Mexican painting of the first half of the 20th century
In the 20th century, the art of Latin America, primarily Mexico, unexpectedly became one of the most significant phenomena of world culture. The dramatic history of this country is replete…

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https://psi-hydraulic.com mla style essay the new hydraulic system engineering.
Two portraits of the actress Strepetova
There are destinies that strike the imagination with unusualness and inner completeness — such is the life of Pelageya Antipevna Strepetova (1850–1903), difficult and bright, full of dramatic turns. At…

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Egyptian ostracon drawings
In the art of ancient Egypt there are monuments that make up a special group. These are works of graphics - drawings on the boards. The Greek word "ostracon" literally…

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Chinese classical painting
Painting of China, flourishing in the era of the Middle Ages - IV – XIX centuries of our era, it was not by chance that it took an honorable place…

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Masterpieces of Venetian painting
It is enough to remember the names of Giorgione and Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto, and it becomes clear what a bright and beautiful page in the art of the Renaissance…

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Antique Cologne

Cologne … Many have heard about this German city on the Rhine, a major center of medieval European culture. The well-known Cologne Cathedral is an unsurpassed monument of Gothic architecture. Its spiers, like gigantic petrified conifers, rush into the sky to a height of one and half meters. Unusual history of construction. She began to be erected in 1248. In the middle of the XV century, work stopped, and only in the XIX century, construction was completed.

But few people know that a more ancient structure, in the place of which a magnificent cathedral was erected, existed since the 9th century. It was built in the era of the Carolingians, here already in the period of early Christianity (IV – VI centuries) the church stood, and it, in turn, was built on the foundations of the ancient temple. So, gradually unraveling the complex tangle of the history of the cathedral, we will come to ancient Cologne. Like other cities in Europe – Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Trier, Bonn – it has its history since the times of the Roman Empire.

The name of the city itself is Roman. “Cologne” – means “colony”, the settlement of Roman citizens, primarily soldiers, in lands far from Rome. “Colony – Cologne” – the abbreviated name of the city, which spread in the early Middle Ages. The Romans called him “Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium”. This meant that the colony was founded by Emperor Claudius at the place where his predecessor, commander Mark Vipsanius Agrippa, friend and son-in-law of Emperor Augustus, founded a settlement with an altar. Such “altars of the world” were altars in honor of the Roman gods. These are the first centers of Roman civilization in the conquered territory.

Once in this corner of the Rhineland, the German Eburonian tribe lived, but it was destroyed in the conquest of Julius Caesar in 53 BC. Fifteen years later, Agrippa moved a tribe of murders here from the other side of the Rhine. They and the Romans came to form the basis of the population of the Colony of Claudia.

Caesar’s sword was one of the most precious relics of the city. We learn about this by reading the colorful “Life of the Twelve Caesars” by the Roman historian Suetonius. In April 69 AD, a fierce struggle broke out between the two contenders for the imperial throne – Oton and Vitellius. Unlucky Otho had to commit suicide. Vitellius, who was in the Colony, donated the sword of the fallen rival to the temple of the god of war Mars. He himself was proclaimed emperor: “… the soldiers, regardless of either the day or the hour, one evening suddenly dragged him out of the bedroom, greeted him with the emperor and carried him to the most crowded villages. In his hands he held the sword of the divine Julius from the sanctuary of Mars, filed by someone at the first congratulations. ”

What was the ancient Cologne? The answer was excavation. Like most cities of “colonial” origin, it is planned according to the type of the Roman military camp. It was based on two streets intersecting at a right angle, “cardo maximus” and “decumanus maximus”. The first went from north to south, the second – from east to west. It is curious that this layout is still traced in modern Cologne. The city had a strong defensive wall with 9 gates and 22 towers. In the center was the Pretorium, the building where the highest magistrates of the city met. There were temples in honor of the Roman gods – Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, revered in the Roman Capitol, Mapsa, Mercury. There were luxurious public baths (terms) and an amphitheater, not yet found by archaeologists, but certainly existing – images of circus performances and gladiator fights found on products of Cologne masters. In addition, a remarkable monument was found – a large mask made of baked clay. Such grotesque masks, painted in red, were worn by actors, speaking at cult games in honor of local gods. On the outskirts of the city crowded quarters of artisans – glassblowers, pottery, sculptors, wood and bone carvers, jewelers, painters.

Numerous roads connected the Colony of Claudia with the territory of the neighboring Germanic tribes. She maintained lively ties with other cities — the forerunners of modern Trier, Mainz, Bonn. Behind the city wall, as well as along the Roman Via Appia, there were “cities of the dead” – cemeteries and necropolises. It was forbidden to bury in the city, and the roads made it possible for the living to “communicate” with the dead – their faces looked from the gravestones at the travelers. Epitaphs resurrected forgotten names.

At its best, ancient Cologne was a big city: 20-25 thousand people lived in it. One can imagine the speed with which this Roman city on the Rhine grew, how temples and covered portico galleries arose in the Germanic forests.

James Whistler: “I am an artist and“ born ”in Petersburg”
James Whistler, an Anglo-American artist, was born July 11, 1834 in Lowell, the industrial city of the United States. Staying in Russia largely affected the formation of his talent. Whistler…

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Paul Gauguin - “the world of Tahiti”
When you get to the hall where the paintings of Gauguin hang, you find yourself in a special world of images, mysteriously flickering colors, slow rhythms. Everything here is unusual…

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Luca della Robbia - devotional service to art
The whole long life of Luke della Robbia was dedicated to serving the arts. The sculptor was born in Florence in 1399 or 1400. He made many works that rightfully…

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