Stefanos Panayi

Artist, writer, history nut, armchair Egyptologist & Mets fan. I am not, nor have I been, D.B. Cooper.

[Stefanos Panayi @AlashianT]

“Voodoo Chile” in daylight. It looks different as some of the pigments change colour. Some areas fluoresce in the dark, adding a touch of the supernatural to the vibe.
#ectoorange #Untitled #culturehustle #Ultra #Hendrix #artoftheday🎨 #artist #artoftheday #artwork #art

[Stefanos Panayi @AlashianT]

@johnsaponaro Fun’s good John. Thought I’d give your knuckles a gentle rap in case you’d strayed into maga territory 🤣 (I know that’d never happen!). Love you posts & passion. I’m a regular listener to “‘til Mets”, which is always fun, informative & interesting. Thank you for your work! #LGM

[Archaeo - Histories @archeohistories]

This room is thought to have been Michelangelo's 'Secret' hideaway and drawing board ...

It was an art historian's chance discovery of a lifetime. About 50 years ago, a museum director in Florence, Italy, found a hidden room whose walls were covered in drawings believed to be the work of Michelangelo and his disciples. Although the drawings are not signed by the master, art experts say some of the sketches in charcoal and chalk are almost certain to be Michelangelo originals. They could shed light not only on the Renaissance artist's creative process but also on a mysterious and dangerous period in his life.

The room is located in Florence's Basilica di San Lorenzo. That was the official church of the Medici family, the famous patrons of the arts who governed Florence, and later Tuscany, for centuries. Around 1520 AD, Medicis commissioned Michelangelo to design a family mausoleum. It came to be known as the Medici Chapels. Visitors to the Chapels speak in hushed tones as they admire the nude marble sculptures adorning the tombs of Lorenzo de' Medici and two other relatives. The naked forms allegories of four parts of day project an intense sensation of serenity and philosophical contemplation.

Historians believe Michelangelo eventually betrayed his patrons by joining a 1527 AD, revolt that drove the Medicis out of Florence. When the family returned three years later, Michelangelo is thought to have gone into hiding for months in the secret dwelling below the chapels. The hidden room, 23ft by 6 1/2ft, was discovered in 1975, by a museum director who spotted a trapdoor below a wardrobe that led to the room. After cleaning the walls, museum director discovered dozens of doodles and scribbles on the walls. Some of the drawings called to mind known works by the master.

"You have to go down a series of very steep steps, and you start seeing all these drawings that are breathtaking," says Paola d'Agostino, director of the Bargello Museum that oversees the Medici Chapels. She says the drawings in the hidden room are varied. Some recall Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. One is similar to the artist's bigger-than-life David sculpture. There's also a drawing of Laocoon, based on a statue from antiquity depicting a mythological attack on a Trojan priest and his two sons by writhing sea snakes. Michelangelo was in Rome when statue was unearthed in 1506 AD.

"Michelangelo was obsessed, as were all the other sculptors of the time," says D'Agostino, "because it was the incarnation of movement and deep expression in sculpture." There are as many as 70 different sketches on the room's walls. Art experts disagree on how many of them were drawn by the master himself. "I think maybe less than half a dozen could possibly be by Michelangelo," says William Wallace, a Michelangelo scholar at Washington University in St. Louis who has viewed the drawings in Florence.

Even if the sketches are not all works by the master, Wallace says their discovery was an exciting addition to Renaissance scholarship. "It's a glimpse into something of the culture of the time. These drawings are part of the day-to-day routine of what a bunch of people had to do to put together a complicated and important work like the Medici Chapel," he says.

Medicis pardoned Michelangelo after their return to power. But following the end the republic of Florence, he left his native city for Rome in 1532 AD, and never returned. The mausoleum remained unfinished. Nevertheless, says D'Agostino, it became what she calls the school of the world. "It became the place where everybody from all over Europe, draftsmen, sculptors, painters went to look at Michelangelo's work," she says.

#archaeohistories

[BabelColour @StuartHumphryes]

The Irish playright George Bernard Shaw, photographed 119 years ago, at the age of 51. I have cleaned and enhanced this very striking Autochrome portrait by Alvin Langdon Coburn, taken in colour in 1907 via the Lumiere brother's newly-patented colour glass-plate process.

[Badger @Bertrom]

David Hockney’s mum visited him in Southern California after he’d moved there in the 1960s, and as they drove back from the airport she looked up into clear blue sky and said,
“I don't understand it. Such lovely drying weather and no one's got their washing out."

Bless.

[David Yelland @davidyelland]

As front pages go, this one's so beautiful.

[tim abrahams @timabrahams]

"Do remember they can't cancel spring"
RIP David Hockney.

[Let Us Now Praise... The Beatles @BeatlesPraise]

"I first saw the Beatles in Manchester of all places. They were scheduled to play that night. They came through the front door about three in the afternoon to set up their equipment, and every girl in there stopped dead in their tracks.  It was like four Marlon Brandos had walked in.  They had an innate, primordial swagger.  Aside from the raw energy they put out, they looked fantastic.  A total coolness emanated off them, like a Young Riders kind of vibe. You know, they’d swing the door open and they’d all be standing there while the dust settled around them.  They hadn’t even played a note, and the girls would swoon and faint.  Fuckin’ fantastic . . .

"In general, that band was flat-out amazing, and everybody knew it. They played a molten, scruffy brand of rock ‘n’ roll. And they had attitude in spades. They’d swear and smoke onstage, tell off the audience, all of which just added to their mystique. The Hollies didn’t have that kind of power.

"They were very protected by a filtering system between the four of them.  They were always together, even if there was a room full of people and they were all separated.  I got to see it all unfolding before my eyes.  And I was aware that it was historical.  It was almost spiritual.  When you saw the Beatles, and saw the effect they had on people, you knew something special was happening.

"I don’t think there’ll ever be another Beatles. I think that the universe put those four kids in the right place at the right time, and gave them the right talent, to be able to move the hearts and minds and spirits of billions of people. The Beatles were the best band in the world, there’s absolutely no question about it."
--#GrahamNash

#Hollies #CrosbyStillsNash #CSN @TheGrahamNash #Songwriter #OBE #HallOfFame #TheBeatles #Influence #Charisma #GOAT

Sources: "Wild Tales," Nash; Interview with James Rosen on "The Foxhole," 2015

[Alison Fisk @AlisonFisk]

Happy weekend!

Ancient clay pots with octopus decoration from Bronze Age Crete some 3,500 years ago! 🐙❤️

Heraklion Archaeological Museum 📷 by me

#Archaeology

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

The Jockey of Artemision is a large Hellenic bronze statue depicting a boy riding a horse, dating back to around 150-140 BC. The statue was recovered in pieces from an ancient shipwreck off Cape Artemision, Greece...

It is a rare surviving true bronze statue from ancient Greece, a rare example of a racehorse in Greek sculpture. Most ancient bronzes have disappeared because they were melted down to reuse their raw materials sometime after creation. This one was saved from destruction only because it was lost in a shipwreck in antiquity, before being discovered and recovered in 1926.

It may have been dedicated to the gods by a wealthy person to honor victories in horse racing, probably in the single-horse race.

National Archaeological Museum, Athens 🇬🇷

#archaeohistories

[Tom Holland @holland_tom]

"For there's nothing as powerful or as great
As when a husband & wife, united by oneness of mind in their thinking,
Keep their home together—a great bane to their enemies,
A blessing to their friends, & their renown is on everyone's lips.”

Odysseus' great praise of marriage.

[Nimax Theatres @NimaxTheatres]

RICHARD KIND joins the cast of The Producers for seven weeks only!

The award-winning actor & comedian from Only Murders In The Building and Curb Your Enthusiasm), joins the outrageous musical as Max Bialystock from 23 March at the Garrick Theatre.

🎟️ https://t.co/ttOg6x7Niy

[Ocean Ramsey @OceanRamsey]

Help End Shark Fishing Tournaments https://t.co/Bjqcmuxw0c via @OceanRamsey

[Jay Horwitz @Jay_HorwitzPR]

Mike Piazza thought it was important enough to be at Citi Field today that he flew all night long from Switzerland to get here. https://t.co/5qekjGIj8z

[Stefanos Panayi @AlashianT]

@GoodLionTV A photograph of Nikola T that I don’t recall seeing before. His face is unmistakable, at any age, once you’ve seen it.

[Rolling Stone @RollingStone]

.@TheRestHistory co-hosts @Holland_Tom and @DCSandbrook Talk Rome, Trump vs. Obama, and What’s Next for MAGA

"In terms of Barack Obama’s influence on the world, on the destiny of the American Republic, on American political culture and all those things, he seems a tiny figure compared with Donald Trump. Donald Trump is colossally consequential."

Interview: https://t.co/FVfxYrXb5w

[Tom Holland @holland_tom]

Today on @TheRestHistory, the most remarkable queen in medieval history: ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE!

She dumped her first husband, the King of France!

She fought her second husband, the King of England!

She loved her lion cub!

@hrcastor tells all!

https://t.co/NNgwZQX0q7

[Stefanos Panayi @AlashianT]

@finnegansmom24 It’s unlikely that Stearns is exercising control over in game decisions as regards deliberate walks. Not impossible though. Is Melendez just an overpaid actor?

[Stefanos Panayi @AlashianT]

Carlos Mendoza says that everyone’s having a hard time. He’s right. Carlos himself is having a hard time…..thinking. The dude should resign, the fans hate him. I’m sure his family and garden need him.
It’s hard to watch a guy crucifying himself in public every day. #LGM