David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :
'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)
(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.
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A recent image bundle from Eric B included what appeared to be someone looking at the Mona Lisa inside a paper wrapped parcel. The JPEG had no info, only a number file. Online research ( here ) indicates this is not from the theft episode of 1911, rather it's the 1945 return of La Giaconda to the Louvre from its safe keeping in the countryside during World War 2.
An unwrapping, overseen.
click image to enlarge
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
Paintings in parcels: wrapped, returned and regarded.
The image above reminds of another such reportage photo, from 1986, that of Patrick McCaughey looking into an open public locker at Flinders Street Station, Melbourne; regarding therein a wrapped parcel that a tip-off had claimed would contain the NGV's stolen Picasso painting, Weeping Woman. It did.
click image to enlarge
detail
A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
someone looks at something ...
LOGOS/HA HA
