String quintet

A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins,
a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola
quintet") or a second cello (a "cello quintet"), or occasionally a double bass.

Piano Trio
A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written
for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a
group of musicians who regularly play this repertoire together.
String Quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players two violin players, a viola player and a cellist or
a piece written to be performed by such a group. The string quartet is one of the most
prominent chamber ensembles in classical music, with most major composers, from the mid to late 18th century
onwards, writing string quartets.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven (17 December 1770[1] 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial
figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most
famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos,
1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis, and one opera, Fidelio.
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 28 July 1741) was an Italian[2] Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher
and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his
lifetime was widespread across Europe. He composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of
other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series
of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach[a] (31 March [O.S. 21 March] 1685 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician
of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his mastery
of counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and his adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad,
particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations,
the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and over three hundred cantatas of which approximately two hundred
survive.[3] His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.
While Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, he was not widely recognised as an
important composer until a revival of interest in his music during the first half of the 19th century. He is now
generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.[4]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 5 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus
Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart,[2] was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.
Born in Salzburg, he showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent
on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart
was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position.
While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where
he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-
known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of
his death.
The circumstances of his early death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and
two sons.
He composed more than 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles
of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular
of classical composers, and his influence is profound on subsequent Western art music. Ludwig van
Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote: "posterity will not see
such a talent again in 100 years".[3]
Frdric Franois Chopin
Frdric Franois Chopin (/opn/; French: [fedeik fswa p] ; 1 March 1810 17 October 1849),
born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,[n 1] was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote
primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has maintained renown worldwide as a leading musician of his era,
whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation."[1] Chopin
was born in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress
Poland. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before
leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising.
At 21 he settled in Paris. Thereafter, during the last 18 years of his life, he gave only some 30 public performances,
preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by
teaching piano, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by
many of his musical contemporaries, including Robert Schumann. In 1835 he obtained French citizenship. After a
failed engagement to Maria Wodziska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the
French woman writer George Sand. A brief and unhappy visit to Majorca with Sand in 183839 was one of his most
productive periods of composition. In his last years, he was financially supported by his admirer Jane Stirling, who
also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. Through most of his life, Chopin suffered from poor health. He died
in Paris in 1849, at the age of 39, probably of tuberculosis.
All of Chopin's compositions include the piano. Most are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a
few chamber pieces, and some songs to Polish lyrics. His keyboard style is highly individual and often technically
demanding; his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Chopin invented the concept of
the instrumental ballade. His major piano works also
include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, tudes, impromptus, scherzos, preludes and sonatas, some
published only after his death. Influences on his composition style include Polish folk music, the classical
tradition of J. S. Bach, Mozart and Schubert, as well as the Paris salons where he was a frequent guest. His
innovations in style, musical form, and harmony, and his association of music with nationalism, were influential
throughout and after the late Romantic period.
Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest superstars, his association (if only indirect) with political
insurrection, his love life and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era in the public
consciousness. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of
varying degrees of historical accuracy.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, pronounced [nvantan], English: "New
Swanstone Castle"[1]) is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village
of Hohenschwangau near Fssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of
Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune and
by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.
The castle was intended as a home for the king, until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his
death. [2] Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.[3] More than 1.3 million people
visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.[4] The palace has appeared prominently in several
movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Great Escape and serves as the inspiration
for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle[5] and later, similar structures.
Washington National Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known
as Washington National Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital
of the United States.[1][2] Of Neo-Gothic design closely modeled on English Gothic style of the late fourteenth century,
it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world,[citation needed] the second-largest in the United States,[3]and the highest as well
as the fourth-tallest structure in Washington, D.C. The cathedral is the seat of both the Presiding Bishop of the
Episcopal Church, Michael Bruce Curry, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde. In
2009, nearly 400,000 visitors toured the structure. Average attendance at Sunday services in 2009 was 1,667, the
highest of all domestic parishes in the Episcopal Church that year.[4]
The Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, under the first seven Bishops of Washington, erected the cathedral
under a charter passed by the United States Congress on January 6, 1893.[5] Construction began on September 29,
1907, when the foundation stone was laid in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt and a crowd of more
than 20,000, and ended 83 years later when the "final finial" was placed in the presence of President George H. W.
Bush in 1990. Decorative work, such as carvings and statuary, is ongoing as of 2011. The Foundation is the legal
entity of which all institutions on the Cathedral Close are a part; its corporate staff provides services for the
institutions to help enable their missions, conducts work of the Foundation itself that is not done by the other entities,
and serves as staff for the Board of Trustees.
The Cathedral stands at Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues in the northwest quadrant of Washington. It is an
associate member of the recently organized inter-denominational Washington Theological Consortium.[6] It is listed
on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2007, it was ranked third on the List of America's Favorite
Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.[7]
Taipei 101 101
Taipei 101 stylized as TAIPEI 101[1] and formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center is
a landmark supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building was officially classified as the world's
tallest in 2004, and remained such until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009. In 2011, the building was
awarded the LEED platinum certification, the highest award according to the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, and became the tallest and largest green building in the world.[11][12] It
used to have the fastest elevator in the world, traveling at 60.6 km/h and transporting passengers from the 5th to
89th floor in 37 seconds.[13] In 2016, the title for the fastest elevator was given to one in Shanghai Tower.[14]
Construction on the 101-story tower started in 1999 and finished in 2004. The tower has served as an icon of
modern Taiwan ever since its opening. The building was architecturally created as a symbol of the evolution of
technology and Asian tradition. Its postmodernist approach to style incorporates traditional design elements and
gives them modern treatments. The tower is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. A multi-level
shopping mall adjoining the tower houses hundreds of stores, restaurants and clubs. Fireworks launched from
Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in
travel literature and international media.
Taipei 101 is owned by Taipei Financial Center Corporation. The name that was originally planned for the building,
Taipei World Financial Center, until 2003, was derived from the name of the owner.

Casa da Msica (?)

The Casa da Msica (literally the House of Music) is a Portuguese concert hall in civil parish of Cedofeita, Santo
Ildefonso, S, Miragaia, So Nicolau e Vitria, in the municipality of Porto, in northern Portugal. It houses the
cultural institution Fundao Casa da Msica, and three orchestras: Orquestra Nacional do Porto (Porto National
Orchestra), Orquestra Barroca (Baroque Orchestra) and Remix Ensemble.
Bauhaus
Staatliches Bauhaus (German: [tatls bahas] ( listen)), commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was
a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the
approach to design that it publicised and taught.[1]
The Bauhaus was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar. The German term Bauhausliterally "construction
house"was understood as meaning "School of Building", but in spite of its name and the fact that its founder was
an architect, the Bauhaus did not have an architecture department during its first years of existence. Nonetheless, it
was founded with the idea of creating a "total" work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk) in which all arts, including architecture,
would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus style later became one of the most influential currents in
modern design, Modernist architecture and art, design and architectural education.[2]The Bauhaus had a profound
influence upon subsequent developments in art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design,
and typography.[3]
The school existed in three German cities: Weimar from 1919 to 1925, Dessau from 1925 to 1932 and Berlin from
1932 to 1933, under three different architect-directors: Walter Gropius from 1919 to 1928, Hannes Meyer from 1928
to 1930 and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe from 1930 until 1933, when the school was closed by its own leadership
under pressure from the Nazi regime, having been painted as a centre of communist intellectualism. Although the
school was closed, the staff continued to spread its idealistic precepts as they left Germany and emigrated all over
the world.[4]
The changes of venue and leadership resulted in a constant shifting of focus, technique, instructors, and politics. For
example, the pottery shop was discontinued when the school moved from Weimar to Dessau, even though it had
been an important revenue source; when Mies van der Rohe took over the school in 1930, he transformed it into a
private school, and would not allow any supporters of Hannes Meyer to attend it.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica (church), later an imperial mosque, and now a
museum (Ayasofya Mzesi) in Istanbul, Turkey. From the date of its construction in 537 AD, and until 1453, it
served as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople,[1] except between 1204 and
1261, when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building
was later converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a
museum on 1 February 1935.[2] Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine
architecture[3] and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".[4] It remained the world's largest cathedral for
nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.

Colloseum
The Colosseum or Coliseum also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of
the city of Rome, Italy. Built of concrete and sand,[1] it is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is
situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72,[2] and was
completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus.[3] Further modifications were made during the reign
of Domitian (8196).[4] These three emperors are known as the Flavian dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named
in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius).
Pantheon
The Pantheon from Greek Pantheion meaning "[temple] of every god" is a former Roman temple, now a
church, in Rome, Italy, on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign
of Augustus (27 BC 14 AD). The present building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated
about 126 AD. He retained Agrippa's original inscription, which has confused its date of construction as the original
Pantheon burnt down so it is not certain when the present one was built.
The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of
four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under
a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built,
the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.[3] The height to the oculus and the
diameter of the interior circle are the same, 142 feet (43 m).[4]
It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings, in large part because it has been in continuous use
throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to "St.
Mary and the Martyrs" (Latin: Santa Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as "Santa Maria Rotonda".[5] The
square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda. The Pantheon is a state property, ruled by
Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism through the Polo Museale del Lazio; in 2013 it was
visited by over 6 million people.
The Pantheon's large circular domed cella, with a conventional temple portico front, was unique in Roman
architecture. Nevertheless, it became a standard exemplar when classical styles were revived, and has been copied
many times by later architects.[6]
Doric Temple/ Doric Order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other
two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognised by the simple
circular capitals at the top of columns. It was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still
with complex details in the entablature above.
The Greek Doric column was fluted or smooth-surfaced,[1] and had no base, dropping straight into the stylobate or
platform on which the temple or other building stood. The capital was a simple circular form, with some mouldings,
under a square cushion that is very wide in early versions, but later more restrained. Above a plain architrave, the
complexity comes in the frieze, where the two features originally unique to the Doric, the triglyph and guttae,
are skeuomorphic memories of the beams and retaining pegs of the wooden constructions that preceded stone
Doric temples.[2] In stone they are purely ornamental.
The relatively uncommon Roman and Renaissance Doric retained these, and often introduced thin layers of
moulding or further ornament, as well as often using plain columns. More often they used versions of the Tuscan
order, elaborated for nationalistic reasons by Italian Renaissance writers, which is in effect a simplified Doric, with
un-fluted columns and a simpler entablature with no triglyphs or guttae. The Doric order was much used in Greek
Revival architecture from the 18th century onwards; often earlier Greek versions were used, with wider columns and
no bases to them.
Since at least Vitruvius it has been customary for writers to associate the Doric with masculine virtues (the Ionic
representing the feminine).[3] It is also normally the cheapest of the orders to use. When the three orders are used
one above the other, it is usual for the Doric to be at the bottom, with the Ionic and then the Corinthian above, and
the Doric, as "strongest", is often used on the ground floor below another order in the storey above.[4]
North Yorkshire (??)
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan county (or shire county) and larger ceremonial county in England. It is
located primarily in the region of Yorkshire and the Humber but partly in the region of North East England.

Corinthian Building/ Corinthian Order

The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of
ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order which was the earliest, followed by
the Ionic order. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to
the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most
ornate of the orders, characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves
and scrolls. There are many variations.
The name "Corinthian" is derived from the ancient Greek city of Corinth, although the style had its own model in
Roman practice, following precedents set by the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus (c. 2 AD).[1] It was
employed in southern Gaul at the Maison Carre, Nmes (illustration, below) and at the comparable podium temple
at Vienne. Other prime examples noted by Mark Wilson Jones are the lower order of the Basilica Ulpia and the arch
at Ancona (both of the reign of Trajan, 98117 AD) the "column of Phocas" (re-erected in Late Antiquity but 2nd
century in origin), and the "Temple of Bacchus" at Baalbek (c. 150 AD).[2]
The Iliad and The Odyssey
The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during
the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and
events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad,
the other work ascribed to Homer. The Odyssey is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second-
oldest extant work of Western literature; the Iliad is the oldest. Scholars believe the Odyssey was composed near
the end of the 8th century BC, somewhere in Ionia, the Greek coastal region of Anatolia.[2]

O Mio Babbino Caro

"O mio babbino caro" ("Oh My Beloved Father") is a soprano aria from the opera Gianni Schicchi (1918)
by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is sung by Lauretta after tensions between her father
Schicchi and the family of Rinuccio, the boy she loves, have reached a breaking point that threatens to separate her
from Rinuccio. It provides an interlude expressing lyrical simplicity and single-hearted love in contrast with the
atmosphere of hypocrisy, jealousy, double-dealing, and feuding in the medieval Florence of Puccini's only comedy.
It provides the only set-piece in the through-composed opera.
The aria was first performed at the premiere of Gianni Schicchi on 14 December 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera in
New York by the popular Edwardian English soprano Florence Easton. It has been sung subsequently by many
sopranos. Dame Joan Hammond won a Gold Record in 1969 for 1 million sold copies of this aria.[1]
The aria is frequently performed in concerts and as an encore in recitals by many popular and crossover singers. It
is used in several films, and some bands cover the aria in their own style.
Oedipus and The Sphinx
Oedipus and the Sphinx is an 1864 oil on canvas painting by Gustave Moreau that was first exhibited at the
French Salon of 1864 where it was an immediate success. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work
was a fresh treatment of the established subject of the meeting between Oedipus and the Sphinx on the road to
Delphi.

The painting depicts Oedipus meeting the Sphinx at the crossroads on his journey between Thebes and Delphi.
Oedipus must answer the Sphinx's riddle correctly in order to pass. Failure means his own death and that of the
besieged Thebans. The riddle was: "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at
night?". Oedipus answered: "Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old
age, he uses a walking stick". Oedipus was the first to answer the riddle correctly and, having heard Oedipus'
answer, the Sphinx was astounded and inexplicably killed herself by throwing herself into the sea. Oedipus thereby
won the freedom of the Thebans, the kingdom of that city and a wife Jocasta, who it was later revealed was his
mother.[2]
(Left): The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji ( Genji monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman
?

and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu in the early years of the 11th century in "concertina" or "orihon" style made of
several sheets of paper pasted together and folded alternately in one direction then the other (Lyons, 2011[1]),
around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the
first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic. Notably, the work also illustrates a unique
depiction of the lifestyles of high courtiers during the Heian period.[2] While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise
classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.

(Middle): In Search of Lost Time/ Remembrance of Things Past

In Search of Lost Time (French: la recherche du temps perdu) previously also translated as Remembrance
of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes, written by Marcel Proust (18711922). It is considered to be his most
prominent work, known both for its length and its theme of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the
"episode of the madeleine" which occurs early in the first volume. It gained fame in English in translations by C. K.
Scott Moncrieff and Terence Kilmartin as Remembrance of Things Past, but the title In Search of Lost Time, a literal
rendering of the French, has gained usage since D. J. Enright adopted it for his revised translation published in 1992.
In Search of Lost Time follows the narrator's recollections of childhood and experiences into adulthood during late
19th century to early 20th century aristocratic France, while reflecting on the loss of time and lack of meaning to the
world.[1] The novel began to take shape in 1909. Proust continued to work on it until his final illness in the autumn of
1922 forced him to break off. Proust established the structure early on, but even after volumes were initially finished
he kept adding new material and edited one volume after another for publication. The last three of the seven
volumes contain oversights and fragmentary or unpolished passages, as they existed only in draft form at the death
of the author; the publication of these parts was overseen by his brother Robert.
The work was published in France between 1913 and 1927. Proust paid for the publication of the first volume (by
the Grasset publishing house) after it had been turned down by leading editors who had been offered the
manuscript in longhand. Many of its ideas, motifs and scenes are foreshadowed in Proust's unfinished novel, Jean
Santeuil (189699), though the perspective and treatment there are different, and in his unfinished hybrid of
philosophical essay and story, Contre Sainte-Beuve (190809).
The novel had great influence on twentieth-century literature; some writers have sought to emulate it, others to
parody it. In the centenary year of the novel's first volume, Edmund White pronounced la recherche du temps
perdu "the most respected novel of the twentieth century."[2]

(Right): Don Quixote

Don Quixote fully titled The Ingenious Nobleman Mister Quixote of La Mancha, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de
Cervantes Saavedra. Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential
work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon. As a founding work of modern
Western literature and one of the earliest canonical novels, it regularly appears high on lists of the greatest works of
fiction ever published, such as the Bokklubben World Library collection that cites Don Quixote as authors' choice for
the "best literary work ever written".[2]
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute (German: Die Zauberflte), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a
German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both
singing and spoken dialogue.[a] The work premiered on 30 September 1791 at Schikaneder's theatre, the Freihaus-
Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, just two months before the composer's premature death.
In the opera the Queen of the Night persuades Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter Pamina from captivity under
the high priest Sarastro; instead, he learns the high ideals of Sarastro's community and seeks to join it. Separately,
then together, Tamino and Pamina undergo severe trials of initiation, which end in triumph, with the Queen and her
cohorts vanquished. The earthy Papageno, who accompanies Tamino on his quest, fails the trials completely but is
rewarded anyway with the hand of his ideal female companion, Papagena.

The Kiss
The Kiss (French: Le Baiser) is an 1889 marble sculpture by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The embracing
couple depicted in the sculpture appeared originally as part of a group of reliefs decorating Rodin's
monumental bronze portal The Gates of Hell, commissioned for a planned museum of art in Paris. The couple were
later removed from the Gates and replaced with another pair of lovers located on the smaller right-hand column.

Commissioned by the French state in 1888, carved between 1888 and 1898. Joined the collections of the Muse du
Luxembourg in 1901; transferred to the Muse Rodin in 1919.
David
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo.
It is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft)[a] marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a
favoured subject in the art of Florence.[1] Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be
positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square,
outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on September
8th, 1504.
Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties
embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival
states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned
towards Rome.[2] The statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the
original location by a replica.
Venus de Milo
Aphrodite of Milos better known as the Venus de Milo, is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous
works of ancient Greek sculpture. Created sometime between 130 and 100 BC, the statue is believed to
depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty (Venus to the Romans). It is a marble sculpture, slightly
larger than life size at 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) high. Part of an arm and the original plinth were lost following its discovery.
From an inscription that was on its plinth, the statue is thought to be the work of Alexandros of Antioch; earlier, it
was mistakenly attributed to the master sculptor Praxiteles. It is currently on permanent display at the Louvre
Museum in Paris. The statue is named after the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered.

The Judgement of Paris

The Judgement of Paris refers to any of the several paintings of the Judgement of Paris produced by Peter Paul
Rubens, though he did not match the 22 depictions of the subject attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder. The large
versions of 1636 and 1638 are among the best known. These both show Rubens' version of idealised feminine
beauty, with the goddesses Venus, Minerva and Juno on one side and Paris accompanied by Mercury on the other
(the 1636 version has a putto at the far left and Alecto above the goddesses, whilst the 1638 version adds
a putto between Minerva and Venus).
The Thinker
The Thinker (French: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin, usually placed on a stone pedestal.
The work shows a nude male figure of over life-size sitting on a rock with his chin resting on one hand as though
deep in thought and is often used as an image to represent philosophy. There are about 28 full size castings, in
which the figure is about 186 centimetres (73 in) high, though not all were made during Rodin's lifetime and under
his supervision; as well as various other versions, several in plaster, studies, and posthumous castings, in a range
of sizes. Rodin first conceived the figure as part of another work in 1880, but the first of the familiar monumental
bronze castings did not appear until 1904.
Starry Night Over the Rhne
Starry Night Over the Rhne (September 1888) is one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings of Arles at nighttime. It was
painted at a spot on the bank of the Rhne River that was only a one or two-minute walk from the Yellow House on
the Place Lamartine which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided
the subject for some of his more famous paintings, including Cafe Terrace at Night (painted earlier the same month)
and the later canvas from Saint-Rmy, The Starry Night.

The view is from the quay (a waterside street) on the east side of the Rhne, into the knee of the river towards the
western shore: coming down from the north, the Rhne turns to the right at this point to surround the rocks on which
Arles is built. From the towers of Saint-Julien and Saint-Trophime at the left, the spectator follows the east bank up
to the iron bridge connecting Arles to the suburb of Trinquetaille on the right, western bank. This implies a view from
Place Lamartine towards the southwest.

The Starry Night

The Starry Night is an oil on canvas by the Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. Painted in June
1889, it depicts the view from the east-facing window of his asylum room at Saint-Rmy-de-Provence, just before
sunrise, with the addition of an idealized village. It has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern
Art in New York City since 1941, acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest. It is regarded as among Van Gogh's
finest works, and is one of the most recognized paintings in the history of Western culture.
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon, and originally titled The Brothel of Avignon)[2] is a
large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (18811973). The work portrays five nude
female prostitutes from a brothel on Carrer d'Aviny (Avignon Street) in Barcelona. Each figure is depicted in a
disconcerting confrontational manner and none are conventionally feminine. The women appear as slightly
menacing and rendered with angular and disjointed body shapes. Three figures on the left exhibit facial features in
the Iberian style of Picasso's native Spain, while the two on the right are shown with African mask-like features.
The racial primitivism evoked in these masks, according to Picasso, moved him to "liberate an utterly original artistic
style of compelling, even savage force."[3][4]
Dora Maar au Chat
Dora Maar au Chat (Dora Maar with Cat) is a 1941 painting by Pablo Picasso. It depicts Dora Maar, the painter's
lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders. The work is one of the world's most expensive
paintings.[1]

The canvas (50 by 37 inches / 128.3 cm by 95.3 cm) was one of many portraits of Dora Maar painted by Pablo
Picasso over their nearly decade-long relationship. Picasso fell in love at the age of 55 with the 29-year-old Maar
and the couple soon began living together. This painting was made during the year 1941, when the Nazis were
occupying France. In the 1940s, the painting was obtained by Chicago collectors Leigh and Mary Block. They sold
the painting in 1963[2] After that, the painting was never shown until the 21st century.
During 2005 and 2006, Dora Maar au Chat, then owned by the Gidwitz family of Chicago, was shown worldwide as
part of Sotheby's exhibitions in London, Hong Kong and New York. It came up for sale in
an auction of Impressionist/Modern works held at Sotheby's on May 3, 2006 in New York and making it the second-
highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. An anonymous Russian [1] bidder present at the New York auction
won the work with a final bid of US$95,216,000, well exceeding the pre-auction US$50 million estimates.[3]
The identity of the bidder, who spent more than US$100 million in total, and purchased an 1883 Monet seascape
and a 1978 Chagall in addition to the Picasso, was a topic of much speculation. Apparently a novice bidder, though
possibly acting as an agent for a more well-known collector, the anonymous buyer may have been unknown at the
start of the auction even to Sotheby's officials.[4] As of mid-2007, the ownership of the Dora Maar au Chat is still
unknown to the general public, although rumors have focused on the Georgian mining magnate and former Prime
Minister of Georgia Bidzina (Boris) Ivanishvili, who sold his Moscow bank a week before the auction for $550 m.[5][6]
The Weeping Woman
The Weeping Woman, (60 49 cm, 23 19 inches) is an oil on canvas painted by Pablo Picasso in France in
1937. Picasso was intrigued with the subject, and revisited the theme numerous times that year.[1] This painting was
the final and most elaborate of the series. It has been in the collection of the Tate in London since 1987, and is on
exhibition at the Tate Modern, London.

Dora Maar was Picasso's mistress from 1936 until 1944. In the course of their relationship, Picasso painted her in a
number of guises, some realistic, some benign, others tortured or threatening.[2] Picasso explained:
"For me she's the weeping woman. For years I've painted her in tortured forms, not through sadism, and not with
pleasure, either; just obeying a vision that forced itself on me. It was the deep reality, not the superficial one."[3]
"Dora, for me, was always a weeping woman....And it's important, because women are suffering machines."[4]
The Old Guitarist
The Old Guitarist is an oil painting by Pablo Picasso created late 1903 early 1904. It depicts an old, blind,
haggard man with threadbare clothing weakly hunched over his guitar, playing in the streets of Barcelona, Spain. It
is currently on display in the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection.[1]
At the time of The Old Guitarists creation, Modernism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism had
merged and created an overall movement called Expressionism which greatly influenced Picassos style.
Furthermore, El Greco, Picassos poor standard of living, and the suicide of a dear friend influenced Picassos style
at the time which came to be known as his Blue Period.[1] Several x-rays, infrared images and examinations by
curators revealed three different figures hidden behind the old guitarist.

Le Djeuner sur l'Herbe

Le Djeuner sur l'herbe (English: The Luncheon on the Grass) originally titled Le Bain (The Bath) is a large oil
on canvas painting by douard Manet created in 1862 and 1863. It depicts a female nude and a scantily dressed
female bather on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. Rejected by the Salon jury of 1863, Manet
seized the opportunity to exhibit this and two other paintings in the 1863 Salon des Refuss[1] where the painting
sparked public notoriety and controversy.[2] The piece is now in the Muse d'Orsay in Paris.[3] A smaller, earlier
version can be seen at the Courtauld Gallery, London.[4]
Muse d'Orsay??

National gallery of art????

Guernica
Guernica is a mural-sized oil painting on canvas by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso completed in June 1937,[1] at his
home on Rue des Grands Augustins, in Paris. The painting, which uses a palette of gray, black, and white, is
regarded by many art critics as one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history.[2] Standing at 3.49
meters (11 ft 5 in) tall and 7.76 meters (25 ft 6 in) wide, the large mural shows the suffering of people wrenched by
violence and chaos. Prominent in the composition are a gored horse, a bull, and flames.
The painting was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain,
by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italianwarplanes at the request of the Spanish Nationalists. Upon
completion, Guernica was exhibited at the Spanish display at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques
dans la Vie Moderne (Paris International Exposition) in the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and then at other venues
around the world. The touring exhibition was used to raise funds for Spanish war relief.[3] The painting became
famous and widely acclaimed, and it helped bring worldwide attention to the Spanish Civil War.
Inception
Inception is a 2010 science fiction film written, co-produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan, and co-produced
by Emma Thomas. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating
the subconscious, and is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for a seemingly
impossible task: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.[4] The ensemble
cast additionally includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep
Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine.
Source Code
Source Code is a 2011 American-French science fiction thriller film directed by Duncan Jones, produced by Mark
Gordon, Jordan Wynn, and Philippe Rousselet, and written by Ben Ripley. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a U.S.
Army captain who is sent into a computed reality to find a bomber; additionally starring Michelle Monaghan, Vera
Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright. The film had its world premiere on March 11, 2011 at South by Southwest,[4] and was
released by Summit Entertainment on April 1, 2011 in North America and Europe.
The film received acclaim from critics upon its release and became a box office success, grossing over $147.3
million worldwide.[3][5] Plans for a television adaptation at CBS were announced shortly after the film was released.
However, these plans were scrapped in December 2014 in favor of a film sequel. The sequel is in development
with Mark Gordon returning as producer and Anna Foerster added as director.
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development
of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgements and comes to appreciate the
difference between the superficial and the essential. The comedy of the writing lies in the depiction
of manners, education, and marriage and money in the British Regency.
Mr Bennet of the Longbourn estate has five daughters, but his property is entailed, meaning that none of the girls
can inherit it. Since his wife had no fortune, it is imperative that one of the girls marries well in order to support the
others on his death. However, Jane Austen's opening line, It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man
in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. is a sentence filled with irony and playfulness. The novel
revolves around the necessity of marrying for love, not simply for monetary reasons, despite the social pressures to
make a good (i.e. wealthy) match.
Pride and Prejudice retains the fascination of modern readers, consistently appearing near the top of lists of "most-
loved books" among both literary scholars and the general public. It has become one of the most popular novels
in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and paved the way[specify] for many archetypes that abound in
modern literature. Continuing interest in the book has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an
abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes.[1] The 2005 film, Pride and
Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is the most recent Hollywood adaption of the book.
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a 16th-century play by William Shakespeare in which a merchant in Venice must default
on a large loan provided by an abused (Jewish)moneylender. It is believed to have been written between 1596 and
1599. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's
other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic scenes, and it is best known
for Shylock and the famous "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech. Also notable is Portia's speech about "the quality of
mercy". Critic Harold Bloom listed it among Shakespeare's great comedies.[1
Hamlet
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, often shortened to Hamlet (/hmlt/), is a tragedy written by William
Shakespeare at an uncertain date between 1599 and 1602. Set in Denmark, the play dramatises the revenge Prince
Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle, Claudius, by the ghost of Hamlet's father, King Hamlet. Claudius had
murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother's widow.
Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play, and is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world
literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others".[1] The play likely was one of
Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime,[2] and still ranks among his most performed, topping the
performance list of the Royal Shakespeare Company and its predecessors in Stratford-upon-Avon since 1879.[3] It
has inspired many other writersfrom Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Charles Dickens to James Joyce and Iris
Murdochand has been described as "the world's most filmed story after Cinderella".[4]
The story of Shakespeare's Hamlet was derived from the legend of Amleth, preserved by 13th-century
chronicler Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum, as subsequently retold by 16th-century scholar Franois de
Belleforest. Shakespeare may also have drawn on an earlier (hypothetical) Elizabethan play known today as the Ur-
Hamlet, though some scholars believe he himself wrote the Ur-Hamlet, later revising it to create the version
of Hamlet we now have. He almost certainly wrote his version of the title role for his fellow actor, Richard Burbage,
the leading tragedian of Shakespeare's time. In the 400 years since its inception, the role has been performed by
numerous highly acclaimed actors in each successive century.
Three different early versions of the play are extant: the First Quarto (Q1, 1603); the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604); and
the First Folio (F1, 1623). Each version includes lines and entire scenes missing from the others. The play's
structure and depth of characterisation have inspired much critical scrutiny. One such example is the centuries-old
debate about Hamlet's hesitation to kill his uncle, which some see as merely a plot device to prolong the action, but
which others argue is a dramatisation of the complex philosophical and ethical issues that surround cold-blooded
murder, calculated revenge, and thwarted desire. More recently, psychoanalytic critics have examined
Hamlet's unconscious desires, while feminist critics have re-evaluated and attempted to rehabilitate the often
maligned characters of Ophelia and Gertrude.
Macbeth
Macbeth (/mkb/; full title The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have
been first performed in 1606.[1] It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on
those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, who
was patron of Shakespeare's acting company, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his
sovereign.[2]It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest
tragedy.[3]
A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will
become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan
and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and
more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and
consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.
Shakespeare's source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland; Macduff;
and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare
and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth. The
events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder
Plot of 1605.[4]
In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, and will not mention its title aloud, referring
to it instead as "The Scottish Play". Over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most
renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels,
comics, and other media.
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-
crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular
plays during his lifetime and along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title
characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers.
Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an
Italian tale translated into verse as The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562 and retold in
prose in Palace of Pleasure by William Painter in 1567. Shakespeare borrowed heavily from both but expanded the
plot by developing a number of supporting characters, particularly Mercutio and Paris. Believed to have been written
between 1591 and 1595, the play was first published in a quarto version in 1597. The text of the first quarto version
was of poor quality, however, and later editions corrected the text to conform more closely with Shakespeare's
original.
Shakespeare's use of his poetic dramatic structure (especially effects such as switching between comedy and
tragedy to heighten tension, his expansion of minor characters, and his use of sub-plots to embellish the story) has
been praised as an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic forms to different characters,
sometimes changing the form as the character develops. Romeo, for example, grows more adept at the sonnet over
the course of the play.
Romeo and Juliet has been adapted numerous times for stage, film, musical, and opera venues. During the English
Restoration, it was revived and heavily revised by William Davenant. David Garrick's 18th-century version also
modified several scenes, removing material then considered indecent, and Georg Benda's Romeo und Julie omitted
much of the action and added a happy ending. Performances in the 19th century, including Charlotte Cushman's,
restored the original text and focused on greater realism. John Gielgud's 1935 version kept very close to
Shakespeare's text and used Elizabethan costumes and staging to enhance the drama. In the 20th and into the 21st
century, the play has been adapted in versions as diverse as George Cukor's 1935 film Romeo and Juliet, Franco
Zeffirelli's 1968 version Romeo and Juliet, and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet.
Museums in France

1. Muse du Louvre, Paris

2. Versailles
3. Muse national dArt moderne (Centre Pompidou), Paris

4. Muse dOrsay, Paris Muse du Quai Branly, Paris

5. Muse du Quai Branly, Paris

6. Muse de lArme, Paris

7. Muse Carnavalet, Paris

8. Grande Galerie de lvolution, Paris

9. Muse national Auguste-Rodin, Paris

10. Muse national de lOrangerie, Paris

11. Muse dart moderne de la ville de Paris

12. Petit Palais, Muse des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris

13. Centre Pompidou, Metz