olde_fashioned

I think my fondness for the 18th century is no secret to any of my regular readers. ;-) So you may imagine my surprise and delight upon discovering a copy of Amanda Foreman’s Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire biography at a used bookstore entirely by accident! Having already seen the movie The Duchess, which was inspired by this biography, previously read about the author during production of said film, and recalling recommendations of a trusted friend, I went ahead and bought the book even though I’m not generally one to tackle biographies. (I know, I know; that’s a fault on my part which I’m working at remedying!) Considering my love of history, this is somewhat strange, but most of the biographies (or possibly the authors?) I’ve encountered previously have been dull, dry, and even pretentious, but thankfully Amanda Foreman and her work both proved to be quite the opposite.

As this is only my first real foray into studying the life of Georgiana Cavendish, famous 18th century socialite, aristocrat, figure of fashion and leader of the ton, authoress, political heavyweight and Whig doyenne, I am by no means the best person to judge Foreman’s adherence to historical truths, but since this is one of my very favourite periods in history (if not the favourite, hee hee), I’m already somewhat familiar with the era and therefore (hopefully!), not entirely ignorant. ;-)

( Biographical (duh), historical, movie spoilers abound! )

Even though I'm probably the last person in the galaxy to have seen this movie (let alone iconing it), I finally understand why the gowns from Marie Antoinette are generally referred to as "candy" dresses. There's an unbelievable amount of pretty! Pretty clothes, pretty hairstyles, pretty food, even. Pretty shoes (sans the Chucks, grrr...), pretty music SOME of the time (LOL), and pretty scenery (Versailles!).

Hopefully these turned out as pretty as I tried to make them. ;-D

As always, never alter my graphics, comment, credit, and enjoy!

Teasers:


( ''This is ridiculous!'' ''This, madame, is Versailles.'' )

This is a monstrous collection of 18th century icons. I've got loads of batches that I haven't gotten around to posting, due to being busy, and this is only one of them. There are more 18th century paintings than you can shake a stick at, from so many different artists that it was quite a feat to keep track of them all! Where I couldn't discover the name of the artist/painting, I've put "unknown" next to as much information as I have.

As always, never alter my graphics, comment, credit, and enjoy!

Teasers:


( beauty is a remnant of perfection in a fallen world )

Almost four dozen icons of one of my favourite subjects: 18th Century art and fashions. There are a large amount of John Singleton Copley icons, Allan Ramsay, with Gustave Jean Jacquet, a 19th century artist whose style is so similar that I decided to go ahead and include him, especially since his subjects seem to be clad in 18th century-esque garments. ;-)

Where possible, I've preserved the titles of the paintings in the URLs, except for Ramsay. Minimal again this time, because I felt it suited the portraits better. They're so lovely, they don't need any textures.

As always, never alter my graphics, comment, credit, and enjoy!

Teasers:


( All our tears have reached the sea // part of you will live in me // way down deep inside my heart )

More icontest entries (mostly Regency, but some Medieval, too) of various Jane Austen adaptations, with some paintings by Ingres, Vigee LeBrun, Copley, Gainsborough, and a ton of other Regency images for various regency_stills contests. :-)

As always, never alter or steal my graphics, comment, credit, and enjoy!

Teasers:


( ''...allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.'' )

Taken from an American Vision email newsletter kindly forwarded to me by my brother. ;-)

"On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in (what we now call) Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The session began with Richard Henry Lee of the Virginia delegation reading his resolution in favor of independence from England. What transpired after the reading of Lee’s resolution became the single most significant event in American history. The unanimous vote for independence (New York abstained, but voted in favor one week later) is often something that we take for granted in our 21st century way of thinking. We tend to forget the difficult decisions that were agonized over and the compromises that were made in order to achieve such a bold act of courage by men who were just as human as we are. We tend to look back on these men—the “founding fathers” of our country—with romantic notions of valor and bravery. We tend to think that when they made their declaration of independence that they were ready with a battle plan, that the declaration was merely a formality of a foregone conclusion. But nothing could be farther from the truth."

Read the rest of the article HERE

Whoo hoo! Just what I need!! Another time-waster!

18th Century dress-up doll

I love these things.

A rather random batch of beautiful women, by Bouguereau, Lord Frederick Leighton, Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, and others. Please comment with the number of the icon(s) and credit me in your keywords if you're taking, and most importantly -- enjoy! :-D

Teasers:



( ''Dress is at all times a frivolous distinction, and excessive solicitude about it often destroys its own aim.'' )

Another batch of icons, and this time I have indulged my inner equestrienne. ;-) Most of these are horse-related, but I've thrown in a few random paintings of lovely ladies in pretty dresses. :-P

{~} 1-22 are photographs of horses, mostly Bob Langrish and horses-photos.org stock (hey, a pun!)
{~} 23-32 are from paintings by George Stubbs; right-click to see the names of the paintings.
{~} 33-43 are of various women in art, including some by Waterhouse, Edmund Blair Leighton, Lord Frederick Leighton, Vigee Le Brun, and Van Dyck. Again, right-click to see the URL's and names.

~ Comment/credit if taking (and please tell me which number you're using, since I've been experimenting with my styles and I'd like to know what you like)
~ No altering/stealing/hotlinking
~ Enjoy!

Teasers:
~~

The rest are ( here! )