Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball is an oil painting by English artist William Etty. Although he was then known almost exclusively for history paintings featuring nude figures, he was commissioned in 1833 by Welsh Conservative politician Charles Williams-Wynn to paint a portrait of two of his daughters. Charlotte, the eldest, is shown standing, helping the seated Mary decorate her hair with a ribbon and a rose, both in lavish Italian-style costume. Etty put a good deal of effort into the piece and took much longer than usual to finish it, first exhibiting it at the 1835 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Generally well received, even by critics usually hostile to Etty, it demonstrated that he was both capable of high-quality work and deserving of patronage by the English elite, and the success led to further commissions. It remained in the collection of Mary Williams-Wynn's descendants and was not shown publicly for 160 years, other than in an 1849 retrospective exhibition. In 2009 it was acquired by the York Art Gallery, where it now forms part of a major collection of Etty's work.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preparing_for_a_Fancy_Dress_Ball

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

527:

Upon the death of Justin I, Justinian the Great became the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinian_I

1715:

Introduced during a time of civil disturbance in Great Britain, the Riot Act came into force, authorising authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riot_Act

1801:

First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captured the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_1_August_1801

1981:

The American cable television network MTV, the first dedicated video-based outlet for music, made its debut with the music video for the song "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTV

2009:

A shooting attack at the Gay and Lesbian Association building in Tel-Aviv, Israel, resulted in the deaths of two people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Tel_Aviv_gay_centre_shooting

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

olympicene: (organic chemistry) A pentacyclic aromatic hydrocarbon whose structure is in the form of the Olympic rings. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/olympicene

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Silence is the general consecration of the universe. Silence is the invisible laying on of the Divine Pontiff's hands upon the world. Silence is at once the most harmless and the most awful thing in all nature. It speaks of the Reserved Forces of Fate. Silence is the only Voice of our God.   --Herman Melville https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville