The Wrestlers is an oil painting by English artist William Etty, painted around 1840 in the life class of the Royal Academy. It depicts a wrestling match between a black man and a white man, both glistening with sweat and under an intense light that emphasises their musculature. Etty was best known for his paintings of nude or near-nude women in historical and mythological settings but had also painted men involved in various forms of combat. At that time, sports were becoming increasingly popular, and the painting is both a reflection of this trend and a part of the English tradition of copying poses from classical Hellenistic works. It was also a time of change in the British attitude to race relations. In this period Etty often made a conscious effort to illustrate moral lessons in his work, and it is not clear whether he chose the topic as a form of social commentary or simply because the contrast between the dark and pale flesh tones was visually striking. The Wrestlers, as part of a private collection, was not seen publicly from about 1849 until 1947, when it was put on sale and purchased by the York Art Gallery, where it remains. (Full article...)
... that Maureen O'Hara(pictured) was only the second actress to receive an honorary Oscar without having previously been nominated for an Oscar in a competitive category?
... that the scientist Harold Horton Sheldon wrote as early as 1929 about the serious possibility of man visiting other planets one day with the aid of rockets?
At COP 21, parties to the UNFCCC adopt an agreement to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial levels.
Saudi Arabia holds its first municipal elections open to women, and 20 female candidates are elected.
Century-old buildings of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District stand near East Monroe Street and Millennium Park in Chicago, Illinois. These include the Monroe Building (1910), University Club (1907), Chicago Athletic Club (1893), Willoughby Tower (1927), and Montgomery Ward (1897). Behind them is the Legacy Tower, a 72-story skyscraper by the architectural firm Solomon, Cordwell, and Buenz, which was built in 2009.
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