that's My World, ABC Wednesday, V for Vincent

In September I wrote something about the Kröller-Müller museum in the national park "De Hoge Veluwe". Now I'd like to write about Vincent van Gogh, whose paintings are well represented in this museum.

Wikipedia says:"Vincent Willem van Gogh, born on 30 March 1853 in Groot-Zundert, in the province of North Brabant in the southern Netherlands, was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far-reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colours and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life, and died largely unknown, at the age of 37, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Little appreciated during his lifetime, his fame grew in the years after his death. Today, he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest painters and an important contributor to the foundations of modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until his late twenties, and most of his best-known works were produced during his final two years. He produced more than 2,000 artworks, consisting of around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches.
Van Gogh spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers and traveled between The Hague, London and Paris, after which he taught in England. An early vocational aspiration was to become a pastor and preach the gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium. During this time he began to sketch people from the local community, and in 1885 painted his first major work The Potato Eaters. His palette at the time consisted mainly of sombre earth tones and showed no sign of the vivid coloration that distinguished his later work. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionists. Later he moved to the south of France and was taken by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in colour and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style which became fully realized during his stay in Arles in 1888."


That's my World is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with V.

ABC Wednesday, T for Taizé

Iedere nacht verlang ik naar u, O God,
ik hunker naar u met heel mijn ziel.

Every night I long for you, oh God
I long for you with all my soul.


From 28th December tens of thousands of young people, members of the Taizé Community in France, will come together to Rotterdam from all countries of Europe. They are looking for ways of mutual trust, and having confidence in other religions, and various Christian traditions.All these young people have to find a place to stay for five days in Rotterdam and in villages and towns in the neighbourhood of Rotterdam. So I volunteered to have four people as guests. They will celebrate New Year's Eve with us and on New Year's Day they will have a service together with us. It's going to be a great happening!


The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of about 100 brothers who come from Protestant and Catholic traditions. The brothers come from about 30 countries across the world. The monastic order has a strong devotion to peace and justice through prayer and meditation. It was founded in 1940 by Brother Roger Schutz.The community was known for helping Jewish refugees during the war.

The community has become one of the world's most important sites of Christian pilgrimage. Over 100,000 young people from around the world make pilgrimages to Taizé each year for prayer, Bible study, sharing, and communal work. Through the community's ecumenical outlook, they are encouraged to live in the spirit of kindness, simplicity and reconciliation

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with T.

That's my World, ABC Wednesday Z for Zadkine

This statue is called "Destroyed City", We call it "City Without a Heart"or "A Cry to Heaven". It symbolizes the city of Rotterdam after the bombardment in 1940 by the Germans.The whole city was in ruins.The sculptor is Ossip Zadkine (July 14, 1890 – November 25, 1967) a Russian-born artist who lived in France. He is primarily known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs.

Zadkine was born as Yossel Aronovich Tsadkin in Vitebsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian Empire. His father was Jewish; his mother was of Scottish ancestry.

After attending art school in London, Zadkine settled in Paris about 1910. There he became part of the new Cubist movement (1914-1925). He later developed his own style, one that was strongly influenced by African art.

Zadkine served as a stretcher-bearer in the French Army during World War I, and was wounded in action. He spent the World War II years in America. His best-known work is probably the sculpture "The Destroyed City" (1953), a memorial to the destruction of the center of the Dutch city Rotterdam by the German Luftwaffe in 1940.


Zadkine taught at his own school of sculpture. He died in Paris in 1967 at the age of 77 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse. His former home and studio is now the Musée Zadkine.

The Nazis destroyed Rotterdam on 14 May 1940, without any warning. When we returned from Indonesia( then Dutch East Indies) in January 1946, the town was one enormous ruin and my mum, who was born and bred in Rotterdam didn't recognize anything of it.

That's my World is hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World



With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with Z.

Bench of the Week, France,

 
 
 

Click to enlarge!
This bench is in the front garden of the family where I stayed this summer in France.It's placed near the fountain.


RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.

ABC Wednesday, B for Blois

This was the castle where Joan of Arc was blessed before setting off to defeat the English at Orléans, the turning point in the Hundred Years War.


Visit our site:
www.castlesoftheworld.com

Dominating the Loire River, the royal castle of Blois is not only one of the most prestigious Renaissance monuments in France but also a brilliant illustration of the evolution of the French architecture from the Middle ages to the 17th century.

About the middle of the 10th century, the name of Thibaud I is recorded Count of Blois, he was the founder of the family who remained in power until 1230. Blois became the most important town in the region. The first stone castle was built to protect the town dates back to that period. An independent bastion surrounded the castle, and followed the line of the headland on which it was erected. The numerous medieval remains still exists. The best preserved medieval tower is situated on a terrace overlooking the Loire.

While the Franco-Anglo was (named the Hundred Years War) raged in the real, an event took place that determined the future of the county of Blois, the ancient fortress became a royal castle. At the end of the 14th. century, the county of Blois was sold to Prince Louis of Orleans, son of the king of France Charles V. He lived in the castle for 25 years attracting a small court of scholars and poets. His grandson, Louis XII became king of France in 1498 and decided to move to Blois, in this way, the small town became a royal town and the capital of the Kingdom.

Under Louis XII and Francis I the town of Blois grew considerably. But after the disaster of Pavia in 1525, Francis I never returned to Blois and his successors only paid short visits to the town.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar .This week we are looking for words beginning with B.

Weekend Reflections Lavoir

 
 
 

Again the lavoir or washing place in Bracieux( see previous post). This was the water in which the laundry was done.It was apparently very clean. Here you can see how the women washed the laundry

This is a new meme which gives us the opportunity to show our best photos of reflections. It is a meme that is started by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on.

Bench of the Week Lavoir, Washing place In France

 
 
 

This bench of the week is in Bracieux, France. It's very old. It's part of the "lavoir"or public washing place of the town of Bracieux.It has an interesting history and it's therefore so important to preserve this place.
On 28 May 1861 the town council took into consideration to build public washing places for the sake of hygienics and health of the mothers and women professionally involved in doing the laundry .On 12 November1861 the mayor proposed to have a shelter built for the women, who were until then exposed to cold and bad weather.
The washing place was used until 1950 by only two women. The washing women were replaced by washingmachines and laundries.
here you can see how the women washed the laundry

RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.

Today's Flowers, The four seasons,

 
 
 
 

Autumn colours in France!

........by R.L. Stevenson
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!




TODAY'S FLOWERS was created
by LUIZ SANTILLI JR
Now it's managed by SANTILLI and DENISE BC Thank you, Luiz and Denise!To see more flowers click on the logo in the side bar.

Bench of the Week in France

 

A French Bench of a Dutch Family!
We don't leave our shoes outside the house, only clogs, but we don't wear them any more.The clogs under the bench are only symbolic and not used.

RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.

Sky Watch Rainbow over Chambord

 
 
 

When I went to France on Saturday 17th October, we saw this magnificent rainbow over the castle of Chambord(see my entry of 16th July 2009). The problem with rainbows is: you see a perfect round bow but you can only shoot half of it with a point and shoot camera. Believe me the other half was exactly the same.

Sky Watch is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy & Louise
Thank you so much for this great meme, it's always a pleasure to participate, and see all the other skies around the world. If you want to see some real skies please click on the logo in the side bar.

Camera Critters, at The Castle of Cheverney

To enlarge the images please click on slide!


The sky over Cheverny was blue and promised a great day! The hounds, which I chose for Camera Critters, were having a difficult time coping with the heat. Hunting is a regular pastime. It is said to be necessary to keep the game population in good condition and avoid overpopulation of boar and deer.

Camera Critters is hosted by Misty Dawn. Thank you so much Misty Dawn.We all enjoy seeing and talking about animals. All creatures great and small give us much pleasure.If you want to see more Camera Critters click on the logo in the side bar.

Sky Watch over Chambord

From Wikipedia:"The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures.

It was constructed by King François I, between 1518 and 1543.
Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois and at Château d'Amboise."

Sky Watch is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy & Louise
Thank you so much for this great meme, it's always a pleasure to participate, and see all the other skies around the world. If you want to see some real skies please click on the logo in the side bar.