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A Sort of Drawing-Room Tobogganing Exercise: John Singer Sargent's Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children
Sargent carefully staged his stylishly dressed sitters against 18th century French furniture and architectural elements. The animated Mrs. Meyer is posed just to the right of center at the edge of a canapé. She wears a dress of satin, velvet, and organdy which may have been supplied by Worth in Paris. A rope of oriental pearls drapes across her prominently featured bodice, touching the tips of her shoes. more »
Literary Lab Explores Why We Feel Suspense: You're sitting on the edge of your seat. Your heart starts racing. You scream aloud, "Don't open that door!"
Although the project is ongoing, the group's central finding so far is that suspense is characterized by the presence of words that convey how things appear to be rather than how they really are, such as "seemed," "perceived," or "observed." In other words, even if you already know what is going to happen next, the text's description of how things "seem" still triggers a feeling of uncertainty and suspense. more »
Culture Watch Reviews by Joan L. Cannon: The Railway Man's Wife and The Yoga of Max's Discontent
Joan L. Cannon reviews: Hay describes loves lost, pasts savaged by shock and horror, hopes defeated in the wake of happenings not yet consigned to experience. She describes vividly a landscape that enriches each of the main characters, and that beguiles the reader as brilliantly as any travel brochure. Bajaj is a master at creating suspense; it's hard to put the story down. The journey with Max will leave memories and likely questions for a very long time. more »
Creating a National Style: Painting Norway, Nikolai Astrup's Lush, Wild Landscapes and Traditional Way of Life at Home
Dulwich Picture Gallery is presenting an exhibition of paintings and prints by Nikolai Astrup (1880-1928), one of Norway’s finest twentieth-century artists. Along with Edvard Munch, Astrup expanded the artistic possibilities of woodcuts to capture the lush, wild landscapes and traditional way of life of his home in western Norway, powerfully capturing the myths and folklore of the country. more »