Old Ceylon By Gamini Meegalla, 2021

Tim Sullivan, a professor of physics at Kenyon College in the village of Gambier in Knox County, Ohio tells us how to properly say Sri Lanka as a strict answer from his own one-year experience in Sri Lanka.

"Despite having heard in the past that one can properly pronounce Sri Lanka as “Shree Lawn-ka” (with the last “ka” pronounced as if it were the word “cup” without the final “p”), I have never heard any Sri Lankan I’ve met say it that way. In my experience, everyone says “Sree Lawn-ka”, where “Sree” rhymes with “tree.”"

 

Ancient cave paintings of Sinhalese maidens performing various tasks, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. The paintings are believed to be over 1,500 years old

 

"Tamraparni" is said to be the oldest recorded name of Sri Lanka, which the Greeks adopted as "Taprobana." This name remained in use in early modern Europe, alongside the Persianate/Turkic "Serendip." In 600 BC, it was called Silam and Sinhale; in 200 AD, Ptolemy called the inhabitants Salai and in 300 AD, Sihala and Sinhala were used. From 800 to 1500 AD, Sri Lanka was called Sailan with various writing variations and then from that date onward, Ceilão, Zeylan and Ceylon were new names. In 900-1100 AD, the name Lanka was used in parallel.

Princess Clotilde and Princess Victoire

 

Archduchess Clotilde of Austria

 

Princess Imperial and Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Bohemia and Hungary (1846–1927), Clotilde (Marie Adelheid Amalie Clotilde) became an Archduchess of Austria through her marriage to Archduke Joseph Karl of Austria, a member of the Hungarian part of Habsburg-Lorraine. The marriage was celebrated in Coburg in 1864. Her husband began his military career as a Major General and ended as a General of the Cavalry. He was deeply interested in the country and language of Hungary and published several books on the subject. The couple had seven children. She was the third child and eldest daughter of Prince August of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his wife Princess Clémentine of Orléans.

Princess Victoire, Duchess of Nemours. Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1840

Princess Victoire was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry and Princess Maria Antonia Koháry de Csábrág et Szitnya. In 1840, she married Louis d’Orléans, the Duke of Nemours and second son of King Louis Philippe of France. She inherited the paternal estates in Slovakia and Hungary in 1851. The Duke and Duchess of Nemours had four children, all of them having issue except the last, Blanche, who never married.

No More Thirst In The Desert

 

A tool for condensing breathing water until it turns into drinking water  

 

Ships often crash onto barren shores, and sailors go out and find nothing but sand, salt water, or hard rocks. An American invented a very simple tool that anyone who wants to avoid thirst places on their mouth. When breath comes out with water vapor in it, this vapor condenses in the container and turns into water, just like what happens in the heat when the outside of a cup gets wet with water that has condensed. As the amount of vapor condenses, the thirsty person drinks it, and their thirst decreases. A Bedouin in the caravan can put this tool on his mouth at night, and in the morning he drinks what has condensed from his breath and would not feel thirsty.

Remembering Jean Provost

Born on November 28, 1887 under the name Jeanne Edmonde Guéneau, Jean Provost studied at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art in Paris in the class of Louis Leloir, and won a first prize for comedy in the Exit Exam. She began at the Comédie-Française in 1907 where she remained until 1912. among the films she starred in:

The Precious Ridiculous Ones by Georges Berr, 1909

The Dangerous Flirt by René Leprince, 1911
The the Queen's Necklace by Camille de Morlhon, 1912

The Jacobites (Art Films), 1912
Tartuffe (Art Films), 1912
The Guilty (Pathé), 1912
The Thief by Adrien Caillard, 1914
If Old Age Knew! by Fernand Rivers, 1916
Asmodée in Paris by Pierre Chaudy, 1921

Nène by Jacques de Baroncelli, 1923

After Love by Maurice Champreux, 1924

 

 

 

 

 

Emile Corsi: The Artist That Never Existed

 

By Thanvi Nimmala 

 

Recently, as I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across an image captioned "Bastet by Emile Corsi, 1877." At first glance, this appears to be a legitimate post displaying the work of a 19th century artist. However, it is in fact a product of generative AI.

I was curious to find how “Emile Corsi” came to be. Was it the name of the AI user? Could it be a persona or a pen-name? With a little searching, I found that the creation of the persona “Emile Corsi” traces to a tumblr account by the name Shuttered Gallery. By scrolling through their account, you can see many images credited to the name Emile Corsi followed by a year in the 19th century.

 

 

Despite the circulation of these images among art accounts, it is important to note that Shutter Gallery explicitly states that these images are products of AI generated technology and that the persona of “Emile Corsi” is fabricated. Even in their blog posts, the images are tagged with phrases such as "#fictional artist," "#fictional dates," "#ai generated!!," etc.

The name Emile Corsi is credited to many painterly-styled works that have been reposted on social media. Reposters do not credit the AI user but rather the persona, creating a layer of illusion to this mythical artist. Let’s say there is an individual who actively follows art pages who they believe to be a reliable source of content. They suddenly come across an “Emile Corsi” image presented in the way as traditional paintings.

 

A Romanian Beauty Called Diana Moldovan

Diana on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, Romania, Nov-Dec 2015's Issue. Photograph by Dan Beleiu

Diana Moldovan is one of the most distinguished models in the world. She's even given modeling more value and merit than she'd taken. Born in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania, on March 13th, 1987, the Romanian beauty represented fashion houses such as Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Dior, Chloé, Emilio Pucci, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Mugler, Guy Laroche, Kenzo, Anteprima and Vionnet. She posed for Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Vogue, Amica, Numero, Glamour, Airfrance and Dahse and appeared in commercials for Hermes, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Cacharel, H&M, Trussardi Jeans, YSL Beauty, Emporio Armani, Emporio Armani Beauty, Clarins, Lacoste, Dior and Dior Eyewear. With blue eyes and dark brown hair, Diana's height is 177 CM; bust, waist and hips respectively are 84, 59 and 88 CM while she wears a 38 European or 7.5 U.S.A. shoe.

Diana Moldovan in a publicity photograph for Apostrophe clothing store in Paris, for autumn and winter of 2010-2011. The photograph was originally scanned by Miss Tekka in 2010.

A Landmark Of Photography

Corner of 10th and Stuyvesant streets. Illustration by Kelli Ercolano, 2020

One of the most photographed spots in New York is that corner of 10th & Stuyvesant streets in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. According to NYC Tourist Information Center, the houses that span the south side of 10th Street from No. 114 to 128 and those at Nos. 23–35 on Stuyvesant Street form what's known as Renwick Triangle, a group of houses designed by the noted 19th century NYC architect James Renwick Jr. 'This uniquely-shaped corner building is a classic spot. The vine-covered building, stone exterior and blooming foliage makes for a picturesque setting in a quiet neighborhood,' says Sam Horine, a New York photographer. The closest subway station is Astor Place, 6 Trains, then head north on Lafayette St., continue on 4th Ave, turn right on East 10th St. and the corner will be on your right.

Miss Diana Perez in front of the building, 2018