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DAVINCI - LA BELLA PRINCIPESSA
Beatrice
Leonardo da Vinci, Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons
1495-6 |
- Colored chalks (black, red and white) and brown ink, on
yellow vellum
(calfskin) with oak panel backing.
- Was once in a bound volume.
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Book of Doom - La Sforziada.
- The beautiful princess.
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Wife of Duke of Milan.
- Sforza Castle.
- Leonardo palmprint in the chalk pigment on the neck of the sitter.
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Pony tail (coazzone which resembles a polo pony's tail).
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Upper echelon of Milanese society.
- Enigmatic smile.
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Facing left, perspective.
- Why the Queen's head faces right on coins but left on stamps.
- Died in 1497 at age 21, stillbirth of 3rd
child.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted. (Ecclesiastes
3:1-2)
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- Last Leonardo.
- Past, present,
and future all come together as now.
- God is king and we
are his servants.
What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time? (Shakespeare, The Tempest)
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- Diamond girl sure do shine.
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Seals and Crofts.
- Miranda, age 15.
- Daughter of Duke of Milan,
Prospero, a magician,
who was usurped by his brother Antonio, who thought he was the
real Duke.
- Alonso, King of Naples helped Antonio raise an army to march on Milan, driving
the Duke out.
- Betrayal and abandonment.
- Escaped from death at the hands of the
army in a barely-seaworthy boat prepared for them by the
Duke's loyal subjects.
- Loyal subject Gonzolo packed some magic books
for Prospero to take with him.
- Prospero, while exiled, used magic to seek revenge and restore himself to power.
My library
Was dukedom large enough. (Shakespeare, The Tempest)
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George Romney, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
- Miranda banished to the Island with her father at age 3.
- Missionary
type.
- Surrounded by strong male figures and dominated by them.
- Passive soul caught in the conflict between enlightenment and base desire.
- Empathetic figure, a mediator who wants to calm tensions and make peace.
- Strong female presence, her feminine traits are in opposition to her father’s more violent instincts.
- Ignorant of the worlds evil ways.
- Optimist looking for
new beginning.
- How beauteous mankind is! Oh brave new world.
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. (Shakespeare, The Tempest)
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Infinity /
Endless Knot |
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DaVinci Knot |
- Buddhist, Tibetian, Celtic.
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Endless continuity as the fundamental reality of existence.
- Interaction of opposing forces in the dualistic world of manifestation, leading to their union, and ultimately to harmony in the universe.
- Cartelle.
- Top curl, 9 points.
- Lead into gold.
- Escaping by boat with his infant daughter Miranda.
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Put our to sea in a small broken down boat with no sails.
If by your art, my dearest father, you have
Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. (Shakespeare, The Tempest)
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Egyptian papyrus boat
Totora reed boat - Peru
Front bow of
Leo's boat |
- From 5,500 BCE, papyrus reed boats in use around the
world.
- Mesopotamian reed boats earliest sailing ships.
- Fishermen cast their lines from papyrus boats (tankwas) on Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia.
- Totora reed boats in Peru.
- Bitumen was
used to waterproof papyrus reed vessels.
Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make in it
rooms (stalls, pens, coops, nests, cages,
compartments) and coat it inside and out with pitch
(bitumen). (Genesis 6:14)
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- Ancient Bosun's (boatswain's) chair.
- Also found in rock-climbing harnesses or for working at
heights.
- Used by sideboys to lift the Captain into the
ship.
- Strapped in.
- Can be used to rescue those
stranded in precarious locations.
- Paragliders have bosun
style chairs.
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:1-2)
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- Portuguese bowline.
- Bowline with two loops that can be used as a bosun's chair.
- French bowline has several loops and is more secure.
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Can be tied with one hand.
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes
4:12)
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- Captain aboard below deck.
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All hands on board.
- All aboard.
- 12 years have passed since Propeso
was exiled to an island and the King of Naples,
Alonso, is on a ship in a raging storm at sea with his royal court on their voyage home from the wedding of Alonso's daughter in Tunisia.
- Prespero controls the weather with magic.
But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the
presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found
a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and
went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the
presence of the Lord. (Jonah 1:3)
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- The sails on the ancient junks were
based on a sheet system.
- Early use of mathematical
system.
- Bottle pumpkin.
- 1434 the Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance.
- Spices, scents and silk routes.
- 'History of Reed Ships.'
The seaman on the junk must serve only one sheet,
in order to adjust the sail optimally. There was a
type of junks which was called 'Kualou', that means
bottle pumpkin. Within the range of the main mast the
trunk was restricted like a wasp waist. This strange
design was to be due to past customs regulations,
because the charges depends of height of the freight
at the largest mast. (Shipsonstamps)
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Shipsonstamps.org |
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- River junks were towed upstream using
haulage ropes.
- Towing men had organized guilds.
- Length around 65', beam 16', load-carrying capacity around 50 tons, two masts with two sails, crew around 18 men.
- The haulage rope was fastened to the capstan or to specially small, compact masts.
- In its earliest form, the capstan consisted of a timber mounted vertically through a vessel's structure which was free to rotate.
- Pulley cord (capere) came from Portuguese or Spanish shipmen at the time of the Crusades.
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away. (Acts 27:32)
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Shipsonstamps.org |
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- Chinese war junk.
- Piracy was common so there had to be
armed junks on sea routes.
- Starting from 13th Century China began to build large sea junks for
sea trade with other countries.
- They invented gun powder
and by the 14th Century had cannons, catapults, flame throwers, naval mines, rockets and a machine crossbow.
At the stern of the ships the home port was up-painted in Chinese characters. Additionally an Arab number was added. It was practically a customs number and refers already to European influence. (Shipsonstamps)
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Shipsonstamps.org |
Tower Ship |
- From the River Junks to the Treasure Ships.
- Fuchuan
(Bottle Pumpkin) had watertight compartments.
- Tower
ships, a wooden floating fortress.
- South China sea attacks.
- Piracy waxed and waned over the centuries with Asians
blaming Europeans and vice versa for the most sea attacks.
- Europe has many rival nations constantly at war throughout
the Mediterranean and had to worry about the Barbary Coast
pirates.
- The slave trade was extremely lucrative.
Which sends envoys by the sea, Even in papyrus
vessels on the surface of the waters. Go, swift
messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, To a people
feared far and wide, A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide. (Isaiah 18:2)
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Prospero, the magical tempest, and spirit-servant Ariel conjured up the storm with black
magic. Ariel acted like the wind, thunder and lightning.
- Ariel was a spirit who saved the Duke of
Milan Prospero when he first came to the Island and was trapped in a
tree by a witch.
- Ariel becomes submissive to Prospero, who threatened to imprison him in an oak box for
12 years.
Ship porthole in storm |
- The boatswain was trying to keep the
boat from sinking and the royals on board (from several
Italian kingdoms) were in panic.
- The passengers argued with the boatswain over the best course of action.
- The current Duke of Milan, Antonio, abandons and betrays King
Alonso of Naples and a shipwreck is imminent.
And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the
waves were breaking over the boat so much that the
boat was already filling up. (Mark 4:37)
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- Everyone but the crew abandoned ship
by jumping in the water and Ariel and Prospero
made sure they made it to shore safely.
- They royal
party was scattered and washed ashore.
- The crew of men are shipwrecked on a magical island and tormented by old man,
Prospero, and his slaves.
But striking a reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. (Acts
27:41)
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- The ship was
docked in the bay and the crew
made it safely back to Naples.
- Prospero, the usurped
Duke, was standing on the shore of the island, having just witnessed the shipwreck.
- His cloak and books were the source of his power.
We all were sea-swallow'd, though some cast again,
And by that destiny to perform an act
Whereof what's past is prologue, what to come
In yours and my discharge. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Caliban enslaved after trying to rape
Miranda |
- Caliban was a monster of a servant (and
son of the witch) who believed the island rightfully belonged
to him and that Prospero stole it and was a colonist.
- Caliban’s desire for
rule of the island mirrors the lust for power that led Antonio to overthrow Prospero.
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Prospero enslaved both Ariel and Caliban with his magic.
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Both Miranda and Prospero felt that Caliban was unredeemable
because he had a chip on his shoulder.
Abhorred slave, Which any print of goodness wilt not take, Being capable of all ill! I pitied thee, Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour One thing or other. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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- Caliban, an ill-tempered
man whose mother was a sorceress was enslaved by Prospero and
curses him for teaching him language.
You taught me language; and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you
For learning me your language! (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Prospero and his wand |
- Prospero took off his cloak and admitted his true story to Miranda.
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He admitted that he neglected his duties 12 years earlier, and that's
why he was usurped. Instead, he had turned his time to reading and
studying magic.
- Miranda fell asleep after her father
charmed her with his magic.
Your tale, sir, would cure deafness. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Island |
- By creating the storm, Prospero lured Prince Ferdinand of
Naples to the island so he could connive him into marrying
Miranda part of a plot to win his dukedom back.
- Ferdinand
washed up alone on the island and believed he was the only one
alive until he saw Prospero.
Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.(Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Ancient Celtic bagpipe (with two examples)
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- Ariel sings songs to Ferdinand, claiming that
Ferdinand's father the King of Naples has drowned.
- Prospero then enchants Ferdinand to make him weaker and forces him to labor in a woodpile.
- Ferdinand meets Miranda
outside the cave she lives with her father and falls in love with her
at first sight.
- Caliban wants to rape her and Ferdinand
wants to wed her, virgin knot.
- Caliban wants to
impregnate Miranda so he has citizens on the island he can
rule over.
- Ariel used music as magic to control a
group of the royal party by getting them to split up and move around the
island to assist Prospero with his conniving and magic spells.
This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion
With its sweet air: thence I have follow'd it. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Ariel bee |
- Ariel sings.
Where the bee sucks, there suck I:
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
(Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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King Alonso's Crown |
- King Alonso and Gonzalo fall asleep and Duke Antonio and
his son Sebastian are left awake and conspire over the throne
of Naples.
- Antonio and son planned on murdering King Alonso
and Gonzalo as they were sleeping, but when they pulled their
swords, the two awoke due to more of Ariel's magic.
- Duke
Antonio lies and convinces King Alonso that they were protecting
him and he believes them.
- The king's jester, Trinculo, and
Stephano, a buffoon who rode a barrel of wine ashore, are
sheltering from the rain under Caliban's cloak.
- The three
drink and become intoxicated and plan a plot to take over rule
of the island because Caliban saw Stephano as a god.
- They
head off to kill Prospero.
- Prospero is refining his scheme to unite Miranda with Ferdinand: he knows that love (or any "prize") won too easily is not fully appreciated.
They are both in either's powers; but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Ariel casting spells |
- Prince Ferdinand feels that Ariel's song lyrics commemorate the death of his father, which further charms Ferdinand with heroic images ("pearls that were his eyes").
- Prospero sets a trap for
the noblemen with a magically contrived banquet.
- When the
men try to eat the food, Ariel shows herself in a terrifying
form and tells them the storm was a product of their misdeeds
(karma).
- Prospero releases Ferdinand from his log-cutting task and
approves his marriage to Miranda.
For several virtues
Have I liked several women; never any
With so full soul, but some defect in her
Did quarrel with the noblest grace she ow'd
And put it to the foil. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Key to Duke's kingdom |
- The three drunks who
want to rule the island show up but Ariel repells them with
spirits in the form of dogs.
- Prospero scolds Duke Antonio for
being overly ambitious and King Alonso for being cruel and he
reveals his true identity as former Duke of Milan to them.
- The King of Naples restores Prospero’s dukedom, Prospero pardons his enemies, and Ferdinand and Miranda are married.
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Ye all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep. (Shakespeare, The Tempest)
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- Prospero gave up magic and removed his cloak for the
second and final time.
- He asks for forgiveness so he can
move forward and return to Milan and resume his job as Duke.
- Prospero would not have had the power to summon the
tempest and restore order to Milan and Naples without the
magic books from Gonzalo.
- But, on the other hand, he
wouldn't have gone through any of this if he just done his job
as Duke and skipped all the magic books.
Let us not burthen our remembrance with
A heaviness that's gone. (Shakespeare,
The Tempest)
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Prospero |
- Now upright.
- Creating his own reality.
- No
longer reckless so now he is wreckless.
- Another Day in
Paradise.
Signed by Leonardo DaVinci |
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