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Bela Zombory-Moldovan
The Burning of the World
The author, a Hungarian painter, wrote a brief memoir of the opening months of the First World War. ZM was in the army and saw action along the Russian border. His account is filled with the same horror and chaos that one expects from a war journal, but what I enjoyed most was discovering ZM the artist and his circle of friends and contemporaries. (Below are some of my favourites.) Of particular interest are “The Eight” a group of avant garde painters who had staged a controversial exhibit in 1911.
To my great profit, I paired ZM’s book with Austrian writer Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday. Both raise many of the same issues: the catastrophic end of the world fittingly called “The Long 19th Century”, capitalism vs. socialism, the place of Jews in society, shifting morals, etc. One of the most entertaining chapters in ZM’s book was a visit to his uncle, a parson. Apart from this, both authors are tellingly silent about the topic of religion.
Despite their progressive leanings, however, both also exhibit a strong affection for the Austo-Hungarian Empire and a contempt for revolutionary and pro-war sentiment. Neither harboured the then-popular desire to see the world remade.
ZM
"Still Life in the Larder"
Odon Tull
"The Harvesters"
Zsigmond Vajda
Zsigmond Vajda
"Winter Cityscape"
Dezso Czigany
Zsigmond Vajda
Robert Bereny
"Burial of a Child"
Bela Czobel
Bela Czobel
Bela Czobel
"Street in Paris"
Dezso Orban
Bela Czobel
Bela Czobel
"Garden of a Church"
Henryk Gorecki (1933-2010)
Symphony #3
My children are old enough now that we made them sit through a performance of Gorecki’s “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs.” I am especially fond of the final movement, with its repeating church-bell motif. Strong, bright melodies dominate the tragic lyrics: allusions to the Passion of Christ and the Compassion of Mary reassure us that our suffering will be transformed. Nazis, Bolsheviks, etc.,--they will all be swept away. Incidentally, I have never found anything in Gorecki's catalog that has remotely equaled this piece.
Sahara, Columbia Pictures, 1943
Starring Humphrey Bogart
Rewatching Sahara, the 1943 movie starring Humphrey Bogart, I was not only impressed by the usual things--the direction, the acting, etc.--but I also enjoyed learning about the M3 tank. This sturdy, manoeuvrable beast was in active service with the U.S. Army through the 1950s but, during the war itself, was sidelined when the M4 Sherman debuted. The M3 came in two models: the Lee (used in the film) and the Grant, a sign that by 1943 Americans were, in theory, sufficiently removed from the events of the 1860s that they could calmly weigh the merits of individuals who fought on both sides of the War Between the States.
...and a "General Lee" M3
By the way the movie is as good, if not better, than I remembered. The story is set in the aftermath of the battle of Tobruk and centers on a group of U.S. soldiers, and their sole remaining tank, fleeing across North Africa with the German army in pursuit. Along the way, they pick up several British and one French refugee, as well as a Sundanese officer and two prisoners, a German and an Italian. Plenty of action and intelligent drama.
"The Martyrdom and Apotheosis of St. Pantalon" by Giovanni Fumiani (1645-1710): the world's largest painting on canvas
Years ago I acquired eight books by Osbert Sitwell, and have enjoyed diving into them at random. Sitwell’s portraits of famous people and loving descriptions of important monuments and works of art, make for an easy, refreshing read. My favourite, Tales My Father Taught Me,is a series of humourous anecdotes about his father. Winters of Content (1932), meanwhile, has this striking passage:
"I know no painting in any church which can compare with it for daring, and even effrontery; none which exhibits so low a range of and such sinister depths of tone. It has none of the delicious colour or watery rhetoric, none of the river-gods and urns, pearls, and brocades, of Tiepolo, nothing grotesque, no strutting and feathered manikins striving to hold back their greyhounds, but,...
in place of these, exhibits a terrifying and steely magnificence. We are transported into a grandiose, dark world of armoured giants and statues that are half shadow and half ogre; a world where anything may happen, where the figure of the Comendador may creak to awful life, or the echoes of our voices, caught by the wind, may come back to us distorted… “
Hayao Miyazaki (1941- )
Founder, Studio Ghibli
The king of Japanese animated film (anime), has enjoyed worldwide success over a fifty-year career. Many Americans, however, seem to be only casually familiar with his work. Perhaps it is because anime is mistakenly assumed to be only for consumption by children and teens. On the contrary, I would venture to say that the majority of anime films and TV series, for better or worse, are aimed at teens and adults. While some can be quite violent and brooding, Miyazaki’s films are decidedly mature without losing their broad appeal. Humour and escapism typically rub elbows with the great questions of life. I find his mythic stories to be worthy of repeated viewings and consider My Neighbor Totoro to be a nearly perfect film.
In terms of artistic technique, Miyazaki is famous for his adherence to traditional, hand-drawn animation and his insistence upon natural realism. His characters move fluidly and his landscapes are vibrant. Turning to his artistic temperament, Miyazaki typically fills the roles of animator, writer, producer, and director. This can be quite exhausting and he has “retired” many times only to return. In fact, two of his best films were made when he was in his 60s--hope for us all!
A List of My Favourites
Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli
1. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Spirited Away
3. Howl’s Moving Castle
4. Castle in the Clouds
5. Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind
6. Arrietty
7. When Marnie Was There
8. Whisper of the Heart and its quasi-sequel The Cat Returns
Other artists/studios
1. Okko’s Inn
2. The House of the Lost on the Cape
2. Suzume
3. A Whisker Away
Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516)
St. Jerome Reading
St. Francis of Assisi in the Desert
“Almost alone among supremely great artists Bellini is optimistic. He had known tragedy in his youth, but in middle age he came to look for those things in life that are calm and life-giving. Men, landscapes, buildings, all take on this feeling of natural goodness.” Kenneth Clark, The Other Half