March 13, 1759~ First predicted perihelion(*) of Halley’s Comet

Illustration of a Comet from The Book of Miracles
by unknown artist, Augsburg, Germany

c.1552 / Gouache and watercolor / approx. 9 1/2”x13 1/2” / Augsburg Book of Miraculous Signs

In 1705 English astronomer Edmond Halley published the first catalog of the orbits of 24 comets. His calculations showed that comets observed in 1531, 1607, and 1682 had very similar orbits. Halley suggested that they were really one comet that returned approximately every 76 years, and he predicted that comet’s return in 1758. Halley did not live to see his prediction come true (he died in 1742), but the comet was sighted late in 1758, passed perihelion —(*)closest distance to the Sun — March 13, 1759, and was named in Halley’s honour. Its periodic returns demonstrated that it was in orbit around the Sun and, thus, that at least some comets were members of the solar system.
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/1p-halley/

[four embedded links above]

Previous March 13 posts:

March 13~ Women’s History Month in visual arts

Al Jaffee: Born March 13, 1921

William James Glackens: March 13, 1870-May 22, 1938

March 13~

Artist Birthday Quiz for 3/13~

March 3, 1575~ Akbar defeats Bengali army at the Battle of Tukaroi

Prince Riding an Elephant by Khem Karan

16th–17th century / Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper / Painting: 7 3/4”x10 3/4” / The Met

The Battle of Tukaroi, fought on March 3, was a decisive factor in the Mughals taking over Bengal.

Mughal painting under Akbar

The Art of the Mughals before 1600

Previous March 3 posts:

March 3~ Women’s History Month in visual arts

Joseph Binder: Born March 3, 1898

Artist Birthday Quiz for 3/3~

March 1, 1873~ E. Remington & Sons begin production of their first typewriter

Remington by Leonetto Cappiello1910 / Color Lithograph / 78 7/10”x51 1/5” / Various collections

Previous March 1 posts:

March 1~ Women’s History Month in visual arts

March 1~

Frédéric Chopin: Born March 1, 1810 (?)

Diana of the Tower by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Glenn Miller: Born March 1, 1904

Harry Belafonte: Born on March 1, 1927

Artist Birthday Quiz for 3/1~

February 28, 1820~ Sir John Tenniel born

Self Portrait by Sir John Tenniel

1882 / Oil on canvas / 13 3/5”x11 3/4” / Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Scotland

See also: Sir John Tenniel: Born February 28, 1820

Previous February 28 posts:

February 28~ African-American visual artists

February 28~

Artist Birthday Quiz for 2/28~

Previous February 29 posts:

February 29~

February 29, 1940: Hattie McDaniel wins an Oscar

February 22, 1987~ Death of Andy Warhol

Eva Mudocci (After Munch) by Andy Warhol

1984 / Silkscreen ink and polymer paint on paper / 56 1/10”x39 1/2” /
Haugar Vestfold Art Museum, Tønsberg, Norway

Previous February 22 posts:

Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

February 22~ African-American visual artists

The Abu Simbel Sun Festival~ 2/22 & 10/22

February 22~

Artist Birthday Quiz for 2/22~

February 12, 1809: Abraham Lincoln Is Born in Hodgenville, KY

railsplitter“Lincoln the Railsplitter” by Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) 84.5” by 44.5” Oil on canvas
Norman Rockwell Museum Digital Collections. ©NR Family Agency.

In 1962, Lincoln First Federal Savings & Loan Assn in WA commissioned this painting for the lobby of their headquarters in Spokane. Rockwell completed it in 1965 and it was unveiled on November 4th of that year. After the bank merged with Washington Mutual Savings Bank, the painting was moved to Seattle, no longer on public display; in the early 1990s it was sold to Texas businessman H. Ross Perot. In 2006, the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, purchased it in a sale at Christie’s Auction House, and “Lincoln the Railsplitter” was once again available to the public.

“Artworks of Lincoln were produced for many reasons—for news, politics, sale, and commemoration—and in a variety of media, such as prints, paintings, sculptures, and photographs.”
http://www.civilwarinart.org/exhibits/show/lincoln/introduction/picturing-lincoln

“Scholars estimate that Lincoln sat for 33 photographers and 127 portraits in his lifetime…”
http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1876750_1840177,00.html

“The statue of President Abraham Lincoln [in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol] depicts him with a serious, contemplative expression. Sculpted by the first female artist commissioned to create a work of art for the United States government.”
https://www.aoc.gov/art/other-statues/abraham-lincoln-statue

“Iconic Abraham Lincoln portraits”
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/iconic-abraham-lincoln-portraits/

Previous February 12 posts:

February 12~ African-American visual artists

Artist Birthday Quiz for 2/12~

February 8, 1828~ Author Jules Verne is born

Illustration by N.C. Wyeth for Jules Verne’s book “The Mysterious Island”
Originally published 1874; N.C. Wyeth version first published 1918

1918 / Oil on canvas / 38 5/8”x28 3/16” / Brandywine River Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA

Previous February 8 posts:

February 8~ African-American visual artists

February 8~ First Opera in North America

February 8~ Chinese New Year 2016

Artist Birthday Quiz for 2/8~

February 2~ Groundhog Day

Illustration by Arthur Rackham of woodchuck* family
for Margery Williams Bianco’s book “Poor Cecco

Originally published 1925 / Illustrations: photomechanical color process /
175 pages / George H. Doran Company, New York

* Groundhogs are also variously referred to as woodchucks, whistle-pigs, or land-beavers

Previous February 2 posts:

February 2~ African-American visual artists

Loren MacIver: Born February 2, 1909

Artist Birthday Quiz for 2/2~

Winter~ January 4

Snowball fight (detail), December, Hours of Adelaide of Savoy, Duchess of Burgundy

c.1460-1465 / Illuminated manuscript on parchment / 8 3/5”x5 9/10” / Musée Condé, Chantilly, France

 

Snowball fight (detail), December, Prayer Book (fragment) / Flemish

c.1520-1530 / Ink and paint on parchment / 3 9/16”x2 9/16” / Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD

Winter~ January 3

January (detail), from Cycle of the Months /
Attributed to Czech painter Maestro Venceslao (Master Wenceslas)

1390-1400s / Frescoes in Torre Aquila (Aquila Tower), castle of Buonconsiglio, Trento, Italy

February, from Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry by the Limbourg Brothers

c.1412-1416 / Illuminated manuscript on vellum parchment / 8 4/5”x5 1/3” / Musée Condé, Chantilly, France