tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post2942815149176951928..comments2024-02-23T01:30:06.101-08:00Comments on Early Warning: European Art BloggingStuart Stanifordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-17716361913338403722011-11-01T22:04:22.890-07:002011-11-01T22:04:22.890-07:00Waterwheels were the preferred kinetic energy sour...Waterwheels were the preferred kinetic energy source due to the ease of fine control by taping the water source. In places like the Netherlands where the flat landscape provided no swift water courses forced a reliance on windmills and animal gins. Until the steam engine made it possible to turn thermal energy into kinetic energy.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02291622298961270279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-53355364227294057912011-11-01T01:17:40.546-07:002011-11-01T01:17:40.546-07:00Prior to the 20th century an more wealth did not m...Prior to the 20th century an more wealth did not mean better off peasants or other lower classes, just those lower classes doing more work to produce wealth for the elite.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02291622298961270279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-69573482200610172262011-10-31T10:29:28.568-07:002011-10-31T10:29:28.568-07:00You might also be interested in these early photog...You might also be interested in these early photographs of life in Russia taken between 1909-1912, and again in 1915:<br /><br />http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/gorskii.html<br /><br />-- Philip Bogdonoff / Washington, DCPhilip Bogdonoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350060590108157384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-3667367588713621722011-10-28T15:45:54.256-07:002011-10-28T15:45:54.256-07:00Kjm:
Just that I chanced to be in Stockholm and t...Kjm:<br /><br />Just that I chanced to be in Stockholm and then D.C. on business - the Russians were a complete serendipitous discovery and then I thought to balance it with some Dutch paintings as I was aware Russia was a particularly poor nation prior to the 20th century. Blogging about it for no more profound reason than that it makes a change from the endless graphs...Stuart Stanifordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-44139152450645323592011-10-28T09:55:53.908-07:002011-10-28T09:55:53.908-07:00Um, out of curiosity, why the interest in 17th cen...Um, out of curiosity, why the interest in 17th century art about the peasant countryside? This isn't really all for the benefit of Sharon, is it?kjmclarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00490417628052004621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-26182991692907264352011-10-28T01:44:02.073-07:002011-10-28T01:44:02.073-07:00And from much later, you also have the Jean-Franço...And from much later, you also have the Jean-François Millet paintings :<br />http://www.google.com/search?q=Jean-Fran%C3%A7ois+Millet&hl=fr&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=LLO&rls=org.mozilla:fr:official&prmd=imvnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=fGqqTuiHHsbOswar7537Dw&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=980&sei=%20gmqqTrGlH4rNswbds9jUDwyvesThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431704289577407263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-72649936861149803612011-10-28T01:06:13.186-07:002011-10-28T01:06:13.186-07:00There are a few illustrations in the "Très Ri...There are a few illustrations in the "Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" that could be considered as "realistic" depictions of rural life at the time (around 1410), typically in the "calendar gallery" below (february for instance) :<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry<br /><br />And later there are also the Bruegel paintings of course :<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Bruegel_the_ElderyvesThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16431704289577407263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-46030852611738367752011-10-27T10:36:12.175-07:002011-10-27T10:36:12.175-07:00ColdNorth: I hadn't seen that article (thx!) b...ColdNorth: I hadn't seen that article (thx!) but I had the impression from Wrigley's book that peat was playing a similar role to coal in the UK: allowing the cities to expand more without running into the firewood vs food constraint in their hinterland, thus supporting a larger number or artisans/merchants/etc in the cities and thus higher wealth production.Stuart Stanifordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07182839827506265860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-31147172894692088412011-10-27T10:26:40.289-07:002011-10-27T10:26:40.289-07:00Thanks for the continued snips of art - evocative ...Thanks for the continued snips of art - evocative and cause for a pause.<br /><br />Per your last comment about energy - have you seen the excellent article on the use of peat by the flemish and dutch - a significant source of thermal energy for industrial production at the time. <br /><br />See http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/09/peat-and-coal-fossil-fuels-in-pre-industrial-times.htmlColdNorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13140379108815093606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-91246074037432399802011-10-27T08:44:30.278-07:002011-10-27T08:44:30.278-07:00Nice pictures and insights into that earlier time;...Nice pictures and insights into that earlier time; thanks for posting! Of course the backdrop of all of these is relatively untrammeled nature. Things will be different if industrial civilization winds down to a more local, less energy-intensive future. Pictures from such future times might be from only a few regions still habitable due to climate change, and might include chickens peeking out of rusting hulks of automobiles and evidences of (let's hope not too desperate) efforts to keep electricity flowing.Mike Aucotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692592170835103639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-35298142267483331372011-10-27T08:18:37.981-07:002011-10-27T08:18:37.981-07:00Stuart: Your take on the rise and relative fall of...Stuart: Your take on the rise and relative fall of Netherland's wealth? They used protofossil fuel, peat, to build much of that wealth. Then England+Wales with lots of coal passed 'em like they wuz standin' still. (E.A. Wrigley, 2010.Energy and the English Industrial Revolution. Cambridge. Wrigley's take was that coal was used first (of course) as thermal energy: smelting, glass, heating, etc. which built demand. And demand led to positive feedback of more demand, which facilitated what (at great risk of being criticized by Greg "coal played no role in the Industrial Revolution" Clark) some people call the IR. Mechanical energy from coal came later, as the steam engine evolved---pretty slowly. I would love your take. Regards, Don<br />ps. I accept Clark's argument that spinning cotton is the archetypical economic model for the IR and spinning used little steam power, at the outset.Fixed Carbonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06321707907871138659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235419263414453422.post-19537133573669329062011-10-27T06:36:13.436-07:002011-10-27T06:36:13.436-07:00While I'm capable of seeing these paintings wi...While I'm capable of seeing these paintings with a romantic eye, they don't convey certain important details such as the smell of feces which was probably a constant at least in the rural villages or the prevalence of diseases that not only caused early death but also blindness, mental retardation, and disfigurement.Maria Lopezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00011548114422637862noreply@blogger.com