery Lord Falkland's absence from England deprived me of the advantage of applying to him for any mss. Relating to his ancestor; it has, however, been already stated by Mr. Teale, in his biographical work, that Lord Falké land had assured him he had none remaining in his possession. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.