Advent Tradition Circles Around a Wreath

If you ask any Catholic, they will tell you the season of Advent is a period of penance and preparing their heart for the coming of the Baby Jesus. But although not part of the Holy See’s opinion on Advent, the advent wreath, advent season and the family activities helps families stay focused on the real meaning of the season, Jesus, and not the commercialism Christmas has become. 

Wassily Kandinsky

To gain a historical perspective of abstract art it is necessary to first look at the painters that have had a profound effect on the medium. Artist Wassily Kandinsky is one that has to be included in any discussion on the history of Abstract art.

History of Automobiles: 1828-1910

At the same time steam powered vehicles were being developed, other inventors were hard at work developing a horseless carriage run by means of electricity. A Hungarian by the name of Anyos Jedlik built a small model car powered by an electric motor as early as 1828. Similar efforts were produced in the United States in 1834, and the Netherlands in 1835. Scottish inventors made the first full sized electric carriage soon afterward. This led to the rise of electricity-based transport in the US and Europe, at a time when Steam locomotion was also becoming fashionable as a new alternative to old fashioned literal horse power.

Early Years of Automobile History: 1672-1875

 

Although the first modern car running on gasoline was developed by German inventor Karl Benz in 1885, there were a number of precursors that ran on steam. The earliest known design of a steam powered vehicle was invented by a Jesuit missionary to China from Flanders, Belgium, by the name of Ferdinand Verbiest, in around the year 1672. From his recorded description, it appears that this was just a tiny model or toy that was designed for the Chinese Emperor Kangxi. In fact, there is no proof that his design was ever actually built. 

Wolf Paintings

Wolf paintings are among some of the more popular of wildlife art. It may be a portrait of a single wolf or of the pack or a mother with her pups. The most popular of the aforementioned are lone wolf paintings.

There is something mystical about this animal that seems to summon different feelings from people that no other type of art does. That may be because these creatures have been feared for so long and not understood.

Nuremberg, Germany

Nuremberg, Germany is probably most well-known for the ill-fated “Nuremberg Trials” where Nazi generals were sentenced to death in light of the country’s defeat in World War Two and the massacres of the Holocaust. This red mark has, sadly, overshadowed the remarkable and generally non-genocidal history of Nuremberg. During the German Renaissance in the 1400s, for instance, Nuremberg was the cultural epicenter of Germany and it was the first city in the country to recognize the Protestant movement in the 1500s. Nuremberg is also one of the most important cities as far as astronomy is concerned. One of the first observatories in history was erected in Nuremberg and Alfred Durer of Nuremberg brought the stars to the masses when he created the first printed star charts.