Stefan Lochner (c. 1410 – c. 1451) was a German painter working in the late International Gothic period. Based in Cologne, he became one of the most important German artists before Albrecht Dürer. His paintings combine the long flowing lines of his period with the brilliant colours, realism, surface textures and innovative iconography of the early Northern Renaissance. His surviving works often feature fanciful blue- winged angels, and consist of single-panel oil paintings, polyptychs and illuminated manuscripts. Records of his life, apart from later records of creditors, end after an outbreak of plague in the city in 1451; it is presumed he died from the epidemic, probably after Christmas. Lochner's identity and reputation were lost until a revival of 15th-century art during the early 19th-century Romantic Period. Echoes of his panels can be seen in works by major 15th-century painters such as Rogier van der Weyden and Hans Memling.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1223:

Mongol invasions: Mongol forces defeated a combined army of Kiev, Galich, and the Cumans at the Kalchik River in present-day Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Kalka_River

1795:

French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal, a court instituted by the National Convention for the trial of political offenders, was suppressed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Tribunal

1902:

The Second Boer War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Vereeniging

1941:

The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Iraqi_War

2005:

An article in the magazine Vanity Fair revealed that the secret informant known as "Deep Throat", who provided information about the Watergate scandal, was former FBI Associate Director Mark Felt. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Felt

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

lysergic: 1. (comparable) Psychedelic, trippy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lysergic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Happiness will never come if it's a goal in itself; happiness is a by-product of a commitment to worthy causes.   --Norman Vincent Peale https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Norman_Vincent_Peale