The Colossus of Rhodes is a 1954 oil painting by the Spanish artist Salvador Dalí (pictured). One of a series of seven paintings created for the 1956 film Seven Wonders of the World, it shows the Colossus of Rhodes, the ancient statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun, Helios. Painted two decades after Dalí's heyday with the surrealist movement, The Colossus of Rhodes is emblematic of his transition from the avant- garde to the mainstream. After financial pressures imposed by his move to the United States in 1940, and influenced by his fascination with Hollywood, he shifted focus away from his earlier exploration of the subconscious and perception, and towards historical and scientific themes. His rendering of the Colossus is heavily influenced by a 1953 presentation by Herbert Maryon, a sculptor and conservator at the British Museum. None of the commissioned paintings were ultimately used for the film, and The Colossus of Rhodes was donated in 1981 to the Kunstmuseum Bern.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colossus_of_Rhodes_%28Dal%C3%AD%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1872:

In the inaugural final of the FA Cup (trophy pictured), the world's oldest association football competition, Wanderers defeated Royal Engineers 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1872_FA_Cup_Final

1918:

Finnish Civil War: The Whites won the Battle of Länkipohja, after which they executed at least 70 Reds. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_L%C3%A4nkipohja

1962:

Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, a charter flight carrying U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers, disappeared without a trace, prompting one of the largest searches in the history of the Pacific. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tiger_Line_Flight_739

2014:

Annexation of Crimea: The Autonomous Republic of Crimea held a controversial referendum in which voters overwhelmingly chose to join Russia as a federal subject. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_status_referendum

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

growl: 1. (intransitive) To utter a deep guttural sound, as an angry animal; to give forth an angry, grumbling sound. 2. (intransitive, jazz) Of a wind instrument: to produce a low-pitched rumbling sound. 3. (intransitive, software) To send a user a message via the Growl software library. 4. (transitive) To express (something) by growling. 5. (transitive, jazz) To play a wind instrument in a way that produces a low-pitched rumbling sound. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/growl

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance.   --Mateusz Morawiecki https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mateusz_Morawiecki