Final Reviews

2019 Books in Review

The majority of the books which I read all or part of throughout 2019 were assigned reading for various courses at Cosumnes River College. The one exception was an audible version of Untwine by Edwidge Danticat.

Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin Caron de, et al. The Marriage of Figaro. Oberon Books, 2003.

• This book was assigned for Modern Humanities (HUM 310) course and though I started the book I was unable to finish it.  

Cunningham, Lawrence and John Reich, eds. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Vol 2. Wadsworth, 2005.

• There were several Chapters from this book assigned in various modules of the Modern Humanities (HUM 310) course that this annotated bibliography is being composed for. The assigned chapters 12-16 were well written and organized with accompanying art, architecture, literature and music examples  presented within various periods of modern European history. 

Cover Art by Sara Wood 

Danticat, Edwidge. Untwine: A Novel. Scholastic Press. 2015.

• I first “read” this book on Audible. I had seen something online about the book and since she is one of my favorite authors I was excited to read it. I enjoyed the Audible so much that I purchased a hardcopy for my permanent book collection. I do however recommend the Audible version as it’s wonderfully narrated. Untwine

Huber, Walt and Arlette Lyons. California Real Estate Practice. Educational Textbook Company. 8th Edition. 2015. 

• This was the assigned text for the class Real Estate Practice ( RE 120) at CRC. The book was well written and organized however not well utilized within the course. I intend to save the book as a resource. 

Jurmain, Robert and Lynn Kilgore and Wenda Trevathan. Essentials of Physical Anthropology. Cengage Learning. 2012.

• This was the assigned textbook for Physical Anthropology (ANTH 300) at CRC. It is wonderfully illustrated, well researched and written. It was a great source for the course which was based on this textbook. 

Kittler, Pamela Goyan, et al. Food and Culture. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012.

• This was the assigned text for Cultural Foods of the World (NUTRI 310) at CRC. This is an amazing book with a wealth of information on cultural foods around the world. It is very detailed and specific not only to countries but various regions, communities, tribes and religions within. Definitely worth purchasing and keeping for future reference and research for any foodie and/or nutritionist.  

Machiavelli, Niccolò, and Tim Parks. The Prince. Penguin Classics, 2014.

• Pages 60-71 in Chapters 15-18 of this book were assigned for Modern Humanities (HUM 310) course. The reading selections certainly captured the pertinent points of this book as they relate to the High renaissance module being reviewed in the course. Machiavellian theory has lasting inference throughout modern times and into current politics. 

Taylor, John. William Shakespeare.
National Portrait Gallery.
London, UK. (Chandon Portrait)

Miller, Dr. Katherine and Dr. Joshua Barbour. Organizational Communication, Approaches and Process. Cengage Learning. 2014. 

• This was the assigned textbook for Organizational Communication (COMM 341) course at CRC. Unfortunately the textbook is as dry and uninteresting as was the course. 

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Amazon Classics, 2017.

• This book was assigned for Modern Humanities (HUM 310) course. This was my second exposure to this great work of literature with much more in-depth interpretation available through the course. The old English language is difficult to distill without supporting explanations and videos of the adapted plays. 

Modern Humanities (HUM 310) Course Review

When I first enrolled in this course I must admit I wasn’t clear about what the class curriculum would be. Once I read the syllabus I was very excited as the class could cover many periods in history I am very interested in as well as focusing on art literature and music. I didn’t have many expectations because I didn’t really know what to expect. The only goal I really had was to appreciate and enjoy the course work since it’s in a subject area that I do love. A class combining art, history and politics is quite a treat for me. 

Now that the semester is almost over I learned there are certain types of assignments that I prefer over others. My favorite type is blogging about various artwork and artists. I enjoyed both doing the research, writing and laying out the blog. I did enjoy some of the discussion prep assignments however I was not a fan of the compare and contrast ones. I also much preferred focusing on the architecture, paintings and artwork to literature and music. Most of what I learned in the class was how to research artists and contrast their work with historical and political events of the time. I was already familiar with many of the political events and some of the artists and fashion of the various periods. However, this class was a deeper look into the periods. Without a doubt this is the favorite class I’ve taken at CRC and would recommend it to anyone interested in history art and the time periods covered in this class.

Lady Mary

Holbein the Younger, Hans.
Portrait of Mary Boleyn. c. Unknown.
Hever Castle Ltd, Kent, UK.

Mary Boleyn aka “Lady Mary” was born in 1499 and died in 1543 at the age of 43. Lady Mary was the older sister of King Henry VIII’s second wife, Ann Boleyn, whom he later beheaded. Lady Mary was the “Royal Mistress” to both King Henry VII and reportedly his rival France’s King Francis I. She entered his court as a lady-in-waiting to then Queen Catherine of Aragon. 

There is a video called “The Other Boleyn Girl” which can be viewed for free on IMDB.com which is quite good. You can Also read more about Lady Boleyn on The Crown Chronicles “The Forgotten Boleyn Sister - Mary Boleyn”, where I learned that Anne Boleyn banished Lady Mary from court in 1533 for secretly marrying William Stafford. 

She is mentioned briefly in the module video however I was mostly intrigued by her portrayal in Wolf Hall, which is why I selected her. I’m also fascinated by sister dynamics and this certainly was an odd one. Lady Mary is rumored to have born King Henry VII two children while his mistress and newly married to William Carey, though he didn’t claim either. She bore a total of four children. 

41 Illicit Facts About Mary Boleyn

The Other Boleyn Girl ~ Watch FREE on IMDB

Painting of a Painter Painting

Roslin, Alexander. Portrait of Anne Vallayer-Coster. 1783.
Crocker Art Museum. Sacramento, CA.

I visited the Crocker Art Museum on Wednesday, November 27, just before Thanksgiving. I thought parking was going to be impossible until my daughter spotted the separate Handicapped lot with a prime spot available. The museum was pretty empty except for a group of mothers with their young children. They were coughing and not even trying to cover their mouths which did trigger my OCD a bit. We paid and headed inside the long empty room with windows on one side reaching two stories high. My daughter accompanied me up to the third floor but then went off to explore on her own. 

I selected a work of art located within the European exhibit painted by Alexander Roslin entitled “Portrait of painter Anne Vallayer-Coster”. My initial attraction to the painting was that it features a woman painter and that she was dressed in a lovely blue velvet gown. The colors are bright and appealing, drawing the eye up into her sweet face where a bit of mytery resides behind her dark eyes. The intimacy of her gaze suggests a relationship between the painter and his subject. One wonders what prompted the painting.

This painting was created in Paris and completed in 1783. Paris was soaked in the rococo style popularized by artists such as Watteau and Boucher. “Rococo style developed first in the decorative arts and interior design, and its influence later spread to architecture, sculpture, theater design, painting, and music. Rococo style is characterized by elaborate ornamentation, asymmetrical values, pastel color palette, and curved or serpentine lines.” I would add to this fashion, as rococo fashion has a distinctive style matched by the intricacy and whimsy of other artistic expressions. “After the reign of Louis XIV, the wealthy and aristocratic moved back to Paris from Versailles and began decorating their homes in the new Rococo style that was associated with King Louis XV.” Morning (https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/rococo/) 

The artist Alexander Roslin was Swedish born and trained and had completed what was referred to at the time as a “Grand Tour” across Europe before ending in Paris. Having traveled in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, he became a popular and prolific portraitist known “combined insightful psychological portrayal with a skillful representation of fabrics and jewels.[1][2] His style combined Classicist tendencies with the lustrous, shimmering colours of Rococo, a jocular, elegant and ornate style.” He was married to an artist and his own double portrait of he and his wife, completed in 1767, is one of his better known paintings. Roslin and his wife were both members of the French Art Academie and in 1771 awarded a pension and free apartment in the Louvre. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Roslin)

Roslin, Alexander. Self-Portrait with his wife
Marie-Suzanne. 1767. Nationalmuseum. Stockholm, Sweden. 

The subject of this painting, Anne Vallayer-Coster, was popular in the royal court as was Alexander Roslin and that’s likely where they crossed paths. Anne Vallayer-Coster had the patronage of Queen Marie Antoinette herself and painted the portrait of Madame Sophie, one of the “Grand Mesdames” or aunts to King Louis XVI. The Queen attended her wedding in 1781, signed her marriage contract at Versailles and later assisted her entry into the Louvre Academie, the first woman to achieve this prestigious appointment. It wasn’t unusual for the member of the Academie to patronize each other which may explain how the painting was initiated (Rembert, p. 47)

SELECTION OF NOTABLE PAINTINGS

Roslin, Alexander. Marquise de Pompadour and Marquis de Marigny (her brother).1754. 
Goteborgs konstmuseum, Goteborg Sweden.

Roslin, Alexander. Comtesse Egmont Pignatelli in Spanish Costume.1763.
Institute of Art. Minneapolis, MN.Minneapolis

Author's Note: I included the above painting as it is one of the artists better known works. Not only is it a brilliant example of his famous skill in illustrating fabrics and embellishments but because of the notable subject. The Comtesse was a popular figure in the French Court both beautiful and intelligent. Read more about her here http://www.gogmsite.net/grand-ladies-of-the-eightee/1763-comtesse-degmont-pigna.html

Vallayer-Coster, Anne. Still-Life with Tuft of Marine Plants, Shells and Corals. 1793.
Musee du Louvre. Paris, France.

Vallayer-Coster, Anne. Vase of Flowers and Conch Shell. 1780. 
The Met. New York, NY

Vallayer-Coster, Anne. Still-life with Peaches and Grapes. 1779.
National Museum of Canada. Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Vallayer-Coster, Anne. Bouquet of Flowers in a Blue Porcelain Vase.
1776. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, Texas.

MEDIA
Alexander Roslin (1718-1793) A collection of paintings. 2018. YouTube URL: https://youtu.be/jWiGQbJT130

Anne Vallayer Coster paintings Mozart Quartet pour piano n° 2 en mi bémol majeur KV 493. 2017. YouTube URL: https://youtu.be/EHLEQSu9fs0

Rococo: Travel, Pleasure, Madness Trailer. 2015. YouTube URL: https://youtu.be/WiDAsehHhtU

CITATIONS
Rococo | Boundless Art History. 2019. Lumenlearning.com URL: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/rococo/

Alexander Roslin. 2019. Wikipedia Publisher: Wikimedia Foundation URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Roslin 

Rembert, Virginia Pitts. Woman's Art Journal, vol. 24, no. 2, 2003, pp. 46–47. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1358791.