Jane Hoodlessさんのイラストまとめ

"Give me the laundress' bill & I will even set that to music!" Gioachino Rossini–died #OTD 1868–whose life had a narrative of two halves: swift triumph & lengthy seclusion. Biographies reveal his cynical wit, speculations in fish mongering, & a mask of humility & indifference.

Wilfred Owen's poetry conveyed the horror of the trenches & gas warfare in stark contrast to the confidently patriotic verse written by earlier war poets. He died #OTD 1918 exactly one week (almost to the hour) before the signing of the Armistice which ended the war.

Scourge of fake magicians & spiritualists, Harry Houdini escaped from chains, handcuffs, straitjackets under water. He died #OTD 1926 after a misplaced blow to his abdomen & was returned home in his prop coffin. His wife held séances on Halloween for a decade after his death.

Francis Bacon, born #OTD 1909: "I would like my picture to look as if a human being had passed between them, like a snail leaving its trail of the human presence… as a snail leaves its slime."

During WWII, Pablo Picasso–born #OTD 1881–remained in occupied Paris & was often harassed by the Gestapo. During one search of his apartment, an officer saw a photograph of his painting Guernica. "Did you do that?" he asked. "No," Picasso replied, "you did".

Actress Anne Oldfield–died #OTD 1730–who, not wishing to be buried in wool, said to her maid: "Let a charming chintz & Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs & shade my lifeless face; One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead, & give this cheek a little red." #FinalPerformance

Jean Cocteau–who died #OTD 1963–held true to certain principles of artistic creation in all his work. One of these principles was the invocation of mystery: “the less a work of art is understood, the less quickly it will open its petals & the less quickly it will wither.”

Not all heroes wear capes. #SupremeCourt #Verdict

Lenore Tawney created delicate, poetic pieces that were often spiritual in nature, containing elusive messages about finding inner peace & the fragility of life. She continued to collect and assemble such work until her death #OTD 2007, aged 100.

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies was published #OTD 1954:
“The rules!" shouted Ralph, "you're breaking the rules!”
“Who cares?”
“We've got to have rules & obey them. After all, we're not savages. We're English, & the English are best at everything.”