What I am showing these days

For those of you who read this blog, you know how much I believe in our National Gallery in Ottawa on Sussex Drive. It is a 150 year old Institution and in fact it is older than that, as early as 1820 Lord Dalhousie a staunch Scottish Presbyterian who was the Governor General of Canada residing in the Chateau Saint-Louis in Quebec City, the site is now occupied by the Chateau Frontenac Hotel, a man of letters and highly cultured and a patron of early Canadian Art who gave the first 140 art works to Canada.

George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie, Governor General of Canada (1820-1828)

Here are some of the works I have been showing in the last few weeks to the public in what is called the Docent's Choice or Le Choix du Guide, I give these 10 minute mini lectures on art to anyone who wishes to stop and listen.

La danseuse by Antonio Canova (1818)

PierAntonio Bandini by Agnolo Bronzino (1550)

Daniele Barbaro by Titian (1555)

a copy of this painting is in the Prado in Madrid.

Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West (1770) with the new 18th century frame.

In the coming months I will also present the following, so I prepare by reading on the works and the artist and what motivated the creation of the painting or sculpture.  

Salisbury Cathedral seen from the Bishop's Garden by John Constable (1820)

Pope Urban VIII, Barberini, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Venus by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1518)

The Age of Bronze by Auguste Rodin (1877)

If you happen to come by the National Gallery I may see you.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year Thanksgiving falls on Sunday 12 October, in French Canada it is called L'Action de Grâce, an old Feast Day which has European roots in the harvest festivals which are upon us now.

I love going out to the grocery store and shopping for a pumpkin or pumpkins. We are also looking at our menu for the Thanksgiving lunch on Sunday. I got pieces of turkey this year instead of a big bird.
I also have chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts, will do something along the lines of roasting them instead of the usual boiling. Heritage carrots, yellow and purple and red all mixed up together. The potatoes are Russian Blue, I do not know why they call them by that name since all potatoes come from Bolivia originally and the so called Russian Blue is a favourite of the Andean Natives in the highland of Bolivia. Will is going to make Pumpkin Spicy or Smokey soup and for dessert we will have a special dessert for the occasion made by Pastry Chef  Michael Holland at his store Holland's Cake and Shake by the Parkdale Market at 229 Armstrong street in Ottawa. See their web site http://www.cakeandshake.ca

This is a great place for pastry done in the old famous traditional way but with a modern twist and lots of imagination. All of it is made fresh daily no day old or stale stuff there.

The weather is crisp and cool now and the trees have started to change into a wide array of vibrant colours.

 This year's pumpkins on our balcony.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Scotland!

Referendum day has come and I am listening to the BBC World Service running commentary on what is happening. It is odd really listening to this event taking place, shows how little I knew of Scottish politics in the UK.  It appears that the turnout is high or very high more than 88% in rural and suburban areas whereas in the Cities the turnout is much lower around 75%. Scotland is hoping to have as high a turnout as in the Quebec referendum of 1995 which was 93.5%. It looks likely they will achieve that given the importance of the vote and the question. The big story tonight is how incredible the voter turnout has been. Usually during British general elections the turnout is around 65% the numbers tonight are very high in comparison.

The population of Scotland is small at 5.2 million Scots, somewhat smaller than the population of the City of Toronto. This does not count all the Scottish diaspora around the world, who cannot vote in this referendum. Scotland is portrayed as more left leaning and liberal than Britain. Because of its small population it cannot influence Parliament in Westminster and has little say in the budget. Scottish Labour is seen as unable to disassociate itself from the free-market and austerity policies of the moment, which makes it unpopular. By tomorrow the results either for or against independence, one thing appear certain the old certainties of the past will be dead and gone. The consequence for Cameron and the Conservatives are huge, it would probably mean the government will fall and Cameron will have no choice but to resign. As for Labour it will also be a shock and their future will be also uncertain. No Prime Minister wants to be remembered as the one who lost the Union. However watching the vote results come in Scotland appears divided, there are strong opinions in either camp.

Either way Britain tomorrow morning will be a different country. What I like about the coverage is how there is talk now even before the final results are in of change and how Westminster needs to change, respect for the aspirations of the Scots. It will be interesting to see how this evolves between now and 2016. What is also impressive is the level of respectful dialogue between people on either camp, except maybe for Ukip. There is none of the insults and bad language and immature attitudes we so often find here in Canada when there is differences of opinion after elections.

I would agree with commentators that Canadians and people in Quebec all have a lot to learn on how to run a referendum on such questions, much more mature and respectful in this case.

Holiday Monday walk

From my front door I can go either North or South and walk in a park at all times. The Rideau Canal which 214 Km long, provides in the heart of the City this great green park. It was built in 1832 and cost a fortune, it was to be used for military purposes but never was.

I went South today towards the renovated Lansdowne Park. A quiet leafy residential area of great houses which is part of the Glebe neighbourhood. The area is so quiet that you think that you are in the countryside and forget that you are in the middle of a City of 1 million people.

 Canadian Winter Olympic Monument at Lansdowne Park

This funny little island in the middle of the Canal is a protected area and I do not know why, it is simply a tuft of green surrounded by water. The other side of the Canal is called Old Ottawa South, it was the southern limit of the city until 1960. There was only fields beyond that point, the area is like a finger between the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal, with lots of very nice houses built in the 1940's and 1950's.

The National Capital Commission is responsible to keep the area clean and plants the numerous flower beds. The flower beds are planted with tulips in April and then in June with more Summer flowers.

This small inlet was once part of the canal and now stands cut from it by a road. When the canal was built this inlet was a staging area for the engineers and workers.

 We are just North of Dow's Lake a former large swamp flooded by the Corps of Royal Engineers to make a lake below Hog's Back Falls. 

View from our apartment looking North towards the Campus of University of Ottawa.

 This area is still not finished the barricades will be removed and it is to become a skating rink in winter and a water plaza in summer. The lowest building in this photo in red brick is the renovated Horticultural building which was moved on rails from Bank street to the East Side of the park a distance of about 350 meters. The modern buildings are part of the shopping complex and the tower at the back is a new condo building, unfortunately a lot of this architecture is in a brutalist modern style.

The old Aberdeen Cattle Palace, c.1898 at Landsdowne Park, originally the park was on the outskirts of the City and was used as a horse race track and for agricultural fairs annually. Farmers from the Valley would come to Ottawa to exhibit all manner of farm products and animals. The Governor General would give out prizes. Later a Football Stadium was built, it was demolished 2 years ago and a new stadium built for football and for soccer. The Aberdeen Cattle Palace is now used for all kinds of events. The large green space in front is new, it was a parking lot until very recently. There is now only a very small parking lot underground for permit holders only. If you wish to come to the Stadium for a game you can walk or take the free shuttle buses. It is not possible to park your car anywhere. The New Lansdowne Park opens 16 August and the shopping retail area will open in November. I still want to visit the grounds once it is open to the public to have a good look around.

A dog's life

Well for Nicky and Nora it's a tough life I am sure Nicky has plenty to complain about.
Here is his story:

Me and Nora at birth we are about one week old here in this photo.

Here I am in Canada of all places, I was born in Capena, Lazio just outside of la Città Aeterna, my parents where Italian-Hungarian and my dad a National Champion Show dog. So I thought my life would be spent in shows around Italy with lots of Paparazzi. One day out of the blue, when I was 6 weeks old, I was kidnapped and left my relatives and the farm. We, Nora and I, she is not my sister by the way. Her story is a little different, I knew her relatives but they are hunters, her mom was a Champion Wild Boar Hunting dog.

La famiglia mia a Capena 

Anyway I digress, so we arrived in Rome, did I tell you I cried and cried in the car all the way to Rome.  The one with the beard sat with me in the back and cuddled me, so I would not be so scared.  He understood my sensitive little puppy nature.
We had this rather nice place to live on Via Dei Villini, a large place with a very nice garden, the food was good and we had nothing to complain about. It was not the farm with all our families but hey we were getting lots of attention and cuddles and toys and blankets we would chew, we also chewed on furniture and concrete. We have good teeth.

Via Dei Villini 26, Rome

Our new home in Rome, come in kids.

We were well looked after and our Vet understood dachshunds since he had 8 of them at his home.
Then one day, we are taken to the airport, I was very upset and made a point of letting everyone know, I barked as loud as I could, people were afraid but alas to no avail, we left our beloved Italy for Ottawa. It is not Rome I can tell you that much. I was only 2 years old when this happened but I still remember it. The new place in Ottawa was also nice and very green by a lovely canal, that does not matter much to me because I am not much of a walker unless it is a dog walk with lots of paparazzi and people giving me biscuit. Nora on the other hand loves it, so much to hunt she says and to sniff out. She goes for long walks along the Rideau Canal and comes back exhausted but happy. Oh well if she likes it who am I to comment.

Now my days are simple, I usually wake up around 06:30 in the morning, if there is sunlight well then maybe earlier.  I love sunlight, I give one sharp and loud bark to wake up the servants, they are very lazy and I often have to give one to two more loud barks to wake them up, Canadians are so lazy its terrible. You would never see that in Italy I assure you. So one of them will prepare my breakfast and Nora's breakfast too. She is very quiet in the morning so I do all the barking.

Sun is so nice in the morning after breakfast.

After our breakfast we go out for a short walk, just so I can see what is going on out there and what kind of weather we are having. The winters in Ottawa are terrible and I hate them, we have to put coats on and boots otherwise we freeze our paws. I have pleaded time and again to return to Italy for the Winter months, to no avail, they don't listen these people.

Then I come back in and will go and sit in the sunshine for a morning snooze, love the sunshine and could spend my whole day just lying there. We have many more walks in the day time and each time I make a point of having a little snooze.

Yes my days are quiet unless the cleaning lady comes in and I make a point of letting her know I am here and to leave me alone, not to make noise and not interfere with my routine but they do, it is so unfair.

Now I know that Nora has gone to the Vet lately for her annual physical and teeth cleaning.
I also went to the Vet and declared to be in perfect health. I am only 5 years old now. But now I hear that next week I am going back to the dentist for my teeth cleaning. What a strange idea they have here. Do I really have to go? No one asked me what I thought about it.
So you can imagine how stressful all this is going to be. Why do they always have to disturb my routine.

You can see and appreciate that I have a difficult life in exile here in Canada, thank God for the biscuits and the celery, carrots, the nice cheese and other goodies I get from time to time.

28 June 1914 a fateful day.

The 28 June marks the Centennial of the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. A fateful day and one that will shape much of what will happen in the XXth Century.

The Great War would start on August 1 and would transform the world. Canada's contribution was great and should be remembered, 10% of the population went to war (620,000) of that number 10% were killed. Many returned badly wounded to a Canada transformed by the war. New measures also such as Personal Income Tax, women voting, a move from a rural to an urban setting, industrialisation, social change in the work place, workers riots in Winnipeg and elsewhere and the harsh response of the Conservative Government of Robert Borden and Arthur Meighen.

The Great War would bring the fall of 4 Empires and would create more economic and social problems which would lead just 20 years later to the Second World War. What is also known today is that no one actually lost the war, it became clear at the end of 1917 to all involved that the war was un-winable. An armistice on 11 November 1918 was declared, it was the allies at the Peace Conference in 1919 who declared that Germany was guilty and France sought and got harsh terms in the Treaty of Versailles. European leaders in my view are all guilty in this case given that many were sleeping at the wheel and did not realize the danger of a World War.

This exhibit is currently on at the Canadian War Museum until 21 September 2014

Dresden Zwinger Palais

Dresden certainly has beautiful museums and rich collections thanks to the Wettin Family who as  Prince Elector and Kings of Saxony through the ages collected various Art objects for their beauty, prestige and the pleasure they brought.

On this visit to Dresden, our first in 14 years, we visited again the Zwinger Palace built in 1711 by Matthaus Daniel Pöppelmann on the site of the old Fortress of Dresden, it is across the street from the Royal Palace. 

The Zwinger is a strange word in German, it actually has a military significance. It means a building usually for military use built by the City Defensive Walls, this Zwinger never had any military use and was built purely for pleasure and festivities, it did not have any residential use either. It was a place for entertainment and great festivities, dinners, balls and other State occasion when the King needed to show how magnificent his Court was to Foreing dignitaries. Somewhat like the Trianon in Versailles, la Gloriette at the Shönbrunn Palace in Vienna or the Villa Borghese in Rome. 

It like the rest of Dresden was severely damaged in the fire bombing raids of 1945, it was in a very poor state until 1990 when major reconstruction and renovation work took place. Originally the Zwinger housed the Royal collections of great masters paintings, rare Asian porcelain and other Art objects. Luckily the collections were all stored away in 1942 to avoid any damage. At the end of the war the area was overrun by Soviet troops and fell into the Soviet sphere, all of the treasures were stolen and brought back to Moscow on the orders of Stalin.

It was only after 1990 with the re-unification of Germany that Russia finally agreed to give back what had been stolen. 

What we were able to visit in 2000 was mainly the great courtyard of the Zwinger which was originally used as an Orangery and garden.  The buildings including the SemperBau were closed as they were unsafe and undergoing major repair work, still it was beautiful. 

Now restored it is even more beautiful and we marvelled at the work of the craftsmen who were able to re-create a Baroque fantasy. This means replacing the putti on the balustrade of the roof and other statues that were missing. For those who might be wondering a putto (singular) putti (plural) are not part of the 9 choirs of angels. We find them in Etruscan and Greek ancient imagery, they are secular and profane, often mischievous in the company of Bacchus, the God of Wine. The word Putto in Italian comes from the Latin Putus for boy. They are physical manifestation of invisible essences or spirits called genius or genii. They often represent Love, fertility, abundance, the Spirit of the Fruit of Life. 

  

It also meant replacing the 40 Meissen white porcelain bells on the glockenspiel and rebuilding the Crown Tower.

Satyrs having a good time 

Will not as a Satyr posing by the Crown Tower

Though much as been done the SemperBau which houses the old European Masters painting collection will undergo a modernisation of its engineering system so that it will be in keeping with modern museum standards in the next few years.

Semper Bau built by Gottfried Semper in 1850 see how the landscaping today is different from the photo below. The Church of St-Sophie in the background disappeared in 1945.

Photo of 1875 

Today the Swinger houses the famous State Collections of Porcelain and Mathematical and Scientific objects of the 18th Century which at the time were true marvels. August II the Strong loved those objects, he wanted to have all the latest gadgets to amuse himself and impress this guests.

In the Porcelain collection is the famous Dragoon Vases. In total some 23,000 porcelain objects are on display. It is said to be the most complete and specialised collection in the world today.  I do not doubt it, it is very impressive. It was August II the Strong who was the instigator of this great collection, exotic oriental objects were all the rage then in what was called Chinoiserie.  He loved those delicate fine porcelain so much so that in 1717 he exchanges 600 Dragoon Soldiers for 151 Lidded Porcelain Vases that belonged to Frederich Wilhelm I of Prussia. Since the soldiers were Dragoons the vases came to be know by that name.

   

Would you believe that this fine porcelain grouping is a table centre representing an allegory of gods and nymphs. Just the thing for the table for that weeknight supper with a few friends.

These galleries are beautifully curated and give an excellent idea of life at the Saxon Court and the accumulation madness of beautiful objects in the Age of Princes.

As you can see from the photos all items are presented with minimum barriers so that the most natural aspect can be enjoyed. Needless to say that you do not touch anything and strollers or small children are not allowed neither are back packs or bags of any kind.

This is just a small sample of what can be seen on a visit to the gallery. 

 A last reminder of what the Zwinger Palace looked like in 1945, fortunately it was restored for us to enjoy today.

And the Satyr are still dancing in the sunshine

I hope to return to Dresden in the coming years, it is truly a beautiful city and all the art collections are of the finest quality. It was the young Goethe who on his first visit to the Zwinger was enraptured by what he saw, today you can see the same thing and feel what Goethe felt amid such beauty.