Dinner: pan-fried Atlantic Cod with Fried Green Tomatoes and Peruvian Blanco Sauce

 

Breakfast Tortilla

 The Road to an Excellent Breakfast.

"Botticelli's Studio: The First Visit of Simonetta presented by Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici," 1922 by Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale (1872 - 1945)

 The Delaware Art Museum is possibly my favorite regional art museum.  What it may lack in breadth it more than makes up for in depth.  It is home to one of the finest collections of 1) Pre Raphealite Art, 2) the works of John Sloane (1871 - 1952), and 3) American Illustrators (Circa 1890 - 1940).  Add to this a nice selection of works of 19th Century American Artists and a growing collection of Modern and Contemporary Art.

I'm quite familiar with the layout and highlights of the collection, so when I go now, I try to latch onto particular works and spend quality time with them.  Then research their artist and continue to contemplate them after the visit.  One of the trends that the Delaware Art Museum has really embraced is elevating the works by marginalized artists: women and men of color.  I find this very exciting in my desire to extend my experience of art beyond the patriarchal canon.

On my most recent visit, I was captivated by this work with the crazy long title: "Botticelli's Studio: The First Visit of Simonetta Presented by Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici".  The work was painted in 1922 by the British artist Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale (1872 - 1945).  I begin by comparing what I know against what I want to know, and what I see in the work itself.

What the placard on the wall tells me:

"In this historical scene, the Renaissance beauty Simonetta Vespucci visits the studio of Sandro Botticelli.  Giuliano (bowing) and Lorenso de' Medici escort her.  At left, Botticelli stands in front of one of his most famous paintings, the Madonna del Magnificat.

"Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale was a late Pre-Raphaelite painter who began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1899.

"Botticelli is not only the subject of the painting, but also a source of inspiration for Brickdale and the Pre-Raphaelites."

What do I want to know?  First of all, more about the life of the artist.  Second, more about the subjects of the work--especially Simonetta Vespucci: is she related to Amerigo?  (She is--a distant cousin.)

What I discovered: 1) Eleanor was born in an educated family with a father who was a successful barrister (lawyer).  His success provided her with the means to pursue her artistic predilections.  Her means and her talent gave her access to influential people who provided the necessary introductions that led to her entry as a student in the Royal Academy at the age of 24 in 1896.  She was mentored by artists who drew their academic experience from influential Pre Raphaelite artists like John Everett Millais, which shore up her pedigree.  She was an accomplished artist in multiple mediums: Oil, watercolor, and later in life, stained glass.  To manage her fiscal needs, she accepted an invitation to teach art.  Looking at her body of works, she often chose to highlight the presence of women in her paintings.  In 1919, an entire book full of her paintings featuring women was published under the title "Eleanor Fortescue Brickdale's Golden Book of Famous Women."

2) Simonetta Vespucci was a Genoan noblewoman who was considered the super model of her age.  She is speculated to be the inspiration for many of Botticelli's most famous paintings; most notably Venus in his monumental work "The Birth of Venus" a.k.a. Venus on a Half Shell.  

In choosing this subject, she has conspired to present us with one of the great introductions of the era of Renaissance Art.  Now the picture becomes even more interesting, no?

It is a theatrical moment.  The actors are playing roles with ramifications beyond this instance.  And where is the power dynamic?  The de' Medici's?  They are confident in their status, but ultimately bit player.  Botticelli?  A young man making his future and seeing in this beautiful woman an inspiration.  Vespucci?  Ah, she placed in the center of the painting for a reason.  Everything else rests with her.  Therein is the magic.  Without her, would there ever be "A Birth of Venus"?

Some details and references for your consideration.

Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus" circa 1485.

My Little Garden Zoo: The Primates and Arboreal Dwellers

 Last we looked at the Reptiles and Amphibians, now, let's go in the opposite evolutionary direction: The Primates!  I am also including my Sloth, though I know sloths are not primates.

AFRICA

Chimpanzee

Pan troglodytes

Mandrill

Mandrillus sphinx

Western Lowland Gorilla

Gorilla g. gorilla

Diana Monkey

Cercopithecus diana

MADAGASCAR

Ring-tailed Lemur

Lemur catta

White and Black Ruffed Lemur

Varecia Variegata

ASIA

Bornean Orangutan

Pongo pygmaeus

Japanese Macaque

Macaca fuscata

SOUTH AMERICA

Black-headed Spider Monkey

Ateles fusciceps

Humboldt's Squirrel Monkey

Siamiri cassiquiarensis

Golden Lion Tamarind

Leontopithecus rosalia

Pale-throated Sloth

Bradypus tridactylus

Brandywine Zoo: Wilmington, DE

In my life I have taken a complete 180 on the idea of Zoos.  I used to think they were relics of paternalistic paradigms: "man's" dominion over the natural world.  No doubt, that may have been part of the ethos in their inception.  It is not where good zoos reside today.  Modern zoos prioritize animal care, guest education and conservation, and above all species survival.  Dozens of animals would be extinct today, without the intervention and research/discovery of accredited zoos.

As you know, I volunteer at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.  I love the Maryland Zoo, but I'm poly-amorous, too, with a soft spot for little zoos.  Among them, I hold in high esteem: The Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, CA, the Superior Zoo in Duluth, MN, the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, MA and the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, DE.  Fortunately, Wilmington, DE is an easy day trip! 

Brandywine is an old zoo.  It was founded in 1911 on the slope of the flood plain of the Brandywine River in the heart of Wilmington, DE.  Its placement was the result of a decision made by the founding father of urban park design, Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the rest of the riverside park.  Because of its location, it is necessarily small, just under 5 acres.  This has both positive and negative implications, and it's been a joy to watch how the zoo has capitalized on the positives over the past 20 years.

Recognizing how precious the real estate is, it has chosen to pursue excellence over abundance.  You'll not see some impossible to believe statement of the number of species, there are about 30-35 on public view at any given time.  It's doable in an hour or so with space for a picnic lunch to cap it off.  With renovation plans on going, the zoo sports a new 3.5 million dollar multi-species habitat for 3 endangered species of Lemurs, along with tortoises and ground fowl.  They have a new million dollar animal care facility.  Upgrades to all of its habitats with the introduction of several new species: Red Pandas, Toco Toucans, Southern Pudu, Binturong, and Giant Anteaters--along with the Ring-tailed, Crowned, and White and Black Lemurs.  And the future is bright.  From my recent visit.

The Current Entrance

Master Plan drawings of a new Entrance Plaza with habitat for Flamingos, and the zoo's Southern Pudu and Sloth.

Across from the entrance is this large banner featuring a life-sized image of the Delaware state dinosaur: Dryptosaurus Aquilunguis

The first habitat you encounter is home to a pair of Andean Condors.

The male is distinguishable by his pink/reddish head.

Next on the path is the home of the zoo's Bobcat.

A longtime resident, she spends her middays napping away on a little bed at the farthest end of her habitat.  "Squeakers" is a Florida Bobcat, which is a smaller sub-species.  

The middle of the zoo from left to right on the hill side a visitor will encounter

1) A Honey Bee Hive and themed plaza with a colony of Italian Honey Bees

2) A trio of enclosures that date back to the depression era WPA projects, and

3) A pair of smaller habitats home to lesser primates from South America: Golden Lion Tamarinds and White-faced Saki Monkeys

On the opposite side is a little amphitheater and...

an outdoor classroom where ad hoc presentations of Ambassador animals like the zoo's Nine-banded Armadillo, Magnolia, can be staged.

Focusing our attention on the three WPA era habitats, the first one is home to the zoo's pair of Red Panda's, Sherman and Scarlet.  Sherman is the zoo's third, and Scarlet is its fifth Red Panda.  The pairing is determined by the AZA and it's Species Survival Program in hopes of making a positive love connection.

The two were involved in a guest experience where members of one family were getting to feed the Red Pandas.

Scarlet enjoys a little bite while Sherman watches from a distance.

Scarlet had a much whiter face.

Where Sherman's face and forehead are oranger.

Sherman engaging in some post-excitement siesta-ing!

The middle habitat was home to the zoo's Serval, Savannah, for over 13 years.  Her passing allowed for a transition to another member of the wild feline community: a Caracal.

The final habitat is home to another relatively new species at the zoo, a pair of Binturong siblings, Zulla and Bintang who were born at the Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, MI back in 2022.

The far end of the zoo is a plaza with habitats all around it.  The first is a pair that are home to multiple species; never quite sure what you will find there.  At one time the smaller space on the left was home to Burrowing Owls.  

Today it was inhabited by one of the two Toco Toucans.

The second Toco was in the larger area with a couple of little tortoises.  Sometimes the Southern Pudu are out and about in this space, too.  But not today.

A Red-footed Tortoise, (one of the three species of Turtles that can be found at the Brandywine Zoo)

The little guy really had someplace to go--or he was hellbent on getting his "steps" in for the day!

The crown jewel of the zoo is its relatively new 3.5 million dollar Madagascar habitat.  It is home to three species of Lemur, Helmeted Guinea Fowl and Radiated Tortoises.

Two of the three White and Black Lemurs chilling in the muggy midday warmth.

The third member was engaged in a "high wire" act....

...that led to a high perch, and

zonking out with a little more privacy.

The four Ring-tailed Lemurs were all over one another near the large observational window like a cluster of puppies.

The eventually moved over to claim the space being used by the White and Blacks.

Another large habitat on the far end of the zoo is home to Scarlet Ibis, White-faced Whistling Ducks and the newest member of the zoo, a Giant Anteater, Lancaster--a.k.a. "Lants."

Another major change to he zoo in recent years was the removal of the zoo's popular, but aging River Otter habitat in favor of an expanded interactive goat corral.  A new Otter habitat is in the zoo's long-range master plans, but repairing the old one was simply cost prohibitive.  

These Nubian Goats are joined by some Nigerian Dwarf Goats and a pair of Angora Goats.