History
Law
Young Woman In A Field Of Flowers
Uncle Toby
The Widow
Newsboy With Apple
Newsboy Reading The Paper
The Mora Players
Hanuman Moving The Mountains
Rufus Choate
Yosemite Paiutes
A Merry Morning
Eudora
The Draught Of Immortality
Hester Prynne And Roger Chillingworth
Under The Mistletoe
Aucassin And The Ploughman
Mrs. Frederick Dielman
AMERICAN GALLERY - 19th Century 
“History” – I cannot be sure, but that might be Clio, the Muse of History in Greek Mythology. I revere her! History is my muse!
“Law” – I have no idea who this might be, but he or she seems to have done well in sorting Industry, Peace, and the naked Truth from Fraud, Discord, and Violence. Olive branch for the first group, long sword for the second. Lovey-doves for the first group, and throw the (law) book at the second!
Now listen. Do “Uncle Toby” and “The Widow” look comfortable to you? How would you feel in those collars? That’s right. The artist has captured the looks of “What is this around my neck, why is it there, and when are you going to take it off?” in each painting. [One hopes that he actually just painted them in and no animals were harmed in the making of these portraits.]
“The Mora Players” – According to Wikipedia, Morra (that’s how they spell it) “is a hand game that dates back thousands of years to ancient Roman and Greek times. It can be played to decide issues, much as two people might toss a coin, or for entertainment. In the most popular version, all players throw out a single hand, each showing zero to five fingers, and call out loud their guess at what the sum of all fingers shown will be. If one player guesses the sum, that player earns one point. The first player to reach three points wins the game.” A primitive precursor of “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” I guess.
“Hanuman Moving The Mountains” – Hindus may know this god who, in a battle against the evil demon king Ravana, needed to save his own wounded brother by locating a certain life-saving herb. Problem was, while he knew the herb grew on a certain mountain, he did not know which herb to pick. So, he decided to grab the entire mountain and bring it to the battlefield so physicians could pick the right one. Brother saved, demon king defeated, happy ending!
“Rufus Choate” – Was a lawyer, orator, and Massachusetts congressman and senator. He was both preceded by, and succeeded by, the much more famous Daniel Webster as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts.
“A Merry Morning” – It doesn’t look like the horse is having one. If the dogs continue to upset him, the cart driver’s merry morning may be over soon as well.
Frederick Dielman’s original etching, “The Draught of Immortality” was commissioned as the frontis-piece for one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s unfinished Romances published posthumously under the title of “Septimius Felton” . . . Frederick Dielman contributed four original etchings to “The Hawthorne Portfolio”. These are entitled, “Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth”, “Pearl”, “The Draught of Immortality” and “The Grave on the Hill-Top”. As to the story of “The Draught of Immortality” itself (is that a headless corpse?), you will just have to read the book!
“Under The Mistletoe” – He certainly looks willing, but she appears less than thrilled by the prospect. Hmmm. I’ve been in that situation before!
“Aucassin And The Ploughman” is from the French story of medieval times called “”Aucassin and Nicolette – The lovers of Provence.” According to Wikipedia, “Aucassin, son of Count Garin of Beaucaire, so loved Nicolette, a Saracen maiden, who had been sold to the Viscount of Beaucaire, baptized and adopted by him, that he had forsaken knighthood and chivalry and even refused to defend his father’s territories from enemies. Accordingly his father ordered the Viscount to send Nicolette away, but the Viscount locked her in a tower of his palace instead. Aucassin is imprisoned by his father to prevent him from going after his beloved Nicolette. But Nicolette escapes,” yada, yada. Look it up if you want to know how it turns out. Apparently she meets a wise ploughman along the way who gives her sage advice.
“Mrs. Frederick Dielman” was a beautiful woman. I hope they were happily married.
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Um, that is “HE [Aucassin] meets a wise ploughman . . .” Got the genders in that story mixed up a bit, I see. 😉
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When I was little my Italian grandfather taught me the game of morra. He’d learned this ancient game from his grandfather and so on. Although it’s a hand game, it is not as simple as you might think, because you have to play very quickly, without stopping. A very hard game. Nevertheless, I always won against him. I still wonder how it was possible…
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“Nevertheless, I always won against him. I still wonder how it was possible…” Yep, grandfathers can be quite mysterious to granddaughters in that manner. 😉
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Another interesting tidbit (to me). “History” and “Law” are mosaics done by Dielman which hang in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the United States Library of Congress:
“Frederick Dielman’s large mosaic panel “Law” is above the fireplace at the north end of the Members of Congress Reading Room. The friends of Law (Industry, Peace, and Truth) are on the left; its enemies (Fraud, Discord, and Violence) are on the other side of the throne.
“Dielman’s mosaic “History,” above the fireplace at the south end of the room, depicts the predecessors of history (Mythology and Tradition) and lists the names of fourteen great historians including one American, George Bancroft.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson_Building
http://www.loc.gov/loc/walls/jeff1.html#congrr (scroll down)
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I would like to use the painting “The Newsboy” by Frederick Dielman (1847 – 1935), in a trailer for my victorian era mystery. Is this in the public domain? If not, is there a charge? How do I arrange it?
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In the U.S a copyright is good for seventy years after the death of the artist. So, Frederick Dielman’s paintings are in the public domain.
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