Tea at Trianon: “The Carols”

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, January 5, 2024

“The Carols”

From The Greek Reporter:

The beloved painting titled “The Kalanda,” The Carols created in 1872 by the Greek master Nikiforos Lytras, is one of the most famous works in the history of modern Greek art. It is still admired today and is widely shared throughout social media for Christmas and New Year’s greetings.

Under the soft, radiant light of a full moon, five children from different backgrounds and nationalities dressed in the clothing of the era play traditional Greek musical instruments and sing time-honored Christmas carols in the courtyard of a house.

The wife of the house stands with her toddler in the window, listening to the carols. Behind the wall, the viewer can spy the head of another child closely watching this beloved Greek Christmas tradition, perhaps not daring to take part. (Read more.)