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Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show Returns Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 17-21

West Palm Beach, FL (PRWEB) September 23, 2005

The Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show makes its much-anticipated return to the Palm Beach County Convention Center on Presidents’ Day weekend, February 17-21, 2006.

The show kicks off with an invitation-only preview on Friday, February 17 and opens to the general public the following day. Hours of operation are 11 am – 7 pm Saturday, February 18 through Monday, February 20; and 11 am – 6 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Tickets are daily or for a 4-day pass.

The largest vetted art and antique show the United States, the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show brings together more than 50,000 visitors and over 200 top-tier exhibitors. “The energy and excitement have carried over each year” said event co-organizer Kris Charamonde, “and we expect it to be even bigger and better this year.” By comparison, Charamonde said, most shows of this kind attract around 80 exhibitors. “It’s definitely on par with the largest, most prestigious shows in the world.”

New Exhibitors Added

Charamonde said in addition to the returning dealers, the show’s success has attracted a number of first-time exhibitors; among them some of the most prestigious names in the world of art and antiques. That list includes art dealer Peter Tillou (Litchfield, CT); A.E. Betteridge Jewelers (Greenwich, CT); China Gallery (NY); Questroyal Fine Art (NY) and Macklowe Gallery (NY). “We’re happy to welcome back our exhibitors from last year,” commented Charamonde, “and we’re very excited about our new exhibitors as well.”

Charamonde credited the show’s continual success to the quality of its dealers and the knowledge and enthusiasm of the attendees. He added that many of the attendees were themselves dealers, and said he had received a great deal of positive feedback from exhibitors and attendees alike. “The show attracts not only private collectors and dealers, but also museum curators, interior designers and investors,” Charamonde continued.

One dealer in particular who visited the show before signing on as an exhibitor is famed art dealer Peter Tillou. “Peter Tillou came to the show the first year as an observer,” Charamonde said, “and graciously agreed to serve on the vetting committee the following year. This year, we’re happy to say, he will be exhibiting at the show.” Reached at his home in Litchfield, Connecticut, Tillou said he was looking forward to taking part in the event. “The Palm Beach community has such a sophisticated understanding of fine art, it is with great pleasure that we look forward to presenting our collection of American and European masters,” he stated.

Among the works Tillou plans to exhibit are rare 17th Century paintings by Dutch artists Herman Doucher, Jean P. Gilleman and others, all in excellent condition. Tillou will also be exhibiting rare antique furniture, including a 16th century cassone from Northern Italy inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl.

Simon Teakle of A. E. Betteridge Jewelers echoed Tillou’s comments, adding, “Palm Beach is just a natural place for us in the winter. Many of our customers are there, so we are very excited about being part of the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show.” A. E. Betteridge is among the leading names in estate jewelry, with roots that can be traced back to Birmingham England, “where the Betteridge name has been synonymous with silversmithing and fine jewelry since the 1700s,” said Teakle, former head of the jewelry department for Christie’s.

Leading Dealers Returning to Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show

Among the more well-known exhibitors returning to the show this year are Alexander Acevedo (Alexander Gallery, NY); W. Graham Arader III of Philadelphia; Ralph M. Chait of NY; Mark J. West of London; Hyland Grandy of Hyannisport, MA; Daphne Alzakari of NY; Talisman Antiques and Guinevere Antiques, both from London; and Camilla Dietz Bergeron of NY.

South Florida Area Art, Antique and Jewelry Dealers to Exhibit

“We are very happy to welcome a number of exhibitors from right here in our own backyard,” said show co-founder Rob Samuels. “This show gives them an opportunity to meet many new potential customers, who are traveling from around the world to attend.” Samuels said the list of exhibitors from in and around Palm Beach County include, among others: art and antiques dealer Levy & Dweck; East Coast Jewelers; Joe Rubinfine American Historical Autographs; Proarte Gallery; Robert Slack Fine Art; and The Meissen Shop.

Also exhibiting this year are Palm Beach residents Mars and Ron Jaffe, who will be offering a collection of art and antiques that have not been on the market in over 30 years. The Jaffe collection features items from the couple’s home in Potomac, Maryland, which they sold prior to moving to Palm Beach. When the couple purchased the 5-acre estate from the Harkness family, a legendary American family dynasty, they also purchased many of the antiques and much of the art in the home. That included linen folded tracery paneling in the library, circa 16th century, which came from a castle in Essex, England. “Edith Hartness purchased the paneling from a family friend, William Randolph Hearst, who had purchased it from a lot which was brought over from England to build San Simeon,” said Mrs. Jaffe.

Collector’s Paradise – Where Browsers are Welcome

Whether one is a serious collector, novice or museum curator – or simply a person who loves to look at rare antiques, fine art, stunning jewelry, silver and textiles – the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show “offers a chance to view a wide spectrum of precious items, from 2,000-year-old antiquities to 20th century Art Deco and Modernists pieces, all in one place and all at one time,” said Scott Diament, one of the show’s co-founders. “We have worked very hard to bring together exhibitors who offer the very best in antiques, fine art, jewelry and more, so regardless of what a person is seeking, they are sure to find it at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show.”

Among the items exhibitors will be offering are:

    Antique & Fine Jewelry

    Objets d’Art

    Furniture

    Silver

    Paintings

        Porcelain

    Ceramics & Pottery

    Textiles

    Watches & Clocks

        Sculpture

    Asian Art & Antiques

    Art Glass

    American Historical Autographs

        Other Antiquities & 20th Century Design

American Art Remains “Hot, Hot, Hot”

Art dealers from around the world have enjoyed great success at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show, and this year’s exhibitors are bringing with them some rare and important works. American art, which has seen a surge in popularity over the past couple of years, continues to be much sought after, show organizers said. “Last year we talked about the hot market for American art,” said show co-founder Rob Samuels. “And from what we are hearing from our exhibitors, nothing has changed: if anything, American art is now more popular than ever.”

A sampling of works by American Artists to be featured at this year’s show:

Mary Cassatt (1844 – 1926). Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who exhibited with the Impressionists of her time and is credited with fostering the acceptance of Impressionism in the U.S. She studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and then traveled extensively in Europe, finally settling in Paris in 1874. In that year, she had a work accepted at the Salon and in 1877 made the acquaintance of Degas, with whom she was to be on close terms throughout his life. His art and ideas had a considerable influence on her work.

Andrew Wyeth (American Contemporary Realist Painter, born in 1917). Among the paintings on display at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show will be an Andrew Wyeth original, “Flour Mill,” 1947 – Watercolor Drybrush, priced at Million.

Andrew Wyeth is one of the most celebrated living artists in history. Several galleries and museums, including the National Gallery of Art, display his work (galleries, it should be noted, which had never before featured the work of a living artist).

This “painter of the people,” as he is often called, holds no high school diploma, formal training or college degree. Until he reached the age of eighteen, Wyeth’s father home-schooled him and trained him in the arts. (He attended public school until the third grade).

Museums and galleries over the years held Andrew Wyeth’s work in the highest regard and continue to do so even today. In 1964, the Farnsworth museum in Rockland, Maine paid K for a Wyeth painting entitled “Her Room.” At that time, this was the highest price paid by a gallery for a living artist’s work. In 1987, the National Gallery of Art exhibited the “Helga” paintings. As previously mentioned, this was the first time the National Gallery featured the work of a living artist.

Newell Convers Wyeth (1882–1945). This American painter and illustrator was the head of several generations of important American artists: he was the father of Andrew, Henriette and Carolyn Wyeth, the grandfather of Jamie Wyeth, the father-in-law of Peter Hurd. An inveterate “drawer” as a child, Wyeth began his formal art training very sporadically, jumping from school to school (including a short stay at the Eric Pape School) and instructor to instructor until, at age 20, when he was accepted into the Howard Pyle School for the 1902 sessions. Among his many well-known murals are those in the Missouri state capitol and the altar panels for the National Episcopal Cathedral, Washington, D.C. He also illustrated numerous adventure stories, histories, and classics for children. He taught his son, the painter Andrew Wyeth.

William Merritt Chase (1849 – 1916). Chase was an American painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He was born in Williamsburg (now Nineveh), Indiana, and became a pupil of B. F. Hays in Indianapolis, of Eaton in New York, and subsequently of A. Wagner and Karl von Piloty in Munich.

In New York he established a school of his own, after teaching with success for some years at the Art Students League. A worker in all media – oils, watercolor, pastel – etching and painting with distinction the figure, landscapes, and still lifes, he is perhaps best known for his portraits, his sitters including some of the most important men and women of his time.

Chase won many honors at home and abroad, became a member of the National Academy of Design, New York, and for ten years was president of the Society of American Artists. Among his important canvases are Ready for the Ride (Union League Club, N.Y.), The Apprentice, and Court Jester. He became a member of the Ten American Painters after John Henry Twachtman died.

Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 – 1924). Knight was born in Pennsylvania and attended

the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1858 – 1861, before traveling to Paris to study at the Atelier Gleyre and with Cabanel at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1861 – 1863). He returned to America to serve in the Army and married Rebecca Webster. In 1871, he and his bride returned to France -where they remained for the rest of their lives. It was this ability to portray the human figure so naturally that made Knight so popular – not only in his own lifetime, but today.

William Mason Brown (1828 – 1898). Brown, along with Martin Johnson Heade, was among a very elite group of artists equally adept at landscape painting as well as still-life painting. He was born in upstate New York in 1828, in the city of Troy, where he also began his art studies under Thomas Grinnell and later with the portraitist, Abel B. Moore. His work can be found in over a dozen museums, and his paintings are much sought after.

Hovsep Pushman (1877 – 1966). Born in Armenia, Hovsep Pushman became known for still lifes of exotic subjects, featuring antique objects with Oriental motifs, Nubian princesses, or Spanish gypsies. His paintings had soft lighting and quite often tapestries as backgrounds and were harmonious in tone with refined, delicate brushwork. He studied at the Constantinople Academy of Art, at the Chicago Art Academy, and in Paris under Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Tony Robert-Fleury, and Adolphe Dechenaud.

Samuel Colman (1832- 1920). one of the earliest American artists to paint the Spanish landscape, Colman’s interest in Spanish painting was perhaps sparked by a widespread American attraction to Spain’s past. Beginning in the early 1800s, Americans had become increasingly interested in the Spanish history. The discoveries of Christopher Columbus, the paintings of Goya and Velazquez, and the prose of Cervantes, became popular elements of this nostalgic, cultural fascination. When Colman traveled to the south of Spain, he sought new and exotic material for his compositions and found it in the Moorish towns and provincial settings. He filled numerous sketchbooks with drawings of sun-baked cliffs, port cityscapes, and architectural elements. Colman paved the way for other artists seeking firsthand experience of Spanish culture. Thomas Eakins and Mary Cassatt were among the many artists who later followed his lead.

This is only a small glimpse of the important American artists who will be represented at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show.

European artists will also be represented, including:

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954). Particularly noted for his striking use of color, Matisse is one of the very few indisputable giants of modern art, alongside Picasso and Kandinsky. His work was influenced by impressionist and post-impressionist painters including Pisarro, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin and Paul Signac. Had it not been for poor health, however, the artist might never have found his true calling. At the age of 21, while working as a law clerk, he became seriously ill. It was during the phase of convalescence he started painting and discovered his love for art, which would become his life-long passion. He left behind his law career and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. After World War I, Matisse had gained a high reputation and was an internationally recognized artist. In 1917, he left Paris and settled in Nice in the South of France where he remained until the end of his life.

Joseph Caraud (French, 1821 – 1905). Caraud was born in Cluny, in the Saône-et-Loire region of France. Even before he began his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts, he exhibited his first work at the Salon of 1843. In October of the following year he entered the École des Beaux-Arts ateliers of Alexandre Abel de Pujol, a former student of Jacques-Louis David, and Charles-Louis Lucien Muller, a historical and religious scene painter, in Paris, both of whom influenced his early work at the Salons. In 1867, he was given France’s highest honor and named a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

Paul Désiré Trouillebert (French, 1829-1900). Trouillebert was one of the French Barbizon School Painters, a group of landscape artists working in the area of the French town of Barbizon, south of Paris. The Barbizon School artists are often considered to have sown the seeds of Modernism with their individualism, and were the forerunners of the Impressionists, who took a similar philosophical approach to their art. Trouillebert’s work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Chateau Museum, Dieppe, France; Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg; the Musées des Beaux-Arts of Puy, Mulhouse, Nice, Reims, and Saumur.

Eugène Louis Boudin (French, 1824-1898). Boudin was born on the coast of Normandy and remained faithful to his native province throughout his long life. From 1847 to 1848, most of his time was spent in Paris and he returned to Paris from 1851 to 1854 for formal study, financed by a grant from the municipality of Le Havre. Although much of his early work is lost, it appears it was in Paris that he made still lifes of fish and game inspired by Dutch and Flemish paintings of the 17th century, and French paintings of the 18th century. In this effort, he was encouraged by his friend Theodule Ribot. Back in Le Havre, he met Claude Monet in 1858, and began to act as his mentor.

Horatio H. Couldery (British 1832 – 1893). Couldery was a Victorian artist who specialized in painting cats and dogs. He lived in Lewisham, Kent and was a member of a large family of artists – five in all.

Although an artist, his father had second thoughts as to Horatio’s profession and subsequently placed him in apprenticeship with a cabinet maker. However, his love for art soon won out and at the age of 25 he enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools; exhibiting his first work there in 1864. During his day, he was a popular artist and exhibited works in many of the important exhibition halls, including the Royal Academy; Royal Society of British Artists; British Institution and at the Graphic Exhibition of Animal Paintings in 1882.

In 1875 Couldery exhibited A Fascinating Tail at the Royal Academy. In the Academy Notes, John Ruskin had the following comments: quite the most skillful, minute, and Dureresque painting in the Exhibition, not to be seen without a lens: – and in its sympathy with kitten nature … and its tact and sensitivity to the finest gradations of kittenly meditation and motion, – unsurpassable.

Today examples of Couldery’s work can be seen in the collections of the Norwich Art Gallery and the Nottingham Art Gallery.

The above is but a small sampling of the wonderful European artists whose work will be on display at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show.

Art, Antiques Spanning Many Generations

For anyone who loves to visit the world’s great museums and galleries – or has an affinity for fine art, jewelry and antiques – the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show offers a rare combination of luxury items sure to please even the most discriminating collector. The items offered at the show represent a diverse cross-section of European and Continental subject matter, ranging from very rare, historic items through 20th century pieces. Additional highlights from the upcoming show include:

-A very rare gold-gilt lacquer wood figure of Damo (a renowned Buddhist figure and the founder and first teacher of Zen Buddhism), which dates to the late Ming Dynasty, 16th – 17th century.

-A fine Sancai Glazed Terracotta Caparisoned pottery horse, which dates to the Tang Dynasty, 618 – 907 AD.

-A magnificent emerald and diamond ring, Russian circa 1800, which was given to a Russian nobleman as a present from the Czar of Russia, Alexander 1st. The emerald has a carat weight of 5.84, and the 16 diamonds weigh approximately 5.50 carats.

-A French Eighteenth Century Transitional Walnut Louis XV/XVI Commode commissioned for a marriage from the region of Nimes.

-A collection of four Italian Nineteenth century plaster Medallions depicting four Roman Emperors from the Julio-Claudian Dynasty.

-A Very Large Derby Figure of Minerva, William Duesbury, Circa 1765-70.”

-Leaf Veined Case “Transmutational” by Salvdore Dali in 18k gold with ruby nails and emerald.

Lecture Series Adds to the Cultural Experience

For those who have a passion for art history and enjoy learning about the origins of rare antiques, the show’s lecture series is sure to be a big hit, with well-known names in the world of art and antiques offering their views on a range of topics. This year’s speakers list is still being compiled as of this writing, and a complete lineup will be released soon.

Private Preview Party Benefits United Way of Palm Beach County

United Way of Palm Beach County has again been named as the beneficiary of a Private Preview Party at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show, to be held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center on opening night, Friday February 17 from 6PM-10PM. Guests at the opening night event will have the first chance to view and purchase art and antiques from exhibitors before the show opens to the public.

Kris Charamonde, one of the co-founders of the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show, said he and his partners were happy that the United Way of Palm Beach County would benefit from the event. “The United Way does so many good things for so many people,” he stated, “it is an honor to be associated with them, and a privilege to be able to help such a wonderful organization.”

Charamonde added that he hopes others in the community will reach out to the United Way and provide the support it needs to forward its mission. “Those attending the Private Preview Party will benefit from the knowledge that they are helping a worthwhile organization in the United Way, while at the same time having the opportunity to be the first to visit with our exhibitors and view or purchase some rare items.”

For more information about the Preview Party, contact Chere Brodi at the United Way (561) 375-6600 or Judy Oppel at the Palm Beach Jewelry & Antique Show (561) 822-5440.

For a complete list of exhibitors or other information, visit http://www.palmbeachshow.com.

EXPANDED BIOGRAPHIES FOR SELECTED ARTISTS

Samuel Colman (American, 1832- 1920)

Regatta Day, Seville

Oil on canvas

Signed lower left

26 1/4 x 39 inches

Framed – 36 x 48 1/2 inches

Provenance: Private Collection, San Francisco

Written by: Carl Eckhoff, Director of Research – Greenwich Gallery

In this romantic view of the Regatta Day, Seville, American landscape painter Samuel Colman has depicted a busy port scene enveloped by an atmospheric vapeur de l’air. The haze created by what art historians call a “view against the light,” illumination from behind by a low sun, at once unifies and romanticizes the setting. This pictorial technique reflects a seventeenth-century tradition made famous by the French master Claude Lorraine and, a generation before Colman, “the painter of light,” J.M.W. Turner.

Colman was one of the earliest American artists to paint the Spanish landscape. In Regatta Day, Seville, he chose to represent a prominent architectural monument on the banks of the Guadalquivir River. On the right is the Giralda, a twelfth-century mosque with a Renaissance bell chamber crowned by a bronze figure of Christian Faith. This building is a monuments to Seville’s glorious past and once-prominent status as a primary port for the Indies in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. By the nineteenth century, such historical associations paralleled a growing American curiosity about the region. At the time of Colman’s arrival, however, Spanish trade centers had shifted from Seville to other ports such as Cadiz, perhaps lending to the wistfully reflective mood of the composition.

Colman’s interest in Spanish painting was perhaps sparked by a widespread American attraction to Spain’s past. Beginning in the early 1800s, Americans had become increasingly interested in the Spanish history of discovery, conquest, and colonization, which they saw as resembling their own historical legacy. The discoveries of Christopher Columbus, the paintings of Goya and Velazquez, and the prose of Cervantes, became popular elements of this nostalgic, cultural fascination.

When Colman traveled to the south of Spain, he sought new and exotic material for his compositions and found it in the Moorish towns and provincial settings. He filled numerous sketchbooks with drawings of sun-baked cliffs, port cityscapes, and architectural elements. Colman paved the way for other artists seeking firsthand experience of Spanish culture. Thomas Eakins and Mary Cassatt were among the many artists who later followed his lead.

In 1867, Henry Tuckerman wrote of Colman, “to the eye of refined taste, to the quite lover of nature, there is a peculiar charm in Colman’s style which, sooner or later, will be greatly appreciated.” Implicit in Tuckerman’s statement is his observation of a strong individualism in Colman’s style.

Samuel Colman was one of the most important figures in the American art world in the second half of the 19th century: a prolific painter of landscapes, much admired and collected; a traveler who presented a great variety of scenes in his production; and an active participant in American art politics. He was an academician of the National Academy of Design; and he was a founding member of several important artistic organizations, such as the American Water Color Society- he was its president for the first five years- The New York Etching Club, and the dissident Society of American Artists.

Colman was born and raised in Portland, Maine, and moved early in his life to New York City, where his father, a publisher and fine-art books dealer, introduced him to many of the leading artists and writers of the time. He studied with Asher B. Durand, a leader of the Hudson River School of painters, and by the time he was eighteen was exhibiting at the National Academy of Design and by age twenty-two was elected an Associate.

He and Thomas Moran are considered the two most important 19th-century painters to visit Arizona where Colman did panoramic views including the Grand Canyon (1882). They were some of the few Hudson River painters that ever went West. Colman first went to the West in 1871 and painted in Utah and Wyoming, and he also did numerous Oregon Trail depictions. One of his most noted is “Ships of the Plains,” 1872, now in the Union League Club in New York. In 1870, he painted Yosemite in Northern California, and in 1887-1888, visited Pasadena as a tourist.

With the younger painter, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Colman went to California in the summer of 1870; the result was a series of western scenes. Still eager to travel and to extend his repertoire, Colman went back to Europe with his wife (he had married in 1862) for an extended stay of four years. He visited Holland and France, and set up a studio for a while in Rome. In addition, he went on another trip to North Africa, visiting Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco. Colman did many sketches, both in pencil and watercolor, on this his second near eastern voyage; they furnished material for a number of paintings after he returned to America in the mid-summer of 1875.

Although he did not consider himself a Luminist in style, he manipulated light to create a glittery, silvery atmosphere, and others have called him a Luminist. Unlike his contemporary, Albert Bierstadt, he was not trying to create a sense of drama or of the grandiose; his works were sensitive and suggested quiet beauty.

As a painter Colman reached such a level of commercial success that he was able, in 1882-83, to have a house in Newport, Rhode Island, built by McKim, Meade and White, the architectural firm that built the houses of millionaires whose estates surrounded him. He continued to travel, both to the American Far West and to Europe. Before he died

he wrote two books on aesthetic theory: “Nature’s Harmonic Unity” and “Proportional Form.” He was also an etcher, art collector, an authority on oriental art and porcelains, and an interior designer, working with John La Farge and Louis Tiffany. He died in New York City in 1920.

Mary Cassatt (American 1844 – 1926)

Excerpt from The Dictionary of Art (Grove: Oxford, 1996)

Daughter of a Pittsburgh banker, Mary Cassatt received a cultured upbringing and spent five years abroad as a child (1851-5). In 1860, at the age of 16, she began classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, and in 1866 sailed again for Europe. During the next four years she studied in Paris with Jean-Leon Gerome and Charles Chaplin, in Ecouen with Paul Soyer, in Villiers-le-Bel with Thomas Couture and in Rome with Charles Bellay. Cassatt also spent time painting and studying in the museums of Parma, Madrid, Seville, Antwerp and Rome, finally settling in Paris in 1874. Until 1878 she worked mainly as a portrait and genre painter, specializing in scenes of women in Parisian interiors. She exhibited regularly in the USA, particularly in Philadelphia, and had paintings accepted in the Paris Salons of 1868, 1870 and 1872-6. Cassatt’s study of Velazquez and Rubens, coupled with her interest in the modern masters Thomas Couture, Courbet and Degas, caused her to question the popular Salon masters of the 1870s and to develop her own increasingly innovative style. This led to rejection of some of her Salon entries in 1875 and 1877 but also prompted Degas to invite her to exhibit with the Impressionists. She made her debut with them at their fourth annual exhibition (1879), by which time she had mastered the Impressionist style and was accepted as a fully-fledged member by artists and critics alike. She went on to participate in the Impressionist exhibitions of 1880, 1881 and 1886.

In 1877, when her parents and older sister Lydia arrived to settle with her in Paris, she exchanged her youthful lifestyle, living alone in her studio, for a more family-orientated existence. Family members often figure in Cassatt’s Impressionist portraits and scenes of daily life during this period. Cassatt began to revise her Impressionist style in the 1880s, and after the last Impressionist exhibition (1886) she developed a refined draughtsmanship in her pastels, prints and oil paintings. After exhibiting with the new societe des Peintres-Graveurs in 1889 and 1890, she had her first individual exhibition of colour prints and paintings in 1891 at the Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris. Cassatt’s first major retrospective exhibition took place in 1895 at Durand-Ruel’s gallery in Paris and later moved to his New York gallery. Cassatt’s success in Europe and the USA was such that in 1894 she was able to purchase the Chateau de Beau-fresne in Le Mesnil-Theribus (c. 90 km north-west of Paris) from the sale of her work. Thereafter she alternated between Paris and the country, with a few months every winter in the south of France.

She increasingly concentrated on the mother-and-child theme and on studies of women and young girls, often turning to the Old Masters for inspiration. For this work she was recognized on both continents, and, in addition to receiving a number of awards, including the Legion d’honneur in 1904, she was called “the most eminent of all living American women painters” (Current Lit., 1909, p.167). She spent much of her time during these years helping her American friends build collections of avant-garde French art and works by Old Masters. Cassatt painted until 1915 and exhibited her latest work that year in the Sujfrage Loan Exhibition of Old Masters and Works by Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt at the Knoedler Gallery, New York; but soon afterwards cataracts in both eyes forced her into retirement. She continued to be actively interested in art, however, and until her death she vigorously expressed her own views and opinions to the many young artists who visited her seeking advice.

Cassatt’s own experimentation and her openness to new ideas caused her style to change many times during her long career. As a student and young artist, Cassatt avoided the academic emphasis on drawing and concentrated instead on painting techniques. But as her career progressed, particularly after 1879 when she took up pastels and printmaking, she developed a refined and original drawing style that blended European and oriental effects.

Cassatt’s pastels are recognized as one of the most important aspects of her oeuvre. Although she used pastel as a sketching tool from the first, after joining the Impressionist circle she began to produce major finished works in this medium. Pastel became increasingly popular in both Europe and the USA in the 1870s and 1880s, and Cassatt was one of the first to exploit the properties of pastel in conveying the vibrancy of ‘modern’ life. As in oil, she tailored her application of the pastel pigment to fit her changing style: exuberant strokes and rich colours during her Impressionist phase gave way to a calmer, more monumental style as she matured. In the 1890s she returned often to the study of pastel techniques of 18th-century masters, particularly Maurice-Quentin de La Tour. In the late 1880s Cassatt began to specialize in the mother-and-child theme. This developed from her interest in the monumental figure and the depiction of modem life and was also in tune with late 19th-century Symbolism. She soon became identified with the theme and continues to be considered one of its greatest interpreters.

Andrew Wyeth (1917 – )

Andrew Wyeth was born July 12, 1917 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of five children. Andrew was a sickly child and so his mother and father made the decision to pull him out of school after he contracted whooping cough. His parents home-schooled him in every subject including art education.

Newell Convers Wyeth (Andrew’s father) was a well known illustrator whose art was featured in many magazines, calendars, posters and murals. He even painted maps for the National Geographic Society.

Painting Style

Andrew had a vivid memory and fantastic imagination that led to a great fascination for art. His father recognized an obvious raw talent that had to be nurtured. While his father was teaching him the basics of traditional academic drawing Andrew began painting watercolor studies of the rocky coast and the sea in Port Clyde Maine.

He worked primarily in watercolors and egg tempera and often used shades of brown and grey. He held his first one-man show of watercolors painted around the family’s summer home at Port Clyde, Maine in 1937. It was a great success that would lead to plenty more.

He married at the age of twenty-two to a local girl named Betsey James and had two boys, Nicholas who became an art dealer, and James who became the third generation artist in his family. Interestingly, although James’ father was the most popular artist in his family history, he was greatly inspired by his grandfather’s illustrations.

He was featured on the cover of American Artist as well as many other famous magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post that displayed his painting “The Hunter.” His first solo museum exhibition was presented in 1951 at the Farnsworth Art Museum. Since then he has seen many more successes and is considered one of the most “collectable” living artist’s of our time.

“With watercolor, you can pick up the atmosphere, the temperature, the sound of snow shifting through the trees or over the ice of a small pond or against a windowpane. Watercolor perfectly expresses the free side of my nature.” – Andrew Wyeth

Museum Collections

Wyeth’s first solo exhibition in 1937 at the Macbeth Gallery in New York was a sell out show! This was the beginning of an impressive career of exhibitions and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1964 The Farnsworth museum in Rockland, Maine paid sixty-five thousand dollars for a painting entitled “Her Room.” At that time this was more money than any gallery had ever paid for the work of any living artist. Andrew Wyeth paintings have been displayed at the National Gallery of Art where no living artist had ever had an exhibit.

Today Andrew Wyeth prints inspire people everywhere as his colorful career has not seen an end. He is eighty-three years of age and still manages to come up with works of art that inspire and excite the art community.

Andrew Wyeth’s work is held by museums and private collections around the world.

The Joslyn Art Museum located in Omaha, Nebraska features works from three generations of artists in the Wyeth family. It carries the following Wyeth artworks;

Andrew Wyeth watercolour entitled Half Bushel painted in 1959.

Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945)

Newell Convers Wyeth was born on October 22, 1882 in Needham, Massachusetts. Growing up on a farm near Walden Pond, Wyeth developed a love of nature, and he became interested at a young age in romantic literature and painting.

Wyeth’s mother nurtured his artistic talent and encouraged him to pursue it. His father took a more practical approach and urged young Wyeth to use his talent for drafting rather than painting. He began his studies in drafting at the Mechanic Arts High School and also attended the Massachusetts Normal Art School and the Eric Pape School in Boston, where he eventually took all art courses.

By 1902, when he was accepted to the Howard Pyle School of Art in Wilmington, Delaware, Wyeth had studied under several masters, including Charles W. Reed. Leaving his home in Massachusetts, the he moved to Delaware and quickly became enamored of the Brandywine Valley countryside which he would later make his home.

Having grown up on a farm, Wyeth had an affinity for the West and an appreciation of its rustic beauty. He was intrigued by the “rough and tumble” lifestyle of the West and in fact, his first published illustration, that of a bronco buster, appeared in February 1903 on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

Howard Pyle felt that to depict the West accurately in his art, Wyeth had to experience it firsthand. After The Saturday Evening Post cover was published, Pyle encouraged Wyeth to take a trip to the West to strengthen his Western art. The publishing house of Charles Scribner’s Sons sponsored Wyeth’s Western trips in 1904 and 1906. As a result of his forays into Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, Wyeth produced several illustrations for Scribner’s.

On April 16, 1906, N.C. Wyeth married Carolyn Bockius of Wilmington, Delaware. The couple moved to the countryside of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, where Wyeth attended Howard Pyle’s summer school. In 1911, N.C. Wyeth completed his first major commission for Scribner’s: the illustrations for Treasure Island.

After the Treasure Island series, Wyeth went on to illustrate many other popular novels, including Kidnapped, Robin Hood, Robinson Crusoe, The Boy’s King Arthur and The Last of the Mohicans. He also illustrated many volumes for Houghton Mifflin, David McCay, and Little Brown and did serial cover illustrations for magazines such as McClure’s and Scribner’s. N.C. Wyeth became disenchanted with illustration after completing The Last of the Mohicans. He had always been interested in landscape and still-life painting, and when he stopped illustrating professionally, he began to focus on these two types of art.

In the 1930s, Wyeth began painting large-scale murals. In 1939, he began a series of murals for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The paintings were based on American pilgrim life and how it related to his ancestry. Unfortunately, he never completed the murals. In October 1945, Wyeth and his grandson were killed in a tragic car accident near his home in Chadds Ford. Wyeth’s son Andrew and his son-in-law John McCoy finished what became N.C. Wyeth’s last work.

N.C. Wyeth was a member of the National Academy, the Society of Illustrators, the Philadelphia Water Color Club, the Fellowship of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Chester County Art Association and the Wilmington Society of Fine Arts. In June of 1945, he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Bowdoin College.

Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 – 1924).

Daniel Ridgway Knight’s works represent so many aspects of Nineteenth Century painting, including history, genre, landscape, portrait, and floral themes. In each work, all that is aesthetic is recorded with fine detail and skill.

In order to faithfully record the scenery, Knight studied the different phases of the day and their effects on the environment. Knight built a glass studio outside of his home, enabling him to paint outdoors, even in the dead of winter. Whether he was concentrating on the evening with the glow of moonlight upon the Seine River or on a young woman in a brightly colored flower garden at midday, each scene is depicted with great detail and with specific attention to a realistic portrayal of the landscape.

Daniel Ridgway Knight was born on March 15,1839 in Pennsylvania. He studied and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, were he was a classmate of Mary Cassatt and Thomas Eakins. In 1861, he went to Paris to study at l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Cabanel, and to apprentice in the atelier of Charles-Gabriel-Gleyre.

He returned to Philadelphia in 1863 to serve in the Union Army. During the war, Knight practiced sketching facial expressions and capturing human emotion in his work. He sketched battle scenes, recording the war for history. He founded the Philadelphia Sketch Club, where he showed works that dealt with the Civil War, mythology, and scenes from opera. In 1871 Knight married Rebecca Morris Webster and after the wedding he began working as a portrait painter in order to make enough money to return to France.

In 1872, once settled in France, Knight befriended Renoir, Sisley, and Wordsworth, all of whose influences can be seen in his work. He also enjoyed a close relationship with Meissonier. In 1875 he painted a painting called Wash Day (35 ½” x 51 ¼”) after a sketch by Meissonier for which he received critical acclaim. Knight was also strongly affected by the works of Jean-Francois Millet. In 1874 while painting in Barbizon, Knight went to visit Millet and found his view of peasant life to be too fatalistic. As opposed to Millet, Knight focused on depicting the rural classes during their happier moments. Other important influences were Bastien-Lepage, with whom he is most often compared, and Jules Breton for his plein-air style.

Knight’s works during the 1870’s and 1880’s focused on the peasant at work in the field’s or doing the day’s chores – collecting water or washing clothes at the riverside. His painting Hailing the Ferry, painted in 1888 and currently in the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, depicts two peasant girls calling for the ferryman on the other side of the river. This work, considered one of the artist’s masterpieces, captures all the elements of his pre-Rolleboise period – the subdued light and color, the finely detailed figures and the artist’s acute attention to detail.

By the late 1890’s, Knight established a home in Rolleboise, some forty miles west of Paris. Here he began to paint the scenes that were to make his work so sought after by contemporary collectors – views of his garden. His home had a beautiful garden terrace that overlooked the Seine – a view he often used in his paintings. Collectors from across the globe vied for these works, which featured pretty local girls in his garden. Works from this period include The Roses currently in the collection of the J.B. Speed Museum and The Letter in the Joslyn Art Museum – both of which feature pretty young women surrounded by lush flora.

Knight received a third class medal at the Salon in 188 8 for Hailing the Ferry and a Gold Medal at the Munich Exhibition that same year. In 1889 he was awarded a Silver Medal at the Paris Exposition and was knighted in the Legion of Honor, becoming an officer in 1914. In 1896 he received the Grand Medal of Honor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Daniel R. Knight died in Paris on March 9, 1924.

HOVSEP PUSHMAN (1877-1966)

By the time Hovsep Pushman opened his own studio in New York in 1921 he was devoted to one subject, oriental mysticism. These paintings typically featured oriental idols, pottery and glassware and were imbued with symbolism and spirituality. Often times they were accompanied by readings, which helped to explain their allegorical significance. It has been stated that “always there is age-old wisdom and symbolism of oriental culture in his pictures. Each object in the composition has its own inevitable place, its own special meaning which, blended with the whole, creates one single impression of great spiritual quality and of eternal beauty. Nothing could possibly be subtracted from any of his paintings; nothing added.” Pushman was not an artist who looked to others for inspiration, with the exception of Chardin. Like Chardin’s paintings there is a musical quality in Pushman’s harmonious use of color, form, composition and brushwork.

Pushman, who was born in Armenia, later became a naturalized American citizen. He began his artistic career at an early age when he went to the Constantinople Academy of Art on a scholarship at the age of 11. By the time he was 17, Pushman had come to the United States and began teaching art in Chicago. He also studied in Paris with Lefebvre, Robert-Fleury and Dechenaud. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris, winning a bronze medal in 1914 and silver in 1921. He was also awarded the California Art Club’s Ackerman Prize in 1918. Pushman had annual exhibitions at Grand Central Art Galleries beginning in the late 1920’s and continuing until his death in 1966. His exhibitions always proved to be a significant event and gained him great notoriety with the public, in fact at his 1932 solo exhibition, his sixteen paintings were sold by the end of opening day, one of which was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Excerpt from April 15, 1941 Chicago Sunday Tribune article “Pushman’s 1941 Exhibit to Open Tuesday” by Edith Weigle.

Paul Désiré Trouillebert (French, 1829-1900)

Trouillebert was born in Paris in 1829. In addition to being a landscapist, he also painted portraits and nudes. The great influence of Corot is very much evident in his works. In fact, Trouillebert first came into the limelight when one of his paintings was sold to Alexandre Dumas’s son as a work by Corot. The younger Dumas was misled by the similarities of composition and style of the two painters techniques.

After studying with Jallabert and d’Herbert, Trouillebert made his Salon debut in 1865 and exhibited his first landscape in 1869. He continued to enter paintings for many years thereafter. Despite the many comparisons made to Corot’s work, Trouillebert was an artist of great talent whose landscapes, bathed in a soft light achieved by the use of delicate tonal values, were sought after across Europe and America during his lifetime.

In Le Pecheur et le Bateau, Trouillebert shows his adeptness at the use of subtly varying tonal values to create soft shifts in light and atmosphere and distinctions between image and reflection. At right, a fisherman emerges from shadowed trees into the sunlight along a river’s edge. The white highlights of his fishing pole, cap and shirt stand out against the dark foliage behind him and are repeated in the white bark of three young birch trees that stand along the river in the sun. He looks down toward his boat, tied to a steak on the bank of the river. The lush greenery and white flowers along the bank are reflected in tones of green and umber in the smooth water. Green tones shift to silver and gray as the river recedes into the distance at the left of the composition, revealing Trouillebert’s sensitivity to natural effects.

Museum collections include: Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Chateau Museum, Dieppe, France; Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg; Hickory Museum of Art, NC; the Musées des Beaux-Arts of Puy, Mulhouse, Nice, Reims, and Saumur.

Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954)

Matisse is regarded by many art historians as the most important French painter of the 20th century. The leader of the Fauvist movement around 1900, Matisse pursued the expressiveness of color throughout his career. His subjects were largely domestic or figurative, and a distinct Mediterranean verve presides in the treatment.

The art of our century has been dominated by two men: Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. They are artists of classical greatness, and their visionary forays into new art have changed our understanding of the world. Matisse was the elder of the two, but he was a slower and more methodical man by temperament and it was Picasso who initially made the greater splash.

Matisse, like Raphael, was a born leader and taught and encouraged other painters, while Picasso, like Michelangelo, inhibited them with his power: he was a natural czar.

Matisse’s artistic career was long and varied, covering many different styles of painting from Impressionism to near Abstraction. Early on in his career Matisse was viewed as a Fauvist, and his celebration of bright colors reached its peak in 1917 when he began to spend time on the French Riviera at Nice and Vence. Here he concentrated on reflecting the sensual color of his surroundings and completed some of his most exciting paintings.

In 1941 Matisse was diagnosed as having duodenal cancer and was permanently confined to a wheelchair. It was in this condition that he completed the magnificent Chapel of the Rosary in Vence. Matisse began working on this four-year project in the late 1940s. In 1941, he had undergone an operation, and he wanted to thank the nuns who took care of him during his convalescence.

The chapel is small and modest, embracing light as its main and purest feature. All the art forms in the building — drawing, sculpture and architecture — were subordinated to a spiritual opening through stained glass to the light outside. His chief aim “was to balance a surface of light and color against a solid wall with black drawing on a white background.” He used paper cutout maquettes for the windows and vestments according to the notion that this material was “form filtered to its essentials.” The simplicity characteristic of this chapel, mixed with the profound emotion with which Matisse viewed its creation, made the building his masterpiece. Both in philosophy and craftsmanship, Matisse saw the chapel as his “revelation.”

Matisse’s art has an astonishing force and lives by innate right in a paradise world into which Matisse draws all his viewers. He gravitated to the beautiful and produced some of the most powerful beauty ever painted. He was a man of anxious temperament, just as Picasso, who saw him as his only rival, was a man of peasant fears, well concealed. Both artists, in their own fashion, dealt with these disturbances through the sublimation of painting: Picasso destroyed his fear of women in his art, while Matisse coaxed his nervous tension into serenity. He spoke of his art as being like “a good armchair”– a ludicrously inept comparison for such a brilliant man– but his art was a respite, a reprieve, a comfort to him.

Matisse initially became famous as the King of the Fauves, an inappropriate name for this gentlemanly intellectual: there was no wildness in him, though there was much passion. He is an awesomely controlled artist, and his spirit, his mind, always had the upper hand over the “beast” of Fauvism.

“Instinct must be thwarted just as one prunes the branches of a tree so that it will grow better. “

– Henri Matisse

Joseph Caraud (1821 – 1905)

Early in his career Joseph Caraud was inspired, like many other artists, by Italy and Algeria, basing his early Salon entries on his experience in these countries. But as his career progressed he became more interested in anecdotal, genre scenes in which elegant women in their luxurious clothing with sumptuous patterning recalled the eighteenth-century style and rendering of details found in paintings by Fragonard, Greuze, and Watteau.

Joseph Caraud was born on January 5th, 1821 in Cluny, in the Saône-et-Loire region of France. Even before he began his artistic training at the École des Beaux-Arts, he exhibited his first work at the Salon of 1843: La Bonne Maman et La Petite Fille (The Good Mother and the Little Girl) and Portrait de M.G. (Portrait of M.G.). In October of the following year he entered the École des Beaux-Arts ateliers of Alexandre Abel de Pujol, a former student of Jacques-Louis David, and Charles-Louis Lucien Muller, a historical and religious scene painter, in Paris, both of whom influenced his early work at the Salons. From 1843 to 1846, he submitted several portraits to the Salon, perhaps to earn money for a trip to Italy since starting in 1848 he began submitting imagery based on Italian themes. As both of his masters were also portrait painters, he was first introduced to portraiture while he studied with these artists. His first work based on Italian life was his entry for 1848 entitled Jeune Fille Italienne à la Fontaine (Young Italian Girl at the Fountain) and Italien Offrant un Bijou à une Jeune Fille (An Italian Offering Jewelry to a Young Girl). After absorbing the influence of Italian life, he traveled to Algeria, exhibiting at the Salon of 1853 Intérieur d’une Maison Maure à Alger (Interior of a Moorish House in Algiers) and Femme d’Alger Agaçant une Perruche (Algerian Woman Irritating a Parakeet), and Baigneuses Mauresques (Moorish Bathers) thereby maintaining the romantic interest in such themes largely initiated earlier by Eugène Delacroix.

These two journeys, when examined together, interestingly reveal that during his early period Caraud was influenced by several elements. On one hand he traveled to Italy, perhaps under the influence of his École des Beaux-Arts teacher Abel de Pujol – who was interested in mythological and biblical scenes – since Italy was still where many artists went to study the old Italian masters and learn about landscape painting. The Prix de Rome given by the Académie continued to encourage students to seek out this country for artistic inspiration. Additionally, he went to Algeria, thus linking himself with Orientalism, or the craze for everything “oriental”. As France became more interested in establishing herself as a colonial power it encouraged artists to travel to North Africa. Here artists would find an entirely new environment and culture, and many would remain consistent painters of this theme throughout their career.

While Caraud initially dabbled in many other sources of inspiration, it is clear that by the Salon of 1857 he had left Italy and Algeria behind him and had started working more on the scenes for which he would be remembered – historical and anecdotal paintings heavily influenced by the period of Louis XV and the life of Marie Antoinette. In 1857 he exhibited La Reine Marie-Antoinette au Petit-Trianon (Queen Marie Antoinette at the Petit Trianon), among others, showing a scene directly inspired by this historical period. He received his first medal, third-class, at the salon of 1859 when he exhibited Representation d’Athalie devant le Roi Louis XIV par les Demoiselles de Saint-Cyr (Representation of Athalie before King Louis XIV by the Young Girls of Saint-Cyr), among two others, and received another medal, this time a second-clas s award, in 1861 for works which included those based on religious activities.

His works, reminiscent of the eighteenth century themes and style, are in sharp contrast to the prevailing sense of Realism imbued in many works of this period in France which sought to document daily life in the country. These Realists artists based their compositions around a dark palette and did not shy away from depicting even the gloomiest scenes of Parisian existence. For Caraud, his decadent images focus on the pomp of the upper bourgeoisie, rendering each detail in a precise fashion, taking great care to picture the fabrics worn by his subjects, a preoccupation that stems from earlier masters of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was written of this work that, “He marvelously renders the dress, furniture, looks and types. All of his powdered, musk-scented, and ribboned subjects seem to come out of the Trianon.” (Annales de l’Académie de Mâcon, 1881, quoted in Le Base Joconde) Caraud may have also been influenced by the Realists, but until more of his work is brought to light, further exploration of his themes remains conjectural.

In spite of any possibility of his work on Realist themes, he still became best known for anecdotal scenes based on the eighteenth century. These themes resonated with both Salon juries and the public. The demand for his images became so great that they would later be reproduced as engravings for dissemination among the masses, so that each person, who wanted one, could have a Caraud hanging in their home. His interest in the beautiful woman is similar to his contemporary James Tissot, who, early in his career painted fashionable women in historical costume pieces. Philip Hook (Popular 19th Century Genre Painters: a dictionary of European Genre Painting, Woodbridge: Antique Collector’s Club, 1986, pg. 295) wrote that:

The eighteenth century assumed an almost mythic significance for bourgeois Europe of a hundred years later…The artist G.A. Storey claimed ‘There can be no doubt that want of taste in dress and other surrounding often obliges the artist to present his fancies in the costumes of periods when articles of clothing were in themselves works of art, instead of in the shifting fashions of the day that in a year or two not only look out of date, but stand forth in all their native ugliness and vulgarity.’

In 1867 he was given France’s highest honor and named a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. He also participated in the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris where he earned a bronze medal. Caraud continued his involvement in the Parisian Salons and exhibitions until 1902 when he exhibited Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden) for his final showing. He died in 1905 – the exact date is unknown.

In his work inspired by eighteenth century genre scenes, Caraud found a sympathetic audience and became a very ”in-demand” artist attested to by the fact that many of his most popular paintings were widely reproduced to meet public anticipation. But more of his work will need to be brought to light before a fuller assessment of the possible diversity of his oeuvre can take place. Nevertheless, his placement in the annals of nineteenth century anecdotal painting is assured.    

Much of his work is in private collections but can also be found in the following museums: Musée Ochier à Cluny – Portrait de Madame Fauconnier (Portrait of Madame Fauconnier); Musée de Tessé in Le Mans – Jeune Fille Tricotant (Young Girl Knitting); Musée des Ursulines in Macon – La Lettre (The Letter); and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi – The Letter.

Eugène-Louis Boudin (1824-1898)

Eugène-Louis Boudin, French painter, was born in Honfleur, the son of a harbor pilot. In 1835, he settled in Le Havre, where he was apprenticed to a printer. In 1838, he started to work in an art supplies store and drew in his spare time. Paintings by Couture, Millet, Troyon and other artists who visited the city were exhibited in the store. They gave young Boudin valuable help and advice. Soon he gave up the store, to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to painting. In 1847-48, he traveled to Paris, visited northern France. In 1850, he exhibited two pictures in Le Havre, after which the town granted him a three-year scholarship to study in Paris (1851-1853).

Boudin first exhibited at the 1859 Salon and then at the 1863 Salon des Refusés. After his return to Le Havre he spent many summers on the farm of Saint Siméon, in the environs of Honfleur. He traveled widely in Normandy and Brittany, and visited Holland, Belgium and Venice. Wherever he went, he invariably painted harbor and beach scenes. In the 1850s, Boudin met Claude Monet and did much to help the young painter find his true artistic self. In the 1860s he frequently saw Edouard Manet and worked with him in Boulogne and Deauville.

In the 1870s, the Impressionists, in their turn, began to exert an influence on Boudin. His land- and seascapes of that period are filled with a constantly changing iridescent light; his palette grows lighter and the brushstrokes assume the aspect of soft, blurred patches of color. In 1874, Boudin took part in the 1st Impressionist Exhibition. He also frequently exhibited with the Impressionists later. His pictures of the sea made him one of the precursors of the Impressionists.

Source: Eugиne Boudin, 1824-1898 by Eugиne Boudin. Editions Anthèse, 1992.

William Merritt Chase (1849 – 1916)

In his early career, Chase was hailed as a genius bound to transform American art upon his return from his training in Munich in the 1870s. But by 1885, critics were assailing Chase’s work as too closely aligned with Munich style and lacking truly American subjects. The artist was also working at a time of heightened attention to declining morals among city dwellers. His audience demanded art that reinforced its nationalist sentiments and desire to preserve social order.

Chase answered his critics by appropriating the French avant-garde concept of the flâneur, or the detached observer of modern life, and applying this method to American urban landscapes. He chose as his subjects the parks and harbors of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Chase deliberately focused on this subject matter with the aim of underscoring the civility of modern American culture.

MAGNIFICENT EMERALD AND DIAMOND RING / RUSSIAN CIRCA 1800

Given to a Russian nobleman as a present from Czar of Russia, Alexander 1st , in Erfurt.

( as written in the original letters )

The square step-cut emerald framed by a closed back yellow gold leaf and flower motif set with rose-cut diamonds, surrounded by 16 old mine-cut diamonds and a second line of rose-cut diamonds.

The mounting is in silver and 14K gold (typical in the Russian work at the time), set as well with rose-cut diamonds and reproducing the leaf and flower motif.

The emerald weighs 5.84 carat and is of Colombian origin.

The 16 diamonds weigh circa 5.50 carat.

The ring is in the original fitted box.

Length : 32mm                 width : 20mm                 height : 24mm                 size : 14 / 54

Historical background

When Bonaparte is appointed first French consul, conflict with England is close, which brings him to search alliance with Russia. He lost no time to establish bond of friendship with Czar Paul 1st. However, on 11 March 1801, Czar of Russia, Paul 1st is assassinated at “ château Saint Michel”. His son, Alexander 1st is crowned Emperor the next day. He sincerely intends to devote himself to the public good and suggests England to re-establish harmony and understanding between Russian and Great Britain. Being a wise diplomat he subtracts himself to the agreement of an alliance with France, confined himself to sign a peace treaty.

At the end of 1803, worried about Napoleon’s success, Alexander feels he is obliged to take the command of the anti-French coalition which is in preparation. On 2 December 1804, Napoleon is crowned Emperor of France. In Autumn 1805, the third coalition decides to put an end to the arbitrary of Bonaparte, but the Austro-Russian army sustains a considerable defeat in Austerlitz.

The Prussia Russian army sets up the hard core of the fourth coalition. Nonetheless, Napoleon will beat the Prussians at Iena and Auerstadt and will enter Berlin on 27 October 1805. His army stands before the doors of Russia. Alexander has no choice, he convinces Napoleon to agree on a new alliance.

The famous encounter of the two emperors will conclude to the peace Treaty of Tilsit, for which consequence will lead Russia to follow into the wake of France’s politics. Having concluded an unpopular peace, however necessary, Alexander makes every effort to get all the possible profit from it. Each party needs to watch over vigilantly to the respect of the mutual agreements, which are always susceptible of being transgressed. It is in this context that Napoleon insists to obtain a new meeting with Alexander, which will take place in Erfurt in Autumn 1808. A series of conferences will lead to the signing of the Erfurt Convention, consolidation of the Franco-Russian alliance. This will be there last meeting. Five years after the Tilsit agreement, France and Russia will confront each other again.

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The History Of The Jewish Religion

The History Of The Jewish Religion

Abstract

The history of the Jews is quite long and its origin is gotten from Abraham and the Hebrews. Some of the practices that are carried out by the Jews today came as a result of the covenants that god made with people like Abraham and Moses. The history entails the covenant between Abraham and god, the covenant between god and Moses in Mount Sinai, conquest of the Canaan and the judges, etc. The prophet Samuel and the kings Saul, David, and Solomon also form the history of the Jewish religion. In the history of the Jewish religion are the destruction of the temple and the fall of Rome. The sufferings that the Jews endured in the early Middle Ages form the greatest contributions to the history of the Jewish religion. The harsh times in Europe and Germany that led to the immigration of the Jews especially to the United States led to the high population of the Jews in the United States. The crusades led to the loss of lives by the Jews in large masses and all the mistreatments that the Jews endured were blamed on the Jews themselves. The festivals and the practices that the Jews in the early days practiced form the practices that the Jews practice up to date.

Introduction

The history of the Jews religion entails the faith of the Jews and their culture.  Judaism is basically the beliefs and practices that the Jews practice. It is one of the oldest religions that remain and are still being practiced up to date. Judaism mainly explains the relationship that existed between God and the children of Israel. A Jewish is any individual whose mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, etc. in that line were of the religion of the Jewish. Also if an individual was converted to Judaism in a way that is accepted by the Israeli authorities, he or she and all his or her children qualify to be Jewish. The Jews religion has its roots back from the covenant between god and Abraham. The Jews believe in the existence of one God who provides for and maintains the Jews. The Jewish religion is also regarded as a waiting religion as its followers still wait for the coming of the messiah to liberate the world. The Jewish religion faced many resistances from the Christianity as it was being developed and very many Jews lost their lives in the process. The harsh conditions and severity that the Jews were exposed to in Europe led to the immigration of these Jews to many other parts of the world especially in the Europe in search of refuge. This paper will seek to explain the historical and religious context of Judaism and the biblical Jewish history up to today.

Historical and Religious Context

The history of the Jewish religion has its way back from the creation of mankind. Abraham and the Hebrews make the greatest contributions to the origin of the Jewish religion. Abraham used to live in north Mesopotamia but one time God commanded him to leave his homeland for Canaan a foreign land. The obedience of Abraham to his God is seen here when he leaves his own land for a place that he doesn’t know. The Hebrews also spent some time in Egypt where they were mistreated and served as slaves to the Egyptians under the reign of Pharaoh before returning to Canaan. Most of the Hebrew people were farmers and seminomadic herdsmen who were organized in small tribes. In their culture, there existed messengers, the literature of the Egyptian hymns and wisdom, the literature of the Canaanite language and methodology, Mesopotamian primitive history, etc. All the cultures of the Jews believed in the existence of a God who was the creator and the preserver. There also existed religious rituals and ethics that the Jews practiced with seasons.

Abraham and the Patriarchs

The bible begins with the book of genesis and this book recognizes the existence of an all-powerful God who creates the world in six days and rests the seventh day. The human being by the name Adam is the only creature created the sixth day and is created in the God’s own image and likeness. From the book of genesis to the book of chronicle, human beings sin against god several times until a time comes when god decides to punish the human kind using a flood. The only person who survived the flood was Noah and his family. After the blood, god made a covenant with Noah that he will never again destroy the world with water (John, 1).Abraham is believed to be the founder of the Jewish community. He didn’t discover god but he was called by the same God and a covenant between god and Abraham is made where Abraham is promised many descendants. Scholars have recently identified some differences between Abraham’s and the patriarchs’ religion and Moses’ religion. Abraham is seen to refer to god in generic terms other than in specific terms and the issue of idolatry in the religion of Moses is completely absent in the religion of Abraham. In the Abraham and the patriarchs’ religion, there was the belief that sacrifices and prayer was very essentials for the enhancement of the relationship between god and the people (Charles, & Jeremiah, 236). The prayers were offered in specific places such as a stone pillar, sacred tree, or a sacred alter. When Abraham made a covenant with God, there was a mark of circumcision which the community adopted and all male children in the community were to undergo it. Up to the present day, all male children undergo circumcision on the eighth day in the synagogues.

The Journey from Egypt to Sinai and the Covenant to Moses

The Hebrew tribes served as slaves in Egypt where they moved when a famine struck their region in Canaan. They cried to God to deliver them from the oppression that was being carried out on them. God called Moses and gave him the assignment to deliver his people from the land of oppression to the Promised Land. When Moses reached Egypt, the then king refused to release the Israelites but God had heard the cries and prayers of his people and infected the Egyptians with plagues which gave the king no options other than releasing the Israelites. When the Israelites left Egypt, the king ordered his army to follow them and when reached the red sea, God drowned all the army so that the Hebrews could escape (Stephen, 236).It took the Israelites a journey of about forty years to get to the Promised Land. The Jews at one blamed Moses of taking them to the wilderness so that they could die of hunger but along the journey, god provided the Hebrews with free food and water. When they reached Mount Sinai, Moses left them at the foot of the mountain and climbed the mountain to receive the commandments. Here, God the terms of the covenant between God and the Israelites was established and the Israel was established as God’s own nation. Through the forty years journey, God remained loyal tom the Israelites even when they turned to worship idols and blamed Moses for the hunger that they experienced. Moses emerged as a conqueror though he had refused the call when he was first told of his mission by God. He emerged as a great leader in religious matters, political issues, legislative issues, and military issues. In Mount Sinai, god gave Moses the Ten Commandments that were supposed to guide the Israelites in their day to day lives (Louis, 346). When Moses came back from the mountain, he found the Israelites worshipping idols and as a result of the anger that struck him, he dropped the commandments and they broke into pieces. The contents of the covenant included the loyalty that the Israelites needed to observe on god who saved them from bondage in Egypt, the prohibition of the worship of idols, and it also contained festivals and rituals that the Israelites needed to observe as a celebration of God’s provision to them (John, 1).

Conquest of Canaan and the Judges

When the Israelites reached their promised land, some leaders were appointed for them and these leaders were known as judges. Unfortunately, this period was dominated by the worship of idols and apostasy which the covenant between god and the Israelites was totally against. However, many alters were constructed for the God of Israel where the Israelites were supposed to make sacrifices and worship this God. Many priests were also appointed especially from the society of Levites and these Levites conducted sacrifices at the temples that were constructed for the God of Israel (John, 1).A house was also constructed for the Ark of the Covenant where this Ark of the Covenant was given maximum protection. Priest from the family of Eli acted as the staff members of this house that was constructed at the Shiloh Sanctuary.

Saul, David, and Solomon

Even after reaching the Promised Land, the Israelites still had enemies and thus a way of defending their community against these enemies was necessary. The solution turned out to be an authority that was centralized and an army that was organized so that they could give the right approach to dealing with external enemies. The Israelites had an option of taking God’s given way to protect the Israelites and another option of rejecting God’s kingship. Prophet Samuel appointed the first king of Israel. When Saul defeated the Ammonites, he was appointed the first king and he ruled the community of the Israelites from a small town called Gibeah which was to the north of Jerusalem. During the reign of Saul, many conflicts arose between him and the then prophet Prophet Samuel who had many powers over the kingship. Saul was succeeded by King David whose reign helped solve the differences that existed between Saul and the prophet Samuel. David combined both the political and religious authority to his house and the descendants and all other kings were to rule from Jerusalem (John, 1).Solomon the son of David succeeded his father at a very early age. David selected Solomon regardless of having other elder sons who had expected to succeed him. Solomon acted as king of Israel for about forty years and during this period, the monarchy of the Hebrews got the highest appraisal. Solomon’s kingship was very prosperous especially during the first half of his reign. Solomon was the person who was to build a temple for the God of the Israelites. In the second half of his leadership, idolatries dominated which resulted from his intermarriages. The bible says that Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh form Egypt leading to a relation between the Israelites and their enemies-the Egyptians.

Divided Monarchy and the Exile

When Solomon’s role came to an end, the nation split into the northern kingdom known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah. The northern kingdom was under the rule of the Assyrian ruler Shalmaneser while the southern region was under the rule of the Babylonian army. The Israelites split into smaller political-religious groups among them the Pharisees and the Sadducees (John, 1).

Destruction of the Temple

A number of reasons led to the development of the kingdom the Seleucid. Among them was the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great, the death of Alexander that Great, and the division of the empire of Alexander by the generals that he left. The relationship between the religious Jews and the Hellenized Jews kept on deteriorating and this led to the then king of Seleucid banning some Jewish religious traditions and rites. As a result of the bans, the orthodox Jews protested under the leadership of the Maccabees. The result of the revolution was the formation of the Hasmonaean Dynasty which was an independent Jewish religion (John, 1).A civil war led to the disintegration of the Hasmonaean Dynasty. Some people didn’t want to be led by the kings but by some theocratic clergy and these people sent their requests to the roman authorities. Judea was established as an independent roman kingdom at first but it later turned to be a brutal kingdom and really mistreated the Judean subjects. Many Judeans came out in lime light revolting against the leadership of the roman rulers of Judea. The roman emperors defeated the Judeans and much of the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and most of the artifacts that were preserved in the temple including the menorah were also stolen. After the defeat, the members of the Judean community continued to live in their former land and were also allowed to practice some of their religious rites and practices. For a long period of time the Jews were not allowed to enter to the town of Jerusalem. However, during the seventh century when the Persians were reconstructing the destroyed city, many Jews were living in the same town regardless of the ban (John, 1).The roman rule was changed to integrate other issues such as preserving tradition in a better situation, combining with the Greek society and thought, etc. People from different regions could now live peacefully with each other regardless of their tribal groups.

The fall of Rome

A number of laws were passed by the eastern Roman Empire that took away all civil rights of any individuals who were unbelievers. The existence of such unbelievers was also complicated by the passed laws and most the unbelievers had no other options than running away to rescue their lives. When they were denied their civil rights, meant that most of their freedoms were curtailed and they lived like prisoners. The Jews really suffered in the hands of the iconoclastic emperors who were believed to be heretic with some Jews tendencies. In a bid to try and fight for their lives, the Jews found themselves in some very remote states which were being established such as the Slavs and the Tatars. Here, they found protection and refuge and they could now live their lives though in some foreign land. The East-Roman Empire grew stronger and stronger and the relationship between them and their neighbors continued to enhance (John, 1).Contrary, the Western Roman Empire grew weaker and weaker and the always feel victims of the barbarians. The Jews continued to peacefully practice their faith and they didn’t have any trouble in their lives.

The Early middle Ages

During the early days, the church laws didn’t recognize the non-believers as humans and their humanity was regarded with much discrimination. In the beginning of the ninth century, the church came up with some laws that clearly addressed the issue of the believers and their treatment to the non-believers. Earlier, the believers and the Jews could not interact in any way and this helped create a gap between the two religions that proved very hard to bridge. The hard time that the church experienced in conducting its financial operations led to the integration of the Jews in their believers circle. The church could only get some money through borrowed loan that was to be returned with some interest and this loan could only be found from people of different faiths. These experiences of the church led to the rapid acquirement of influence by the Jews. Any pleasures by the Jews were to be from their homes or in their own circles. Also, the only way they could acquire some knowledge was through their own compositions and their literature. However, the Jews made all the necessary sacrifices and were completely devoted with all their nature and strength to the success of their literature (John, 1).The Jews from the western region really experienced hard conditions which depended on the ever changing political conditions. Those Jews who were in Italy during the war wagged by Rugii experienced many dark days. Here, they experienced the hard time since the roman emperors laws were greatly observed and administered. The laws of the emperors could not tolerate the practices of the Jews unlike the catholic faith where the Jews made some influences. In some places like the Pyrenean peninsula, the Jews had lived peacefully in large numbers and for many years. The Jews also enjoyed the peace when the same land was occupied by the Alani, Suevi, Visigoths, and the Vandals. However, the peace condition came to an abrupt end when the kings of Visigothic picked on Catholicism and wanted to convert all their citizens to one faith. The Jews first persevered and accepted the faith hoping that the severe conditions were to remain for a short moment. Some of them were baptized by force so that they could be allowed to remain in the region. Later, the Visigothic insisted that even those who were baptized by force had no option than to remain true to the Christian faith.

Later, the Jews conquered peninsula and they welcomed the Arabs to the land. For the Jews who had been completely converted and they wished to keep the faith of the Christian religion, the church offered maximum protection to them and protected them from compulsory conversion. The pope once wanted to protect his kingdom and the temporal power and he called for the support of the Carolingians but there was no change in the policy of conversion. Charlemagne used the church in bringing together the elements of his kingdom that had fallen apart and he also used the church in transforming the Old Roman Empire into a Christian empire (John, 1).He also united all the German races that were there during his reign and helped them to settle. When he died, most of the restrictions in the church were not observed and the non-believers were greatly mistreated.

The Crusades

The Jews endured many trials and hard times while in different kingdoms which practiced Christianity and these were just some indications of the hard times that befell them during the time of the crusades. During the crusades, the peaceful Jews experienced real torture in the hands of those who claimed to be believers. The believers had no room for anyone who was not a member of their religion. The rights to worship didn’t exist by then and this led to the great suffering by the Jews. The first crusade of 1096 resulted to the destruction of all the Jewish communities that flourished in Rhine and Danube (John, 1).The second crusade took place in 1147 where Philip Augustus treated the Jews in France with extra severity. The third crusade of 1188 greatly affected the English Jews. Many trials took place in England and the end result was a ban for any Jew to be seen in England. After about three hundred and sixty five years the Jews were allowed to settle in the British Isles. The Jews also experienced other attacks and were greatly oppressed by the shepherd’s crusades of 1251 and 1320.

Persecution and Blood Libel

All the deeds that were conducted on the Jews were justified in the crimes laid against them. The Jewish were seen as being responsible for all the crime that was imputed to them all the years that they underwent the mistreatment. The Jews were also falsely accused of dishonoring the host which the believers believed to be representing the body of Christ. All the calamities that took place in this period were attached to the Jews and it was believed that were it not for them, there could have been great peace among the religions. The plundering raids of the Mongols were also laid on them. The Jews were also accused of poisoning the wells when the Black Death killed so many individuals in Europe. This was an invention meant to show how the Jewish were miserable. There existed only one court that claimed to be a protector to the Jewish and this was the Roman emperor of the German nation (John, 1).The emperor claimed that the Jews had the right to posses property and to be protected by the laws like any other individuals. The emperor could now present the Jews and all their property to cities or to princes. The court could now fight for the rights of the Jews and the greed, distrust, and envy that existed between communities could now be reduced. Also the undeserved suffering that the Jews went through could now be addressed and the innocent Jews could now escape prosecution. The court proceedings if well carried out could lead to the participation of different members of the community in communal work, help people leave like members of one family, and help reducing the harsh conditions that the Jewish were going through in the hands of the believers.

Expulsions

In all the countries in the western where Christianity was practiced, a gloomy of the Jews was portrayed and the Jews were viewed as the source of all evil. Many Jews were sent out of different places at different times. In 1290, almost all the Jews who resided in England were sent away, others were sent out of France in 1394. Also between 1350 and 1450, many Jews were sent out of large districts in Italy and Germany. These Jews who were driven out of the different places fled in different directions in search of peace and refuge (John, 1). They were looking for places where they could be tolerated and their faith could be respected. Most of them preferred the newly formed Slavic kingdoms. In the new Slavic kingdoms, their practices could be tolerated and many confessions were still tolerated. The rulers in these kingdoms made it possible for the Jews to enjoy true refuge and for a long time the Jews experienced great prosperity. The study of Talmud was very vigorous here and the Jews could now practice their faith without fear. The Jews learnt the language of the Germans and many of their customs and practices. However, they didn’t abolish their religion but continued to practice their faith. Up to date, the Jews practice the German customs that they learnt in the Slavic environment and they speak the German language whole heartedly. Also under Muslim rule especially in Pyrenean peninsula, the Jews received some good treatment where they were allowed to practice their faith with the required freedom

The efforts of the Jews to resist Christianity were faced with difficulties and although they made some advances, they couldn’t offer the real resistance to Christianity. The force of Christianity had advanced so much that the Jews efforts couldn’t have made great impact. The Arabic culture had greatly declined especially following the fall of the political power and the transformation of the Jews to the western cultures (John, 1).Most of the Jews who lived in the southern part o France and those who lived in the northern parts of Spain had accepted the western culture and this really weakened the Arabic culture. The Jews from Spain studied secular sciences with great vigor and eagerness to learn them just as they did with the bible and Talmud.

As the Jews continued to practice their faith, the church grew rapidly and with vigor to an extent that the Jews could no longer practice their faith with the full freedom. The church leaders were determined to transform all these Jews to the Christianity faith and they did all that they could to win them. The first step by the church to win these people was by offering religious writings to them and by religious disruptions on them. The attempt by the church to use writings and religious disruptions to weaken the Jewish faith did not prove very successful and due to the determination that the church had in weakening them, another option had to be adapted. This time round, the church made it really hard for the Jews to practice their civil rights. Many restrictions were made to the extent that the Jews were now completely separated from the Christians and they were to live in different parts in the cities (John, 1).Again, the Jews were required to wear some very embarrassing badges on their clothing. This led to great mistreatment of the Jews by their fellow citizens.

The Jews also became victims of hatred and scorn by their fellow citizens. Life for the Jews became harder and harder and in 1391, thirty thousands Jews were killed in Seville by a mob by the name the fanatical mob. In a bid to try and run for their lives, many Jews had no options other than to run for refuge in baptism. The Jews who were baptized however continued to practice their father’s faiths in secret. A severe interrogation was conducted where the rights and privacy of these Jews were greatly violated. This led to the discovery that some of the Jews who had been baptized still continued to practice their faith and were thus pretenders and not true Christians. Severe punishments were conducted on those who were discovered as being pretenders were taken to prison, tortured by the prison staff, and burnt to death (John, 1).This project continued for many years and was aimed at ensuring that there were no more unbelievers in Spain. In 1492, hundreds of thousands of the Jews were forced to leave Spain where they had spent their lives for over one thousand and five hundred years. After their departure from Spain, most of these Jews fled to Balkan Peninsula for refuge and here they enjoyed some peace. They also got an opportunity to practice the faith of their fathers without restrictions. Up to date, these exiles that were forced out of Spain still preserve the language that they learnt in Spain and surprisingly, these Jews in this land speak the Spanish language as their mother tongue.

The Enlightenment and Haskalah
During the revival period, a lot of learning and negotiations took place. Significant changes were especially found within the Jewish community. The enlightment was paralleled by the Haskalah movement where the Jews actively participated in seeing to it that the restrictive laws that were applied on then were abolished. These laws gave the Christian authorities total control over the Jews and this denied the Jews most of their civil rights. The movement also demanded that the Jews be integrated in the wider European community. The Jews students who attended classes got a chance to receive scientific and secular education in addition to the traditional religious education. Many Jews also got the opportunity to identify themselves with the Jewish religion as a result of the revival that took place in the study of the Jewish history (John, 1).Conservative movements and reform movements were born through the Haskalah and they all fought together in reviving the Jewish religion.  These movements also pushed for the assimilation of the Jewish culture in all the countries that the Jews lived. The process of reviving the Jewish religion wasn’t very smooth especially when some other movements started sprouting that preached completely the opposite of the Haskalah movement. The resistance amongst these movements led to the present divisions in the Jewish observance.
As numerous changes took place within the Jewish community, the outside world also experience equally important changes. The prosecution of the Jews had not been completely wiped in some European countries and in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, several hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed. The napoleon law by napoleon offered the Jewish refuge in regard to equality. Those Jews who used to live the Jewish ghettos in Europe were invited by napoleon to leave these ghettos for the newly created political regimes that were more tolerant to the Jewish religion (John, 1).Many Jews migrated to the United States form Europe due to the existence of economic and social opportunities in the United States. Here they formed a large community that was free from the restrictions that the Jews used to experience in Europe.
The Jews in the United States
The existence of the Jews in the United States dates back to the seventeenth century. However, the number of Jews in the United States by the seventeenth century was very small. The first Jews to settle in the United States were shepherds from Spain and Portugal. In the nineteenth century, many Jews arrived in the United States from Germany and here, the Jews became merchants and shop owners. Most of the Jews that migrated to the United States did it due to the discrimination and prosecution that took place in countries such as Germany, Europe, etc. (John, 1).The severity of the mistreatment of many Jews in the United States in regard to their religion was less and thus most of them opted to run to the United States for refuge. In the early twentieth century, many Muslims arrived in the New York City and built several synagogues. The holocaust in Europe led to immigration of the Jews to the United States in large numbers such that the United States became the largest home of the Jews (Israel, 40).
Napoleon and the Jews
Napoleon made great contributions to the liberation of the Jews of the Western Europe (John, 1). The civil code helped the Jews against discrimination from other communities and the severity that was put on them as a result of their religion. Napoleon decided to offer to the Jews, freemasons, and Protestants liberty, fraternity, and equality (Joseph, 52). Some churches that had been closed for years were also opened during his regime. The code was supposed to offer the freedom of worship to all regardless of ones cultural and ethnic background. Napoleon also said that the state was to pay the salaries of the priests to these communities. His mission to liberate the Jews began when he was in Ancona and some people passed around him wearing some yellow bonnets and arm bands. Napoleon was amazed and immediately asked his officers why these people wore the bonnets and the arm bands. The officers told him that these people were Jews and the bonnets and the arm bands were used to identify them so that in the evening, they could return to the ghettos. Napoleon ordered that the Jews remove the yellow bonnets and arm bands with immediate effect. Napoleon also ordered the closing of the ghetto and he said that the Jews should be allowed to live wherever they wanted to live and should also practice their religion with full freedom. Napoleon made rules that addressed the way that the businesses and credit by the Jews were to be conducted. Earlier, the Christians were not allowed by the laws to practice usury. In effect, an assembly of Jewish notables was appointed that was to represent the Jews community in the process of bringing the Jews over to his policies. All the debts that were owed to the Jews were annulled.
The Holocaust
The prejudice against the Jews due their ethnic and cultural background continued in Europe even in the 1920s and the 1930s. Adolf Hitler was one of the anti-fanatics who could not change their mind regarding the treatment given to the Jews. In Germany, the case was even harder. Back in 1933 the then Nazis organized a boycott that was to protest against all the businesses owned by the Jews in Germany (Max & Gustav, 23).This was a one day boycott aimed at eliminating all Jews from active businesses. This mission was accomplished in 1939 when all the remaining small enterprises in Germany were closed in Germany. In almost all the cities where the Jews resided, they were concentrated in a very small region and were separated from the rest of the members of the cities.
During the First World War, the Nazis in Germany formalized all the borders and restricted the movement of the Jews within the different areas. Also, some ghettos were created for the Jews and the Jews were required to be confined within these ghettos and could not live in other regions within the city. These ghettos were even worse than prisons because after a short period of time, the Jews who resided in these ghettos died of hunger and disease. Executions continued where the Nazis and their collaborators executed these Jews. Concentration camps were identified in Germany itself where many Jews lost their lives and others experienced the worst conditions that the human rights cannot tolerate today (George, 2009).
Mass killings of the Jews that lived in the soviet territory took place during the invasion of the Soviet Union. All the communities that lived in the region were thrown out of the region, robbed off all their property, and shot at the edge of the ditches. In the year 1941, Hitler made a decision to kill in mass all the Jews that existed in Europe and completely eliminate their existence. In 1942 however, several Nazis met to discuss the issue of the Jews and come with a final solution of the Jewish question. The general government came up with a plan to deport all the Jews that occupied the ghettos and the territories that were greatly concentrated. The Jews were to be taken to the extermination camps also known as the Vernichtungslager. These seven extermination camps included: Belzec, Auschwitz, Chelmno, Maly, Majdanek, Sobibor, Trostenets, and TreblinkaII (George, 2009).
Holocaust Aftermath and the State of Israel
Jews were killed in large numbers during the German Nazis regime between 1941 and 1945. Millions of refugees were left homeless by the holocaust and its aftermath. Most the refugees that were left homeless were the Jews amongst who had lost almost all if not all of their family members and possessions (John, 1).These Jews also faced persistent rejection in their home countries due to their ethnic and cultural background. The Jews were still interested in finding a place where they could live freely without discrimination and restrictions. In their efforts, most of them found themselves joining the Zionist movement. The Zionists argued that the Jews refugees who lived in Germany and the Nazi had been abandoned by other countries and this led to the mass killing that took place on those Jews that resided here. In fact, they argued that if there was a Jews state during this period, the extent of the holocaust couldn’t have been as severe as it was. Zionism grew rapidly and a post-holocaust displacement strategy was adapted that led to the immigration of many Jews to the land that is currently known as the state of Israel.

Judaism today

Geography

The Jews today are spread all over the world. However most of the Jews communities are today found in the USA with an approximate population of about 5.7 million people. Most of them came to the United States from Spain where they were being killed for the culture. Also anti-Semitism and the prosecution of the Jews in Europe contributed to the immigration to the United States (John, 1).Most of the Jews came to the United States in the nineteenth century and they built synagogues for their God. Many Jews are also found in Western Europe and the Western Europe. The African continent hosts between two hundred thousands and three thousands Jews. The Jews exist in many communities but most of the Jews belong to the communities of the Israel and Palestine. Many Jews live in states where there are different other communities except Israel which is a Jewish state (Mary, 47). Most parts of North Africa and the Middle East were previously homes of the Jews but when Israel was established, many of the Jews immigrated to this state. However, some countries like Iran, morocco, and turkey also have some notable number of Jews. When king Shalmaneser deported some Jews to Kurdistan, some new traditions were developed by the Jews and the residents converted many Kurds to Judaism. Here, the equality of all people was observed and women now enjoyed much freedom. In fact, it is in this very land that the first female leader emerged.

The Goal of the Jewish Religion, Practices and Beliefs

The Jews still believe that the promised messiah hasn’t been sent. It is therefore a religion of waiting where they are waiting for the messiah who will come on earth to liberate them and also bring security and justice to the world (John, 1). Several changes have occurred in regard to the issue of the messiah and some Jews have accepted the messiah as a symbol and not somebody that will practically be sent to liberate them. However, a group of the Jews still believe that god will send them the messiah and they are still waiting for his coming. The Jews use the torah as their sacred and this greatly corresponds to the Christian’s Old Testament. The Talmud which was completed in the fifth century contains the oral law and the interpretations of the law.

The Jews celebrate many festivals and among them is the weekly Sabbath that is celebrated from the afternoon of Friday to Saturday afternoon (Raymond, 25). The different Muslim communities celebrate the Sabbath in the same way but strictness differs where some communities allow for secular activities to take place while others don’t. Many other festivals are celebrated once a year. Some of them include: Yom Kippur which is the Day of Atonement, Chanukah which corresponds to the Christian’s Christmas. Other festivals designate the time when the Jews were allowed to leave Egypt and their exodus. Others are celebrated once in a lifetime such as the circumcision of the boy child when it is eight days old. This acts as a remembrance of the covenant that god made to Abraham. Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah marks a time when the boys enter adulthood at the age of thirteen and the girls at the age of twelve respectively. The burial of a dead Jew takes place with immediate effect from hi death and the family starts Shiva which is a seven day mourning period.

The Jews religion has some regulations and prohibitions that mainly cover on food (John, 1). These rules are seen by other communities as being complex. For example, the Jews are not allowed to eat pork and shellfish which all other communities do. Eating these diets is a sin according to the Jews laws and it is prohibited. Concerning the slaughtering of animals, any animal should be killed by a Shehitah where the accepted method is cutting the throat of the animal and leaving the conscious animal to bleed to death. Some types of food such as milk and meat shouldn’t be kept together.

Since time immemorial, the Jews are supposed to pray at least three times every day which are performed in remembrance of the times that sacrifices were made in the temple in Jerusalem (John, 1). Shaharith is the name given to the Morning Prayer, Minhah designates the afternoon prayer, while Maarib is the evening prayer. The Jews up to date believe that everything in the world has its origin with God. The Jews are therefore required to recite some benedictions before they take on any events. The torah is divided into sections such that within a year, it is possible for the individuals to have gone through the torah. The rabbi leads the congregation in reading each section of the torah everyday and after the reading, a prayer session follows from the prayer book.

Organization

The congregation of the Jews is led by a rabbi who closely relates to the priest in Christianity. This leader in elected by the congregation and except in orthodox where a woman cannot assume the position of a rabbi, the rabbi can be either a man or a woman. Prayers are led by a trained individual by the name cantor during the services. Many activities take place in the synagogue which is a holy place for the Jews. Religious activities, religious services, and community activities take place in the synagogue (John, 1). The orthodox is very strict on the way that activities in the synagogue are conducted and even in the synagogues, women are not supposed to sit on the same side with men. The Jewish religion allows its members to perform some rituals in their homes as well. Some yearly festivals, Sabbath rituals, and the daily prayers can be performed at home.

Holy Places

There were some discontinuations in Judaism especially during the Diaspora which led to little development of some holy places by the Jews. Even up to today, the Jewish who live in the European countries still feel in exile. They have a mentality of migration and they still migrate to the places where the Jews exist in large numbers. The dominating holy place for the Jews is Jerusalem and this is mainly formed by the temple that was destroyed (John, 1). The western wall that remained after the destruction is referred to as the most holy place in the world (Helen, 240). Another significant holy place for the Jews is Hebron in Palestine where the remains of Abraham were buried. The place in Mount Sinai where the Jews and God made a covenant is also important to their faith. The oldest synagogue is found in Tunisia in Africa and is regarded as a holy place.

Conclusion

The history of the Jewish religion dates its way back to the time of Abraham. Abraham is regarded as the fore father of the Jewish religion and although he did not discover God himself, he was called by this very God and sent to a foreign land which he didn’t know. God made a covenant with Abraham and promised him many descendants. The mark of the covenant was circumcision which the Jewish religion practices up to date

When the Hebrews cried to God to liberate them from slavery in Egypt, God heard their cry and sent Moses to guide them to the Promised Land. A long journey that took them forty years was successful though there were complications on diseases and hunger. In Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with Moses whose contents included the loyalty that the Israelites needed to observe on god who saved them from bondage in Egypt, the prohibition of the worship of idols, and it also contained festivals and rituals that the Israelites needed to observe as a celebration of God’s provision to them. In Canaan, the Israelites were led by judges though the region was at the moment dominated by the worship of idols. The congregation made many alters which were regarded as the holy places for God where the Israelites could make sacrifices and worship this God who liberated them from slavery. The tribe of the Levites produced many kings and a house was built for the maintenance of the Ark of the Covenant.

When they reached the Promised Land, the Israelites requested for a king to help them conquer their enemies. Prophet Samuel appointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul was succeeded by King David whose reign helped solve the differences that existed between Saul and the prophet Samuel. . David combined both the political and religious authority to his house and the descendants and all other kings were to rule from Jerusalem. Solomon who was a young son of David succeeded his father at the age of eighteen. Solomon acted as king of Israel for about forty years and during this period, the monarchy of the Hebrews got the highest appraisal. During the half of his leadership, Solomon made great achievements but in the second half, dominated which resulted from his intermarriages. The worst happened when he married the daughter of the Egyptian king Pharaoh.

When Solomon’s role came to an end, the nation split into the northern kingdom known as Israel and the southern kingdom known as Judah. The leadership of the roman rulers of Judea led to the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by the Romans when they defeated the Judeans. Most of the artifacts that were preserved in the temple including the menorah were also stolen. A number of laws were passed by the eastern Roman Empire that took away all civil rights of any individuals who were unbelievers. The existence of such unbelievers was also complicated by the passed laws and most the unbelievers had no other options than running away to rescue their lives.

The Jews experienced the harshest conditions in the early middle ages. This was as a result of the church laws that didn’t recognize the non-believers as humans and regarded their humanity with much discrimination. In Europe and Germany, many Jews lost their lives and those who remained had to immigrate to different regions where they could be rescued. During the time of the crusades the Jews were tortured and falsely accused and blamed for the sufferings that they endured. Today, the Jews are spread different parts of the world but the largest population is found in the United States. Most of the festivals that that were practiced by the Jews in the early days are still practiced today. A few holy places for the Jews also exist.

references

John, G. (2009), 1. History of Judaism-Religion facts. Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/history.htm on 07-August-2009.

Israel, S. (2000). Jewish History Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years. Pluto: Pluto press, 12-89.

Louis, J. (1995). The Jewish Religion: A Companion. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishers, 341-356.

Raymond, P. S. (2000). A Short History of the Jewish People. India: Karen. A Publishers, 23-26.

Stephen, C. R. (1993). A Jews Archive from Old Cairo. Israel:  Jewish Publication Societies, 231-245.

Max, N & Gustav, G. (1996). Zionism and Anti-Semitism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 23-34.

Mary, A. (1912). The Promised Land. Israel: National Yuddish Book Centre, 45-48.

Charles, F. K & Jeremiah, W. J. (1002). The Beginning of Israel History. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 231-237.

Helen, C. N. (2004). Israel: A Country Study. Washington: Federal Research Division. 238-243.

Joseph, S. L. (1996). Napoleon and His Rule. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 45-67.

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History Of Ancient Egypt

History Of Ancient Egypt

Neolithic Egypt

Neolithic period

The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along the Nile during the Pleistocene. Traces of these early people appear in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases.

Along the Nile, in the 11th millennium BC, a grain-grinding culture using the earliest type of sickle blades had been replaced by another culture of hunters, fishers, and gathering people using stone tools. Evidence also indicates human habitation and cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt, near the Sudan border, before 8000 BC. Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural climate changes around 8000 BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of northern Africa, eventually forming the Sahara (c.2500 BC). Early tribes in the region naturally tended to aggregate close to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural economy and more centralized society. There is evidence of pastoralism and cultivation of cereals in the East Sahara in the 7th millennium BC.

Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and forced them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle. However, the period from 9,000 to 6,000 BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence.

Predynastic period

Main article: Predynastic Egypt

Further information: Naqada

A Naqada II vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre.

By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. At this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and also constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by 4000 BC. The Predynastic Period continues through this time, variously held to begin with the Naqada culture.

Between 5500 and 3100 BC, during Egypt’s Predynastic Period, small settlements flourished along the Nile, whose delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea. By 3300 BC, just before the first Egyptian dynasty, Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper Egypt, Ta Shemau, to the south, and Lower Egypt, Ta Mehu, to the north. The dividing line was drawn roughly in the area of modern Cairo.

The Tasian culture was the next to appear in Upper Egypt. This group is named for the burials found at Der Tasa, a site on the east bank of the Nile between Asyut and Akhmim. The Tasian culture group is notable for producing the earliest blacktop-ware, a type of red and brown pottery which has been painted black on its top and interior.

The Badarian Culture, named for the Badari site near Der Tasa, followed the Tasian culture, however similarities between the two have led many to avoid differentiating between them at all. The Badarian Culture continued to produce the kind of pottery called Blacktop-ware (although its quality was much improved over previous specimens), and was assigned the Sequence Dating numbers between 21 and 29. The significant difference, however, between the Tasian and Badarian culture groups which prevents scholars from completely merging the two together is that Badarian sites use copper in addition to stone, and thus are chalcolithic settlements, while the Tasian sites are still Neolithic, and are considered technically part of the Stone Age.

The Amratian culture is named after the site of el-Amra, about 120 km south of Badari. El-Amra was the first site where this culture group was found unmingled with the later Gerzean culture group; however, this period is better attested at the Naqada site, thus it is also referred to as the Naqada I culture. Black-topped ware continued to be produced, but white cross-line ware, a type of pottery which was decorated with close parallel white lines crossed by another set of close parallel white lines, began to be produced during this time. The Amratian period falls between S.D. 30 and 39 in Petrie’s Sequence Dating system. Trade between Upper and Lower Egypt was attested at this time, as newly excavated objects indicate. A stone vase from the north was found at el-Amra, and copper, which is not present in Egypt, was apparently imported from the Sinai, or perhaps from Nubia. Obsidian and an extremely small amount of gold were both definitively imported from Nubia during this time. Trade with the oases was also likely.

The Gerzean Culture, named after the site of Gerza, was the next stage in Egyptian cultural development, and it was during this time that the foundation for Dynastic Egypt was laid. Gerzean culture was largely an unbroken development out of Amratian Culture, starting in the delta and moving south through upper Egypt; however, it failed to dislodge Amratian Culture in Nubia. Gerzean culture coincided with a significant drop in rainfall, and farming produced the vast majority of food. With increased food supplies, the populace adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger settlements grew to cities of about 5,000 residents. It was in this time that the city dwellers started using mud brick to build their cities. Copper instead of stone was increasingly used to make tools and weaponry. Silver, gold, lapis, and faience were used ornamentally, and the grinding palettes used for eye-paint since the Badarian period began to be adorned with relief carvings.

Dynastic Egypt

Dynasties of Ancient Egypt

Predynastic Egypt

Predynastic Egypt

Protodynastic Period

Early Dynastic

1st Dynasty

2nd Dynasty

Old Kingdom

3rd Dynasty

4th Dynasty

5th Dynasty

6th Dynasty

First Intermediate

7th Dynasty

8th Dynasty

9th Dynasty

10th Dynasty

11th Dynasty (Thebes only)

Middle Kingdom

11th Dynasty (All Egypt)

12th Dynasty

13th Dynasty

14th Dynasty

Second Intermediate

15th Dynasty

16th Dynasty

17th Dynasty

New Kingdom

18th

19th

20th

Third Intermediate

21st

22nd

23rd

24th

25th

Late Period

26th

27th (First Persian Period)

28th

29th

30th

31st (Second Persian Period)

Greek-Roman

Alexander the Great

Ptolemaic dynasty

Roman Egypt

Arab Conquest

v  d  e

Early dynastic period

Main article: Early Dynastic Period of Egypt

Stela of the 2nd dynasty pharaoh Raneb, displaying the hieroglyph for his name within a serekh, surmounted by Horus. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which occurred sometime around 3150 BC. According to Egyptian tradition Menes, thought to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king. This Egyptian culture, customs, art expression, architecture, and social structure was closely tied to religion, remarkably stable, and changed little over a period of nearly 3000 years.

Egyptian chronology, which involves regnal years, began around this time. The conventional Egyptian chronology is the chronology accepted during the twentieth century, but it does not include any of the major revision proposals that also have been made in that time. Even within a single work, archaeologists often will offer several possible dates or even several whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in articles on particular rulers or topics related to ancient Egypt. There also are several possible spellings of the names. Typically, Egyptologists divide the history of pharaonic civilization using a schedule laid out first by Manetho’s Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt) that was written during the Ptolemaic era, during the third century BC.

Prior to the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt’s history thereafter, the country came to be known as the Two Lands. The rulers established a national administration and appointed royal governors.

According to Manetho, the first king was Menes, but archeological findings support the view that the first pharaoh to claim to have united the two lands was Narmer (the final king of the Protodynastic Period). His name is known primarily from the famous Narmer Palette, whose scenes have been interpreted as the act of uniting Upper and Lower Egypt.

Funeral practices for the elite resulted in the construction of mastaba tombs, which later became models for subsequent Old Kingdom constructions such as the Step pyramid.

Old Kingdom

Main article: Old Kingdom

Graywacke statue of the pharaoh Menkaura and his consort Queen Khamerernebty II. Originally from his Giza Valley temple, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC 2134 BC). The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number of pyramids, which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as “the Age of the Pyramids.” The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser (26302611 BC) of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid (the Step Pyramid) in Memphis’ necropolis, Saqqara.

It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, ruled solely by the pharaoh. Subsequently the former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection. Egyptians in this era worshiped their pharaoh as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops.

The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty. Sneferu, the dynasty’s founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three pyramids; while his son and successor Khufu erected the Great Pyramid of Giza, Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu (Greek Cheops), his son Khafra (Greek Chephren), and his grandson Menkaura (Greek Mycerinus), all achieved lasting fame in the construction of their pyramids. To organize and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a centralized government with extensive powers, and Egyptologists believe the Old Kingdom at this time demonstrated this level of sophistication. Recent excavations near the pyramids led by Mark Lehner have uncovered a large city which seems to have housed, fed and supplied the pyramid workers. Although it was once believed that slaves built these monuments, a theory based on the biblical Exodus story, study of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw construction on the pyramids, has shown they were built by a corve of peasants drawn from across Egypt. They apparently worked while the annual Nile flood covered their fields, as well as a very large crew of specialists, including stone cutters, painters, mathematicians and priests.

The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkhaf (24652458 BC), who initiated reforms that weakened the central government. After his reign civil wars arose as the powerful nomarchs (regional governors) no longer belonged to the royal family. The worsening civil conflict undermined unity and energetic government and also caused famines. The final blow came when a severe drought in the region that resulted in a drastic drop in precipitation between 2200 and 2150 BC, which in turn prevented the normal flooding of the Nile. The result was the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by decades of famine and strife.

First Intermediate Period

Main article: First Intermediate Period

Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum.

After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time known as the First Intermediate Period, which is generally thought to include a relatively obscure set of pharaohs running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth, and most of the Eleventh Dynasty. Most of these were likely local monarchs who did not hold much power outside of their own limited domain, and none held power over the whole of Egypt. Though their government was in form of Theocracy, they faithfully respect other governments,.

While there are next to no official records covering this period, there are a number of fictional texts known as Lamentations from the early period of the subsequent Middle Kingdom that may shed some light on what happened during this period. Some of these texts reflect on the breakdown of rule, others allude to invasion by “Asiatic bowmen”. In general the stories focus on a society where the natural order of things in both society and nature was overthrown.

It is also highly likely that it was during this period that all of the pyramid and tomb complexes were robbed. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the beginning of the Middle Kingdom mummies are found decorated with magical spells that were once exclusive to the pyramid of the kings of the sixth dynasty.

By 2160 BC a new line of pharaohs (the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties) consolidated Lower Egypt from their capital in Herakleopolis Magna. A rival line (the Eleventh Dynasty) based at Thebes reunited Upper Egypt and a clash between the two rival dynasties was inevitable. Around 2055 BC the Theban forces defeated the Heracleopolitan Pharaohs, reunited the Two Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh, Mentuhotep II marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

Middle Kingdom

Main article: Middle Kingdom of Egypt

An Osiride statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC.

The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered around el-Lisht. These two dynasties were originally considered to be the full extent of this unified kingdom, but historians now consider the 13th Dynasty to at least partially belong to the Middle Kingdom.

The earliest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom traced their origin to a nomarch of Thebes, “Intef the Great, son of Iku”, who is mentioned in a number of contemporary inscriptions. However, his immediate successor Mentuhotep II is considered the first pharaoh of this dynasty.

An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II shows that he was the first of this dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt, a claim which brought the Thebeans into conflict with the rulers of Herakleopolis Magna, the Tenth Dynasty. Intef undertook several campaigns northwards, and captured the important nome of Abydos.

Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasts until the 14th regnal year of Nebhetepra Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were defeated, and the Theban dynasty began to consolidate their rule. Mentuhotep II is known to have commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. There is also evidence for military actions against Palestine. The king reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the head of civil administration for the country.

Mentuhotep IV was the final pharaoh of this dynasty, and despite being absent from various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I, the first king of the 12th Dynasty. Amenemhet is widely assumed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died childless.

Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt, known as Itjtawy, thought to be located near the present-day el-Lisht, although the chronicler Manetho claims the capital remained at Thebes. Amenemhat forcibly pacified internal unrest, curtailed the rights of the nomarchs, and is known to have at launched at least one campaign into Nubia. His son Senusret I continued the policy of his father to recapture Nubia and other territories lost during the First Intermediate Period. The Libyans were subdued under his forty-five year reign and Egypt’s prosperity and security were secured.

Senusret III (1878 BC  1839 BC) was a warrior-king, leading his troops deep into Nubia, and built a series of massive forts throughout the country to establish Egypt’s formal boundaries with the unconquered areas of its territory. Amenemhat III (1860 BC  1815 BC) is considered the last great pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom.

Egypt’s population began to exceed food production levels during the reign of Amenemhat III, who then ordered the exploitation of the Fayyum and increased mining operations in the Sina desert. He also invited Asiatic settlers to Egypt to labor on Egypt’s monuments. Late in his reign the annual floods along the Nile began to fail, further straining the resources of the government. The Thirteenth Dynasty and Fourteenth Dynasty witnessed the slow decline of Egypt into the Second Intermediate Period in which some of the Asiatic settlers of Amenemhat III would grasp power over Egypt as the Hyksos.

Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos

Main articles: Second Intermediate Period and Hyksos

The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt once again fell into disarray between the end of the Middle Kingdom, and the start of the New Kingdom. This period is best known as the time the Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt, the reigns of its kings comprising the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties.

The Thirteenth Dynasty proved unable to hold onto the long land of Egypt, and a provincial ruling family located in the marshes of the western Delta at Xois broke away from the central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty. The splintering of the land accelerated after the reign of the Thirteenth Dynasty king Neferhotep I.

The Hyksos first appear during the reign the Thirteenth Dynasty pharaoh Sobekhotep IV, and by 1720 BC took control of the town of Avaris. The outlines of the traditional account of the “invasion” of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty. In the last decades, however, the idea of a simple migration, with little or no violence involved, has gained some support. Under this theory, the Egyptian rulers of 13th Dynasty were unable to stop these new migrants from travelling to Egypt from Asia because they were weak kings who were struggling to cope with various domestic problems including possibly famine.

The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in the eastern Delta with their local Egyptian vassals. The Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at Memphis and their summer residence at Avaris.

The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern Nile Delta and Middle Egypt and was limited in size, never extending south into Upper Egypt, which was under control by Theban-based rulers. Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos rulers and may possibly have provided them with tribute for a period.

Around the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes declared its independence from the vassal dynasty in Itj-tawy and set itself up as the Seventeenth Dynasty. This dynasty was to prove the salvation of Egypt and would eventually lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty were Tao II the Brave and Kamose. Ahmose I completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and Canaan. His reign marks this beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom period.

New Kingdom

Main article: New Kingdom of Egypt

Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the Levant and Egypt, and attain its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into Nubia and held wide territories in the Near East. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria.

Eighteenth Dynasty

Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamen

This was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and best-known Pharaohs ruled at this time. Hatshepsut was a pharaoh at this time. Hatshepsut is unusual as she was a female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian history. She was an ambitious and competent leader, extending Egyptian trade south into present-day Somalia and north into the Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years through a combination of widespread propaganda and deft political skill. Her co-regent and successor Thutmose III (“the Napoleon of Egypt”) expanded Egypt’s army and wielded it with great success. Late in his reign he ordered her name hacked out from her monuments. He fought against Asiatic people and was the most successful of Egyptian pharaohs. Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple of Karnak including the Luxor temple which consisted of two pylons, a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Ma’at.

Nineteenth Dynasty

Egypt and its world in 1300 BC.

Colossal depictions of Ramesses II at a temple dedicated to him at Abu Simbel.

Ramesses I reigned for two years and was succeeded by his son Seti I. Seti I carried on the work of Horemheb in restoring power, control, and respect to Egypt. He also was responsible for creating the temple complex at Abydos.

Arguably Ancient Egypt’s power as a nation-state peaked during the reign of Ramesses II (“the Great”) of the 19th Dynasty. He reigned for 67 years from the age of 18 and carried on his immediate predecessor’s work and created many more splendid temples, such as that of Abu Simbel on the Nubian border. He sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by 18th Dynasty Egypt. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II and was caught in history’s first recorded military ambush. Ramesses II was famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and concubines; the tomb he built for his sons (many of whom he outlived) in the Valley of the Kings has proven to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt.

His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, though an increasingly troubled court complicated matters. Ramesses II was succeeded by his son Merneptah and then by Merenptah’s son Seti II. Seti II’s throne seems to have been disputed by his half-brother Amenmesse, who may have temporarily ruled from Thebes. Upon his death, Seti II son Siptah, who may have been afflicted with polio during his life, was appointed to the throne by Chancellor Bay, an Asiatic commoner who served as vizier behind the scenes. At Siptah’s early death, the throne was assumed by Twosret, the dowager queen of Seti II (and possibly Amenmesses’s sister). A period of anarchy at the end of Twosret’s short reign saw a native reaction to foreign control leading to the execution of the chancellor, and placing Setnakhte on the throne, establishing the Twentieth Dynasty.

Twentieth Dynasty

The last “great” pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be Ramesses III, the son of Setnakhte who reigned three decades after the time of Ramesses II. In Year 8 of his reign, the Sea People, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them as subject people and settled them in Southern Canaan, although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this region such as Philistia after the collapse of the Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypt’s Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively.

The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt’s treasury and contributed to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficulties is stressed by the fact that the first known labor strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramesses III’s reign, when the food rations for the Egypt’s favoured and elite royal tomb-builders and artisans in the village of Deir el Medina could not be provisioned. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground and also arrested global tree growth for almost two full decades until 1140 BC. One proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland, but the dating of that event remains in dispute.

Following Ramesses III’s death there was endless bickering between his heirs. Three of his sons would go on to assume power as Ramesses IV, Ramesses VI and Ramesses VIII respectively. However, at this time Egypt was also increasingly beset by a series of droughts, below-normal flooding levels of the Nile, famine, civil unrest and official corruption. The power of the last pharaoh, Ramesses XI, grew so weak that in the south the High Priests of Amun at Thebes became the effective defacto rulers of Upper Egypt, while Smendes controlled Lower Egypt even before Ramesses XI’s death. Smendes would eventually found the Twenty-First dynasty at Tanis.

Third Intermediate Period

Main article: Third Intermediate Period

Sphinx of the Nubian pharaoh Taharqa.

After the death of Ramesses XI, his successor Smendes ruled from the city of Tanis in the north, while the High Priests of Amun at Thebes had effective rule of the south of the country, whilst still nominally recognizing Smendes as king. In fact, this division was less significant than it seems, since both priests and pharaohs came from the same family. Piankh, assumed control of Upper Egypt, ruling from Thebes, with the northern limit of his control ending at Al-Hibah. (The High Priest Herihor had died before Ramesses XI, but also was an all-but-independent ruler in the latter days of the king’s reign.) The country was once again split into two parts with the priests in Thebes and the Pharaohs at Tanis. Their reign seems to be without any other distinction, and they were replaced without any apparent struggle by the Libyan kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty.

Egypt has long had ties with Libya, and the first king of the new dynasty, Shoshenq I, was a Meshwesh Libyan, who served as the commander of the armies under the last ruler of the Twenty-First Dynasty, Psusennes II. He unified the country, putting control of the Amun clergy under his own son as the High Priest of Amun, a post that was previously a hereditary appointment. The scant and patchy nature of the written records from this period suggest that it was unsettled. There appear to have been many subversive groups, which eventually led to the creation of the Twenty-Third Dynasty, which ran concurrent with the latter part of the Twenty-Second Dynasty. After the withdrawal of Egypt from Nubia at the end of the New Kingdom, a native dynasty took control of Nubia. Under king Piye, the Nubian founder of Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, the Nubians pushed north in an effort to crush his Libyan opponents ruling in the Delta. He managed to attain power as far as Memphis. His opponent Tefnakhte ultimately submitted to him, but he was allowed to remain in power in Lower Egypt and founded the short-lived Twenty-Fourth Dynasty at Sais.

The country was reunited by the Twenty-Second Dynasty founded by Shoshenq I in 945 BC (or 943 BC), who descended from Meshwesh immigrants, originally from Ancient Libya. This brought stability to the country for well over a century. After the reign of Osorkon II the country had again splintered into two states with Shoshenq III of the Twenty-Second Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt by 818 BC while Takelot II and his son (the future Osorkon III) ruled Middle and Upper Egypt.

The Nubian kingdom to the south took full advantage of this division and political instability. Piye waged a campaign from Nubia and defeated the combined might of several native-Egyptian rulers such as Peftjaubast, Osorkon IV of Tanis, and Tefnakht of Sais. Piye established the Nubian Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and appointed the defeated rulers to be his provincial governors. He was succeeded first by his brother, Shabaka, and then by his two sons Shebitku and Taharqa.

The international prestige of Egypt declined considerably by this time. The country’s international allies had fallen under the sphere of influence of Assyria and from about 700 BC the question became when, not if, there would be war between the two states. Taharqa’s reign and that of his successor, Tanutamun, were filled with constant conflict with the Assyrians against whom there were numerous victories, but ultimately Thebes was occupied and Memphis sacked.

Late Period

Main article: Late Period of Ancient Egypt

From 671 BC on, Memphis and the Delta region became the target of many attacks from the Assyrians, who expelled the Nubians and handed over power to client kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. Psamtik I was the first to be recognized as the king of the whole of Egypt, and he brought increased stability to the country during a 54-year reign from the new capital of Sais. Four successive Saite kings continued guiding Egypt successfully and peacefully from 610-526 BC, keeping the Babylonians away with the help of Greek mercenaries.

By the end of this period a new power was growing in the Near East: Persia. The pharaoh Psamtik III had to face the might of Persia at Pelusium; he was defeated and briefly escaped to Memphis, but ultimately was captured and then executed.

Persian domination

Main article: History of Achaemenid Egypt

Achaemenid Egypt can be divided into three eras: the first period of Persian occupation when Egypt became a satrapy, followed by an interval of independence, and the second and final period of occupation.

The Persian king Cambyses assumed the formal title of Pharaoh, called himself Mesuti-Re (“Re has given birth”), and sacrificed to the Egyptian gods. He founded the Twenty-seventh dynasty. Egypt was then joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire.

Cambyses’ successors Darius I the Great and Xerxes pursued a similar policy, visited the country, and warded off an Athenian attack. It is likely that Artaxerxes I and Darius II visited the country as well, although it is not attested in our sources, and did not prevent the Egyptians from feeling unhappy.

During the war of succession after the reign of Darius II, which broke out in 404, they revolted under Amyrtaeus and regained their independence. This sole ruler of the Twenty-eighth dynasty died in 399, and power went to the Twenty-ninth dynasty. The Thirtieth Dynasty was established in 380 BC and lasted until 343 BC. Nectanebo II was the last native king to rule Egypt.

Artaxerxes III (358338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a brief period (343332 BC). In 332 BC Mazaces handed over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander’s empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley.

Ptolemaic dynasty

Main article: Ptolemaic dynasty

In 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon conquered Egypt with little resistance from the Persians. He was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. He visited Memphis, and went on pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect which he showed for their religion, but he appointed Greeks to virtually all the senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander’s conquest of the rest of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia. He left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Alexander never returned to Egypt.

Following Alexander’s death in Babylon in 323 BC, a succession crisis erupted among his generals. Initially, Perdiccas ruled the empire as regent for Alexander’s half-brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon, and then as regent for both Philip III and Alexander’s infant son Alexander IV of Macedon, who had not been born at the time of his father’s death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Great’s empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322 BC-301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of King. As Ptolemy I Soter (“Saviour”), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years.

The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. Hellenistic culture thrived in Egypt well after the Muslim conquest. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its annexation by Rome.

Notes and references

References

^ Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. (Princeton: University Press, 1992), p. 6.

^ Adkins, L. and Adkins, R. (2001) The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphics, p155. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN .

^ Gardiner (1964), p.388

^ a b Gardiner (1964), p.389

^ Grimal (1988) p.24

^ a b Gardiner (1964), 390.

^ a b Grimal (1988) p.28

^ a b c d e f Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. (Princeton: University Press, 1992), p. 16.

^ a b Gardiner (1694), p.391

^ Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. (Princeton: University Press, 1992), p. 17.

^ The Fall of the Old Kingdom by Fekri Hassan

^ Callender, Gae. The Middle Kingdom Renasissance from The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, 2000

^ Booth, Charlotte. The Hyksos Period in Egypt. p.10. Shire Egyptology. 2005. ISBN 0-7478-0638-1

^ Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt p. 194. Librairie Arthme Fayard, 1988.

^ Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Blackwell Books, 1992. p.271

^ William F. Edgerton, The Strikes in Ramses III’s Twenty-Ninth Year, JNES 10, No. 3 (July 1951), pp. 137-145

^ Frank J. Yurco, “End of the Late Bronze Age and Other Crisis Periods: A Volcanic Cause” in Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente, ed: Emily Teeter & John Larson, (SAOC 58) 1999, pp.456-458

^ Cerny, p.645

^ Bowman (1996) pp25-26

^ Stanwick (2003)

Bibliography

Pharaonic Egypt

Adkins, L. and Adkins, R (2001). The Little Book of Egyptian Hieroglyphics. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 

Baines, John and Jaromir Malek (2000). The Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt (revised ed.). Facts on File. 

Bard, KA (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. NY, NY: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-18589-0. 

Bierbrier, Morris (1984). The Tomb Builders of the Pharaohs. New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons. ISBN 0-684-18229-7. 

Booth, Charlotte (2005). The Hyksos Period in Egypt. Shire Egyptology. ISBN 0-7478-0638-1. 

Callender, Gae (2000). The Middle Kingdom Renasissance. Oxford: The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. 

Cerny, J (1975). Egypt from the Death of Ramesses III to the End of the Twenty-First Dynasty’ in The Middle East and the Aegean Region c.1380-1000 BC. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08691-4. 

Clarke, Somers (1990). Ancient Egyptian Construction and Architecture. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-26485-8. 

Clayton, Peter A. (1994). Chronicle of the Pharaohs. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05074-0. 

Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dyan (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 

Edgerton, William F. (July 1951). “The Strikes in Ramses III’s Twenty-Ninth Year”. Jnes 10. 

Gillings, Richard J. (1972). Mathematics in the Time of the Pharaohs. New York: Dover. 

Greaves, R.H.; O.H. Little (1929). Gold Resources of Egypt, Report of the XV International Geol. Congress, South Africa. 

Grimal, Nicolas (1992). A History of Ancient Egypt. Blackwell Books. 

Herodotus ii. 55 and vii. 134

Kemp, Barry (1991). Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. Routledge. 

Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson (1996). The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100650 BC) (3rd ed.). Warminster: Aris & Phillips Limited. 

Lehner, Mark (1997). The Complete Pyramids. London: Thames & Hudson. 

Lucas, Alfred (1962). Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, 4th Ed.. London: Edward Arnold Publishers. 

Dr. Peter Der Manuelian (1998). Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs. Bonner Strae, Cologne Germany: Knemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. ISBN 3-89508-913-3. 

Myliwiec, Karol (2000). The Twighlight of Ancient Egypt: First Millennium B.C.E.(trans. by David Lorton). Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. 

Nicholson, Paul T. et al. (2000). Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 

Robins, Gay (2000). The Art of Ancient Egypt. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00376-4. 

Scheel, Bernd (1989). Egyptian Metalworking and Tools. Haverfordwest, Great Britain: Shire Publications Ltd. 

Shaw, Ian (2003). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-500-05074-0. 

Wilkinson, R. H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson. 

Wilkinson, R.H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson. 

Yurco, Frank J. (1999). “End of the Late Bronze Age and Other Crisis Periods: A Volcanic Cause”. Saoc 58. 

Ptolemaic Egypt

Bowman, Alan K (1996). Egypt after the Pharaohs 332 BC AD 642 (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 2526. ISBN 0520205316. 

Lloyd, Alan Brian (2000). The Ptolemaic Period (33230 BC) In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 

Stanwick, Paul Edmond (2003). Portraits of the Ptolemies: Greek kings as Egyptian pharaohs. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292777728. 

External links

Ancient Egyptian History – Aldokkan

Glyphdoctors: Online courses in Egyptian hieroglyphics and history

The Ancient Egypt Site

Nile File an interactive introduction to ancient Egypt for children (and adults!)

Seven Wonder of the World Ancient Times

Brian Brown (ed.) (1923) The Wisdom of the Egyptians. New York: Brentano’s

Texts from the Pyramid Age Door Nigel C. Strudwick, Ronald J. Leprohon, 2005, Brill Academic Publishers

Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book Door Marshall Clagett, 1989

WWW-VL: History: Ancient Egypt

A Short History of Ancient Egypt

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