The Blind Leading the Blind is a painting of 1568 by Flemish renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Executed in distemper on linen canvas, it measures 86 cm × 154 cm (34 in × 61 in). It depicts the Biblical parable of the blind leading the blind from Matthew 15:14. Considered a masterwork for its composition and accurate detail, the painting (detail pictured) reflects Bruegel's mastery of observation: each figure has a different recognizable eye affliction, including corneal leukoma, atrophy of globe and removed eyes. The diagonal composition reinforces the off-kilter motion of the six figures falling in progression. It was painted the year before Bruegel's death, and has a bitter, sorrowful tone. This may be related to the establishment of the Council of Troubles in 1567 by the government of the Spanish Netherlands, which ordered mass arrests and executions to enforce Spanish rule and suppress Protestantism, but it is not clear if the painting was meant as a political statement. The work has inspired poetry by Charles Baudelaire and William Carlos Williams, and a novel by Gert Hofmann. It is part of the collection of the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blind_Leading_the_Blind
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1265:
Second Barons' War: Royal forces under Prince Edward defeated Baronial forces under Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester at the Battle of Evesham near Evesham, Worcestershire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Evesham
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: The French Army of Italy under Napoleon crushed an Austrian brigade in the Battle of Lonato. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lonato
1964:
A second U.S. Navy destroyer (USS Maddox pictured) was reportedly attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize the use of military force in Southeast Asia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident
1974:
A bomb placed by a neo-fascist group exploded on a train of the Ferrovie dello Stato while on the Bologna–Florence railway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italicus_Express_bombing_1974
1992:
Yōhei Kōno, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, issued a formal apology for forcing women into sexual slavery during World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comfort_women
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
yarl: A deep, guttural vocal style with affected pronunciation, characteristic of male grunge and postgrunge singers of the 1990s and early 2000s. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yarl
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached — their fundamental faith in human progress — that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey. For if we lose that faith — if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace — then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass. --Barack Obama https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama