Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata is the subject of two unsigned paintings, nearly identical except for their size, that were both completed around 1430. Art historians usually attribute them to the Flemish artist Jan van Eyck. The larger panel measures 29.3 cm × 33.4 cm (11.5 in × 13.1 in) and is in the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, Italy; the smaller panel is 12.7 cm × 14.6 cm (5.0 in × 5.7 in) and is in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The paintings show Saint Francis of Assisi kneeling in front of detailed rock formations as he receives the stigmata of the crucified Christ on the palms of his hands and soles of his feet. A panoramic landscape seems to relegate the figures in the foreground to secondary importance. The Philadelphia wood panel comes from the same tree as that of two paintings definitively attributed to van Eyck, and the Italian panel has underdrawings of a quality that probably could only have come from him. Today the consensus is that both were painted by the same hand.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Francis_Receiving_the_Stigmata_%28van_Eyck%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1957:

The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1 (replica pictured), the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched by an R-7 rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

1958:

The current Constitution of France was signed into law, establishing the French Fifth Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Fifth_Republic

2003:

A suicide bomber killed 21 people and injured 51 others inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa, Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_restaurant_suicide_bombing

2010:

The dam holding a waste reservoir in western Hungary collapsed, freeing 1 million m3 (35 million cu ft) of red mud, which flooded nearby communities and killed ten people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

orient: 1. (transitive) To build or place (something) so as to face eastward. 2. (transitive, by extension) To align or place (a person or object) so that his, her, or its east side, north side, etc., is positioned toward the corresponding points of the compass; (specifically, surveying) to rotate (a map attached to a plane table) until the line of direction between any two of its points is parallel to the corresponding direction in nature. 3. (transitive) To direct towards or point at a particular direction. 4. (transitive, reflexive) To determine which direction one is facing. 5. (transitive, often reflexive, figuratively) To familiarize (oneself or someone) with a circumstance or situation. 6. (transitive, figuratively) To set the focus of (something) so as to appeal or relate to a certain group. 7. (intransitive) To change direction to face a certain way. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orient

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The President of the United States of necessity owes his election to office to the suffrage and zealous labors of a political party, the members of which cherish with ardor and regard as of essential importance the principles of their party organization; but he should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he serves his party best who serves the country best.   --Rutherford B. Hayes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes