Saturday, January 3, 2015

Sunset over the Avvisatore

Sunset over the Avvisatore, port of Livorno
“Nobody of any real culture, for instance, ever talks nowadays about the beauty of a sunset. Sunsets are quite old-fashioned. They belong to the time when Turner was the last note in art. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on. Yesterday evening Mrs. Arundel insisted on my going to the window, and looking at the glorious sky, as she called it. She is one of those absurdly pretty Philistines to whom one can deny nothing. And what was it? It was simply a very second-rate Turner, a Turner of a bad period, with all the painter's worst faults exaggerated and overemphasised.”
(Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying, 1889)

See also: Pink Sky - Easter Eve - The Looming Tower
External links: The Decay of Lying: Truth or Fallacy? (The Victorian Web)

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17 comments:

  1. MichelleJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:04 AM

    VP, you really captured a photograph of immense quality here. Spectacular color.

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  2. LowellJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:31 AM

    Well, Oscar Wilde was wrong. This is spectacular and great fun to look at as it really washes over the Avvisatore making it gleam as if freshly cleaned in the early evening!

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  3. Luis GomezJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:37 AM

    I do know how much you love sunsets! ;)

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  4. cieldequimperJanuary 3, 2015 at 12:59 AM

    I just saw a Turner today. Ah but Oscar, some sunsets are just too good to be true. This is one of them.

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  5. William KendallJanuary 3, 2015 at 1:43 AM

    Mr. Wilde was mistaken. Sunsets are gorgeous. This one qualifies!

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  6. RandyJanuary 3, 2015 at 2:03 AM

    Beautiful glow.

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  7. GunnJanuary 3, 2015 at 8:08 AM

    Perfect!

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  8. DinaJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:32 AM

    Photo--wonderful light.
    Quotation--pretty funny.

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  9. VPJanuary 3, 2015 at 10:57 AM

    As explained in the link below, Oscar Wilde wrote these words as a part of a mock-debate about aestheticism. Do not take them too seriously...

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  10. KarlJanuary 3, 2015 at 11:33 AM

    A golden shot, VP ! I like it !

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  11. UnknownJanuary 3, 2015 at 1:47 PM

    Fabulous light! Great shot.

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  12. BirdmanJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    Now that's a sky!

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  13. RedPatJanuary 3, 2015 at 8:20 PM

    It's beautiful, Mr Wilde!

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  14. EG CameraGirlJanuary 4, 2015 at 2:08 PM

    The silhouette is stunning against that lovely sky!

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  15. JackJanuary 5, 2015 at 2:00 AM

    I never read Oscar Wilde's words about sunset before. They are terrific and wonderfully matched to your photograph.

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  16. AriannaJanuary 5, 2015 at 1:34 PM

    Magnifico...ciao, Arianna

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  17. Stefan JanssonJanuary 5, 2015 at 6:40 PM

    When I started digital photography I took a lot of sunset photos but those day are over.

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