Royal, Military and Court Costumes from the time of James I
The Jacobean era refers to the time period from 1603 to 1625 when King James I ruled both England and Scotland. The name James derives from the Hebrew Jacob; hence, Jacobean: a descriptive term applied to the literature, decorative arts and architecture produced during that first quarter of the 17th century. Most notably, it was the age of Shakespeare.
The charming images below are courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library and the majority have been background spot-cleaned to one extent or another. Mouse-over the last two images for a little surprise, individual browser and operating system configurations allowing!
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To paraphrase the Fashion in Jacobean Times description page - and database entries - from the Folger Shakespeare Library:
Little is known about this anonymous set from the early 17th century, but the watercolour sketches may have been produced by an Italian artist. Some of the styles portrayed are representative of continental, in addition to, English costume designs. The illustration scenes themselves are similar in style to those one might see in a friendship book -- a so-called album amicorum -- that was a fairly popular keepsake record from the period.
"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return." - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think a future flight should include a poet, a priest and a philosopher . . we might get a much better idea of what we saw." - Astronaut Michael Collins
"In March 1962, James Webb, Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, suggested that artists be enlisted to document the historic effort to send the first human beings to the moon. John Walker, director of the National Gallery of Art, was among those who applauded the idea, urging that artists be encouraged "…not only to record the physical appearance of the strange new world which space technology is creating, but to edit, select and probe for the inner meaning and emotional impact of events which may change the destiny of our race."
[From the Eyewitness to Space Collection at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum]
The original web image files have been cropped to remove excess white space from around the borders, but no changes have been made to the artworks themselves.
n.d. = no date
Conté crayons are composed of compressed powdered graphite or charcoal mixed with a wax or clay base and are square in cross-section ^.
A serigraph is a colour print made by adapting the silk-screen process^.
"Rocket Rollout, also titled Moon, Horizon and Flowers. An abstract representation of moving the Saturn rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad."
Unfinished Monster
(watercolour on paper) 1964 by Hugh Laidman [books]
"The construction of the Vehicle Assembly Building occupies almost half of the pictorial space. It is done in dark blue, blurry lines against a light blue sky with some accents of black and brown. The water in the middleground is a more vivid blue, and the field in the foreground is a blend of many colors with some white spaces showing through."
Skyforms-F
(watercolour + mixed media on board) 1973 by Albert Christ-Janer
"Skyforms F, July '73; from Series A-M. Forms reminiscent of an explosion. Organic black forms visually interacting with each other. Black forms enmeshed with grayed areas. Smoke-like forms, blue speckled atmosphere in top left hand corner as well as bottom right hand corner."
Scholarly research awards in the name of both Christ-Janer (d. 1973) and another artist from the NASA group, Lamar Dodd (see below), are given out each year by the University of Georgia.
Untitled
(conté crayon on paper) 1968 by Tom O'Hara
"Three technicians in front of "train wreck", 10/9/68."
Firing Room
(acrylic painting on paper) n.d. by James Wyeth
"A view from the back of the firing room, which is headquarters for Launch Control at the Kennedy Space Center. Rows of consoles and people seated facing them extend from the foreground to the middleground, occupying half of the space. Five light blue monitors are on the wall above the consoles, and three clocks are above them. An illuminated exit sign is in the empty dark space on the right."
[W]: "From 1966 to 1971, Wyeth served in the Delaware Air National Guard. Although at one point scheduled for immediate deployment to Vietnam, flights were cancelled for noncombatants. His assignment changed when he was granted top-security clearance and took part in “Eyewitness to Space”, a program jointly sponsored by NASA and the National Gallery of Art in Washington to depict the activities of the Apollo mission through an artists' perspective. A total of 47 artists were involved in the "Eyewitness to Space" program, including Robert Rauschenberg, Lamar Dodd, Norman Rockwell, and Morris Graves. Participants met astronauts at launch sites, such as Cape Kennedy, or rode helicopters to observe the pickup of astronauts. Of the works developed, National Gallery of Arts chose 70 paintings, sculptures or drawings for "The Artist and Space" exhibit that ran from December 1969 to early January, 1970"
Untitled
(felt-tip pen on paper) 1965 by Robert T McCall
{USS Lake Champlain, recovery carrier}
"Gemini spacecraft after recovery, 8/29/65"
Untitled
(felt-tip pen on paper) n.d. by Alfred Hennen McAdams
"[D]etailed view of a crawler transporter with the huge tread takes up more than half of the image. The edge of a second tread is visible beyond the one in the foreground. The body of the crawler rises on the left side of the scene. The paper is tan colored."
The video below [Inside a NASA Crawler Transporter (~17 mins)] "is a guided tour [..] given by KSC's Crawler Transporter manager, back in 2000. We go throughout the interior and up on the top where the Mobile Launch platform for Apollo Saturn V and later the Space Shuttle stacks are mounted and taken out to the launch pad." [via]
Untitled
(conté crayon on paper) 1968 by Tom O'Hara
"Apollo 7, First Stage, 10/10/68. The bottom section of the first stage of Apollo 7 fills the scene and conveys its tremendous size in comparison to the workers below. Four diagonal supports lean against the rocket, and the letters "S" and "A" can be seen in the upper left. Comprehensive shading and strong horizontal and vertical lines add detail and texture to the depiction."
Shepard's Corvette
(felt-tip pen on paper) n.d. by Robert T McCall
"Shepard's Corvette. The front of a Corvette is shown in the foreground and two larger vehicles are parked to the right and back of it. The gantry in the background on the right is shown from the bottom up and the center is a heavily darkened vertical column. The forms of people are abstracted to a few lines on the catwalk in the left center of the scene."
How astronauts and corvettes became associated :-
"Navy pilot Alan Shepard, one of the original "Mercury Seven^," was on his second Corvette, a '57, when he joined the space program in April, 1959. Shepard loved fast cars, and his affinity for Corvette (he'd also owned a '53) didn't go unnoticed by Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov. Duntov even brought Shepard to Detroit to test-drive pre-production models. Despite the status and celebrity of the new astronauts, the idea of giving any of them a Corvette was anathema to The General. Sometime after Shepard's first suborbital flight, GM President Ed Cole decided that Shepard should receive a Corvette, which he did--a '62, with a deluxe Bill Mitchell interior." [...more]
[also] {pics of the gift-car from a 2010 exhibit} (NASA's Shepard bio/obit)
Untitled
(charcoal on paper) 1963 by Lamar Dodd
"Gantry and Service Tower, '63. The entirety of the gantry and service tower are drawn in a somewhat simplified way. The forms are blurred by the soft shading of charcoal, and shading also defines the sky."
Rocket and Gantry
(ball point pen on paper) 1963 by Paul Calle
"Rocket and Gantry, May 14, 1963. A sketch in blue ball point pen of the side view of a rocket and gantry. The rocket is on the left and the gantry is on the right. Sketch lines fill in some of the space on the sides and beneath. Ink scribbles and blots in the upper right."
Paul Calle (d.2010) designed the stamp that commemorated the first moon landing in 1969. [NYTimes obit.]
Ladders
(acrylic painting on canvas) 1964 by Mitchell Jamieson
"The Saturn I launch pad has the look of a stained-glass window with its mosaic-like patches of lines and brilliant color. On the left and right are the massive frameworks of the red gantries. In the center is the more neutral colored rocket with tiny people at the base. The background is a dark blue sky with specks of white."
Saturn-Apollo Rollout
(gouache on paper) n.d. by Robert T McCall
"Saturn/Apollo rollout is moved out of the Vehicle Assembly Building."
Nic space checkout(?)
(ink + watercolour on paper) n.d. by Chrystal Jackson
(pen, ink + ink wash on paper) 1973 by William Shields
"The optical tracker on a wheeled trailer looks like a big gray mouse pointing at something on right. The tracker is full of visual detail and is shaded with a dark wash. No background is shown. Writing in the lower right says: '46 minutes before liftoff U.S.A.F. intermediate focal length optical tracker Skylab IV Cape Kennedy Space Center N.A.S.A.' "
TV Camera and Cameraman
(ball point pen on paper) 1963 by Paul Calle
"A full page sketch in blue ball point pen of a camera on a complex tripod in the center of the page. The camera lens is pointed to the left and the label on the right says "RADIOTXPOOL MA-9." The cameraman is standing on the right looking into the camera and his left arm is raised. Another figure is outlined in the lower left."
Untitled
(pen, ink + watercolour on paper) n.d. by Chrystal Jackson
"The dish, mission control headquarters"
Untitled
(pen + ink on paper) n.d. [NASA worker] by Joseph Christopher Chizanskos
Jack Schmitt on the Bicycle
(conté crayon on paper) n.d. by Chet Jezierski
"Astronaut Jack Schmitt^ is seen from the knees up, seated on a bicycle. The respiratory checking system extends horizontally from his mouth to the right edge. His right hand rests on the handlebars. Some background shading is in the upper left. Writing in the lower left reads: 'Apollo 17 17:45 Jack Schmitt on the Bicycle.' "
Astronaut Thomas K. Mattingly II
(pencil on paper) 1972 by Chet Jezierski
"The piece is a very realistic drawing of astronaut Ken Mattingly of Apollo 16. It is entirely done in purple and has a somewhat grainy texture. Mattingly is standing in his spacesuit and helmet, facing left, and holding some equipment in his right hand. The shading is darker nearer the subject in the upper right and lower left. The upper left and lower right areas are blank, and the drawing ends at Mattingly's knees. In the blank space on the right is Mattingly's signature."
Moon Walker
(serigraph) n.d. by Mitchell Jamieson
"A linear figure in a spacesuit is partially obscured by a spotty and streaked texture as well as areas that are shadowed with ink."
Jamieson was one of the earliest recruits to NASA's Fine Arts Program, which had begun in 1962. In the following year, he spent 2 weeks on a carrier in the mid-Pacific waiting to document the return of Astronaut Gordon Cooper from one of the last missions of Project Mercury^, a 4-year long effort to achieve manned space flight. Jamieson had also been a volunteer artist during the Vietnam war and the psychic toll probably contributed to his taking his own life in 1976.
First Look
(ink + chalk on paper) n.d. by Mitchell Jamieson
"An abstract representation of the head and shoulders of an astronaut. The eyes, nose, and mouth of the astronaut are discernible within the circular helmet. The three divisions of the space at the top, the head, and the shoulders are detailed with marble-like patterns. Straight white lines connect small white dots across the top two-thirds of the piece, reminiscent of constellations of stars."
Two Apollo Astronauts in the LM Simulator, K.S.C.
(ink on paper) 1972 by Chet Jezierski
"A page from a spiral-bound sketchbook. The forms of two astronauts inside the lunar module simulator at Kennedy Space Center are framed by a circular background blend of blues and greens. The control panel is on the left side in darker shades, and the entire depiction is framed in black. Text in the bottom margin reads: 'Two Apollo astronauts work out in the Lunar Module Simulator at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (LM pilot on the left - mission commander on the right ) Reflections on the simulator ride I couldn't get.' "
Untitled
(gouache on board) 1970 by Joseph Christopher Chizanskos
"Three astronauts inside the Apollo XIII"
Gordon and Conrad in Gemini Simulator
(ink + watercolour on paper) n.d. by Chrystal Jackson
Apollo XVI astronauts collecting lunar rock specimens in April 1972
CM Boilerplate Lifted
(watercolour on paper) 1972 by Chet Jezierski
"The command module (CM) boilerplate looks like a showerhead with water pouring from it as it is lifted from the ocean water after splashdown. The structure looks as if it is suspended alone in a void of sky and water that are darkened by the night. The yellow-orange ring around the base is the flotation collar. The water appears grayish as it blends with the blues, greens, and browns of the sky."
Waiting to Sight the Descent of Apollo 11
(ink + charcoal on paper) 1969 by Mitchell Jamieson
"Waiting to sight the descent of Apollo 11 morning of July 24, 1969. A pilot is standing on the deck looking up towards the sky. A row of more ambiguously depicted men behind him. Pilot and men form a 'T'-shaped composition."
Simulated Recovery Mission
(pen, ink + airbrushed ink on paper) 1969 by Mitchell Jamieson
"Two helicopters flying over a light blue ocean. The helicopters are done in light, quick lines that help give the forms a sense of motion. The ocean has the fine blue mist from an air brush with larger blue spots and linear waves."
Heli Pilot Sighting CM
(charcoal + ink on paper) 1969 by Mitchell Jamieson
"Life-size drawing of face of a pilot with a tense expression. Face was drawn on top of textured surface done by mono-printing. Black ink and charcoal on beige paper. Apollo 11 mission."
Rain approaches Just Before 004 is Lowered
(watercolour + felt-tip pen on paper) 1972 by Chet Jezierski
"The helicopter is positioned on a slight diagonal at the bottom of the scene with its nose pointed to the left. It seems to visually melt into the superstructure of the USS Ticonderoga that rises in the center, thus giving the entire scene a triangular composition. The helicopter and ship are grey, with some yellow and red accents on the aircraft, and the sky is a blend of blue and white. The lower right corner is unpainted, appearing unfinished. Writing in the upper right reads: 'Apollo 17 USS Ticonderoga 13 Dec 72.' "
Splashdown
(lithograph) 1977 by Robert T McCall
"Three red and white striped parachutes dominate the scene and contrast with the blue ocean below. In the lower third of the scene is the command module surrounded by white ocean foam. In the distance on the horizon is a recovery ship."
"A frontal view of the side of the USS Ticonderoga shows this prime recovery ship as it sits in Pearl Harbor the day before leaving to rendezvous with Apollo 17. The flight deck looms forward like a big cliff while the superstructure of the carrier is shown on the left. The ship is shaded in orange and brown, which contrasts with the blue and white cloudy sky and the blue-green water. A glimpse of the coastline is visible on the lower right."
It's worth looking through the whole collection. It becomes oddly meditative, or maybe mesmerizing, after the first few hundred or so artworks. Truly remarkable.
-The Father turns into the Clown and a fool which he was before
-The Lover becomes Harlequin, his head is turned by the change
-The young does this sort of thing as Columbine, which does not astonish her father
-Now the Fun begins "How we are"!!!
-The peasant Lover appears
-The lady's Father keeps his eye on him
-The lady appears who sees him without looking at him
-They rob and deceive the innocent!
-The Clown is taken into custody by a live Lobster
- He astonishes Pantaloon by his elegance as a female
"Harlequinade is a comic theatrical genre, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts".
It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th centuries. It was originally a slapstick adaptation of the Commedia dell'arte, which originated in Italy and reached its apogee there in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The story of the Harlequinade revolves around a comic incident in the lives of its five main characters: Harlequin, who loves Columbine; Columbine's greedy father Pantaloon, who tries to separate the lovers in league with the mischievous Clown; and the servant, Pierrot, often involving a chase scene with a policeman."
-The Ugly gentleman "shuts up"and goes into the cellar
-The Prince attempts to hide himself
-But all in vain, the Good Fairy waves her wand and he flies all to pieces
-The Overture! Beautiful!!
-The Curtain rises, legs are discovered
-The Fairies that own the legs!
-The Clown attempts to catch Harlequin but fails of course
-The clown shows his contempt for constituted authorities and gains much applause!
-This kind of storm is recollected by the youngest inhabitants
-The Clown asks a female his way to next week and steals her shawl
-He is alarmed by teh Harlequin's Bat
-He plays tricks with a red hot poker, which is positively necessary in Pantomime
-He turns Pantaloon into a wheelbarrow for his luggage
-Harlequin attempts to escape down a pump. Clown pumps him out again
-He attempts to carry Harlequin who is too slippery
-Clown catches Harlequin and Columbine tripping
-Receives the magic bat
-Harlequin loses all power
-Clouds roll on, flexible demons appear. The good Fairy interferes. The lovers are made happy in the (?)realms of Eternal Sunshine!
The pseudonym *Alfred Crowquill* was used by a versatile pair of 19th century satirical illustrator-author brothers from London. Charles Robert Forrester^ (b. 1803) and his younger brother, Alfred Henry^ (b. 1804), contributed humorous sketches and verses to publications such as Punch and the Illustrated London News. Each of the brothers also worked independently outside of their loose partnership.
The panto sketches above are by Alfred Forrester and are his last contribution under the Crowquill pseudonym. They were published at the end of 1843 in the Illustrated London News and his older brother then became the sole user of their nom de plume.
Oddly enough, I noted in a read-around that prior to 1843, only a select few theatres were allowed to have performances featuring spoken dialogue! It took an act of parliament in 1843 to remove the licensing requirement and open up speaking roles for all theatres. So the many theatres staging totally mimed pantomime were then able to greatly expand the repertoire of the genre by attracting a new breed of writers
The John Johnson Collection's Ephemera Resources Blog provides a small but very useful list of background links on pantomime, all from the V&A Museum. Most notably:
+n.d.+by+James+Wyeth.jpg "Firing Room (acrylic painting on paper) n.d. by James Wyeth")
+n.d.+by+Alfred+Hennen+McAdams.jpg "Untitled (felt-tip pen on paper) n.d. by Alfred Hennen McAdams")
+n.d.+by+Jim+Mahoney+Jr.jpg "Untitled (charcoal on paper) n.d. by Jim Mahoney Jr (img is displayed here at full-size)")
+1963+by+Lamar+Dodd.jpg "Untitled (charcoal on paper) 1963 by Lamar Dodd (img is displayed here at full-size)")
