Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Nature's Treasure: The Olive Tree

Lemon tree very pretty.  Olive tree very pretty too!  In fact, the olive tree has always had a significant role in much of the history of mankind.

During biblical times, olives were one of the most important crops.  In addition to being used for food, they were crushed and made into cooling oil, fuel for lamps, medicine to soothe cuts or bruises or dress wounds, and used as a skin moisturizer.  Olives are still used that way today.

The Mount of Olives, a prominent place in Bible times, is covered with dense olive groves.  The name "Gethsemane" means "oil press".

The Aramites revered it as a blessed tree and the Canaanite and Philistines tried to spread its cultivation. There are Egyptian reliefs with images of olive trees.

Oil from the olive crops was and still is used for cooking, ointments, medicines, and perfumes.

Health benefits of olive oil include: aiding in the growth of normal bones; reducing bad cholesterol levels, and the risk of gallstones development; and preventing constipation.

Van Gogh clearly loved olive trees.
Van Gogh


The Olive Tree in Palestine
  • Another name for olive tree is Olea Europaea.  
Palestine was known as Canaan during Bible times and olive trees grew on the hillsides in Samaria. These trees were also plentiful in Galilee, the childhood home of Jesus.

The olive tree not only played a vital part in the economic development of both the Greek and Roman empires; but olive wood carving was and still is a cottage industry, i.e. a common home business for many families living and working in Palestine.

There are artists today who live and work in the Holy City of Bethlehem and together they create unique gift items and art treasures. Their area of expertise is olive wood carving or sculptures. They craft statues, ornaments, music boxes, pendants and other decorative gifts which can easily become heirlooms to be kept in the family for generations.

This artwork is made available through an export house, an international marketing company which is based in Jerusalem, Israel, to customers in the United States of America and other world markets. The gifts may have religious significance for most people but they are also beautiful artistic expressions and some are very practical.

Below are examples of my favorite pieces of olive wood sculptures.

* * IMPORTANT NOTE: Products are not made by killing live olive trees. The wood is taken from the branches that have been cut off for pruning or those trees that have died due to old age.




A Very Interesting Fact About the Olive Tree: 
Some would like to believe a drop of rain touched by the leaves of the legendary ancient "Angel Olive" or the "Angel Tree" will cure anything. The Angel Tree: The Enchanting Quest for the World's Oldest Olive Tree

More Reading

Use 100% Pure Olive Oil Soap to deep clean skin and enhance your body's ability to moisturize itself.
An olive tree in a container or planted directly into the ground will bring a Mediterranean atmosphere to the garden, terrace or patio. They can also be grown indoors.
The first time I heard about the whole 'drinking olive oil' concept, I thought: OK, big detail, isn't that the same as cooking with and eating olive oil? But the idea IS different

- Do you know who first brought the olive tree to Spain? Answer

- Do you know why black olives are black?  Answer


Original Source




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Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Art History: Impressionist Painters: Monet and Renoir (Plus the Others)

A brief introduction to artists who made such a lasting impression, reproductions of their original works adorn many homes and offices. The letter "i" stands for "I'm impressed."

"The term “impressionism” was first used in 1874, and its initial usage was not very complimentary. A critic was making a sarcastic remark about one of Monet's landscape paintings. Not allowing an unfavorable judgment to cramp his style, Claude Monet (1840 – 1926), working with Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841 – 1919), developed the technique of broken-color painting. These two artists are recognized as the founders of the art form known as Impressionism."


Others who were also a part of the group known as impressionist painters include: Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883), Jacob Camille Pissarro (1831 – 1903), Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906), and Edgar Hilaire Germain Degas (1834 – 1917). 

Monet and Renoir (Plus The Others) 

An art aficionado, I am not.  But like most people, my attention can easily be captured by an impressive painting.  The artwork of Claude Monet has always impressed me.  However, it appears that Monsieur Monet had to work arduously at developing a fan base who appreciated his art. Of course, Auguste Renoir painted female nudes. Not that he wasn't a great artist because his subjects were bare naked ladies. But gathering appreciative admirers was not as difficult. Nevertheless, through his persistence Monet's paintings have gained the recognition they deserve and there are many of today's artists who will readily admit that their art style has been influenced by the work of Claude Monet. 

As all of the impressionist painters named are already well known, there is a wealth of information about them that can be found online.  Since they are no longer with us, there is nothing substantial left to be added (unless authentic secret diaries or original works stashed in someone's attic are discovered).  Below are links to condensed biographies of each artist which serve as an excellent introduction should you wish to know more about them. 

The ArtStory.org published a biographical snap-shot of:
* Claude Monet (1840 – 1926);
* Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883); and
* Edgar Hilaire Germain Degas (1834 – 1917).

For the biography of Pierre Auguste Renoir, visit notablebiographies.com.

A wonderful presentation of the life of Jacob Camille Pissarro (1831 – 1903) can be found at impressionniste.net.

PBS.org provided an introduction to the life of Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906) for the program which aired July 2006 entitled Cézanne in Provence.
 

If interested, artcyclopedia.com is an online database where the artwork of thousands of artists can be viewed freely.


Persistence, Perseverance and Patience Pays
~ Impressionism ~
A word that now labels an accepted and respected artistic style, was originally a feeble attempt to insult a man whose skillful use of the paintbrush made a lasting impression on the viewers.

Link of Interest


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