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Discover the Preussisch Eylau Castle

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The Preussisch Eylau Castle is a castle of the Teutonic Order built in 1325 and located in Bagralionovsk, near Kaliningrad. It received the status of a cultural heritage site of regional significance by decree of the Government of the Kaliningrad on March 23, 2007. On October 11, 2022, it was sold 7.6 million rubles to the company “GreenArtDevelopment” four years after it was put up for auction

Авторство: ИМгорь. Собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0,

In historical documents, the first mention of the castle occurs in 1326, where it is called “Ile”, in the records of 1342 the name mentioned is “Iladia”, in 1400 the name changes once again and it becomes “Preissish-Ilov” (Preussisch-eylau), name which stuck.

The grand master of the Teutonic Order Werner von Orseln ordered the construction of Ile Castle in 1325. The main purpose of the fortress was to protect the capital of the region Krulevets (Koenigsberg) from the south. Balga Commander, master Arnold von Eilenstein supervised the construction of the Preussisch Eylau Castle, which was originally carried out from stones and brick on the site of the Prussian fortress of Sutvrit.

A dam with a mill was built, the water level rose and the castle ended up on an island. In 1330, a square-shaped stone fortification of 41 m x 43 m was built, surrounded by a moat, a portcullis gate, a tower and a drawbridge. A large forburg of 120 x 140 meters, which was surrounded by its own moat and a fortress wall, 1.6 meters thick with a defensive passage, was attached to the fortification on the eastern side. There were stables, a brewery, premises for the soldiers of the order, workshops for the manufacture of weapons, a bakery, and other outbuildings.

The first settlements on the site of Tapiau are hundreds of years old.
By Sendker -, CC BY-SA 3.0,

The main entrance to the castle citadel Preussisch-Eylau was in the eastern wing from the forburg. The castle chapel which was an obligatory attribute of a typical order castle was in the southern wing, and a sanitary tower could be found in the northern part.

The first floor was occupied by outbuildings, including the kitchen, which was located under the refectory, and utility rooms. On the second floor of the western wing was the accommodation and residence of the brothers of the order, which included a refectory, a meeting room, the bedrooms of the monks and the chambers that were occupied by the manager of the castle. The third floor, performed defensive functions and was equipped with a military passage and loopholes. There was also a small round watchtower in the northeast corner. To have an easy access to water there was a well in the castle courtyard.

Until 1347 the Preussisch Eylau castle was the residence of the order pfleger, then it housed the administration of the kammerat, belonging to the Balga commandery.

In 1400, after being struck by lightning all wooden parts of the castle burned down. The Preussisch Eylau castle passed to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Heinrich von Plauen for military service in 1429.

Reconstruction of the plan of the original Tapiau castle complex.
/Photo: mif-mira.ru

The Preussisch Eylau castle was captured and partially damaged by the rebellious population in 1454 but it was returned that same year and the damages were repaired.

It came under attack in May 1455 by a Polish-allied army which was unable to capture it even though the garnison protecting the castle was only composed of two dozen knights and sixty militias. A siege didn’t pan out neither since help was sent to the castle and the Polish-allied army was defeated.

There was another unsuccessful attempt to take the castle in October 1455.

The Preussisch Eylau castle and surrounding lands were transferred to Heinrich Reuss von Plauen for life use in 1492.

More than 4000 Polish mercenaries again repeatedly attacked the castle in 1519, but the castle garrison which was led by the knight Friedrich Truchses Weltburg and the Courland commander Firike repelled the successive attacks.

The castle became the residence of the departmental estate of Hauptmann Preussisch Eylau in 1525 after a reformation and the abolition of the Teutonic Order. Then it received city rights on 1585, and in 1587 its coat of arms.

By the end of the 18th century, the castle had lost its purpose and part of its building were disassembled and used to built new structures.

A fire damaged the Preussisch Eylau castle in 1802 but it was not restored and the Forburg was used for economic purposes. In 1814, it was bough by Heinrich Sigismund Valentini who built a new house a kilometer northwest of the castle after the castle began to collapse because of lack of part of the roof.

In 1831 a new Henrettenhof manor was built in the neoclassical style. It is on the foundations of the Preussisch Eylau fortress fort between the eastern wing and the barn.

The old manor building located on the territory of the Preussisch Eylau castle was given to the city magistrate of Preussish-Eylau in 1932, and this same year a museum covering the period of the regions history from the stone age to the events of the First World War was open there. Sadly, in the post war period the building was completely dismantled.

During the Second World War , the castle was not badly damaged, and the living quarters were used until the early 1960s.

The Preussisch Eylau castle and forburg were transferred to the district consumer union in 1961, and were used as storage facilities.

In 1964 the buildings of the castle and forburg were examined by employees of the central scientific and restoration workshops of the USSR Ministry of Culture. The condition of the castle was very poor, as it was never repaired after the war.

A shooting gallery was built on the site of the western wing, which was demolished in the 1990s. In the surviving forburg, the roof began to collapse because of rotten rafters, holes appeared in 1989 and in August 1990 the middle section burned down.

In the early 1990s, a decision was made to convert the forburg into a hotel with a bar, but it was abandoned.

On June 5, 2016, a fire broke out in the castle, destroying part of the roof.

On August 29, 2018, the regional authorities tried to sell the castle at an auction, but they didn’t succeed.

They again tried to sell the building in 2020, but could not find a buyer. Finally the castle was sold for 7.6 million rubles at the auction of the GreenArt Development company in 2022. “GreenArtDevelopment” is registered in St. Petersburg and is engaged in rental and property management.

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Découvrez le tableau « Calme » de Nikolai Nikanorovich Dubovskoy

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Le tableau « Calme » (Притихло), appelé « paysages d’humeur » est l’une des œuvres les plus célèbres et les plus significatives de Nikolai Dubovskoy (Николай Дубовской). Il s’agit d’un paysage qui est une huile sur toile de 76,5 X 128 cm achevé en 1890 et appartenant aujourd’hui au Musée d’État russe de Saint-Pétersbourg. La peinture a été exposée pour la première fois à la 18ème exposition de l’Association de l’Exposition d’Art Itinérante avec un grand succès. L’empereur Alexandre III l’a immédiatement acheté, et Nikolaï Dubovskoy a dû en faire une répétition pour Pavel Tretiakov qui voulait également l’acheter. La répétition de 86 X143 cm se trouve à la Galerie d’État Tretiakov à Moscou.

Nikolai Dubovskoy - Quiet - 1890 — Nikolai Dubovskoy – Quiet – 1890

Lors de la peinture du tableau «Calme», l’artiste a utilisé un croquis peint sur la côte baltique. Dans l’une de ses lettres, Nikolai Dubovskoy a écrit: « Le motif de la création de cette image était ce sentiment excitant qui a pris possession de moi à plusieurs reprises en observant la nature à un moment de silence avant un gros orage ou dans les intervalles entre deux orages, quand il est difficile de respirer, quand vous sentez votre insignifiance à l’approche des éléments. Cet état de nature – le silence avant un orage – peut être exprimé en un mot, «Calme». C’est le titre de mon tableau. »

Il y a plusieurs autres répétitions de l’auteur de la peinture. L’une de 1896, se trouve au musée d’art de Poltava. Une autre, datée de 1913-1915, appartient au musée d’art régional de Samara.

Il y a aussi une répétition d’auteur non datée qui se trouve au Musée régional des beaux-arts de Rostov, ainsi qu’au Musée national d’art de Biélorussie. Il y a une répétition intitulée « Un nuage approche » de 1912 qui se trouve au Musée Novocherkassk de l’histoire des Cosaques du Don.

La collection Musée-Réserve historique, artistique et architectural de Vladimir-Souzdal comprend également une répétition de l’huile sur toile de 69 × 112 cm des années 1890, et dans la galerie d’art régionale de Vologda, il y a une répétition de « Calme. Un nuage arrive », daté de 1912.

A cloud is coming (1912, NMIDC) — *A cloud is coming* (1912, NMIDC)

Une autre de 1890, également une huile sur toile de 85,6 × 133 cm est dans la collection du Zimmerli Museum de l’Université Rutgers situé à New Brunswic, New Jersey, États-Unis.

Description de la peinture

La peinture représente un paysage marin. Des nuages d’orage occupant presque toute la partie supérieure, pendent au-dessus de l’eau. Leur partie supérieure éclairée par le soleil ressemble à du coton blanc et la partie inférieure est remplie de noirceur inquiétante.

Il n’y a pas de vent, et les nuages clairs et sombres se reflètent dans l’eau lisse et noircie.

Au loin, vous pouvez voir la bande sombre de la côte, sur laquelle se trouvent des maisons d’un village. Les cimes rouge orangé vif des arbres et des buissons, se détachant sur le fond d’une forêt sombre, soulignent la tension de l’atmosphère.

Nikolai Dubovskoy - Quiet - 1890 - part boat — Nikolai Dubovskoy – Quiet – 1890 -part boat

Si vous regardez de près, sur la surface lisse et presque brillante de l’eau, vous pouvez voir un petit bateau qui se déplace vers le rivage avec un rameur. Mais la terre est encore loin, ce qui ne peut qu’inspirer la peur chez le propriétaire de ce bateau. Il semble que ce petit navire soit tellement sans défense contre un orage qui approche qu’il est sur le point de se perdre quelque part dans les vagues de la mer.

L’état de nature tendu avant la tempête est clairement ressenti, en regardant les nuages de pluie menaçants, il semble que quelque chose de terrible est sur le point de se produire. Mais le sentiment d’impuissance d’une personne devant les éléments naturels, exprimé par Dubovsky dans le tableau « Calme », ne doit pas être pris comme son contenu principal. On ne peut pas supposer que le but de l’artiste était la glorification des éléments et son pouvoir sur les gens. En témoigne le fait que pour l’image, il n’a pas choisi la tempête elle-même, mais le moment qui la précède. Un petit bateau se dirigeant vers le rivage et s’efforçant de l’atteindre le plus rapidement possible ne souligne pas du tout l’impuissance d’une personne car nous ne savons pas si le rameur atteindra le rivage en toute sécurité, cependant, dès que nous le remarquons, nous ne pouvons que souhaiter qu’il atteigne le rivage en toute sécurité.

J’espère que vous avez apprécié cette peinture autant que moi

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Discover the painting “Quiet” by Nikolai Nikanorovich Dubovskoy

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The painting “Quiet” (Притихло), which is referred as “landscapes of mood” is one of the most famous and most significant works of Nikolai Dubovskoy (Николай Дубовской). It is a landscape which is an oil on canvas of 76.5 X 128 cm completed in 1890 and now belonging to the State Russian Museum of Saint Petersburg. The painting was first exposed at the 18th exhibition of the Association of Traveling Art Exhibition with great success. Emperor Alexander III immediately purchased it, and Nikolai Dubovskoy had to make a copy for Pavel Tretyakov who also wanted to buy it. The copy of 86 X143 cm is in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

When painting the painting “Quiet”, the artist used a sketch painted on the Baltic coast. In one of his letters, Nikolai Dubovskoy wrote: “The motive for creating this picture was that exciting feeling that took possession of me many times when observing nature at a moment of silence before a big thunderstorm or in the intervals between two thunderstorms, when it is difficult to breathe, when you feel your insignificance at the approach of the elements. This state in nature – the silence before a thunderstorm – can be expressed in one word, “Quiet”. This is the title of my painting.”

There are several more author’s repetitions of the painting. One from 1896, is in the Poltava Art Museum. Another one, dated 1913-1915, belongs to the Samara Regional Art Museum.

There is also an undated author’s repetition is in the Rostov Regional Museum of Fine Arts, as well as in The National Art Museum of Belarus. There is a repetition called “A cloud is approaching” from 1912 which is in the Novocherkassk Museum of the History of the Don Cossacks.

The collection Vladimir-Suzdal Historical, Artistic and Architectural Museum-Reserve also include a repetition of the oil on canvas of 69 × 112 cm from 1890s, and in the Vologda Regional Art Gallery there is a repetition of “Quiet. A cloud is coming”, dated 1912.

Another one from 1890, also an oil on canvas of 85.6 × 133 cm is in the collection of the Zimmerli Museum of Rutgers University situated in New Brunswic, New Jersey, USA.

The painting depicts a seascape. Thunderclouds occupying almost the entire upper part, hang over the water. Their upper part illuminated by the sun, resembles white cotton wool, and the lower part is filled with ominous blackness.

There is no wind, and light and dark clouds are reflected in the smooth and blackened water.

In the distance you can see the dark strip of the coast, on which there are houses of some village. Bright orange-red crowns of trees and bushes, standing out against the background of a dark forest, emphasize the tension of the atmosphere.

If you look closely, on a smooth, almost glossy surface of the water, you can see a tiny boat that is moving towards the shore with a rower. But the land is still far away, which cannot but inspire fear in the owner of this boat. It seems that this small ship is so defenseless against an approaching thunderstorm that it is about to get lost somewhere in the sea waves.

The tense state of nature before the storm is clearly felt, looking at the menacing rain clouds, it seems that something terrible is about to happen. But the feeling of a person’s helplessness in front of the natural elements, expressed by Dubovsky in the painting “Quiet”, should not be taken as its main content. It cannot be assumed that the artist’s goal was the glorification of the elements and its power over people. This is evidenced by the fact that for the image he chose not the storm itself, but the moment preceding it. A small boat heading towards the shore and striving to reach it as quickly as possible does not at all emphasize the impotence of a person as we do not know whether the rower will reach the shore safely, however, as soon as we notice him, we cannot but wish that he reaches the shore safely.

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Histoire des chambres de Kikin

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Les chambres de Kikin sont l’un des plus anciens bâtiments de Saint-Pétersbourg. Ce bâtiment est inclus dans le registre d’État unifié des objets du patrimoine culturel de la Russie. Le manoir qui a été reconstruit plusieurs fois se trouve dans la rue Stavropolskaya entre l’ancien Institut de recherche en ingénierie de radio de Leningrad et un immeuble résidentiel construit au début de notre siècle.

Авторство: Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov, CC BY-SA 4.0,

C’est la seule maison d’Alexander Kikin qui existe encore de nos jours.

Alexander Vasilyevich Kikin était un noble éminent et l’un des associés de Pierre le Grand. Il a accompagné le tsar dans la campagne d’Azov, puis est parti étudier la construction navale en Hollande. Après avoir été nommé chef de l’Amirauté de Saint-Pétersbourg en 1708, il a reçu le grade de conseiller de Pierre pour l’Amirauté en 1712.

Alexandre est devenu l’une des personnes les plus riches de Russie et a commencé à se construire un manoir. Malheureusement, lorsqu’un conflit éclata entre Pierre Ier et le tsarévitch Alexei, Kikin aida Alexei à se cacher à l’étranger et scella son propre destin. En 1718, avant que son manoir ne soit terminé, il fut placé en garde à vue, puis condamné à être roulé et il est mort d’une mort douloureuse sur le billot.

Les chambres Kikin ont été confisquées et toutes les propriétés de Kikin sont allées au trésor. Le palais d’hiver se dresse maintenant sur le deuxième terrain de Kikin.

La construction des chambres a commencé en 1714 et s’est terminée en 1720. Il est présumé que A. Schluter était l’architecte du bâtiment. Sa construction s’est déroulée en deux étapes. Initialement, la partie centrale de la maison était à deux étages et deux ailes à un étage, destinées aux besoins domestiques, la jouxtaient des deux côtés.

Les fenêtres et les portes des chambres Kikin étaient encadrées de chambranles et le toit était recouvert de tuiles plates. Le bâtiment avait des risalits latérales, qui étaient des corniches situées au centre et sur les côtés des façades. Leur caractéristique était la présence de boucles décoratives complexes, les soi-disant volutes et omoplates. Ils remplissaient non seulement des fonctions décoratives, mais aussi constructives, car ils contribuaient au renforcement du mur. Les chambres de Kikin étaient décorées d’un porche, auquel de petits escaliers menaient des deux côtés. Des balustres blancs leur donnaient un aspect spécial et solennel. Le bâtiment était orné de frontons et couronné d’un haut toit avec une fracture. La disposition interne de la structure était très similaire à la disposition des pièces du Grand Palais de Peterhof. En 1720, un second étage est construit sur les ailes latérales.

Une fois la construction des chambres terminée, la célèbre Kunstkamera et la bibliothèque de Pierre Ier ont été placées à l’intérieur où elles sont restées jusqu’en 1727.

Après l’exécution du propriétaire en 1718, la population croyait que le fantôme de Kikin errait dans la maison et peu de gens voulaient voir la collection appartenant au tsar. Le tsar recourant à la ruse, promit à tous ceux qui visitaient la Kunstkamera un verre de vodka ou une tasse de café afin de mieux faire connaitre les sciences naturelles. Cela fonctionna et l’exposition a eu de plus en plus de visiteurs.

De plus, Natalya Alekseevna, la sœur du tsar, a installé l’un des premiers théâtres de la ville dans une partie du bâtiment.

Il y a une légende bien connue qui dit qu’une fois Pierre le Grand, marchant le long des rives de la Neva, vit une branche d’arbre, qui a miraculeusement poussé dans son tronc et a décidé de construire un nouveau bâtiment pour la Kunstkamera où il a transféré sa collection en 1727.

Dans les années 1720, les Kikin Chambers ont été reconstruites par un architecte inconnu.

En 1733, un hôpital, un bureau et le quartier général des cavaliers militaires ont été ouverts dans les Chambres de Kikin. Lors de la construction de casernes pour le régiment des cavaliers militaires à côté des chambres, qui ont été adaptées pour l’infirmerie et le bureau du régiment, FB Rastrelli a érigé un clocher avec un dôme et une croix sur la partie médiane des chambres. La Grande Salle servait alors d’église régimentaire.

Au 19ème siècle, le bâtiment a été gravement endommagé. En 1829, les chambres de Kikin sont reconstruites selon le projet d’Alexander Staubert. Il fit preuve d’une extrême négligence dans sa démarche et détruisit tout le riche décor baroque qui ornait la façade de la maison. Les pilastres ont été enlevés, la superstructure-clocher de Rastrelli a été démolie. Les murs étaient recouverts de plâtre et il a ajouté 2 pièces au bâtiment du côté du remblai. En 1874, deux escaliers symétriques ont été ajoutés au bâtiment du côté Neva.

Pendant le siège de Leningrad, les chambres de Kikin ont été gravement endommagées par des bombes et des obus, et le bâtiment a été incendié à plusieurs reprises. Cependant, c’est à cette époque que le plâtre appliqué lors de la dernière restauration est tombé, laissant apparaître la façade d’origine du début du XVIIIe siècle.

Cela a permis de commencer à recréer les façades dans les formes de l’architecture pétrinienne.

Immédiatement après la guerre, la mise en œuvre d’un projet ambitieux de l’architecte I. Benois a commencé à redonner aux chambres Kikin leur aspect historique. Les pilastres ont été remis à leur place, les superstructures ultérieures du bâtiment ont été démolies et des frontons ont été attachés aux chambres des deux côtés. La restauration a été achevée en 1956.

En 1979, les autorités de Saint-Pétersbourg ont transféré les chambres Kikin à l’école de musique pour enfants n ° 12. Depuis 1995, l’école a été transformée en lycée musical de Saint-Pétersbourg, qui se trouve encore aujourd’hui dans ce bâtiment.

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History of Kikin chambers

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Kikin chambers is one of the oldest building in Saint Petersburg. This building is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects of Russia. The mansion which was rebuilt several times is on Stavropolskaya street between the former Leningrad Radio Engineering Research Institute and a residential building built at the beginning of our century.

It is the only house of Alexander Kikin that still exist nowadays.

Alexander Vasilyevich Kikin was a proeminent nobleman and one of the associates of Peter the Great. He accompanied the tsar in the Azov campaign, then went to study shipbuilding in Hollands. After having been appointed head of the Saint Petersburg Admiralty in 1708, he was awarded the rank of Peter’s adviser for the Admiralty in 1712.

Alexander became one of the richest person in Russia and began to build himself a mansion. Sadly when a conflict arose between Peter I and Tsarevich Alexei, Kikin helped Alexei hide abroad sealing his own fate. In 1718, before his mansion was finished, he was taken into custody, sentenced to be wheeled and died a painful death on the chopping block.

The chambers were confiscated and all the properties of Kikin went to the treasury. The Winter Palace stands on Kikin’s second land plot now.

The construction of the chambers began in 1714 and ended in 1720. It is presumed that A. Schluter was the architect of the building. Its construction was carried out in two stages. Initially, the central part of the house was two-story, and two one-story wings, which were intended for household needs, adjoined it on both sides.

The windows and doorways of the Kikin chambers were framed with platbands, and the roof was covered with flat tiles. The building had side risalits, which were ledges located in the center and on the sides of the facades. Their feature was the presence of intricate decorative curls, the so-called volutes and shoulder blades. They performed not only decorative functions, but also constructive, as they contributed to the strengthening of the wall. Kikin’s chambers were decorated with a front porch, to which small stairs led from both sides. White balusters gave them a special, solemn look. The building was decorated with pediments, and it was crowned with a high roof with a fracture. The internal layout of the structure was very similar to the arrangement of rooms in the Peterhof Grand Palace. In 1720 a second floor was built over the side wings.

After the construction of the chambers was completed, the famous Kunstkamera and the library of Peter I were placed inside where they stayed until 1727.

After the execution of the owner in 1718, there was a belief among the people that the ghost of Kikin was wandering in the house and few people wanted to see the collection belonging to the tsar. The tsar resorting to cunning, promised everyone who visited the the Kunstkamera a glass of vodka or a cup of coffee in order to popularize the natural sciences. It worked and the exposition had many visitors.

In addition, Natalya Alekseevna, the tsar sister set up one of the first city theater in part of the building.

There is a well-known legend which says that once Peter the Great, walking along the banks of the Neva, saw a branch of a tree, which miraculously grew into his trunk and decided to build a new building for the Kunstkamera where he transferred his collection in 1727.

In the 1720s, the Kikin Chambers were rebuilt by an unknown architect.

In 1733, a hospital, an office and the headquarters of the Horse Guards were opened in the Kikin Chambers. During the construction of barracks for the regiment of the Horse Guards next to the chambers, which were adapted for the regimental infirmary and office, F. B. Rastrelli erected a bell tower with a dome and a cross over the middle part of the chambers. The Great Hall was then used for the regimental church.

In the 19th century the building was seriously damaged. In 1829, Kikin’s chambers were reconstructed according to the project of Alexander Staubert. He was extremely negligent in his approach and destroyed all the rich baroque decor that adorned the facade of the house. The pilasters were removed, the superstructure-bell tower by Rastrelli was demolished. The walls were covered with plaster, and he added 2 rooms to the building from the side of the embankment. In 1874, two symmetrical staircases were added to the building from the Neva side.

During the Siege of Leningrad, the Kikin chambers were badly damaged by bombs and shells, and the building was repeatedly on fire. However, it was at this time that the plaster applied during the last restoration fell off, revealing the original facade of the early 18th century.

This made it possible to start recreating the facades in the forms of Petrine architecture.

Immediately after the war, the implementation of an ambitious project by the architect I. Benois began to restore the Kikin chambers to their historical appearance. The pilasters were returned to their places, later superstructures to the building were demolished, and pediments were attached to the chambers from two sides. The restoration was completed in 1956.

In 1979, the authorities of St. Petersburg transferred the Kikin Chambers to the Children’s Music School No. 12. Since 1995, the school has been transformed into the St. Petersburg Musical Lyceum, which is located in this building to this day.

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Courte biographie de Jack London

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Jack London né le 12 janvier 1876 à San Francisco en Californie était un romancier américain, et un journaliste surtout connu pour les romans “Croc Blanc” et “L’Appel de la Nature”. Il a été l’un des premiers auteurs américains à devenir une célébrité internationale et à gagner une grande fortune grâce à l’écriture.

Jack London était le fils de Flora Wellman et de William Chaney. Il s’appelait John Griffith Chaney, même si ses parents n’étaient pas mariés et que son père n’a jamais fait partie de sa vie. Il a été envoyé pour allaitement chez une voisine qui était une femme afro-américaine anciennement asservie nommée Jennie Prentiss après que sa mère ait tenté de se suicider parce que son père avait exigé qu’elle se fasse avorter. En 1876, sa mère a épousé John London qui était un vétéran de la guerre civile et il a pris le nom de son beau-père. La famille a déménagé plusieurs fois et la famille Prentiss a déménagé avec eux et a continué à s’occuper du jeune Jack.

Il a construit sa propre vie adolescent, et à l’âge de 14 ans, il a quitté l’école et a commencé à travailler. Il a pris des trains, piraté des huîtres avec le sloop acheté avec de l’argent emprunté à sa mère adoptive Virginia Prentiss, puis a travaillé pour la patrouille gouvernementale des pêches, pelleté du charbon, travaillé sur des navires. Pendant tout ce temps, il se rendait le plus souvent possible à la bibliothèque pour lire des romans et des livres de voyage.

Après ses nombreuses expériences en tant que clochard et marin, il est retourné à Oakland et a fréquenté le lycée d’Oakland. Il a souvent étudié au Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon et le propriétaire John Heinold lui a permis d’aller à l’Université de Californie en lui prêtant l’argent des frais de scolarité.

En raison de problèmes financiers, il n’a jamais terminé ses études universitaires et en 1897, il a navigué avec le mari de sa sœur pour rejoindre la ruée vers l’or du Klondike. Là, il était tellement mal nourri qu’il a développé le scorbut mais c’était aussi le décor de certaines de ses premières histoires à succès.

En 1898, après son retour en Californie, il commença à travailler pour être publié. Il était sur le point d’abandonner lorsque son histoire “Mille Morts” a été acceptée par le Black Cat (chat noir). C’est au cours de cette période que les nouvelles technologies d’impression ont commencé à permettre la production à moindre coût de magazines entraînant un boom des magazines populaires et ouvrant la voie à la publication de fictions courtes destinées à un large public.

En 1900, il commença à gagner beaucoup d’argent en vendant ses histoires et épousa Elizabeth Mae Maddern, le jour de la publication de son roman “Le Fils du loup” le 7 avril 1900. Tous deux ont reconnu qu’ils ne se mariaient pas par amour, mais par amitié et par conviction qu’ils produiraient des enfants robustes. Ils ont eu 2 enfants, tous deux nés à Piedmont, en Californie, où il a écrit l’une de ses œuvres les plus célèbres ; “L’Appel de la Nature”. Joan son premier enfant est née le 15 janvier 1901 et Bessie est née le 20 octobre 1902. Malheureusement, ils ont divorcé le 11 novembre 1904.

Le succès de ce livre n’a pas arrêté les dures habitudes d’écriture de London et il a publié plus de 50 livres au cours des 16 dernières années de sa vie. Ses romans les plus célèbres sont : « L’Appel de la Nature », « Croc Blanc », « Le Loup de Mer », « Le Talon de Fer » et « Martin Eden », mais il y en a bien d’autres. De 1902 à 1916, il écrit un à deux romans par an mais aussi des nouvelles, des mémoires autobiographiques, des non-fiction et des essais, des pièces de théâtre et de la poésie,

Du 25 janvier à juin 1904, il couvrit la guerre russo-japonaise et fut arrêté 4 fois par les autorités japonaises au cours de sa courte période de travail comme correspondant de guerre. Puis en 1905 il épousa Charmian Kittredge avec qui il fit de nombreux voyages à Hawaii, Australie, Nevada….

Jack and Charmian London (c. 1915) at Waikiki Londons_surfing_in_hawaii

Pendant une grande partie de la dernière décennie de sa vie, London a eu des problèmes de santé, notamment une maladie rénale qui a fini par lui coûter la vie le 22 novembre 1916.

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Avant Adam Croc-Blanc L’appel de la forêt	The Call of the Wild Martin Eden part 1 Martin Eden part 2 The Sea-Wolf White Fang

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Jack London short biography

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Jack London born on January 12, 1876 in San Francisco, California was an American novelist, journalist best known for the novels “White Fang” and “The Call of the Wild”. He was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing.

Jack London was the son of Flora Wellman and William Chaney. His name was John Griffith Chaney, even though his parents weren’t married and his father was never part of his life. He was sent for wet-nursing to a neighbor who was an formerly enslaved African American Woman named Jennie Prentiss after his mother tried to kill herself because his father demanded that she had an abortion. In 1876 his mother married john London who was a civil war veteran and he took his father in law name. The family moved several time and the Prentiss family moved with them and continued to take care of the young Jack.

He built his own life as a teen, and at the age 14 he quit school and began working. He rode trains, pirated oysters with the sloop bought with borrowed money from his foster mother Virginia Prentiss, then worked for the government fish patrol, shoveled coal, worked on ships. All this while he went to the library as often as possible to read novels and travel books.

After his many experiences as a hobo and sailor, he returned to Oakland and attended the Oakland High School. He often studied at the Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon and the owner John Heinold allowed him to go to the University of California by lending him the tuition money.

Due to financial problem he never finished the University and in 1897 he sailed with his sister’s husband to join the Klondike gold rush. There he was so malnourished that he developed scurvy but it was also the setting for some of his first successful stories.

In 1898 after returning to California he began working to get published. He was closed to giving up when his story “A Thousand Deaths” was accepted by the Black Cat. It was during that period that new printing technologies began to enable lower-cost production of magazines resulting in a boom in popular magazines and opening the way for short fiction publication aimed at a wide public audience.

In 1900, he began making good money selling his stories and married Elizabeth Mae Maddern, the day of the publication of his novel “The Son of the Wolf” on April 7, 1900. Both of them acknowledged that they were not marrying out of love, but from friendship and a belief that they would produce sturdy children. They had 2 children, both born in Piedmont, California where he wrote one of his most famous work; “The Call of the Wild”. Joan his first child was born on January 15, 1901 and Bessie was born on October 20, 1902. Sadly they divorced on November 11, 1904.

The success of this book didn’t stop London’s hard writing habits and he published more than 50 books over the last 16 years of his life. His most famous novels are: “The Call of the Wild”, “White Fang”, “The Sea-Wolf”, “The Iron Heel”, and “Martin Eden” but there are many others. From 1902 to 1916 he wrote one to two novels a year but also short stories, autobiographical memoirs, non-fiction and essays, plays, and poetry,

From January 25 to June 1904 he covered the Russo-Japanese War and was arrested 4 times by the Japanese authority during his short period of work as a war correspondent. Then in 1905 he married Charmian Kittredge with who he went in numerous trips to Hawai, Australia, Nevada ….

For much of the last decade of his life, London had some health problem including a kidney disease which ended up taking his life on November 22, 1916

You can read the following books on our sites:

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Avant Adam Croc-Blanc L’appel de la forêt	The Call of the Wild Martin Eden part 1 Martin Eden part 2 The Sea-Wolf White Fang

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Émail de Moscou à l’exposition Fabergé

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J’ai trouvé une vidéo très courte et agréable d’émail de Moscou à l’exposition Fabergé. J’aurais souhaité de la musique mais il y a des explications en russe pour ceux qui la comprennent. J’ai mis quelques photos de la vidéo et un lien pour que vous puissiez la regarder vous-même et j’espère l’apprécier autant que moi. Le signe montré à la fin de la vidéo dit: Service à thé et café O. Kurlyukov’s compagnie. Moscou. 1908-1917 . Argent, émail, nacre; monnayage, peinture, dorure.

Voir la vidéo : L’ émail de Moscou à l’exposition Fabergé

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Moscow enamel at the Faberge exhibition

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I found a very short and nice video of a Moscow enamel at the Faberge exhibition. I would have wish for music but there are explanation in Russian for those who understand it. I put a few pictures of the video and a link so you can watch it yourself and I hope enjoy it as I did. The sign showed at the the end of the video say: Tea and coffee service O. Kurlyukov’s firm. Moscow. 1908-1917 . Silver, enamel, mother of pearl; coinage, painting, gilding.

Watch the video: Moscow enamel at the Faberge exhibition

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Discover the painting “Halt of the prisoners” by Valery Ivanovich Jacobi

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“The Halt of the Prisoners” (Привал арестантов) is a genre painting by the Russian artist Valery Yakobi (Валерия Якоби) completed in 1861. It is an oil on canvas of 98.6 × 143.5 cm situated at the State Tretyakov Gallery. It is difficult to imagine Russian genre painting of the 60s of the XIX century without this painting by Valery Ivanovich Jacobi, who created the true story of the royal penal servitude. It is one of the masterpieces of the 19th century, and this painting by Valery Jacobi immediately entered the history of art.

The painting “Halt of Prisoners” was presented by Valery Yakobi at the end of his studies at the Academy of Arts . For this painting, the Academy awarded him the title of class artist of the 1st degree and also a large gold medal .

In 1861-1862, the canvas was exhibited with great success at the exhibition of the Academy of Arts – the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky noted that Jacobi’s painting “amazes with amazing fidelity” and the public likes it “more than anyone else at the current exhibition”

This work made a great impression on the public, which rather vividly accepted the reforms of Emperor Alexander II.

Critics called this work frank and topical. Everyone was unanimous in their statements: the master managed to portray the actual problems of society. This work became the pinnacle of the artist’s work.

Valery Jacobi was the first of the Russian artists who turned to such a topic. The choice of subject was not accidental. Valery Ivanovich spent his childhood and youth in the east of Russia, where he personally observed the convicts who were driven past the house where the artist lived. Memories were so firmly planted in his head that the picture recreated from memory is striking in its realism and strength.

The collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery also contains a graphic sketch for the painting “Halt of Prisoners”

This first compositional sketch for the future canvas was submitted by Valery Jacobi for approval to the Council of the Academy of Arts in 1860. It is made in a purely contour technique, and the figures are outlined by a continuous line .

According to the description of art historian Alexei Sidorov, “from one edge of the figures, this line is thin and resembles a stroke of a cutter or a dry needle in a sketch engraving on copper; from the other edge of the same figures, the line tightens, becomes thicker, blacker, to a certain extent gives the figures <…> relief”; such an interpretation resembles a “marble bas-relief ” .

Another sketch of 36.5 × 58.7 cm , was executed in watercolor and white on paper. It is dated from 1861, and is kept in the State Russian Museum . In addition, the Russian Museum owns a reduced copy of the painting of the same name . It is an oil , paper on canvas, from the late 1860s – 1870s which is 53 × 75 cm , and was received in 1963 from the State Museum of the Revolution.

The painting depicts a group of prisoners stopping for a break. Probably, this halt was forced and caused by the breakdown of one of the carts.

Jacobi concentrates his main attention on the group around the deceased prisoner and the relatives who followed him along the stage, sitting at the milestone. At the same time, the artist uses a traditional academic technique, highlighting the main characters of the picture with light, grouping them in the spirit of classical “pyramids”. He managed to convey a complex range of feelings: from the despair of a family that has lost a person for whom they set off on a grueling journey, to the indifference of a gendarmerie officer who leaned over a dead prisoner. The rest of the exiles are depicted without detail, in gloomy silhouettes. The contrast of a dark stormy sky and bright light breaking through the dense cover of clouds, the predominance of gray and brown tones enhances the drama of the scene.

The Charter “On the Exiles” fixed and regulated the procedure for escorting, the issues of transporting exiles on carts, preventing escapes, women, freemen and the dead.

In this work, Jacobi managed with extraordinary persuasiveness to present various social types – from a tramp to an intellectual-political prisoner, whose life was cut short on the way.

On a broken road under a leaden sky with low rain clouds, standing by the cart is a stage officer, who with indifferent calmness ascertains the death of a prisoner (by opening his eyes), in order to leave him on the road and move on faster.

The central character of the composition is the deceased prisoner. He has an intelligent appearance, but is so emaciated that he looks like an old man. The dead prisoner is covered with matting . On his left hand, hanging lifelessly down, he wears a ring. The effect of the hopelessness of life is enhanced by another detail: another prisoner crept under the cart and is trying to pull off the ring from the finger of the deceased. In such a critical situation, the human essence is manifested.

A man, dressed in a heavily torn caftan , is holding a harnessed horse.

On the right side of the picture in the foreground is a seated prisoner in rags, who examines the wound on his leg, rubbed with shackles .

In the left corner of the picture are the families of prisoners who voluntarily went into exile along with their husbands and fathers. They are exhausted and weakened. However, no one retreats and they will go all the way to the end, but not everyone will return. They are already mourning the dead…

Nearby, a prisoner is seen smoking a pipe. It seems that he is completely indifferent to his own fate, he just goes with the flow, not thinking about tomorrow.

The plot continues with a group of fighting people and a long line of exiles, escorted by a convoy, lost in the distance… This horizontal line is emphasized by a thin parallel line of a flock of birds, dissolving into the clouds. The whole scene is depicted by the artist against the backdrop of an open autumn steppe, under a sky covered with heavy gray clouds. The bleak landscape only enhances the gloomy impression that the picture makes ….

I hope you enjoyed this painting as much as I did

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