Ravels in Review Friday Plus Banana

It’s been a while since I did this, so check out a bounty of ravels below. Happy Friday!

  • A mention of moi? Tres cool.
  • King Lear outdoors courtesy of NY Classical Theater

*It gets stars because I like it best. (Don’t tell the others.)

Would you buy Virginia Woolfe’s beach?

A Cornish beach thought to have inspired Virginia Woolf’s novel To The Lighthouse has been sold for £80,000, says the BBC. It is believed childhood recollections of trips to the seaside in Cornwall influenced her novel, set in the Hebrides.

It’s not quite the oddity one might think, as the proceeds have gone to charity for a local theater. Personally, I find it a very exciting development. I have been staring at the same bit of wall this past year writing my novel, and I’m sure its been a very important influence. I would be willing to part with this portion of the wall for a fraction of the sum Woolfe’s beach got. Similarly, there are these two orange pillows I’ve been resting my feet on. I feel the color orange now pervades my work. You could be the proud owner of Linnea West memorabilia before the rest of the world even knows that name. Think about it.

Which is the real Madame X?

jj

Which of these two images is the real Madame X painted by John Sargent?

As I learned yesterday at Lisa’a History Room, they both are. Sort of.

If you though the one on the left was the Sargent’s Madame X, congratulations–you’ve been to the Met, where that version of the painting is hanging. The image on the right was made to represent Sargent’s original Madame. Sargent first painted the infamous Madame X with one strap dangling off her shoulder. The outcry in France over the fallen strap was such that Madame X’s mother demanded Sargent remove it from the salon. To appease the public, Sargent painted this second version with both straps firmly in place. The whole risque fiasco ended with Sergent moving to England because of the disapproval of Parisian society.

Who knew there was such a story in a little strap?