Speed of Life

Born on 30 July: Emily Brontë (1818), the author of the classic novel, Wuthering Heights, and Kate Bush (1958), the composer of the pop song inspired by the novel.  pic.twitter.com/utirkvhk04 — Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957)  July 30, 2023 Emily Brontë by Patrick Branwell Brontë circa 1833 21 1/2 in. x 13 3/4 in. From the  National Portrait Gallery in London: This portrait "This painting, which was discovered at the same time as the famous group portrait of the Brontë Sisters (see NPG 1725), is apparently all that remains of a group portrait of the Brontës by Branwell Brontë of which it formed the right-hand part. The shape just visible to the left is almost certainly the shoulder and arm of Branwell Brontë, who also appears second from the right in the two other Brontë groups (NPG 1725, where he painted himself out, and the 'Gun Group'), his head forming the apex of a triangular composition. While the identification of the Brontë sisters in the surviving NPG group is ...

Dall'Auditorium della Conciliazione di Roma il Concerto di Natale a scopo benefico giunto alla 21.ma edizione. Quest'anno dedicato al progetto "Una goccia per la vita - Fondazione Don Bosco nel Mondo". Gregg Chadwick Litanies à la Vierge Noire (Litany to the Black Virgin) 40"x30"oil on linen 2019 Private Collection, Central City, Colorado My oil on linen painting "Litanies à la Vierge Noire (Litany to the Black Virgin)" was commissioned by the Central City Opera as an image for their production of Francis Poulenc's choral work Litanies à la Vierge Noire. Poulenc describes the inspiration behind his sacred piece: "A few days earlier I'd just heard of the tragic death of my colleague ... As I meditated on the fragility of our human frame, I was drawn once more to the life of the spirit. Rocamadour had the effect of restoring me to the faith of my childhood. This sanctuary, undoubtedly the oldest in France ... had everything to captiva...

From Maria Popova at Brainpicker: Patti Smith Reads Letter to Robert Mapplethorpe About How He Taught Her What It Means to Be an Artist “You drew me from the darkest period of my young life, sharing with me the sacred mystery of what it is to be an artist.” brainpicker · Patti Smith reads her letter to Robert Mapplethorpe Patti Smith by Robert Mapplethorpe (Courtesy of Tate Museum)