Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781 – 1841) On March 13, 1781, Prussian architect, city planner, and painter Karl Friedrich Schinkel was born, who was one of the most prominent architects of Germany of the neoclassical and neogothic epoch. He shaped the city scapes of Berlin and Potsdam with his neoclassical buildings and palaces. “Phlegm, whether physical or mental, is a sinful state for the one who lives in times of education.” — Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel – Youth and Education Karl Friedrich was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of Brandenburg, the son of Johann Cuno Christo ..read more

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) On March 6, 1475, Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born. Michelangelo exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. He is considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since been described as one of the greatest artists of all time. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the a ..read more

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696 – 1770) On March 5, 1696, Italian painter and printmaker Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born. As an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school, Tiepolo painted in the Rococo style. His work includes depictions of heroic epics, histories, opera scenes, festivals of the gods, and also altars, where he enriched a number of these paintings with putti and cupids. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – Early Years Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born in Venice. He was the youngest of six children of his mother Orsetta and his father Domenico, who owned a small ship. Tie ..read more

Ansel Adams (1902 – 1984) On February 20, 1902, American photographer and environmentalist Ansel Easton Adams was born. He is best known for his black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West, especially Yosemite National Park. Together with Fred Archer, Adams developed the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. “A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” — Ansel Adams, “A Pe ..read more

Franz Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828), Watercolor by Wilhelm August Rieder (1825) On January 31, 1797, the Austrian composer Franz Schubert was born. Even though his many symphonies, operas and piano pieces were not highly appreciated during his lifetime, he was posthumously praised as one of the most important composers of the Romantic era in music. “Happy to find a true friend, happier to find a true friend in his wife.”  — Franz Schubert, Diary, 1816 Franz Schubert – Early Life of a Musical Prodigy Franz Schubert was the 13th of 16 children to Franz The ..read more

Rembrandt van Rijn: The Anatomy of Dr. Tulb (1632) On January 16, 1632, Dutch master painter Rembrandt van Rijn attends a public lecture of physician Nicolaes Tulp, where the body of the executed mugger Adriaan Adriaanszoon was disected. In the consequence of this experience Rembrandt painted his famous picture ‘ Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp‘. Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealt ..read more

The War Room with the Big Board from Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove On January 15, 1908, Hungarian born US theoretical physicist Edward Teller, often referred to as ‘Father of the hydrogenic bomb‘, was born. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, and is considered one of the inspirations for the character Dr. Strangelove in the 1964 Stanley Kubrick movie of the same name. “There’s no system foolproof enough to defeat a sufficiently great fool.” — Edward Teller, As quoted in “Nuclear Reactions”, by Joel Davis in Omni (May 1988) Edward Teller ..read more

Molière as César in ‘La Mort de Pompée’ painted by Nicolas Mignard (1658) (Probably) on January 14th, 1622, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, French playwright and actor who is known by his stage name Molière was born. He is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. “Le monde, chère Agnès, est une étrange chose.” (The world, dear Agnes, is a strange affair.) – Molière, L’École des Femmes (1662), Act II, sc. v The Illustrious Theatre Jean-Baptiste Poquelin was baptized in Paris on January 15, 1622 as son of Jean Poquelin and Marie Cressé, the daughter of a prospero ..read more

Red Mobile, 1956, Painted sheet metal and metal rods, a signature work by Alexander Calder – Montreal Museum of Fine Arts On November 11, 1976, American sculptor Alexander Calder passed away. Calder is known as the originator of the mobile, a type of moving sculpture made with delicately balanced or suspended shapes that move in response to touch or air currents. Calder’s monumental stationary sculptures are called stabiles. He also produced wire figures, which are like drawings made in space, and notably a miniature circus work that was performed by the artist. The Calders – A family o ..read more

Jacopo Peri (20 August 1561 – 12 August 1633) On October 6, 1600, Jacopo Peri‘s opera Euridice was performed for the first time, being created for the marriage of King Henry IV of France and Maria de Medici. The composition is typically considered to be the second work of modern opera, and the first such musical drama to survive to the present day. “To hear him sing his works composed with excellent skill… induced every heart of stone to tears.” – Severo Bonini about Jacopo Peri Jacopo Peri – Background Jacopo Peri was born in Rome. Peri received his first musical lessons from Cristofano M ..read more