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London Immigration

The Last of England. Illustration by Ford Madox Brown (c. 19th century). PD+100; PD-US. Wikimedia Commons.
The Last of England. Illustration by Ford Madox Brown (c. 19th century). PD+100; PD-US. Wikimedia Commons.

I normally would not take up an issue that is a political hot potato. That’s not what this blog site is about. However, I saw a very interesting article in the BBC entitled DNA Study Finds London was Ethnically Diverse From Start.

If you’ve traveled to London and Paris and walked around a bit, you might have noticed the difference right away: London isn’t an English city any longer, it is an international one. Yet, Paris on the other hand, remains quite French. The BBC article begins by pointing out London was a cosmopolitan town even 2,000 years ago.

It seems there are more than 20,000 human remains (each in their own cardboard box) located at the Museum of London. These remains are former residents of London dating back almost 5,500 years. Scientists and researchers are using new DNA and chemical processes to analyze, among other things, the origins of these folks (why they don’t just go to Ancestry.com I’ll never know). Read More London Immigration

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The Court Painter Was A Woman

Self-portrait in a Straw Hat. Painting by Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (c. 1782). PD-100+. National Gallery. Wikimedia Commons
Self-portrait in a Straw Hat. Painting by Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (c. 1782). PD-100+. National Gallery. Wikimedia Commons

I wish I had the money and time to hop on over to Europe every time I see an exhibit, event, or happening that grabs my attention. One such event that I would fly across the Pond to attend is the current art exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris. This special exhibition is dedicated to one of France’s foremost artists, the self-taught portrait painter Louise Élisabeth Vigée le Brun (1755–1842).

The Grand Palais

Vigée le Brun or Madame le Brun as she was known, was a prolific artist painting more than 600 portraits and 200 landscapes. Madame le Brun commanded very high commissions—so naturally she was disliked by many of the male artists of the time (jealousy spilled over into some calling her “feeble and vulgar”). She also happened to be, at the age of 23, the official court painter for Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette. Read More The Court Painter Was A Woman