The Destroying Angel and Daemons of Evil Interrupting the Orgies of the
Vicious and Intemperate is an oil painting by English artist William
Etty, first exhibited in 1832. With this openly moral piece, Etty hoped
to respond to critics who found his nude paintings indecent and in poor
taste. It depicts a classical temple under attack from a destroying
angel and a group of daemons. Some of the occupants are dead or
unconscious; others flee in terror or struggle against the daemons. When
first exhibited The Destroying Angel was widely praised for its
technical brilliance, but critics were divided on the subject matter.
Some praised its vividness and ability to mix fear and beauty without
descending into tastelessness; others criticised its theme as
inappropriate, and chastised Etty for wasting his talents. Joseph
Whitworth donated the painting in 1882 to the Manchester Art Gallery,
where it remains.
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Destroying_Angel_and_Daemons_of_Evil_Interrupting_the_Orgies_of_the_Vicious_and_Intemperate>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1516:
The most well-known version of the Reinheitsgebot, the German
Beer Purity Law, was adopted across the entirety of Bavaria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinheitsgebot>
1661:
Charles II, King of England, Ireland, and Scotland was crowned
at Westminster Abbey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England>
1918:
First World War: The British Royal Navy conducted an
unsuccessful raid on the German-occupied port of Bruges-Zeebrugge in
Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeebrugge_Raid>
1951:
American journalist William N. Oatis was arrested for espionage
by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_N._Oatis>
1985:
The Coca-Cola Company replaced its flagship soft drink, Coca-
Cola, with "New Coke", which generated so much negative response that
the company put the previous formula back on the market less than three
months later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tarn:
1. (Northern England) A small mountain lake, especially in Northern
England.
2. (US, chiefly Montana) One of many small mountain lakes or ponds.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tarn>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet
airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling
instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I
then had wak'd after long sleep, Will make me sleep again; and then, in
dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to
drop upon me, that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.
--The Tempest
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Tempest>