On the 30th of August 1797, English novelist Mary (Wollstonecraft) Shelley was born in London. She was the wife and muse of Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley, daughter of political philosopher William Godwin and of philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. Short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, she was most famous […]
Category Archives: Biography
August
27
Early Music Masters: Josquin des Prez
posted by ArtLark
On the 27th of August 1521, the Renaissance Netherlandish composer Josquin des Prez died in Condé-sur-l’Escaut, nowadays Northern France. The exact year and place of his birth are still not known, yet this does not prevent scholars and early music lovers from stating that Josquin was one of the most renowned musicians of his time. […]
August
26
Peggy Guggenheim: The Woman Behind the Art
posted by ArtLark
On the 26th of August 1898, American matron and collector of the arts Peggy Guggenheim was born in New York. “Peggy Guggenheim was one of ten children-the second of three daughters-born to Benjamin Guggenheim and Florette Seligman, both second-generation members of German-Jewish families that had built their wealth in America. Two of her uncles, Solomon […]
October
21
Was Don Quixote Kafka’s Alter Ego?
posted by ArtLark
On the 21st of October 1917 Franz Kafka wrote a brief parable The Truth about Sancho Panza. Its original title “Die Wahrheit über Sancho Pansa” was given by Max Brod, who later published the text in the volume “Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer”. The parable is composed of only two sentences, yet its meaning is […]
October
16
Marie-Antoinette’s Hair Extravaganza
posted by ArtLark
On the 16th of October 1793 – only two weeks before her thirty-eighth birthday – Marie Antoinette was beheaded at the Place de la Révolotion in Paris. From a historical perspective, one can refer to her death in a more symbolic context as to a loss of identity that was never entirely her own. “For Marie-Antoinette, […]
October
11
Piaf and Cocteau: Les Enfants Terribles
posted by ArtLark
When I write I disturb. When I make a film I disturb. When I paint I disturb. When I exhibit my paintings I disturb, and I disturb if I don’t. I have a knack for disturbing. (Jean Cocteau, Diary of an Unknown) On the 11th of October 1963, a French poet, novelist, designer, playwright, artist, […]
October
09
Che Guevara’s Revolution in Pop Culture
posted by ArtLark
On the 9th of October 1967 Che Guevara, an Argentinian Marxist revolutionary, and allegedly one of the most famous revolutionaries in the world, was executed. The execution took place in a little Bolivian village, La Higuera, which since then has become a pilgrimage destination for numerous Che Guevara followers. The use of the word ‘pilgrimage’ […]
October
07
Edgar Allan Poe: Death in a Gutter
posted by ArtLark
On the 7th of October 1849 Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore, America. He was one of the world’s most renowned crime and horror writers, credited also with inventing the detective and science fiction genres. Poe was the first Victorian writer who had an ambition to earn a living from writing. Judging by the final outcome of his life, he […]
October
06
Bette Davis: Bring the Bitch Back!
posted by ArtLark
On the 6th of October 1989, actress Bette Davies died of breast cancer at the age of 81 in the American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. On her Hollywood tombstone, the inscription reads: She did it the hard way, summing up a woman’s lifetime of struggle for perfection but also survival. Most of this struggle was by […]
September
26
Marcel Proust and his Mother: A Unique Bond
posted by ArtLark
On the 26th of September 1905, Jeanne Clémence Weil, mother of writer Marcel Proust, died in Ile de France, Paris. Madame Proust, as she was to be known, seeing as Marcel never got married, was born Jewish on both sides of her family. Her genealogy actually shows that Marcel Proust and Karl Marx were distant cousins, albeit seven […]
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