Main Page

The Rokeby Venus is a painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the National Gallery, London. Completed between 1647 and 1651, and probably painted during the artist's visit to Italy, the work depicts the goddess Venus in an erotic pose, lying on a bed and looking into a mirror held by the god of sensual love, her son Cupid. Numerous works, from the ancient to the baroque, have been cited as sources of inspiration for Velázquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (c. 1510) and Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), were the main precedents. In this work, Velázquez combined two established poses for Venus: recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at her reflection in a mirror. In a number of ways the painting represents a pictorial departure; through its central use of a mirror, and because it shows the body of Venus turned away from the picture's viewer. The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving female nude by Velázquez. The painting adorned the houses of Spanish courtiers until 1813 when it was brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park, Yorkshire. In 1906, the painting was purchased by National Art Collections Fund for the National Gallery, London. Although it was attacked and badly damaged in 1914 by the suffragette Mary Richardson, it was soon fully restored and returned to display. (more...)

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

• ... that the Confederate Monument (pictured) in Murray, Kentucky, is the only Civil War Monument in Kentucky to prominently feature Robert E. Lee?
• ... that French racing cyclist Lucien Michard won four successive world championships and lost a fifth even though he crossed the line first?
• ... that the deaths of two pirates during the November 11, 2008 incident off Somalia, are believed to be the first time since the 1982 Falklands War that the Royal Navy has killed anyone on the high seas?
• ... that Arne Sunde, Norwegian Olympian, politician and World War II veteran, was President of the United Nations Security Council at the start of the Korean War?
• ... that the Interstate Income Act of 1959 prevents a U.S. state from collecting income tax on solicited sales within its borders, as long as the orders are filled or shipped outside of the state?
• ... that Don Bradman, universally regarded as the greatest batsman in cricket history, made a duck in his final Test innings?
• ... that the Kamchia biosphere reserve in Bulgaria is a major migratory bottleneck site where at least 60,000 White Storks pass overhead each autumn?
• ... that Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Irving Brown was dubbed "The Most Dangerous Man" by Time in 1952?
  
  Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

• The first successful tracheal transplantation using a tissue-engineered organ created from the patient's own stem cells is performed in Spain.
• Rebel forces in Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, withdraw to promote peace talks, while the United Nations Security Council votes on reinforcing MONUC peacekeepers.
• Somali pirates capture the oil tanker MV Sirius Star (pictured), the largest vessel to date to be hijacked, off the coast of the Horn of Africa.
• G-20 leaders meet at a summit in Washington, D.C. to discuss the current financial crisis.
• Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 successfully lands the Moon Impact Probe on the lunar south pole.
• Three planets orbiting the star HR 8799 and one planet orbiting the star Fomalhaut are optically verified, making them the first extrasolar planets whose existences have been confirmed via direct imaging.
  Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

November 20: Zumbi Day in Brazil; Revolution Day in Mexico; Teacher's Day in Vietnam

• 284 – Diocletian became Roman Emperor, eventually establishing reforms that brought an end to the Crisis of the Third Century.
• 1820 – The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm whale.
• 1902 – While discussing how to promote the newspaper L'Auto during a lunch meeting in Paris, sports journalists Henri Desgrange and Géo Lefèvre came up with the idea of holding a cycling race that became known as the Tour de France.
• 1945 – The Nuremberg Trials (defendants pictured) against 24 leading Nazis involved in the Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in Nuremberg, Germany.
• 1952 – The Slánský trial, a show trial against Czech General Secretary Rudolf Slánský and 13 other members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was held.

• More events: November 19 – November 20 – November 21

  Archive – By email – More anniversaries...
  It is now 19:36, November 20, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this page