The Dawn of Love is an oil painting by English artist William Etty, first exhibited in 1828. Loosely based on a passage from John Milton's 1634 Comus, it shows Venus leaning across to wake the sleeping Love by stroking his wings. It was very poorly received when first exhibited; the stylised Venus was thought unduly influenced by foreign artists such as Rubens as well as being overly voluptuous and unrealistically coloured, while the painting as a whole was considered tasteless and obscene. The Dawn of Love was omitted from the major 1849 retrospective exhibition of Etty's works, and its exhibition in Glasgow in 1899 drew complaints for its supposed obscenity. In 1889 it was bought by Merton Russell-Cotes, and has remained in the collection of the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum ever since.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dawn_of_Love_%28painting%29
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1576:
The cornerstone of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe's observatory Uraniborg was laid on the island of Hven. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uraniborg
1918:
The Battle of Amiens began in Amiens, France, marking the start of the Allied Powers' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Amiens_%281918%29
1988:
A series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots, which became known as the 8888 Uprising, began against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8888_Uprising
2008:
A EuroCity train en route to Prague struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derailed, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Stud%C3%A9nka_train_wreck
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
pack journalism: (journalism, derogatory) A tendency of reporting to become homogeneous due to the reporters' habit of relying on one another for news tips, or being dependent on a single source for information. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pack_journalism
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
That Action is best which procures the greatest Happiness for the greatest Numbers; and that worst, which, in like manner, occasions misery. --Francis Hutcheson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Francis_Hutcheson