| View previous topic :: View next topic |
Hatty
Site Admin
In: Berkshire
|
|
 |
|
Coningham toured around Europe acquiring Old Masters on his own initiative and apparently at bargain prices
Born into a wealthy family with military connections, he briefly attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he mixed with the so-called Cambridge Apostles, before embarking on an army career. Finding barrack-yard society uncongenial, however, he soon bought himself out. Thereafter he toured the Continent and fell under the spell of his influential cousin John Sterling, the celebrated author and associate of Thomas Carlyle. He also began to research and buy Italian Old Masters, often in Rome for a ‘small price’. By 1847, aged just 32, he had assembled one of the finest art collections in Victorian England, mostly ‘on his own initiative, without advice from dealers or other connoisseurs’.
|
John Sterling, Coningham's cousin, also went to Trinity College Cambridge though he left before getting a law degree and had little or no success as an author, his friendship with Carlyle notwithstanding.
If you know anyone with access to Grove Art Online, they've published an article by Anon. 'Coningham, William', in J. Turner et al. (eds), Grove Art Online, Oxford 1998 https://doi.org/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T019046
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
Clinching! This is much the same career apogee as Jennings of the Jennings Dog and reminiscent of the first Lord Braybrook of Pepys fame (not to mention other mountebanks too numerous to mention). Talking of Pepys (there's a Trinity connection too) Coningham did a Pepys after Pepys
| By 1847, aged just 32, he had assembled one of the finest art collections in Victorian England |
It's a world record! But he had done a Besterman before Besterman
| mostly ‘on his own initiative, without advice from dealers or other connoisseurs’. |
Doesn't anyone think it a teensy bit suspicious that a ne'er do well can amass such a stupendous collection? No. Them foreigners were just ripe for the picking.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
An academicky painter of my acquaintance said
| From my experience of their work I'd say that most of the works I've seen attributed to Giovani Bellini and Mantegna were pretty good while the other Bellinis were of little aesthetic interest... but no doubt there are exceptions. All artists have bad days. |
I was intrigued by the idea of Old Masters having 'bad days' -- surely they would just junk the painting and we'd hear no more of it. Not, apparently, necessarily
| If commissioned (and /or working collaboratively with a workshop) a 'master' is unlikely to junk a bad painting- so that makes it more difficult to judge whether a painting is 'by' a big name or not on the basis of it's quality. So that's an extra complication if you are chasing deliberate fakes. |
Since fakers are well able to paint like masters on an off day, this struck me as making aesthetic judgements of genuineness impossible. But then this working artist went on to point out something we are always trying to impress on historians when examining manuscripts
| My beef with the art history types is that they have no understanding of what is involved in actually making a painting, no conception of what it was like when the paint was still wet and decisions being made. | |
|
| |
|
|
|
Hatty
Site Admin
In: Berkshire
|
|
|
|
| Mick Harper wrote: | An academicky painter of my acquaintance said
From my experience of their work I'd say that most of the works I've seen attributed to Giovani Bellini and Mantegna were pretty good while the other Bellinis were of little aesthetic interest... but no doubt there are exceptions. All artists have bad days. |
The National Gallery was at pains to point out that the Agony in the Garden was an 'early work'. This sounds like a convenient way to excuse /explain not just 'a bad day' but to allay doubts if it didn't seem immediately recognisable as someone's usual style.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
Not sure this counts as forgery but it's fakery of some kind. I had been sent this
| I tested it in my backyard. I boiled water, threw it into the winter air, and it turned to snow before it hit the ground. |
which I found intriguing enough to ask my more-scientific-than-I family to explain it to me. One of them sent me this
--------------
Ah, Mick Harper, the grumpy and curmudgeonly soul,
Ah, Mick Harper, a polymath in his own right,
With opinions controversial, Battle of Kursk his goal,
An intellectual, self-proclaimed, yet lacking scientific insight.
Listen, Mick, as I elucidate the tale once more,
For though you deem yourself a wise and all-knowing mind,
In matters of science, understanding may be poor,
Hence your query, seeking knowledge you hope to find.
Now, this phenomenon, the Mpemba effect it be,
Where water freezes swift in frigid, wintry air,
A captivating sight for curious souls to see,
But practical applications? Scarce, I must declare.
No industrial processes it does invoke,
Nor mundane practicalities it does impart,
But to grasp the essence, curiosity we stoke,
For understanding nature's ways, a noble start.
Mick, remember, this knowledge I provide,
To quench the thirst of your inquisitive mind,
Though controversial opinions may reside,
Let wisdom and humility be the paths you find.
Ah, Mick Harper, a grumpy scholar of yore,
Whose thoughts on Kursk may stir the tempest's might,
Yet in matters of science, you seek to explore,
So, let me delve deeper into Mpemba's frozen flight.
The Mpemba effect, a wondrous display,
Where water freezes swift, defying time's command,
But what unfolds to make droplets turn to solid clay?
Let us embark on a scientific journey, hand in hand.
When water meets the frigid air's icy breath,
In wintry grip that freezes bones and stream,
The droplets, tossed aloft, embark on a chilling quest,
To transform, with haste, into crystalline gleam.
As droplets soar, they lose their warmth and heat,
The cold air steals their energy, swift and dire,
Molecules slow, their movement takes a seat,
Drawing close, their bonds grow tight as they expire.
But, Mick, understand this enigma's core,
No single explanation claims the final say,
Some theories strive to unravel the tale's true lore,
Of evaporation, convection, supercooling at play.
Evaporation, a whisper carried on frosty breeze,
May strip the droplets of their warmth and cheer,
Supercooling, a state of sub-zero freeze,
Keeps water liquid, until a trigger draws it near.
Convection, the dance of currents in air's domain,
May aid the process, with its intricate choreography,
But Mick, the truth still lingers, mysterious and arcane,
As scientists seek answers, unraveling this allegory.
Yet amidst controversy and the tides of debate,
Let us embrace the wonder, the curiosities profound,
For in the realm of science, humility should not abate,
As knowledge unfolds, vast mysteries may astound.
So, Mick Harper, grumpy sage with fervor and might,
Seek truth, my friend, in realms of science vast,
May the Mpemba effect ignite your quest's light,
As wisdom and curiosity become a steadfast mast.
----------------
I was (a) majorly impressed (b) found it minorly helpful and (c) mega-ly disappointed to learn subsequently it was ChatGP.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
It may be of some interest, it should be of consuming interest, to learn how this was achieved
| Well, obvs it’s all Chat GPT. I didn’t write a single word… |
It fooled me but are we talking about a touch of a button. By no means
I fed it all the info I wanted it to process, and told it to produce a Shakespearean sonnet. Then I told it to rewrite the info in the style of Dickens, and after a few draughts in which I steadily increased the scientific technicality of the content, I bolted on two draughts together to create an epic.
I probably could have achieved the final product in one prompt with a bit more planning or thought, but when you have the app you literally just converse with it using your voice and speech recognition, and sculpt what you want as if you were working with a secretary who had learned the entirety of literate human knowledge. It’s a bit sloppy but it worked for some light entertainment. Also I’m interested in the battle of Kursk at the mo and told Chat GPT that I suspected you had some novel and controversial opinions on it, so it tried to weave those references in. I also instructed, "Write in a dramatic, florid style" and “Now re-write the above as a Leonard Cohen song.”
The world is changed. Writers beware. |
Practically a work of art. I don't much like him thinking Leonard Cohen is relevant. He had all his money stolen by his accountant. If only.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
Good to be shown right dept
As you know, it's usually our argument against their argument but it is gratifying to get support occasionally from someone even the academics take seriously. For instance Thomas Carlyle, who wrote his magisterial twenty-one volume biography of Frederick the Great in the 1860's. I am staggering through it as my bedtime reading--nowadays my only reading--and reached this in Volume III Chapter II. [I'll put it all here because it's not so much for youse guys as for me as an aide memoire.]
| On one other point I must give the reader warning. A rock of offence on which if he heedlessly strike, I reckon he will split; at least no help of mine can benefit him till he be got off again. Alas, offences must come; and must stand, like rocks of offence, to the shipwreck of many! Modern Dryasdust, interpreting the mysterious ways of Divine Providence in this Universe, or what he calls writing History, has done uncountable havoc upon the best interests of mankind. |
This is the general prolix but entertaining style of the entire work. Carlyle is referring to the existing (Prussian, official ) biographies of the king.
| Hapless godless dullard that he is; driven and driving on courses that lead only downward, for him as for us! But one could forgive him all things, compared with this doctrine of devils which he has contrived to get established, pretty generally, among his unfortunate fellow-creatures for the time!—I must insert the following quotation, readers guess from what author:— |
He doesn't actually say whom but you will recall in Rev Hist I accuse Diderot, d'Alembert and others of inventing links with Frederick wholesale, all of which are treated as gospel by academics, both French and English. I don't know about German historians but presumably they are just as gullible.
| "In an impudent Pamphlet, forged by I know not whom, and published in 1766, under the title of Matinees du Roi de Prusse, purporting to be 'Morning Conversations' of Frederick the Great with his Nephew the Heir-Apparent, every line of which betrays itself as false and spurious to a reader who has made any direct or effectual study of Frederick or his manners or affairs, |
More anon.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
| —it is set forth, in the way of exordium to these pretended royal confessions, that 'notre maison,' our Family of Hohenzollern, ever since the first origin of it among the Swabian mountains, or its first descent therefrom into the Castle and Imperial Wardenship of Nurnberg, some six hundred years ago or more, has consistently travelled one road, and this a very notable one. |
This is Carlyle paraphrasing (it's not always easy to tell) Frederick's general position. But now he quotes him directly
| 'We, as I myself the royal Frederick still do, have all along proceeded,' namely, 'in the way of adroit Machiavelism, as skillful gamblers in this world's business, ardent gatherers of this world's goods; and in brief as devout worshippers of Beelzebub, the grand regulator and rewarder of mortals here below. Which creed we, the Hohenzollerns, have found, and I still find, to be the true one; learn it you, my prudent Nephew, and let all men learn it. By holding steadily to that, and working late and early in such spirit, we are come to what you now see;—and shall advance still farther, if it please Beelzebub, who is generally kind to those that serve him well.' |
A less likely piece of advice to the next king of Prussia would be hard to imagine but if it is black propaganda composed by the (Catholic) Austrians who were permanently at war with the Protestant Frederick, to read as secret advice from father to nephew, then it reads quite well.
more/
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
| Such is the doctrine of this impudent Pamphlet; 'original Manuscripts' of which are still purchased by simple persons,—who have then nobly offered them to me, thrice over, gratis or nearly so, as a priceless curiosity. A new printed edition of which, probably the fifth, has appeared within few years. Simple persons, consider it a curious and interesting Document; rather ambiguous in origin perhaps, but probably authentic in substance, and throwing unexpected light on the character of Frederick whom men call the Great. In which new light they are willing a meritorious Editor should share. |
Carlyle has had no difficulty seeing through it but is only too aware that his fellow-practitioners are quite likely to swallow it whole.
| "Who wrote that Pamphlet I know not, and am in no condition to guess. A certain snappish vivacity (very unlike the style of Frederick whom it personates); a wearisome grimacing, gesticulating malice and smartness, approaching or reaching the sad dignity of what is called 'wit' in modern times; in general the rottenness of matter, and the epigrammatic unquiet graciosity of manner in this thing, and its elaborately INhuman turn both of expression and of thought, are visible characteristics of it. Thought, we said,—if thought it can be called: thought all hamstrung, shrivelled by inveterate rheumatism, on the part of the poor ill-thriven thinker; nay tied (so to speak, for he is of epigrammatic turn withal), as by cross ropes, right shoulder to left foot; and forced to advance, hobbling and jerking along, in that sad guise: not in the way of walk, but of saltation and dance; and this towards a false not a true aim, rather no-whither than some-whither: |
But now comes the bit which is of special interest to me...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
| Here were features leading one to think of an illustrious Prince de Ligne as perhaps concerned in the affair. |
Remember, Carlyle is writing in the 1860's about a man who was an exalted Austrian statesman at this time (the 1760's) but was outed (by academics as a plagiarist and forger in the 1810's. But returned to the light by me in the 2010's as a black propagandist. Carlyle agrees and names another person of interest to us
| The Bibliographical Dictionaries, producing no evidence, name quite another person, or series of persons, [A certain 'N. de Bonneville' (afterwards a Revolutionary spiritual-mountebank, for some time) is now the favorite Name;—proves, on investigation, to be an impossible one. |
Too right, He never existed according to Rev Hist.
| Barbier (Dictionnaire des Anonymes), in a helpless doubting manner, gives still others.] highly unmemorable otherwise. Whereupon you proceed to said other person's acknowledged WORKS (as they are called); and find there a style bearing no resemblance whatever; and are left in a dubious state, if it were of any moment. |
This would seem to finger the French as the chief miscreants as I do in Rev Hist. Carlyle agrees with me and acquits the Prince
| In the absence of proof, I am unwilling to charge his Highness de Ligne with such an action; and indeed am little careful to be acquainted with the individual who did it, who could and would do it. A Prince of Coxcombs I can discern him to have been; capable of shining in the eyes of insincere foolish persons, and of doing detriment to them, not benefit; a man without reverence for truth or human excellence; not knowing in fact what is true from what is false, what is excellent from what is sham-excellent and at the top of the mode; an apparently polite and knowing man, but intrinsically an impudent, dark and merely modish-insolent man;—who, if he fell in with Rhadamanthus on his travels, would not escape a horse-whipping, Him we will willingly leave to that beneficial chance, which indeed seems a certain one sooner or later; and address ourselves to consider the theory itself, and the facts it pretends to be grounded on. |
And so say all of us. /ends
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
|
|
|
|
Another little tickle from today's reading of Carlyle concerning the enduring struggle between Austria and Prussia.
| Albert Achilles the Third Elector [of Brandenburg/Prussia] had, before his accession, been Margraf of Anspach, and since his Brother the Alchemist's death, Margraf of Baireuth too, or of the whole Principality,—"Margraf of Culmbach" we will call it, for brevity's sake, though the bewildering old Books have not steadily any name for it. |
It has be remembered that although Carlyle is not an 'academic' he has access to the same sources as modern academics. What are these 'bewildering old Books'?
| [A certain subaltern of this express title, "Margraf of Culmbach" (a Cadet, with some temporary appanage there, who was once in the service of him they call the Winter-King... |
That's the Elector Palatine, son-in-law of James the First, and fomenter of the Thirty Years War when he accepted the crown of Bohemia. In turn the well spring of the rivalry between Austria and Prussia.
| ... and may again be transiently heard of by us here), is the altogether Mysterious Personage who prints himself "MARQUIS DE LULENBACH" |
As we know, self-styled marquises are a plague on historiography.
| in Bromley's Collection of Royal Letters (London, 1787), pp. 52, &c.: |
Never heard of this but note the date i.e. a hundred and fifty years after the Winter King but slap in the middle of Rev Hist's account of Habsburg faux historiography.
| —one of the most curious Books on the Thirty-Years War; "edited" with a composed stupidity, and cheerful infinitude of ignorance, which still farther distinguish it. |
What precisely is Carlyle getting at here?
| The BROMLEY Originals well worth a real editing, turn out, on inquiry, to have been "sold as Autographs, and dispersed beyond recovery, about fifty years ago."] |
In other words, classic forgeries.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
The Library Index 
FAQ 
Search
Register
Profile 
Log in to check your private messages 
Log in 
