Léal Souvenir is a 1432 oil-on-oak panel portrait by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. The panel was purchased in 1857 by the National Gallery, London, where it is on permanent display. The sitter has not been identified, but his individualistic features suggest a historical person rather than the hypothetical ideal usual in contemporary northern Renaissance portraiture. The portrait contains three layers of painted inscriptions, each rendered to look as if chiseled into stone. The first inscription is in a form of Greek and seems to spell "TYΜ.ωΘΕΟC", which has not been satisfactorily interpreted but has inspired some to title the work Timotheus. The middle lettering reads in French Leal Souvenir ("Loyal Memory") and indicates that the portrait is commemorative, completed after the man's death. The third records van Eyck's signature and the date of execution. The sitter's features have been described as "plain and rustic", yet he is presented as thoughtful and inward-looking. Art historians have detected mournfulness in his expression.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9al_Souvenir
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1823:
James McBrien made the first official discovery of gold in Australia at Fish River in New South Wales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_gold_rushes
1898:
The United States Navy battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana, Cuba, killing more than 260 people and precipitating the Spanish–American War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_(ACR-1)
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces led by General Tomoyuki Yamashita captured Singapore, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Singapore
1989:
The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had withdrawn from Afghanistan after a nine-year conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War
2013:
A previously undetected meteor exploded in mid-air over Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, with the resulting shock wave injuring more than 1,500 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
dumpee: (informal) One who is dumped (rejected romantically). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dumpee
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I guess my favorite thing in the world is when I look at a piece of art, or read a story, or watch a movie where I walk away feeling like "Oh my god — I have to do something, I have to make something or talk to someone — things are not the same anymore" — and so I try to make work where you come away with that feeling. It's like, yeah, you're thinking about what you just saw, but even more than that — you feel able, you feel like, kind of propelled. --Miranda July https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Miranda_July