Bravo Greg! French historian by training and profession here, and I don’t think I could have written a pithier, more engaging analysis than you’ve done here. Next time I teach the late medieval era I’m definitely showing my students that Fouquet painting. Somehow I forgot how weird and wonderful it is.
Thanks so much, Janine. I don't know much about art history, so this is a bit of a detour for me. I'm glad you liked it, as you know much more about this period than I do.
Fouquet's portrait of the king is excellent, too. You can tell so much from the face...
I’m no art historian but my recollection from a long ago college course is that Fouquet was kind of out there. As you so keenly identify, his visions resonates with modern sensibilities in a way that other artists of his age don’t
For such a dark story, albeit wrapped in the rich robes of royalty, it is unexpectedly uplifting. Thank you Greg for making history and art so relevant.
Oh Greg I’m sitting here with a smile on my face as I read this masterpiece of writing. Your first paragraph was exactly what I was thinking! I breastfed both my kids and no way in hell were my breasts looking like the artist rendition. I really do look forward to your work here and the podcast and the Five 8! Carry on!
Kristen, I vacillate between feeling proud of her for standing up and telling the truth and having zero respect for her for ever having anything to do with those people and seemingly still subscribing to Republicanism. I do give her credit for telling the truth because it means a significant portion of humanity hates her now. She's very young and put herself in a very dangerous position. Was the book deal the motivation? I'd like to think that she didn't have a choice once she testified. Imagine how much she pays for security just to live a semi-normal life!
Look, I guess I must be the only one who has some respect for Cassidy Hutchinson. She is a very young woman who was chosen to be a chief of staff’s assistant. I doubt she had a lot of previous work experience. Let’s get real here, not only did she turn out to be very astute, but she is an attractive lady. I am thinking that’s one reason she got the job. Nobody was counting on her noticing things when shit got crazy. Cassidy was underestimated.
I give a lot more leeway to people who are young and competent seeing the light and changing. I certainly did dumb shit when I was 25. Let's see where she goes from here.
Another writing masterpiece, Greg! I truly look forward to your essays, and especially treasure those that, like this one about the Material Madonna, indirectly highlight current, consonant circumstances.
Today’s article also reminded me of my long-held belief that, unlike the Bible’s premise asserting that God created mankind in his (or was it her?) own image (Genesis 1:27), mankind created an image of god (and of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, as your article substantiates ) in its own likeness. For who in Western society (or anywhere on earth, for that matter) has actually seen God? Why are representations of this deity often blue-eyed and pale-skinned? And, given the region of the world where they resided, the historical Jesus and Mary most likely would not have been white with reddish-blonde locks! While the artistry of Michelangelo and many Renaissance painters deserves utmost admiration, their inspiration was evidently limited by the mirror (or a royal mistress) that they held in front of their nose.
You're right, and that is an excellent point. I think there was a lot of this sort of artistic cosplay, where someone's daughter or girlfriend was cast as some saint or mythological creature. And I think one thing we can all agree on is that Jesus looked nothing like the Ted Danson-with-long-hair Jesus beside Trump in that creepy sketch making the rounds a few weeks ago...
To take your point further: Why does God have to have a humanlike image at all? Why can't he be a stone, or a planet, or an orb, or a cat, or an LP? Our imaginations only go so far, I guess.
Bravo Rose/Greg! Another Sunday masterpiece! Sobriquet Dame de beauté, the present day Christo-fascist, religious wars over land, likely occupied via land bridge by Africans, the pompous misogynist King Charles compares with our former POTUS. High quality piece that shoehorns today’s epoch!
This idea of "been there, done that" must be floating in the air. I had one of those "lightbulb" moments yesterday. It happened in the most mediocre, ordinary way. I am currently painting our closet doors - a very tedious and frustrating task. I had one of my all-time favorite tv shows on in the background - "Third Rock from the Sun". If you don't know the premise of the show, the four main characters, Tom, Dick, Harry and Sally, are aliens who come to Earth to figure out what makes Humans so special. It mostly very silly as they are learning to fit in with Humans but it can also have very profound messages. The scene involved Harry, who is not very intelligent, being accidentally hit in the head with a cast iron frying pan several times. The first time he starts reciting something about the universe, the second time he does a song and dance, the third time he says in a southern accent, "the liberals want you to think more government will solve your problems..." Dick hits him one last time and responds by saying "I'm sorry I couldn't live with THAT!" That last line is what got me. It seems so small and insignificant but this episode was written over 27 years ago. It just reminded me that all the problems we see in the world have been happening over and over again throughout time. The "Virgin and Child" painting is so creepy. Distorted reality. A snapshot in time.
Nothing new under the (third rock from the) sun, kind of. Even "Casablanca," made in 1941, is incredibly relevant to the here and now. Maybe things just occur in cycles?
I love John Lithgow! Do you remember when a group of actors got together and read the entire Mueller Report on live tv? John Lithgow participated in that and it was a very funny interpretation of a very serious topic. They were able to point out the absolute abhorrent and ridiculous behavior that was the subject of the Mueller Report. Comedy is such a great tool in showing people what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.
Greg, I approached this great piece of writing the way I sometimes do when I'm painting, backwards or upside down, reading from bottom to top and then back again. Either way, it's a great way to look at this slice of life with all the complexities you noted. Thanks!
Obviously, the abuse of women by powerful men is one of your main points in this piece, and it deserves due notice. Equality among the sexes is a societal goal I’ve aspired to, in my own little corner of the world, for my whole life; I consider myself a feminist. But before I had read to that point, while I was still pondering that truly weird painting and what caused the artist to paint it that way, I came upon the words, “his livelihood depended on the king’s patronage.” The phrase “follow the money”—uttered by so many pundits in discussing criminal investigations—came to mind. Compensation was obviously different in the fifteenth century, but people do strange things sometimes in the process of getting what they need and want. Our big brains, which give us our intelligence, also give us the ability to compartmentalize our thinking and totally ignore the portion of reality that doesn’t support what we want. I can see it operating in myself, on hopefully a small and harmless scale. I suppose on some level this capacity for justifying our actions explains even the abuse of women.
Thanks, Earl. The abuse of women and the disgusting, self-assured mediocrity of the historical men doing it. It's just awful and, as a man, embarrassing and shameful. As someone, I forget who, once said, we are all the hero in our own story.
😂 It’s taking me a minute to stop gleefully going over your observations (now stuck permanently in my mind) to post a comment. The red well oiled cherubs? 😳. It shades a comment you made on THEFIVE8, “There was no one to be Tsar,” and really opens some serious correct perception of why shame was a virtue of those Puritans. Not to forget…your honest commentary so reflects who we are, right now. I like how the writer of this piece is saying, hey, I really love and respect my wife, if it were the fashion and she shaved her head, so be it. What are we going to do Greg? Sometimes there’s just no one who could be Tsar? Those well oiled red cherubs, yucky, now I know more about Mr Fuck than I want to. Can you do a piece on photo of Tony Blair’s too tight pants when he visited W.Bush? Or Bill lusting after Ivanka while Hillary gives him an amused side eye the whole time? I swear you need your own table at the Algonquin. Used book stores. Back to this piece; the women were disposable a replaceable. Kind of like banning abortion? So much stays the same as you said.
The Algonquin reopened some time ago, and for my 30th birthday, my wife gave me a surprise party there, at one of the storied tables. Ha, I'd forgotten about the False Dmitri! So ridiculous.
Haven’t enjoyed a post so much in a while. Great break from our current crop of useless men in positions of power. The world has seen such a long line of such so it’s no wonder that some will go to any lengths to keep the 90% scam going. After all, they are so entitled because they are so superior. Useless men that is. Hahaha
Oct 29, 2023·edited Oct 29, 2023Liked by Greg Olear
Fun read. I hope we can end hostilities in the Middle East quicker than France-England needed for their 100 year war (where English mercenaries TERRORIZED French peasants. To this day the French consider the English their ancestral enemy, not the Germans despite 2 world wars plus others). Pronunciation of foreign names/words is always interesting. Fouquet in English may be “Fuck it”, but in French it’s
“Foo-Kay”. At the same time, the French call the Ford Focus car a Ford “Pho Q” which is a 4-letter word for hypocrite (“Q” or “cul” in French means ass)
Along these lines a friend recently pointed out that that nice French song “Dominique” by “The Singing Nun” has an interesting translation:
The first line of the chorus starts out: Dominique, nique, nique … which translates to: Dominique, fuck, fuck since nique in French slang means fuck. Her story is worth reading:
Bravo Greg! French historian by training and profession here, and I don’t think I could have written a pithier, more engaging analysis than you’ve done here. Next time I teach the late medieval era I’m definitely showing my students that Fouquet painting. Somehow I forgot how weird and wonderful it is.
Thanks for this engaging piece
Thanks so much, Janine. I don't know much about art history, so this is a bit of a detour for me. I'm glad you liked it, as you know much more about this period than I do.
Fouquet's portrait of the king is excellent, too. You can tell so much from the face...
I’m no art historian but my recollection from a long ago college course is that Fouquet was kind of out there. As you so keenly identify, his visions resonates with modern sensibilities in a way that other artists of his age don’t
For such a dark story, albeit wrapped in the rich robes of royalty, it is unexpectedly uplifting. Thank you Greg for making history and art so relevant.
Thanks, Judy. Dark but uplifting, that's exactly what I found it to be!
Yes, uplifting. Weird how that works.
History to the rescue!
Always!
Oh Greg I’m sitting here with a smile on my face as I read this masterpiece of writing. Your first paragraph was exactly what I was thinking! I breastfed both my kids and no way in hell were my breasts looking like the artist rendition. I really do look forward to your work here and the podcast and the Five 8! Carry on!
Thanks, Christine. It's such a strange image. Cool, modern, weird, all of the things. Not least because of the unnatural rendering of the breasts.
HA! I was thinking the same thing, Christine! 😃
Cassidy now profits from her WH years instead of having told her story while still employed. #BigLiar 🙄
True, true, but she DID run the show for her lame-ass boss.
She’s just another MAGA traitor that I have zero respect for.
Kristen, I vacillate between feeling proud of her for standing up and telling the truth and having zero respect for her for ever having anything to do with those people and seemingly still subscribing to Republicanism. I do give her credit for telling the truth because it means a significant portion of humanity hates her now. She's very young and put herself in a very dangerous position. Was the book deal the motivation? I'd like to think that she didn't have a choice once she testified. Imagine how much she pays for security just to live a semi-normal life!
The proud and grateful daughter and grand daughter of courageous WWII Resistance fighters and leaders, I know which side to choose ✌🏻 #NeverForget
So many people have no clue. My MAGAt bro was named after a cousin killed in Italy in 1943. Shame on ignorance, more shame on stupidity.
And wait until I tell’em what happened to the Nazi collaborators after V-Day. Being on the wrong side of history has grave consequences.
And Cassidy did testify under oath.
Look, I guess I must be the only one who has some respect for Cassidy Hutchinson. She is a very young woman who was chosen to be a chief of staff’s assistant. I doubt she had a lot of previous work experience. Let’s get real here, not only did she turn out to be very astute, but she is an attractive lady. I am thinking that’s one reason she got the job. Nobody was counting on her noticing things when shit got crazy. Cassidy was underestimated.
I agree, Marlene.
I give a lot more leeway to people who are young and competent seeing the light and changing. I certainly did dumb shit when I was 25. Let's see where she goes from here.
Another writing masterpiece, Greg! I truly look forward to your essays, and especially treasure those that, like this one about the Material Madonna, indirectly highlight current, consonant circumstances.
Today’s article also reminded me of my long-held belief that, unlike the Bible’s premise asserting that God created mankind in his (or was it her?) own image (Genesis 1:27), mankind created an image of god (and of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, as your article substantiates ) in its own likeness. For who in Western society (or anywhere on earth, for that matter) has actually seen God? Why are representations of this deity often blue-eyed and pale-skinned? And, given the region of the world where they resided, the historical Jesus and Mary most likely would not have been white with reddish-blonde locks! While the artistry of Michelangelo and many Renaissance painters deserves utmost admiration, their inspiration was evidently limited by the mirror (or a royal mistress) that they held in front of their nose.
Thanks so much, Rose.
You're right, and that is an excellent point. I think there was a lot of this sort of artistic cosplay, where someone's daughter or girlfriend was cast as some saint or mythological creature. And I think one thing we can all agree on is that Jesus looked nothing like the Ted Danson-with-long-hair Jesus beside Trump in that creepy sketch making the rounds a few weeks ago...
To take your point further: Why does God have to have a humanlike image at all? Why can't he be a stone, or a planet, or an orb, or a cat, or an LP? Our imaginations only go so far, I guess.
"God" has the image that organized religion has given it.
Right. Old white man. Fancy that...
Creating any image of "God" is blasphemy, but hey, it served the patriarchy well.
[Insert "Jehovah Jehovah Jehovah" scene from "Life of Brian"]
Cat, Egyptians preferred black, I hear. Any will do
Yes, Jeri! Cats rule to this day with that uppity, vainly majestic attitude of theirs…
and that loving purr
That’s how they readily manage to mesmerize us subjects into submission 🤣
works every time
Agreed.
Excellent suggestions, Greg! I’d venerate an LP god by Billy Ray Vaughn!
My son is on a "vinyl" kick, is why I thought to say LP.
Bravo Rose/Greg! Another Sunday masterpiece! Sobriquet Dame de beauté, the present day Christo-fascist, religious wars over land, likely occupied via land bridge by Africans, the pompous misogynist King Charles compares with our former POTUS. High quality piece that shoehorns today’s epoch!
Thanks, Patrick!
God, I hope you're right. It all feels quite original.
Me too.
This idea of "been there, done that" must be floating in the air. I had one of those "lightbulb" moments yesterday. It happened in the most mediocre, ordinary way. I am currently painting our closet doors - a very tedious and frustrating task. I had one of my all-time favorite tv shows on in the background - "Third Rock from the Sun". If you don't know the premise of the show, the four main characters, Tom, Dick, Harry and Sally, are aliens who come to Earth to figure out what makes Humans so special. It mostly very silly as they are learning to fit in with Humans but it can also have very profound messages. The scene involved Harry, who is not very intelligent, being accidentally hit in the head with a cast iron frying pan several times. The first time he starts reciting something about the universe, the second time he does a song and dance, the third time he says in a southern accent, "the liberals want you to think more government will solve your problems..." Dick hits him one last time and responds by saying "I'm sorry I couldn't live with THAT!" That last line is what got me. It seems so small and insignificant but this episode was written over 27 years ago. It just reminded me that all the problems we see in the world have been happening over and over again throughout time. The "Virgin and Child" painting is so creepy. Distorted reality. A snapshot in time.
Nothing new under the (third rock from the) sun, kind of. Even "Casablanca," made in 1941, is incredibly relevant to the here and now. Maybe things just occur in cycles?
That IS a funny line...
I love John Lithgow! Do you remember when a group of actors got together and read the entire Mueller Report on live tv? John Lithgow participated in that and it was a very funny interpretation of a very serious topic. They were able to point out the absolute abhorrent and ridiculous behavior that was the subject of the Mueller Report. Comedy is such a great tool in showing people what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.
Greg, I approached this great piece of writing the way I sometimes do when I'm painting, backwards or upside down, reading from bottom to top and then back again. Either way, it's a great way to look at this slice of life with all the complexities you noted. Thanks!
Thanks, Ellen!
Obviously, the abuse of women by powerful men is one of your main points in this piece, and it deserves due notice. Equality among the sexes is a societal goal I’ve aspired to, in my own little corner of the world, for my whole life; I consider myself a feminist. But before I had read to that point, while I was still pondering that truly weird painting and what caused the artist to paint it that way, I came upon the words, “his livelihood depended on the king’s patronage.” The phrase “follow the money”—uttered by so many pundits in discussing criminal investigations—came to mind. Compensation was obviously different in the fifteenth century, but people do strange things sometimes in the process of getting what they need and want. Our big brains, which give us our intelligence, also give us the ability to compartmentalize our thinking and totally ignore the portion of reality that doesn’t support what we want. I can see it operating in myself, on hopefully a small and harmless scale. I suppose on some level this capacity for justifying our actions explains even the abuse of women.
Thanks, Earl. The abuse of women and the disgusting, self-assured mediocrity of the historical men doing it. It's just awful and, as a man, embarrassing and shameful. As someone, I forget who, once said, we are all the hero in our own story.
😂 It’s taking me a minute to stop gleefully going over your observations (now stuck permanently in my mind) to post a comment. The red well oiled cherubs? 😳. It shades a comment you made on THEFIVE8, “There was no one to be Tsar,” and really opens some serious correct perception of why shame was a virtue of those Puritans. Not to forget…your honest commentary so reflects who we are, right now. I like how the writer of this piece is saying, hey, I really love and respect my wife, if it were the fashion and she shaved her head, so be it. What are we going to do Greg? Sometimes there’s just no one who could be Tsar? Those well oiled red cherubs, yucky, now I know more about Mr Fuck than I want to. Can you do a piece on photo of Tony Blair’s too tight pants when he visited W.Bush? Or Bill lusting after Ivanka while Hillary gives him an amused side eye the whole time? I swear you need your own table at the Algonquin. Used book stores. Back to this piece; the women were disposable a replaceable. Kind of like banning abortion? So much stays the same as you said.
The Algonquin reopened some time ago, and for my 30th birthday, my wife gave me a surprise party there, at one of the storied tables. Ha, I'd forgotten about the False Dmitri! So ridiculous.
Thanks, Jackie!
Haven’t enjoyed a post so much in a while. Great break from our current crop of useless men in positions of power. The world has seen such a long line of such so it’s no wonder that some will go to any lengths to keep the 90% scam going. After all, they are so entitled because they are so superior. Useless men that is. Hahaha
Thanks so much, Jeri. I'm glad to hear that!
History is an account, mostly, of useless men, alas. I'm hopeful for a more egalitarian future. We're due.
Plenty of useful men here and on substacks I subscribe to. My echo chamber doesn't do hate. Sorry that any do.
Fun read. I hope we can end hostilities in the Middle East quicker than France-England needed for their 100 year war (where English mercenaries TERRORIZED French peasants. To this day the French consider the English their ancestral enemy, not the Germans despite 2 world wars plus others). Pronunciation of foreign names/words is always interesting. Fouquet in English may be “Fuck it”, but in French it’s
“Foo-Kay”. At the same time, the French call the Ford Focus car a Ford “Pho Q” which is a 4-letter word for hypocrite (“Q” or “cul” in French means ass)
Along these lines a friend recently pointed out that that nice French song “Dominique” by “The Singing Nun” has an interesting translation:
The first line of the chorus starts out: Dominique, nique, nique … which translates to: Dominique, fuck, fuck since nique in French slang means fuck. Her story is worth reading:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Singing_Nun
Interesting comment, Hulit. Now I can't get that singing nun song out of my head!
Merci beaucoup!
I didn't know "Nique" meant that! Ha! I know that song from French class, and because my oldest is named Dominick, it has some added resonance.
I think I phrased the joke badly...I know it's foo-KAY, but if someone was just sounding it out in English, boom, it's Fuckit.
"Been there; done that," indeed, Greg. Thanks!
Loved every line of this. Thanks 😊
Thanks, Barbara!