Gray Connolly Profile picture
Jan 9, 2022 20 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Notwithstanding some curator atrocities, I strongly advise anyone in Sydney to patronise @ArtGalleryofNSW as we (and many others) did yesterday. It has a wonderful collection. As few go to the 'modern' collection, it should give way so more of the 18th/19thC art can be displayed.
Eduard Detaille, "Vive l'Empereur" (1891) ... the Imperial French 4th Hussar Regiment during Napoleonic Wars. Detaille's painting pays endless study as it was a depiction of the Hussars' charge as Napoleon himself would have wanted.
Edouard Detaille was so committed to the detail of his work that a portrait was done of Detaille at work here (by Basil Lemeunier, also 1891) painting the immense canvas - surrounded by the arms and uniforms of the French Hussars.
Frank William Bourdillon, "On Bideford Sands" (1889)

This seems to be the depiction of either a duel, in which the seconds are trying to make the duelling parties see sense, or the Baroque version of a group chat getting out of control
Evariste Vital Luminais, "The sons of Clovis II" (1880)

A rather ominous painting of Clovis' rebellious sons who were 'hamstrung' by their mother & then cut adrift on the river Seine. Wastrel royal princes needing remedial lessons in familial loyalty clearly nothing new here.
Alphonse de Neuville, "The defence of Rorke's Drift" (1879)

This painting depicts the famous defence by the Welsh Borderers (and some Sappers) against a ferociously brave Zulu attack & you can spend much time studying its very lifelike depictions of the defenders in the scene
Briton Riviere, "Compulsory education" (1887)

If you had a beloved dog as a child (or indeed, as an adult), you will immediately grasp this majestic painting's import and message.
Marcus Stone, "Stealing The Keys" (1866)

Depicts a civil war scene where a Royalist house is taken over by seditious & drunken Roundheads (who you will note have disfigured the King's portrait) & this loyal & virtuous daughter has come to take the keys to rescue her noble father
Edward Poynter, "Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon (1890)

This enormous and masterful depiction of the Queen of Sheba overwhelmed by Solomon in all his majesty is worthy of awe ... note many things but that Solomon leaves his throne to come & great his royal visitor.
Jean-Francois Portaels, "Esther" (1869)

This painting of the great Jewish heroine Queen Esther as she proceeds, with great fortitude and dignity, to see her husband King Xerxes to plead for her people against the evil machinations of Haman.
Briton Riviere, "Requiescat" (1888)

The loyal and devoted hound of a late medieval knight, based on Prince Edward the black prince, sits by his late master's bed, a stalwart even in death.
Left: an unknown Belgian Master painter of the 1540s' portrait of a young (Catholic) woman (c1541)
Right: Willem Key, "Portrait of a Protestant Minister" (1563)

Already at the Reformation's outset, the confessional differences present in the pious woman vs the scolding parson
Agnolo Bronzino, "Cosimo de Medici in armour" (1545)

Medici's portrait intended to send the message that the nominal Florentine republic was both under 'new management' & that its wealth and power allowed its ruler to appear this way.
Nicolas de Largillierre, "Portrait of an Officer", France, 1715

NdL was a favourite of the Stuart Kings & it is possible this officer was a (very young) Jacobite officer in France. The red sash suggests royalism - the blood specks on the paper suggests a recent battle.
Sano di Pietro, "Madonna and Child wth the Saints Jerome, John the Baptist, Bernard, and Bartholomew" (1481)

An outstanding acquisition by @ArtGalleryofNSW
Francesco di Simone Ferruci, "Madonna and Child" (c1480s)
Bernardo Strozzi, "The release of Saint Peter" (1635)
Prospero Fontana, "Deposition" (c1543)

Note behind the Virgin Mary holding Jesus's body is, at least, Joseph of Arimathea, who, while an 'establishment' man, went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body for burial. Note also the Angels hold the nails, sponge & crown of thorns.
Sassoferrato, "The Virgin in Prayer" (1640)
Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, "The Strike's Aftermath", (1913)

A quite sad portrayal of an unnamed manual worker, his pick and shovel laid up, his clothing torn, his teapot and cup unused, pondering his impecunious present.

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More from @GrayConnolly

May 8
US delaying arms & munitions to Israel is all about domestic US politics - US allies especially in the Middle East see Biden Admin wiling to dirk *even Israel* here means Egypt, Jordan, Gulf Kingdoms etal start to reevaluate relying on the US vs an Iranian arc with PRC/RUS ‘help’ Image
Rightly or wrongly, the US' allies seeing that if the Biden WH will cut *even Israel* adrift on arms and munitions supplies in a war after a massive terrorist attack, that their alliance with the US, too, operates purely at the whim of domestic US politics ... Obama's 3rd term Image
A global military alliance of intelligence support & arms sharing (going to standardisation of kit & calibres etc) is only sustainable, ultimately, to the degree that allies trust in the support of each other, esp when the going is hard... no one respects disloyalty esp enemies
Read 4 tweets
Feb 8
Putting Tucker to one side here .... weirdest part of Putin's villain role in the contemporary Western mind (admittedly an historically illiterate mind] is that if Putin dropped dead tomorrow, his successor would follow the same policies, probably more aggressively.
In July 2018, I wrote this piece, "The Sources Of Russian Conduct", on my blog, in an effort to put "The Russians" in some context for that part of the lay Western readership that was not totally brain damaged by America's internal convulsions

strategycounsel.blogspot.com/2018/07/source…
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Reality is that the West will never be close to Russia - we will have bouts of accomodation & OK times - but we also have many friction points. But we will need a modus vivendi with Russia in space, Arctic, and esp as Russia spans 11 time zones & Eurasian landmass Image
Read 5 tweets
Dec 12, 2023
I am shocked - shocked I tell you - that the same people who were (catastrophically) wrong about Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, etal, have now been proven wrong about the war in Ukraine ....


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The auguries of genius statecraft Image
The true classic of the genre Image
Read 5 tweets
Jun 23, 2023
Twitter trying to work out whether Prigozhin is "for real" this time or whether he is a character from the Cyrillic production of Turkey's 2016 'not quite a coup' ... or an Ernst Rohm or Lin Biao...regardless a lesson taught in these regimes is to never overrate your usefulness.
A key change in how RUS state fought the UKR war over past 6-10 months was to move slowly from 'war on the cheap' (Luhansk/Donetk militias & Wagner) to mobilising Russian reserves + bringing in more of the regular Russian armed forces hence extensive prep for UKR offensive
On any view, Wagner in 2022 filled gaps the RUS state wanted filled-it provided combat power ivo Soledar & Bakhmut in late 2022/early 2023. At same time, regular RUS units were being filled out & commencing the sappering & digging in for the very slow UKR offensive we see now.
Read 16 tweets
Apr 22, 2023
ANZAC Day Thread
Tuesday is ANZAC Day (April 25th) which commemorates the landing in 1915 by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at Gallipoli. It is Australia's national day for remembering our war dead, wounded, and war veterans, and their families
awm.gov.au/commemoration/… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Image
If you or a family member are "On Parade" on Tuesday and not in uniform, a useful dress and bearing guide from @MHHVic here Image
For #AnzacDay, an Australian tradition is the making of "Anzac Biscuits". The Anzac Biscuit is hardy, it is practical, it goes well with any hot brew, esp Tea, and, has become, since the Great War, the sustenance of a free people. Recipe here awm.gov.au/articles/encyc… Image
Read 7 tweets
Apr 1, 2023
Retirement will be a luxury that occurred in a brief historic period of high birth rates where workers could support retirees .... hard to have retirements with QE, money printing, and, especially, low birth rates.
Sorry but anyone who thinks what is happening in France with riots over a minor upwards revision of pension ages is not coming to every western society is kidding themselves… Right politics that made it harder not easier for larger families are their own worst enemies
Likewise western military establishments will be very hard to maintain in societies where birth rates are so low … the devising of foreign legions and Wagner groups in all but name - however well disguised by law - are as much the likely Western future absent action as the past
Read 6 tweets

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