Tag Archives: France

1964: Oh, My Mangled Head!

Posted on April 14, 2019 by corvusfugit

In his book Alice in Many Tongues (1964), Warren Weaver spends the last chapter using a curious method to evaluate various translations of Alice in Wonderland. He takes the same passage from each translation—a portion of the Mad Tea-Party—and asks … Continue reading →

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1938: Fire

Posted on April 11, 2019 by corvusfugit

Teresita Fernández: Fire (2005) Fire and heat provide modes of explanation in the most varied domains, because they have been for us the occasion for unforgettable memories, for simple and decisive personal experiences. Fire is thus a privileged phenomenon which … Continue reading →

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1943: Workers and Paintings

Posted on March 3, 2019 by corvusfugit

Honoré Sharrer: Workers and Paintings (1943) I can’t identify all the paintings in this painting. Leave a comment if you can fill in the blanks:                   Hugo Gellert : Free Man’s Duties (No 4) (1943) Jean-François … Continue reading →

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1973: La Planète sauvage

Posted on February 24, 2019 by corvusfugit

René Laloux, director: La Planète sauvage (1973). Released as Fantastic Planet in the USA. (In French, “sauvage” means “wild” in the sense of “untamed.” Wildflowers are fleurs sauvages, for example.)

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1950: Seascape

Posted on September 26, 2018 by corvusfugit

A seascape by mid-20th-century French artist Edouard Mandon; title and date unknown. I haven’t been able to find out much about him.

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1562: Namesakes

Posted on July 13, 2018 by corvusfugit

The city of Richmond, California is named after the city of Richmond, Virginia, which is named after the English town of Richmond near London, which was named for Richmond Palace, which Henry VII named after his ancestral home in Richmond, … Continue reading →

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1936: Then It Will Be Over

Posted on July 8, 2018 by corvusfugit

Here we are, alone again. It’s all so slow, so heavy, so sad … I’ll be old soon. Then at last it will be over. So many people have come into my room. They’ve talked. They haven’t said much. They’ve … Continue reading →

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1953: Description

Posted on June 26, 2018 by corvusfugit

As for his feet, sometimes he wore on each a sock, or on the one a sock and on the other a stocking, or a boot, or a shoe, or a slipper, or a sock and a boot, or a … Continue reading →

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1792: The Chevalier d’Éon

Posted on June 24, 2018 by corvusfugit

Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Éon de Beaumont—known more simply as the Chevalier d’Éon—was a French soldier, diplomat, and spy who settled in London, living from 1762-1777 as a man and from 1786-1810 as a woman. Born to a poor noble family in Burgundy … Continue reading →

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1793: Cards for Equality

Posted on June 20, 2018 by corvusfugit

      Following the French Revolution and its toppling of the French monarchy, Urbain Jaume and Jean-Démosthène Dugourc conceived the idea of a new deck of playing cards that, like the revolutionaries, would toss out its “aristocracy” of Aces, Kings, … Continue reading →

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