Reducing injections for US children :(

I’ve cited Kat Lay’s “What effect will Donald Trump’s childhood vaccine recommendations have in the US and beyond?” Since appointed in 2025, Secretary Health & Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr sought to loosen vaccine regulations. Kennedy is a leading vaccination sceptic who has for years increa-sed dishonesty about vaccines. A study found he was the top super-spreader of Covid-19 vaccine deception on Twitter/X in 2021. He tried to reshape US vaccination schedules but his attempts were blocked by federal judges. So reporters were told that judges’ rulings were not the same as an Executive Order. In a CNN interview, Kennedy insisted he’d never questioned the MMR vaccine’s efficacy. The proposed changes were to give parents choice, not to limit access to vaccines.

Pres Trump signs order to reduce childhood vaccines & reduce autism 

and Sec of Health Kennedy is the witness

Aug 2026, WSJ

A new Executive Order from US Pres Donald Trump wants wide changes to childhood vaccine recom-mendations. His plans would result in fewer vaccines being recommended overall; the combined measles, mumps and rubella/MMR vaccine being replaced with 3 separate vaccines, and all childhood immunisations being administered during separate medical visits widely spread out. Is there any science behind the Order? And what are the likely implications?

The main outcome could be parental uncertainty, American Academy Paediatrics said, with conflicting messages delaying vaccinations. Noting measles cases are already at a 35-year high in US, the concern was that with any extra delay, more children could be harmed with deadly vaccine-preventable diseases. Clearly an executive order has no legal effect on the public, but it’s likely to pressure US states to change vaccination requirements before children can attend schools. And it prepares for legal challenges against states that implemented their own vaccine recommendations.

The Order won’t be copied in other countries, said Prof  of Global Health & Development, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. No country wants to deal with the costly outbreak responses that occur, but the short-term risk is that non-USA parents get the false impression that the vaccines offered aren't safe. The long-term risk is that poor information will lead to lower vaccination rates in the nation, and the world will see a resurgence of previously prevented diseases. Finally non-vaccinated U.S children might visit other countries and spread diseases abroad.

Why did Trump do this? He’d often claimed that vaccinations causes autism and made the same link when signing this Order. After the Order, World Health Organisation-WHO reiterated the science-based process used to set child immunisation schedules in many nations. WHO told a press conference that vaccine schedules must be made by science experts, free of political control.

Do MMR vaccines cause autism? Prof Child Public Health at Uni College London found no link in any scientific studies; in fact the vaccine has saved millions of lives. False claims linking the MMR vaccine and autism were made by British Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998 in Lancet Medical Journal. His paper was retracted and Wakefield was struck off the UK’s medical register. But he’s been lauded by anti-vaxxers and he attended Trump’s 1st inauguration.

Is there any science supporting the breaking up of MMR vaccines into separate injections? The 3 vaccines have never been administered as separate doses to young children in U.S policy, so that policy’s safety statements are untrue; just by delaying protection it could be a serious step backwards for protecting children’s health. Giving them separately.. leads to risking children’s health.

Prof Paediatrics at Bristol Uni asked would these proposals affect vaccination rates? Studies of communities with low vaccination rates typically find that, while hesitancy can be an issue, accessibility also plays a role eg getting children to many health appointments. Spacing vaccines across separate visits increases the likelihood of delayed or missed doses, leaving children susceptible for longer.

ACRC trials poster

Protect yourself and your family from measles with vaccinations

Instagram

Trump signed an Executive Order to limit childhood MMR vaccines, claiming a link between vaccines and autism. Decades ago children got only a small fraction of the vaccines required today, he said. In those times, people were much healthier and of course the high rates of autism now observed did not exist. The President has long cast doubt on the safety of MMR vaccines, even though studies found no connection between MMR vaccines and autism.

Medical experts criticised Trump’s Order, saying it could reduce vaccination rates & expose children to disease. The Order recommends that the number of childhood vaccines drop to 11 from today's 18, given by American Academy of Paediatrics: measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, chicken pox etc. Trump's Order isn't as a mandate, since injections required for school attendance are set by the states, not by the federal government.

Trump stated the MMR vaccine could be quite lethal if given at once, comparing it to pouring a bottle of soda into a child's body. FDA noted a single dose of MMR is 0.5ml so when a reporter asked for evidence of the lethal claim, Trump said What I've heard is that there are some people that say it is that way. We're reducing the vaccines, and they’ll be done in a series of visits to the doctor.

Paediatrician prepares to administer a measles vaccination

during Washington's outbreak

Mother Jones

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention/CDC reported the MMR vaccine carries little risk of febrile seizures for todd-lers; those with health issues eg severe allergies should consult doctors beforehand. Getting the vaccine has proven much safer than getting measles/mumps/rubella. CDC found no published scientific evidence that shows any benefit in separating the mixed MMR vaccine into 3 individual shots. Experts say that allowing time between injections makes children more likely to contract diseases then or more likely to miss later appointments. (I’ve the best memory in this nation yet embarrassingly I forgot to return for my 6th Covid injection!!). Nashville’s Vanderbilt Uni School of Medicine reported the more future bookings made, the harder for doctors to track, plus it would add to expenses.

Trump officials have said the order means U.S children would receive fewer than the number recommended by the existing vaccine schedule. Pres of American Academy of Paediatrics Dr Racine said Trump's Order was not based on quality science. Delaying injections is risky; measles will spread once children go back to school.

A Danish 2002 MMR Study, in New England Journal Medicine, tracked 537,303 children born 1991-8. Another nationwide cohort study evaluated 657,461 children born 1999-2010, carefully looking at children with high-risk factors. The 2025 study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed data from 1.2 million+ children born 1997–2018. The three Danish studies found no association, reaffirming that the MMR vaccine does not increase autism risk.

It's not my business what other nations do, but I have 3 first cousins in US & would be devastated if their babies died.

Kroyer's loveliest art in France & Denmark

Kroyer, Hip, Hip, Hurrah! 1888, 
Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden

Impressionism was at first a French art movement, starting in the second half of the C19th. Impressionist techniques included visible, thick brush strokes of pure colour, creating a vibrant effect, and capturing the essence of the subject matter rather than focusing on minute details. Impressionists often painted outdoors to capture the effects of sunlight on their subjects, favouring natural poses and domestic scenes, creating a sense of freshness and normalcy. Even after thousands of artists from other nations flooded into France to learn from the Impressionists, these artists took French Impressionist techniques back home with them.

Peder Krøyer (1851-1909) was a Norwegian born lad who moved to Copenhagen for school and then studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. In his 20s, Krøyer travelled widely in Europe. While  in Paris, Kroyer was particularly impressed by the Impressionists who were already making a name for themselves - Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas and Sisley. Kroyer spent his formative years travellng in France from 1877-81 but then he had to go back to Denmark in 1882, where his taste for Impressionism stayed with him.

Kroyer, Artists' Luncheon at Skagen, 1883,
Granger Collection, New York

The group of Scandinavian artists formed an art group in Skagen at the tip of Denmark’s Jutland in the 1880s-early 1890s. I wonder what the rather conservative fishermen of this remote fishing village thought about the big city artists, with their alcohol and their women. Anyhow, because of Kroyer’s experience as a well travelled, well trained artist in French taste, he became leader of the Skagen community. His work during the 1880s was fresh, often showing a peaceful life on the beach, often celebrating art with all his artist friends, usually with food and drink at hand. Consider for example The Artists' Luncheon 1883. Here you can see the Skagen artists eating a convivial, boozy lunch at Brøndum's Hotel. His art was also influential.

Denmark does not have a hot climate, so I wondered why so many paintings had summer picnics, summer outdoor lunches and summer walks on the beach. The answer was that Kroyer divided his time between a holiday home in Skagen each shortish summer and his flat in Copenhagen where he worked on his large commissions each longish winter.  So see his famous works depicting local fishermen working along Skagen beach, including Men of Skagen setting out for night fishing (1884) and Fishermen hauling nets North Beach, Skagen (1883), which highlighted the tough Danish conditions and physical labour of coastal life.

Fishermen hauling nets North Beach Skagen, 1883

Wiki

Anna Ancher and Marie Krøyer on Skagen beach, 1890s,

Private collection. Wikimedia

I am very loyal to my favourite artists. And now another Kroyer painting has grabbed my attention and I need to annouce my newest Favourite Painting Of All Times. At least for now! Hip, Hip, Hurrah! 1888 is a large work that is in the Gothenburg Museum of Art in Sweden. The painting shows members of the guild of Skagen Painters, socialising as they were wont to do, in the open gardens. For me, Hip, Hip, Hurrah! is typical of the work produced by the Skagen Painters, focusing as it does on the play of light in the rather limited landscape. Gothenburg Museum asks people to compare Hip, Hip, Hurrah! with Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, and in both composition and subject matter. And another comparison. Hip, Hip, Hurrah! had many of the same people we saw in Artists' Luncheon at Skagen 1883.

Summer evening at Skagen - painter and wife,1899

Artvee

Because the 1888 work took some years to paint, Swedish art collector Pontus Fürstenberg bought the painting before it was completed. Fürstenberg later donated his treasure to the Gothenburg Museum of Art, where it remains today.

The film PS Krøyer - What A Life! was made in Denmark in 2008. I have not seen the documentary so my summary comes from MUBI. Krøyer was the undisputed centre of the Skagen painters. He was famous; lionised and married to the most beautiful woman in Copenhagen. The film was a tribute to an artistic prodigy whose excellence brought Danish art to an international level. Krøyer brought a whole new way of life to Skagen; as the artists’ colony was created, so the party could begin. Everybody wanted to go there. Hip Hip Hurrah! became the symbol of the two decades of happiness and unity in the 1880s-90s.

Only when his mother’s insanity started to manifest itself did Krøyer's beautiful life start to unravel. His wife left him and with her, the foundation of his idyllic existence disappeared. But he had to live on. Fortunately he had steady, loving support until the very end. Kroyer died in 1909.

**

I went on a history cruise in the past and loved it. Avalon Cruises’ special interest trips have lectures and cultural activities on board that relate to the towns that art buffs love. In deference to Kroyer I would most like to spend time on the “Seine River Cruise” that leaves Paris, sailing to Vernon, for a guided visits to Claude Monet’s gardens at Giverny. On to Joan of Arc’s historic Rouen, where the excursion is to the Normandy land­ing beaches. There is an optional excursion to the Impres­sion­ists’ coastal town of Honfleur. In the medieval town of Conflans, visit  Vincent van Gogh’s gateway to Auvers-sur-Oise. In Paris see Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Madeleine, Champs Elysées and the Eiffel Tower.  Enjoy a cabaret show at Toulouse Lautrec’s Moulin Rouge. The 8-day cruise leaves Paris regularly throughout April-August.

Old Harbour, Honfleur

Honfleur was where Monet, Courbet, Dubourg, Boudin, Bazille, Corot, Sisley and others painted. It was also the home of Musée Eugène Boudin.

Map of France and Denmark

note Honfleur to Skagen to Copenhagen 

Captain Eric Ravilious, WW2 art

London-born Eric Ravilious (1903-42) spent his early years in Eastbourne E. Sussex and won a scholarship to attend the Eastbourne School of Art in 1919. Later he enrolled at Royal College of Art London where he studied under Paul Nash, a War Artist in WW1. Later Ravilious worked as a painter, book illustrator and Wedgwood pottery designer.

With war starting in 1939, he joined the Royal Observer Corps based in Castle Hedingham Essex. Ravilious was one of the first official War Artists to be appointed by War Artists Advisory Committee-WAAC in Dec 1939, and in 1940 as a Captain. Established by the Ministry of Information, WAAC was a government body commissioning artists to record WW2 events. From 1940-2, Ravilious produced dramatic water colours & drawings of ships, aircraft and coastal defences, 50 of them now in the Imperial War Museums/IWM. 

A warship in dock, 1940

In Feb 1940, Ravilious was posted to Chatham Dockyard Kent to document the naval barracks’ factories & buildings. In A Warship in Dock 1940, Ravilious showed the bow of a destroyer in a flooded dry dock, tied down with many ropes. A man on deck holds one of the ropes while three other men board the ship via a gang-way on the port side. Shown from ground level, the warship looks menacing with angular marine camouflage and intimidating colossal scale. In the background there were many structures eg a ship crane and a factory with a smoking chimney. Despite the scene’s calming water in the flooded dock and vivid blue of the sky overhead, they were preparing for a country at war.

After Germany invaded Norway in Ap 1940, seizing Oslo and the main ports, the Allied forces tried to counter-attack on land but were under-equipped and out-numbered. In May troop evacuation from the Narvik port, Operation Alphabet, was authorised. Aircraft carriers HMS Glorious and HMS Ark Royal left Scapa Flow in Scotland in late May to assist with the withdrawal, escorted by 5 destroyers.

Ravilious was aboard HMS Highlander where the carrier’s dazzling camouflage was mimicked in the sea under the Arctic light. RAF Hurricanes from 2 squadrons flew around, riskily preparing to land on the deck of HMS Glorious, evacuated from the Norwegian Air Station. Next day HMS Glorious returned to Scapa Flow but was attacked by German battleships and sunk. 1,500+ souls tragically died.

Coastal Defences, 1940

The artist travelled to E.Newhaven Sussex in late 1940, to paint coastal defences. The port was targeted in Operation Sea Lion, a planned invasion of Britain by German forces, and needed heavy fortific-ation. In this scene, he depicted the semi-circular curve of the Coastline Defences 1940 in dark greens and blues, colours repeated in the sea and sky. In contrast, the searchlight was stark white, cutting through the night sky looking for enemy aircraft. See a row of boats speeding out to sea at the centre of the scene, leaving a stream of white as they moved in the water. The constant threat to Newhaven from above and below was clear.

He showed the moment a 9.2” naval gun fired from Dover's front port, a portrayal of spectacle and awe. A group of 5 artillerymen were shown as ghost-like figures, compared to the luscious greens of the front landscape. Ravilious spent mid 1941 in Dover before moving to Dundee Scotland.

Ravilious arrived at the Royal Naval Air Station/RNAS in Dundee in autumn 1941 and was quickly interested in the Supermarine Walrus seaplane. In this scene, 3 Walrus aircraft were floating on the river outside the station’s sick bay. The artist showed the interior which was not overly comfortable; just for convalescence. But the blue and white bedding with anchor motif conveyed a sense of homeliness in this stark environment. During his time at the RNAS, the pilots allowed Ravilious to fly in the air craft. After he successfully transferred from the Admiralty to the RAF.

De-Icing Aircraft, 1942

In March 1942 Ravilious was based at RAF Clifton airfield in York. He enjoyed flying over the city, observing York Minster from above and spotting abbeys and ruins. In De-Icing Aircraft 1942, Ravilious showed the airfield under endless snow. Men were scraping the ice layers from the wing of a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, a twin-engine biplane used for training purposes. Each engine had a fitted cover, protecting against harsh temperatures. And see another plane’s tail also covered in ice & snow, waiting to be fixed by the crew.

5 Spitfires at Sawbridgeworth, 1942.

In Mar 1942, Eric Ravilious’ wife and fellow artist Tirzah Garwood developed serious health problems, returning towards home. He went to RAF Sawbridgeworth Airfield Herts which was relatively close to their family home. Despite his terrible living conditions, Ravilious enjoyed painting everyday life on the airfield in early 1942, including aircraft in flight, never using oil paints in the war. Ravilious depicted Five Spitfires at Sawbridgeworth, 1942 at the base, but Spitfires were not at the site then.

Operation Room, 1942

Operations Room 1942 was a key war painting, acquired by IWM decades later. The watercolour depicted the interior of the airfield’s mobile operations room. It is decorated with light yellows and blue-greens, synonymous with functional WW2 buildings. Relaxing colour palettes were selected to be easy for workers inside for long periods. Large windows enabled a panoramic view of the airfield and a sector clock hung on the wall helped track air craft movements. There was no human in The Operations Room but human activity was detected; pinned notices under the clock, writing pen and ink on one table, and a blue reference folder on the other. Interestingly while at Sawbridgeworth, Ravilious wrote to his wife Tirzah in May 1942 stating “the weather gets finer all the time but I’m bored of pictures of planes on the ground and want to go flying.”

Ravilious soon flew to Reykjavik, driving to the RAF Kaldadarnes Airfield in Sept. From there he & 4 airmen flew on a rescue mission in a Lockheed Hudson and were lost off the Icelandic coast. Because his body wasn’t recovered, he had no grave; instead he was honoured at Chatham Navel Memorial Kent (above). Ravilious was one of three War Artists who died when his plane crashed, at 39. 

Thank you to the Imperial War Museum for the artworks and to the BBC for history.

Denmark's Golden Age 1800-50: Hansen

The Golden Age (c1800-50) was an era of impressive creat­ivity in Denmark. Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, bomb­ard­ment and bank­ruptcy, the centre of Denmark's intell­ectual life, first experienced huge fir­es in 1794 and 1795 which dest­royed both Chr­is­tiansborg Palace­ and much of the inner city. The arts took on a new era of cr­eat­ivity, imbued by German Romanticism. Danes from the arts and scienc­es became in­volved in a new era of Roman­tic nation­al­ism. Change became apparent, esp­ in painting. 

Wilhelm Bendz, another student of Eckersberg
Artist in the Evening at Finck's Coffee House 

in MunichThorvaldsen Museum, 1832

The early C19th was a tough time for Denmark-Norway. The crucial fig­ure was Christoffer Eckers­berg who taught at the Acad­emy­ from 1818-53, had an imp­or­t­ant in­fluence on the next gen­erat­ion, including Wilh­elm Bendz and Const­antin Hansen. While art had prev­iously served the monarchy and the Establish­ment, Henrik Steffens (1773–1845) and his st­udents real­ised that the moneyed classes were increas­ingly gaining pow­er and influence, now industr­ial­isa­tion was starting. Grand historical art gave way to more appealing and less grand art; genre painting em­er­ged, with int­eriors and portraits depicting the middle and upper class­es. Students liked to stud­y in Paris with Jacques-Louis David.

Copenhagen on Fire by CW Eck­er­s­berg (1807) showed how Copenhagen exp­erienced the fir­es. In the Golden Age, Copen­hagen in particular acqu­ired a new look as ar­chitects inspired by neo-classicism repaired much of the damage caused by fire in 1795 and by British bombardment of the city. In 1800 Hansen was charged with rebuilding the Pa­l­ace!

In 1801, because of the coun­try's invo­l­vement in the League of Armed Neutrality, the Royal Navy success­fully att­acked a Danish fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen. In 1807, on rum­ours that the French might force Denmark-Norway to close the Bal­tic to their shipping, the British bom­barded and burned large port­ions of Copenhagen. Then in 1813, because the country couldn’t support the war costs, the Danish-Norwegian gov­ernment declared bankruptcy. Wor­se, Norway ceased to be part of the Oldenburg realms when it was ceded to Sweden in Treaty of Kiel (1814).

Yet these crises provided new prospects for Copenhagen. Ar­chitects and planners wid­ened the streets where beautifully desig­ned Neoclass­ical buildings became smarter. With 100,000 people, the smallish city had been built within the confines of the old ramp­arts.

So the lead­ing figures met sharing ideas, unit­ing arts & scien­ces. The main proponent of Classicism in the Golden age was Constantin Han­sen who de­v­eloped a severe style, with large surfaces, in­sp­ired by ancient Greek & Roman architecture. From 1800 he was in charge of all major building projects in Copenhagen where he designed Copen­hagen’s Townhall and Court­house (1805–15), and rebuilt the Church of Our Lady and the square (1811–29). Interior scenes and small portrait gr­oups were also common, with dom­estic objects and furniture, often the art­ist's circle of friends. Danish-trained leader of Ger­man Rom­antic painting Cas­p­ar David Fried­rich was import­ant in spread­ing infl­uence in Germany.

The Golden Age launched a distinct national style for the first time since the Middle Ages. Its style drew on Dutch Gol­d­en Age painting, es­pecially land­scape painting, depicting northern light that was soft, with strong colour contrasts. An idealised version of real­ity.

Const­antin Hansen (1804–80) was born in Rome, son of portrait paint­er Hans Han­sen. The family soon moved to Vienna where Wolfgang Am­ad­eus Mozart’s wid­­ow was his godmother, and with­­in a year, they moved to Co­p­­enhagen. Constantin studied Archit­ect­ure at the Building Sch­ool of the Royal Danish Ac­ademy of Art at 12, but later changed to paint­ing, begin­ning his tr­aining under Christoffer Eckersberg.

Constantin was very in­t­er­­est­ed in literature and mythol­ogy, in­spired by Niels Høyen who want­ed to recr­eate a national hist­or­ical art based on Norse myth­ol­ogy. Høyen, who taught at the Academy, enc­ouraged his st­udents to do landscape painting, especially Danish coun­try scenes.

Paintings by Eckersberg, Ch­risten Købke and Constantin Hansen, using their Italian views, showed the imp­ortant as­p­ects which revealed the Danish Gol­d­­en Age creative process. In 1835 Hansen received a 3-year salary to travel abroad, taking him via Ber­l­in, Dresden, Prague, Nur­emberg and Munich en route to Italy, where he stayed longer in Ro­me, Nap­les and Pomp­eii, and travelled with fellow-Danes. 

Constantin Hansen
A Group of Danish Artists in Rome, 1837
National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen

Copenhagen Art Union commissioned a Hansen painting, A Group of Danish Artists in Rome 1837. This ser­ious work stood out among the pictures of carefree Italian-living that Danish audien­ces enjoyed. The Danish paint­ers and archit­ec­ts in the Rom­an hotel room were Hansen him­­self, Mic­h­­ael Bin­­­d­es­bøll, Mart­inus Rør­b­ye, Wilhelm Marstrand, Küch­ler, Ditlev Blun­ck, Jørg­en Son­ne were gathered to soc­ialise together; but the purpose of the assem­b­ly was to dis­cuss art! Arch­itect Michael Bindes­bøll (1800-56) was re­l­ating the exper­ien­ces of his Greek tra­v­els while the other artists list­en­ed with vary­ing deg­rees of attent­ion. Han­s­en was very ambitious, being insp­ired by Renaissance dep­ictions of artists, suit­ing them to cont­em­porary ideals. He also painted many al­­t­ar­pieces and portr­aits eg Fathers of the  Dan­ish Constituent Assem­bly of 1848. 

 

Fathers of the Dan­ish Constituent Assem­bly 1848

painted by Hansen in 1861

Frederiksborg Museum, Copenhagen

The Golden Age had also seen the develop­ment of Neoclassical Danish arch­itecture, mus­ic, ballet, lit­er­at­ure (eg Hans Ch­ristian And­er­sen), philosophy (eg Søren Kierk­eg­aard) and scien­ce. The Golden Age thus had a profound effect across life in Denmark and even outside.

End of the Golden Age
Danish culture suffered from the First Schleswig War (1848-51). Add­it­ionally, polit­ical reforms involved the end of the ab­solute monarchy in 1848 and the adoption of the Danish constitution in 1849. Finally note that the extension of Copenhagen beyond the old ramparts, during the 1850s, enabled urban exp­an­sion. 

Giuseppe Arcimboldo Prague court

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526–93) was c36 when he left Italy to be­come a court portraitist to Hapsburg emperors Ferdinand I, Max­imil­ian II in Vien­na & Rudolf II in Prague.

Examine the enigmatic, Late Renaissance world of Arcimboldo and his most famous piece The Librarian c1566. He was one of the Italian artists who changed art during the Renaissance. Born into an artistic family in Milan, he started his career by designing stained glass windows for the Milan Cathedral. But Arcimboldo was attracted to the peculiar. In Prague Court, one of the great centres of the later Renaissance, Archimboldo became a very desirable painter for Emperors Maximilian II and Rudolf II. Rudolf II gathered creative around him: scientists, astronomers, authors and artists of every kind. This strengthened the possibility that portrait was of Wolfgang Lazius, a humanist and historian who served those Holy Roman Emperors in Prague.

Arcimboldo belonged to the Mannerist movement, famous for most of the C16th. His most well-known portraits were composite heads made out of fruits, vegetables and plants. So he wasn’t just an artist; he was a creative maverick. Arcimboldo wasn’t content with painting regular portraits - he wanted something new! Arc-imboldo’s creations turned the art scene upside down. Imagine a face crafted from foods. He played this style like a virtuoso. Of course The Librarian was just one piece of Arcimboldo’s wild collection of composite heads. He started a trend that caused artists to think outside the canvas. It took genius to mix fruits, vegetables and books to create a face.

The Librarian, 

c1566, height 67cm, width 50cm 

Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Arcimboldo created something unusual. He invented a librarian, not made of flesh & bone but from books. The librarian’s face is a stack of books, arranged to form a face that was strangely calm and surprisingly wise. Arcimboldo might have been saying Knowledge is my play ground, and I’m building it with books. He wasn’t just painting a librarian; he was crafting a symbol of intellect. Those books weren’t just random; they were a nod to the intellectual feelings of the Renaissance. He meant Look at all this knowledge, neatly stacked on my librarian’s face.

Another perspective was Roland Barthes’ essay on Arcimboldo, on the visual articulation of the intersection of man and nature. The fascination with Arcimboldo’s paintings was greater, because the Italian better challenged the viewer’s own ideas about the work’s exact purpose.

 Even though Arcimboldo was doing this long before the C20th Surrealists, his work has a dreamy, surreal feel, playing with reality in the coolest way possible. The Librarian wasn’t just a portrait; it was a portal into a whimsical realm of artistic eccentricity. The C16th Hapsburgs were thrilled with this artist, but cool heads reigned in the next centuries and his fame faded. We can see why modern Surrealists were attracted to Arcimboldo: his daring ascribing of human attributes to non-humans, his morphing of the natural with the extreme and grotesque, and transformation of the everyday and the dreamlike.

Under the layers of The Librarian, Arcimboldo didn’t throw books together randomly. In the face of wisdom, the face was a meticulous set of book spines as facial features. The eyes, nose, mouth were well crafted using the varied shapes and sizes of books. Arcimboldo was guiding a symphony of literature; the librarian’s face was a masterpiece.

And appreciate the diversity of the books used. They were either thick or thin; they were either bound in dark leather or in lighter hues. Each book seemed to have a personality of its own, contributing to the librarian’s overall character, a visual feast for book and art lovers alike.

Despite the quirky construction, the librarian’s expression was composed. It was not just a stack of literature; the face exuded tranquillity and wisdom coming from the composed arrangement of books. The composition was balanced, with books carefully arranged to create a harmonious whole, a testament to Arcimboldo’s talent that he could turn books into a surreal yet strangely natural face. 

An intimate friendship developed between Arcimboldo and Emperor Rudolf's son. In this work, the painter depicted the Emperor as the ancient god Vertumnus, the god of seasons, of inexhaustible change and agriculture. To realise this, he composed the face of the ruler from all kinds of plants, flowers and fruits. These were from different seasons and thus symbolised the eternal cycle of life. But the painting was not meant to hang alone but to be flanked by many other allegory paintings that Rudolf commissioned.

Arcimboldo, Rudolf II of Habsburg as Vertumnus, 1590 

Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Skokloster Castle, Sweden invites visitors to stroll through the halls and stumble upon a librarian made entirely of books, a historical and artistic jackpot! A Renaissance aristocrat’s worth was determined by the number of books he had read, OR by the quantity of books in his library. Arcimboldo was ridiculing the widespread theory then, by arguing that knowledge was not solely derived from book ownership but that real knowledge was more important. And in this exploration, unravel the layers of Arcimboldo’s genius, break down the eccentricities of The Librarian, and serve an important section of art history unexpectedly.

Conclusion In the grand stream of art history, Arcimboldo’s Librarian stood out as a bold stroke of creative genius. It was a journey into the surreal, a celebration of intellect and a testament to the endless possibilit-ies of artistic expression. Gaze upon the librarian’s face crafted from books, knowing it was not just witnessing a portrait; it was stepping into the great realm of a Renaissance rebel who dared to re-imagine the boundaries of art. Next time the reader is inside a good book, think of Arcimboldo i.e a reminder that knowledge was/is a masterpiece waiting to be unveiled.

In Rudolfine Prague, life was surrounded by the 30 Years’ War. Many of Arcimboldo’s paintings were lost, destroyed or stolen by the invading Swedish Army. Thus Archimboldo’s work is NOT in the great gallery in Prague’s Hradcany Castle

Credit to Philip Harvey and to Roland Barthes. 

Vikings' North Exhibition in York !!

As the premier museum in North England for ancient objects, The Yorkshire Museum in York is displaying the Viking North Exhibition from July 2025-July 2027. In partnership with the British Museum it explores the world of the Vikings and the North’s Power Base from 800-1066 AD. Dr Adam Parker, Curator of Archaeology York Museums Trust wrote: “Viking North is a story of geopolitical change & clash of cultures. When the Viking Great Army arrived in North England in 866 AD, everything changed. Anglo-Saxon kings were defeated, new territories and allegiances rose and fell, new identities were forged and new connections made. The true story is brought alive by the emergent research into these temporary towns in the late C9th as these settlers expanded their geographical locations and made England home. 

Yorkshire Museum

Little Vikings

Based on new archaeological research and new technology, the exhibition combines objects from Yorkshire Museum’s own collection, the Vale of York hoard and specially loaned national and regional items eg objects from Viking Army Camp at Aldwark Nth Yorkshire. Many of these items in gold and silver are valuable and prestigious, showing the power, wealth and skills of the Vikings who lived in Nth England.

York helmet, c760

Yorkshire Museum

The York Helmet is an impressive star in the Viking North Exhibition, possibly the best-preserved early medieval helmet in Britain. This iron cap with brass edging and a chain mail neckguard, beautifully decorated with tiny animals, displays how these helmets were made, used and stored. Latin across the two bands reads: “In the name of our Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God; and to all we say Amen. Christ.”  The helmet was a great status symbol for the owner, Oshere, a nobleman and a ?member of the Northumbrian royal family, the most powerful dynasty in England then.

The Ormside Bowl was discovered in 1823 in St James’ Churchyard in Great Ormside Cumbria, just where a Viking warrior grave was also discovered decades later. Was the bowl looted from York by the Viking warrior and then buried with him in his grave alongside his sword & shield boss? This gilded silver and bronze with glass bowl was the ?finest piece of silver work, with remarkable craftsmanship, surviving from Anglo-Saxon England.

The 2 shells are intricately decorated and fused, making a unique luxury item. It would have been treasured by its original owner for its beauty, quality and value. It is decorated with vine scrolls in the outer design, being a common Christian theme. This suggests that the delicate outer shell started life as a religious vessel. It was owned used by monks for religious services in a Northumbrian monastery, likely looted by Viking raiders, or given to them in tribute. A religious object could be adapted by Vikings as a drinking vessel (850-900). When an inner bowl was added, it was used at celebrations with friends.

The inner bowl was made later made from gilt-bronze and riveted with studs of blue glass and silver with an internal bowl and 16 circular pieces of glass in a ring of cloisons-partitions. The base plate of the internal bowl and features five further rivets, of which the central is missing.

Ormside Bowl, c775

Esmeralda's Cumbrian History

 

The bowl is a double-shelled cup made from 2 pieces joined with dome-headed rivets and beaded collars. The bowl’s interlaced cruciform surface is decorated with a chased repousse technique.  The gilding on the bowl was added after the other decoration. The inner bowl could have been made in York where a matching blue-glass stud was found.

Bird and vine decorations

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The original outer shell was made of gilt-silver decorated with Anglo-Saxon style interlaced creatures in Continental vines. Note plants, fruit, animals and birds in decoration. The outer bowl decoration was done using the chase repousse method where the design was hit from the reverse side, creating it in relief outside of bowl. The rim had a strip of ungilded silver although this has now mostly been lost. This strip was first attached using some clips in the shape of animal heads. The frontal gaze of some creatures was a familiar occurrence in carvings of this type, with both naturalistic & grotesque decorations.

After seeing Christians wearing crosses around their necks, Vikings wore pendants in the shape of Thor’s hammer from their own pagan beliefs. And other religious symbolism. A collection of late C10th-mid C11th stone crossheads is currently on display in the monks’ dormitory at Durham Cathedral, found and reused at building materials or found during excavation of the 1891 Norman Chapter House (so note that Durham borders Yorkshire but is separate). The scenes depicted include the Baptism & Crucifixion of Christ, and an ordination scene.

memorial cross, found in 2nd century foundations

Durham Cathedral

 

Dr Parker, Viking North is telling new stories about the Vikings 

BBC

Thanks to Esmeralda's Cumbrian History & Folklore; I recommend reading her posts.

Emp Rudolf, Prague: arts, science, palace

Rudolf II (1552-1612) was born in Vienna to Maximilian II and Maria of Austria, grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I. Part of the Habsburg dynasty, they ruled a union of Austria, Germany, Hungary, Croatia & Czech Republic (1483-1806). At 11 Rudolf was separated from his big family and sent to his uncle Philip II’s Spanish court, where he lived a lonely 8 years with stern tutors. He returned from Madrid as a lonely young man.

Old Royal Palace within Prague Castle, started C12th 

additions by Rudolf II

Living Prague

The eldest surviving son of Emperor Maximilian II and Maria, who was herself the daughter of the Emperor Charles V, Rudolf was crowned King of Hungary in 1572 and of Bohemia in 1575 as Rudolf II. He succeeded his father as Emperor in 1576.

The new Holy Roman Emperor moved the Habsburg capital from Vienna to Prague in 1583, settling in the centre of his mighty Empire. The Habsburgs had traditionally favoured Vienna, but the Ottoman Empire had invaded Hungary decades before; thus the Habsburgs had fought lengthy land wars on their border since. Prague Castle put Rudolf safely distant from Turkish army’s advance.

Prague was a key centre in continental Europe, a land-locked city with Baltic Sea 500 km north and Adriatic Sea 600 km south. It was a busy urban centre comparable in size & culture to Amsterdam and located at the cross-roads linking Vienna, Krakow, Nuremberg, Augsburg and Munich.

The court-centred city flourished, split into 4 administrative areas: Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Castle. Between Old Town and the river to the north was the gated Jewish town, with its inhabitants locked in each night. Accounts of Prague burghers & merchants revealed that wealthy families owned items that extended to distant lands. Luxury items flowed.

Collecting was a Habsburg family passion. Rudolf’s grandfather liked Roman coins and dad Maximilian loved antique statues. So the imperial seat became a lavish court where Rudolf became a very royal collector. Lions, parrots, Turkish armour and exotic stones from Sth America and the Far East poured into Rudolf’s collections. His court attracted diplomats, artists, artisans and scientists seeking the Emperor’s patronage contributed to Prague’s dynamic cultural richness for 30+ years.

Rudolf devoted his life to accumulating the greatest collection of the arts in all of Renaissance Europe. He owned works by Leonardo da Vinci, Paolo Veronese, Pieter Brughel Elder, Titian and Hieronymus Bosch, as well as sculptures by Adriaen de VriesAnd he amassed vast treasures as patron of Mannerists, e.g., Hans von Aachen, Bartholomeus Spranger, and Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

Durer, Feast of the Rosary, 1506, 162 x 192 cm,

National Gallery Prague
Wiki

All these works seduced Rudolf who was helpless under their spell. German artist Albrecht Dürer had produced The Feast of the Rosary (1506), an image of the Virgin and Child surrounded by high-status believers including a pope and some kings. In early C17th this was a Venice altarpiece of the German Church. For a century, the city’s transient German merchants had prayed before it, hoping for prosperity at Venice’s many marketplaces. Rudolf had a huge appetite for art and his frantic notes commanded a European network of ambassadors and dealers who serviced his obsession, buying treasures on his behalf. Now Rudolf pestered the German community ceaselessly, sending his men to meet the church’s clergy for haggling. The congregation wouldn’t part with it but in 1606 they relented. In the building’s dim medieval interior, the painting was extricated and wrapped in carpets. He paid 9 times the original price for The Rosary, a fantastic sum! Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger accompanied The Rosary on its trip; the strongmen who were ordered to carry The Rosary from Venice to Prague had to haul it over the Alps by hand, working in a relay to carry it over. Mud and snow made the journey gruelling, so when the Rosary finally arrived in Prague, Rudolf sent everyone out to relish it alone.

Inventories from 1600 showed exquisite items eg seashells mounted in silver. Crammed into cabinets were trinkets made out of mother-of-pearl and coral, engraved brass plates, clocks, headpieces, helmets, maths instruments and the skins of thoroughbred Indian horses. Other key objects included a phial of the earth from which God created Adam; nails from Noah’s ark; and stuffed exotic animals. 

Jost Bürgi, mathematician, astronomer and clockmaker,

had his own clock workshop at Prague Castle.
World of the Habsburgs

Rudolf started major Renaissance additions to Prague Castle, new palace wings and the Mathematical Tower for his treasures. Each acquisition needed space so Rudolf modified his castle to make room for his growing number of objects. He built halls for his pictures and sculptures, and smaller rooms for jewels, books & animals. The Kunstkammer-cabinet of curiosities sat in a corridor. And next to his bedchamber were his favourite objects. Rudolf believed his religious possessions shielded him from harm, using his treasures for protective rituals. When Rudolf felt under threat from his enemies, he collected his Holy Grail (an agate bowl that collected Christ’s blood whilst on the cross)!

Cellini Salt Cellar

Reddit

Commissioned by French Francis I, the Cellini Salt Cellar was gifted in 1570 to Rudolf II's uncle Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol. Then it featured in Rudolf II’s Kunstkammer. The salt cellar was an enamelled gold table sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini,  portraying Land, Tellus and Sea, Neptune. It was to promote conversation among intellectuals on the object's meaning. Today it is kept at Kunsthistor-isches Museum in Vienna, one of the world's most famous works of gold-smithing. Mounted on an ebony base, it features the mythological figures of Neptune and Demeter, flanked by a small temple and a shell to hold pepper and salt. Worth $US55-$65 million now.

His ambitious collection would be encyclopaedic! The Kunstkammer was organised into themes: Naturalia: natural history, zoology, botany, mineralogy; Scientifica: clocks, watches, globes; Artificialia: coins & prints. Knowledge was constantly evolving; scholarship was never complete.

Rudolf’s accumulation of objects did not isolate him. He allowed trusted scholars, scientists and alchemists into his flats to admire his objects. By studying his range of curiosities unmatched in size, diversity and variety, some of Rudolf’s circle made key discoveries. See his loved court astronomers; Tycho Brahe used Rudolf’s mathematical instruments to track Mars’ orbit. Later Johannes Kepler used these results for his laws of planetary motion, proving planets move in elliptical orbits around the Sun.

Rudolf may well have suffered from schizophrenia; his young brother Archduke Matthias and his army prepared to take over in 1611 and did, once Rudolf died in 1612. Some of the court’s wealth was transferred back to Vienna, which quickly became the settled Habsburg seat of power. The religious, dynastic and territorial issues that Rudolf left unaddressed during his reign led to the outbreak of 30 Years’ War (1618).

Prague Castle Art Gallery

Living Prague

Rudolf II changed Prague into a vibrant Renaissance hub in 1583-1612, but then Europe fell into one of the most destructive conflicts ever. When a Swedish army invaded Prague in 1648, soldiers pillaged 69 bronze statues, 470 paintings, 179 ivory objects and 600 agate & crystal goblets, and substantial war booty. Many precious items from Rudolf’s collections are still in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. But many items stayed in Prague Castle. Some were pillaged by the Swedish Army stationed in Prague after 30 Years’ War ended in 1648, and ended up in Swedish collections.

Imperial crown made in Prague by Jan Vermeyen for Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, 1602

Hofburg Palace in Vienna

Wiki

The Edwardians: Age of Elegance Exhibit

The Edwardian era was always my favourite to read and write about. Health care services improved, mortality declined, literacy spread widely, women’s rights were debated, New Zealand & Australia women were enfran-chised, trade unionism increased and the arts and sports were now widely available. Canada federated progressively, while Australian & South African states unified.

Royal portraits and coronation cloaks

Visit London

So I was keen to see what The Edwardians: Age of Elegance Exhibition in 2025 in King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace focused on. The exhibition went back into late Victorian era to examine the patronage of Albert Prince of Wales/King Edward VII & wife Alexandra of Denmark. The couple married in 1863, soon after Queen Victoria was widowed and withdrew from public life. Thus the young royals were leading taste-makers in society, well before 1901.

Winterhalter portraits of Edward and Alexandra, 1864

the year after their wedding.

jennifereremeeva

Queen Victoria’s son reigned on her death but unlike his very elderly mother, he died too soon 1910. Edward’s son King George V & wife Mary of Teck reigned from 1910-36, but the Edwardian Era will be labelled thus until the Golden Age ended with WW1 carnage. Thank you to Visit London & jennifereremeeva.

Court pageantry was seen in fine art eg Danish Laurits Tuxen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace 1897-9 and Family of Queen Victoria at her 1887 golden jubilee. The theme then focussed on the lavish court world. Note the opulent coronation robes of George & Mary and jewels.

Edward and Alexandra were patrons of leading artists: HE owned works by popular Victorian artist Frederic Leighton, while SHE collected art by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne Jones. Alexandra also supported Minton’s Pottery Studio in 1870s, patronising women artists. And Alexandra, like many upper-class Victorian women, was a keen photographer.

Laurits Tuxen, Family of Queen Victoria, 

1887, Historian About Town

Global royal patronage was regular. Alexandra’s Danish heritage was seen in Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Co. art, including a huge porcelain cabinet with an ornamental roof. And objects were also collected on visits and in diplomatic exchange with the colonies: India, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Africa. In the late C19th, better travel networks made the world closer, so the royal family travelled further and more often. These visits played an important role in Britain’s imperial identity eg in 1875-6 Edward toured India, producing an array of diplomatic gifts.

In 1871 Waverley Ball commemorated the 100th anniversary of Romantic author Sir Walter Scott and raised funds for the Scott Memorial in Edinburgh. Guests were dressed in costumes inspired by Scott’s Waverley literature. Edward went as Lord of Isles, titular character of an old poem, while Alexandra went as Mary Queen of Scots in the novel The Abbot. Emperor Pedro II of Brazil also attended

Edward and Alexandra hosted a Fancy Ball at Marlborough House in 1874. Actors, artists, aristocrats, musicians, politicians and bankers, called The Marlborough House Set, were invited. Named after their Pall Mall home, they were arbiters of fashion and taste, embracing new movements eg Art Nouveau & Arts and Crafts. Artist Godefroy Durand made a watercolour of the event, which showed Edward in fancy dress as Charles I, with Alexandra in Venetian costume.

A great party was the Devonshire House ball to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee 1897. 700+ invitations went out and James Lafayette photographed the guests. Edward was dressed as a Knight of Malta and Alexandra went as the C16th French queen Marguerite de Valois. Daughters Victoria and Maud, together with Maud’s husband, Prince Charles of Denmark, wore the costumes of her courtiers. And an early royal garden parties was at Buckingham Palace in 1897, marking Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, quickly becoming part of the royal calendar. While keeping strict dress codes, the Prince & Princess of Wales surrounded themselves with fashionable society figures.

A group of artists were portraying members of the set. Philip de László was renowned for his glamorous and natural portraits. In one painting of Princess Andrew of Greece-Denmark/Alice of Battenberg, George V’s cousin, he depicted the Princess in an elegant pose. A highlight of C20th royal portraiture was a striking painting of Queen Alexandra by François Flameng in 1908. In her mid-60s, she was presented as a fashion leader, promoting Cartier choker-necklaces. The best-known society portraitist of the era was by John Singer Sargent who painted Edward’s brother Arthur, Duke of Connaught & wife Duchess Louise 1908. And depicted folds of the Duchess’ dark silk and chiffon sleeves.

The social season also included sporting events eg horse racing during Royal Ascot week in June. The royal stables produced some important racehorses in the 1890s, including the famed Persimmon who won the Epsom Derby and the Ascot Gold Cup. And note the yacht racing at Cowes Isle of Wight. A small seal, enamelled in royal racing colours, marked 1896 when Britannia won 14 yacht races! And the exhibition revealed the royals’ loved dogs!

Fans and jewels

King's Gallery

Visit London

Edward and Alexandra watched theatre goers, actors and musicians in their social set. A bronze inkwell self-portrait by actress Sarah Bernhardt was in Edward’s Marlborough House study. Alexandra was a skilled pianist and Puccini's opera La Fanciulla del West of 1910 was dedicated to her.

For the royal family, and everyone, the age of glamour abruptly ended in WW1. By then Edward’s son, King George V, was on the throne. Both George and his wife Queen Mary visited the battlefields of Northern Europe to meet troops and boost morale, the first time a monarch had visited a warzone in over a century. The art collected by the royal family in this wartime period reflected a solemn purpose. George V collected military relics and images of the Western Front, including the bleak landscapes by photographer Olive Edis, Britain’s first female war photographer. She recorded the devastation caused by bombing and artillery to the buildings of France and Belgium

The monarchy which emerged after WW1 ended in late 1918 displayed a strong sense of duty. See Frank Salisbury's image of the first ceremony at the Whitehall Cenotaph Nov 1920, where King George V led the nation in collective mourning.

international gifts to the royals

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