City Daily Photo Theme Day: Purple

The beginning of each month is a theme day for members of City Daily Photo. For the first of May, we continue this year's colour theme with Purple. You can see how others are interpreting the theme right here.

I'm starting with Winterlude, our annual February celebration of the best season of all. Ice sculptures are a big part of that, and are lit up by shifting coloured lights at night. I photographed the carvers at work, and purple light illuminated these works. The sculptures were housed this year in the Byward Market downtown.

Taken nearby, this is one of those accidental shots taken while walking that we all do. And yet the purple tone of the shot kept me from deleting it.

I was on my way to this. The European Union has a diplomatic presence here in Ottawa, and each year tends to sponsor an ice sculpture. This is in one of the courtyards of the Market, and features a number of items embedded into the ice from across Europe.

It was in the same courtyard as this display, tied to First Nations peoples. The purple lighting on the walls suited the theme.

Winterlude extends to the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, and here in Gatineau's Jacques Cartier Park, where I visited the winter playground, some of the regular play equipment was also out and about. That included this purple dinosaur, fortunately far less obnoxious than Barney.

Back to the Byward Market. A light display was on during Winterlude that had these lights triggered by wind chimes, dancing and shifting colours. I caught them at a moment when purple was highlighted.

Here we have a finished ice sculpture in purple light.

In early April I paid a visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature, a series that I'm presently in the midst of here at the photoblog. On the top floor, in what's called the Arctic Gallery, a group of slabs of ice are found, with images projected onto them. I caught them bathed in a soft violet light.

One day in mid-April, I was up at Richmond Landing to get some photography in. I passed through a pedestrian underpass on leaving. There are two of these here, both containing replica works by First Nations artists. This one also suited the theme. We Are Resilient is the title of this work by Cree artist Tara-Lynn Kozma-Perrin. I decided a close up of the colours would be in order.

I photographed this on the Easter weekend in the Glebe. Outside Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, planters had been arranged with flowers, including some purple, and draped with ribbons that included purple, entirely appropriate for the Easter season.

And I finish with a T-shirt, taken as a selfie while I was wearing it. This Batman among the stars design features purple highlights. I picked up the shirt from a vendor last year during ComicCon here. That's coming up from May 10th-12th, a reminder to those in the Ottawa area. I'll see if I can down there.

Easter

Happy Easter! I'm taking a break today from my current series for shots fitting the occasion.

These first shots date back to Good Friday 2018, and I felt they were appropriate to hold back for this Easter, as I hadn't started setting up posts until after last Easter. I paid a visit that day to the Canada Agriculture And Food Museum, housed on the grounds of our Central Experimental Farm. A working farm, it houses animals and information in a series of barns and other buildings. One of those is a building called the Learning Centre, and on its second floor, two large kitchens for demonstrations can be found. In one of them were several displays for the Easter season, with an emphasis on eggs.

Back in early January I visited the National Gallery of Canada, and among my shots taken on that date were some paintings that fit the other side of the Easter weekend. The Arrest Of Christ is an oil painting done circa 1630-32 by the Dutch artist Matthias Stom, who spent time in Italy being inspired by Caravaggio and others (this painting was likely done in Rome). Stom depicts Christ and Judas highlighted at the moment of betrayal, while deliberately choosing to depict those arresting Christ in more contemporary clothing of his own era.

The Crucifixion is an oil painting circa 1515 by the Flemish artist Quenten Massys. Christ is on the cross, and his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and John the disciple are below, each caught up in their grief.

The Lamentation is from the workshop of Massys, done at some point around 1511, with Christ's followers tending to his body after it has been taken down from the cross. This painting is based on a large altarpiece Massys was working on, and would have been done by one of his apprentices.

This is from the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens. Christ dates to around 1612, and was done by one of Rubens' apprentices. His own version of this hangs in a Vienna gallery, while this would have been done side by side with the master himself. It was the habit of assistants to copy the work, though this one lacks the vitality of Rubens' own handwork.

Odds And Ends In The National Capital

I have some odds and ends today. I'm starting with this bunny installation that was in place in the Rideau Centre- appropriate for Easter. Though the Victoria's Secret store in the background might not be. 

One Sunday in the latter part of March I went for a walk and passed through the Garden of the Provinces and Territories, which stands across from Library and Archives Canada. The garden, a combination of flower beds, terraces, and water features, is dormant this time of year. Flowers of the provinces and territories are inscribed in places on the terrace walls.

This pedestrian underpass is mostly quiet this time of year, but is part of the extensive network of paths in the city. It's close to the Ottawa River and Portage Bridge, and happens to be housing a number of works of art, which we'll look at tomorrow.

Nearby I stopped at the Canadian Firefighters Memorial. A fire pole and large statue of a firefighter face a wall inscribed with the names of Canadian firefighters who have died in the line of duty or of illnesses as a result of their service. In the background of this shot, one can see the National Holocaust Monument at the left, and the familiar dark spike roofline of the Canadian War Museum at the right.

Heading back, I paused by this building. The Fleet Street Pumping Station dates to 1875, harnessing hydraulic power. A diverted channel of the Ottawa River flows inside, coming out below where I was photographing. 

Here's that channel heading back out towards a nearby rendezvous with the rest of the river. The water was open, and this area has been set up for white water kayaking- in warmer weather, of course. Note the bare spots on the slope in the background- a typical feature at the end of winter here is that south facing slopes tend to lose their snow before the rest of the snow goes.

The Old City Registry Office dates to 1873-74, and stands across from Arts Court downtown- a fitting location, because Arts Court was the courthouse at the time, and Carleton County Gaol was right beside it. We'll have a look at those two buildings in a few days. The structure is vacant at present, but deserves to see some use- something for the city to seriously get going on.

I finish with this particular supreme life form of the planet. A vet's office in the Glebe has a couple of cats in residence. This one was taking advantage of afternoon sun in the front windows.

Easter Sunday

Christ On The Cross is the title of this oil painting by the French artist Phillipe de Champaigne, dating back to 1655-1660. It's stark and moody, with the sky and the outline of Jerusalem rendered dark, cold, and somber. Jesus himself is illuminated as the focus, much as you might expect out of a Caravaggio painting, with that dramatic use of shadow and light.

The Christ Child And The Infant John The Baptist With A Lamb is an oil painting by the Italian Bernardino Luini done at some point between 1507-32. The motif of the two cousins together as children was a popular subject in the era- this one is inspired by the example of Leonardo da Vinci, who painted a now lost work of his own on the two embracing. Luini in fact had worked with Leonardo. During a previous visit, a docent told me that at one point, the National Gallery had a deal underway with a donor to purchase a Leonardo, but a new government came in and cancelled the deal. The painting ended up going to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where Ginevra de' Benci is the only Leonardo on public display in North America. So to those of you who visit that Gallery, the next time you go in and see that painting, bear in mind that it should have been Canadian.

This is referred to as the Baroque Room, filled with paintings and sculptures of the period, most of them having religious subjects or taking inspiration from Greek mythology. The bust on the left of the first shot is one I've shown you before, a marble of Pope Urban VIII by Bernini. The rest of the art in this post is found in this room.

Landscape With A Woman Washing Her Feet dates to 1650, and is a painting by the French artist Nicolas Poussin. The artist tended to use mythology as a source of inspiration, but the story to this one remains elusive. Poussin portrays a man, hidden amid the bushes, spying on a young lady and her companion.

Some of you might remember this one. The Abduction of Europa dates to around 1636, by the artist Guido Reni, and shows Zeus, in the form of a bull, taking the latest object of his affections, the princess Europa, off across the sea.

I've shown this one before as well. The Return of The Prodigal Son is an oil painting by the Italian artist Salvator Rosa, done at some point between 1655-65, depicting the New Testament story's ending.

The Feast Of Absalom is an oil painting by the Italian painter Mattia Preti, dating around 1656-61. The work depicts Absalom, a son of David, condemning his incestuous brother Amnon to death for the violation of their sister Tamar, who sits between them, looking unusual in a fanciful bonnet.

Faith To Inspire

The Canadian galleries here at the National Gallery are undergoing a reorganization and should be open imminently, but while I was here to take in the Janvier exhibit, I went up to the world art galleries on the second level. I paused for a shot of the glass tower. A glimpse at the lower right will pick out the Parliament Buildings.

Since this is the Easter weekend, I have some appropriate material for the occasion. Christ Blessing is an oil painting circa 1505, whose artist is unknown, aside from being a follower of Giovanni Bellini. 

The Crucifixion is attributed to the French artist Jean Il Penicaud, dating circa 1550. It is enamel painted on copper. The minimal colour is typical of the artist, and the scene is all the more vivid for it.

This is another take on the subject. Flemish artist Quinten Massys painted The Crucifixion in oil around 1515. Mary, Mary Magdalene, and John are the figures at the base of the cross.

The Lamentation is from the workshop of Massys, an oil painting done around 1511. 

Christ And The Adulteress is an oil painting dating circa 1535-40 by the German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder. It shows Christ's rebuking of those who have gathered to challenge him to condemn an adulterous woman. He replies that whoever is without sin should be the first to throw a stone.

This is an oil painting done by the Italian Giovanni Busi, also called Cariani. Giovan Antonio Caravaggi was painted at some point between 1520-30. Little is known of the subject, but Cariani himself spent some years in the workshop of Bellini. 

Some of you might remember this 1545 oil painting I've shown before. Daniele Barbaro is a work by Tiziano Vecellio, better known as Titian. The artist was commissioned by Barbaro, a noble and scholar, for the job. There is another version of this portrait, likely done at the same time, in the Prado. This one has undergone extensive restorations in recent years- the work of art conservation is an art in and of itself.

I am finishing today with another portrait, an oil painting titled Portrait Of A Young Lady. Bartolomeo Veneto, the Italian artist, painted this circa 1520-30. The woman's name is lost to history, but she comes across as vividly depicted.