James Jacques Joseph Tissot

The purpose of this post is to celebrate the work of the great 19th C. painter James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902), an artist who is often counted as a "realist" but also sometimes as a "Pre-Raphaelite" and often as an orientalist. It is his religious subjects and his attention to orientalist themes that recommends him here, although he made his name as a society painter and indeed many of his finest and most loved works are in that category. Famously, at around the age of forty-eight, in the Church of St. Sulpice, in Paris, while taking Mass, he experienced a religious vision that brought about his inner conversion to Catholicism and which, accordingly, reshaped the character of his work. Late in life, disgusted by the decadence of the nouveau riche who had been the subject of his earlier work, he journeyed to the Middle East and made extensive sketches and notes in preparation for a comprehensive series of paintings on the life of Christ. He finally completed no less than 350 scenes in this category, most of them watercolours, and over 700 Biblical illustrations in all, and exhibited them to both acclaim and controversy at the dawn of the 20th C. The whole series was subsequently purchased from public funds by the Brooklyn Museum in New York. Here is a photograph of the artist at his easel:

And here, more revealingly, is a self-portrait of the artist:

Yet more revealingly still, here is the oil painting Monsieur Tissot made immediately following his religious conversion in the Church of St. Sulpice. It is a mysterious work entitled The Ruins (Inner Voices):

We see an impoverished couple sitting in the ruins of a demolished building. With them, providing comfort, is Christ wearing a crown of thorns. This was the cornerstone of Tissot's visionary experience. From the time of this painting onwards he is a visionary artist whose account of the angelic interaction with the human in the life of Christ is especially profound. Here, for example, is his rendering of the Annunciation:

And here, more impressively - almost Blakean - is Christ ministered by angels:

Similarly, here is a painting depicting the angels escorting the Justified Thief to heaven:

A personal favourite, and a conceptually bold work, is the following depicting the view of Christ from the cross. That is, the artist has - controversially at the time - placed himself in the position of Christ and attempted to show a Christ-eye view from the crucifixion.

Also evident in such works is his meticulous attention to Near Eastern clothing and landscape. Here we see the artist as orientalist. He assumed - mistakenly, as it happens, but who really cares? - that the Near East as he viewed it in the latter part of the 19th C. was unchanged from the time of Christ. This was a conceit typical of many orientalists, though, and among them Tissot was a faithful recorder of exactly what he observed at the time. This is one of the great features of his Biblical works. They are a very precise record of the customs and styles and landscapes of the Levant in the late 19th C. projected, as they were, back into the timeless stories of the gospels. Here - another favourite - is a further example of his religious works, the anointing of Mary Magdalene:

These works stand in stark contrast to those of his life before his religious conversion. This is what brings the present writer to the works of Monsieur Tissot in the first place. He - the present writer - is about to embark on a journey to Calcutta and it is in that context that he encountered the following painting by this artist, Ladies Aboard the HMS Calcutta, one of the painter's more "Pre-Raphaelite" works:

                                         

This is one of Tissot's many "waterfront" scenes. Prior to his religious works he specialised in depictions of gentlemen and ladies in waterfront and naval situations; that is, the nouveau riche in transit. These are the works that made him famous in his day. Some of them are quite splendid. Some of his earlier works are also odd. What is one to make of this painting, for example, Ladies in Chariots?:

The most impressive works, as far as the present writer is concerned, however, are those of overtly orientalist themes from the earlier career of this complex painter. Consider, for example, this painting from 1869 entitled Young Ladies Looking at Japanese Objects:

It is a work that captures the European fascination with the Orient - and Japan in particular - in an especially revealing manner. Although they are society pieces, or merely genre painting, these works, in fact, seem, more authentic, more penetrating, than the later visionary works. This is the strange thing about Monsieur Tissot. His religious conversion - although deep felt and yielding a prolific overflow of work - did not, in the end, induce art that one feels is great. A contemporary critique once described Tissot as an "unexciting enigma". This is the sad truth of it. Although his later work is visionary, his earlier work - which in the end disgusted him - was more complete and more compelling. It is a terrible irony. 

Most terrible of all is the fact that, for the present writer, it is a simple oriental nude that strikes him as the most memorable and most perfect of the artist's works. This is the painting entitled The Japanese Bath, 1864. 

It is, no question, a simple work of erotica, and an excuse to depict both the female form and the sensuality of oriental cloth, and yet it is surprisingly complete in itself, unaffected and ideal. It reveals and conceals, as a good nude should. By this simple criteria it is a particularly successful and unpretentious painting. It says something quite precise about the "orient" and the European gaze. 


Yours

Harper McAlpine Black

The Multi-Colour Gothic

Students of the ancient Graeco-Roman traditions eventually become aware of the disconcerting fact that the grim and plain austerity that we associate with the "classic" is actually a residue of dusty ruins. The present author recalls his first visit to India and the shock of seeing garishly coloured statues of Vishnoo and co. where he expected something as tasteful as classical stone, and then the further shock of realising that this multi-coloured aesthetic was actually the norm in ancient Athens too. His interest in the Hindoo pantheon and Hindoo temples is in their extensive and important parallels with the Greek. The colours of a Hindoo temple are certainly confronting. But so too, we must understand, were those of the Greek temples. The Greeks loved primary hues every bit as much as the modern Hindoo. In fact, the bare "classical" aesthetic is entirely a modern invention, a confection of joyless scholars, and this applies to examples beyond the ruins of the Graeco-Roman. 

Specifically, it is also true of the Gothic. We think of the Gothic as equally plain, austere, unadorned - the brute masculinity of stone even where it is treated lightly. But actually, a Gothic building in its context was as garish and multi-coloured as a Hindoo temple or the Parthenon in its heyday. The colours have long since faded and we have forgotten. It is only when we go to somewhere like India that we are reminded - or rather, confronted - with the variegated reality of the traditional aesthetic. 

Here is a picture illustrating the contrast between the Gothic we know and the Gothic reconstructed in its original glory:

We are aghast. Why paint over all those beautiful stone surfaces? But we are wrong. Traditional tastes were quite different. Theirs was a technicolor vision of heaven. Here are closer studies of the same:

We are wrong, in any case, to associate subdued colouring with the "traditional" and primary colours and garishness with the "primitive". The traditional aesthetic, east and west, loved bright colours. It is only classical art students who have developed the bookish and altogether false notion that such colourings detract from classical sculptural and architectural forms. Realising this changes the way we see things and restores pure colour to its proper place in traditional aesthetics. 

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

Alchimie Primordiale

Where once the mighty hammer upon the anvil beat

Pounding out the hours that all hours be complete,

And once the turning of the sky’s gyration

Moved the metals seven in their gradual gestation,

Now alas the stillpoint folds and the net of stars ensnarl;

All we have are shadows left of the alchimie primordiale.

Those readers who might perhaps be interested in the present author's more serious writings, and those on themes which are nearest to his philosophical position, should journey over to the website entitled ALCHIMIE PRIMORDIALE via the following link:

http://alchimieprimordial.wix.com/main

This same ALCHIMIE PRIMORDIALE is the author's preferred name for the philosophy of esoteric pretensions to which he personally subscribes. It is to be preferred to such misused and muddy terms as "Traditionalism' and 'Perennialism' or 'Perennial Philosophy' etcetera, although the generic 'Primordial Tradition' is permissible with some qualifications. And it is not just the title which is different. The Alchimie Primordiale is really quite distinct to those other positions, although related, more or less, in certain salient features. 

In any case, the nature of this ALCHIMIE PRIMORDIALE is best discovered through an engagement with its historical examples, several of which can be found at the above linked website. When time permits, more examples will be added. 

Yours

Harper McAlpine Black

A Letter to the Editor

Having endured for many months the self-righteousness of the local Left who have assumed the present writer to be among their number in their Mahometon multicultural love-a-thon, he finally penned the following missive to the editors of the regional rag. They declined to publish it. Re-posting in social media, however, produced a suitably diverse response, including several very hostile rants via inbox, each of them most gratifying. 

In fact, it is a letter in which the writer is merely beating his own drum and does not nearly reflect just how unreasonable and out of phase is his actual position. All the same, the letter is true enough as far as it goes. In particular, the assertion that Islamic/West animosity runs very deep and is not easily mended is perfectly true. These matters are much more complex than multicultural social engineers suppose. Their naively superficial love-and-rainbow-balloons view of the world is really very scary. 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I taught a subject of study called Islam and the West at La Trobe University for over fifteen years. It explored Islamic/West tensions in historical and contemporary contexts. In general, I presented a sympathetic view of the cultural, spiritual and scientific riches of Islamic civilisation and emphasised the Islamic contribution to Western ideas.

During that time I often encountered students who had hostile views of Islam. Some were opposed to Muslim immigration altogether and believed that Muslims have no place in Australian society. These are not views that I share. Nevertheless, never once did I belittle such students or mark them down, or denounce their views as ‘Islamophobic’, or call them bigots or racists. I read their essays and marked them fairly and even proposed essay topics that accommodated anti-Islamic critiques. I did not even try to persuade them that they were wrong. Instead, I regarded it as the touchstone of academic professionalism to listen to their views and to guide them to a deeper and more nuanced critique of Islam. If they made a valid point - say about the plight of women in Saudi Arabia - I would concede it and amend my otherwise sympathetic portrayal of Islam. I took the view that they are entitled to their opinions. My job was merely to ensure their opinions are well-informed and based in a well-rounded appreciation of the facts.

That is the difference between education and activism. Regrettably, it is a distinction that is lost today. The Rainbow Left seek to silence, delegitimise and even criminalise all dissenting opinions and to reduce complex social questions to sentimental slogans, name-calling and propaganda. I think it is inevitable, and even desirable, for Islam to be part of the Australian social fabric, but it is also inevitable, and even healthy, that an unreconstructed Islam will meet resistance and rejection.

Islamic/West animosity runs very deep. It cannot be soothed away with a few bumper stickers and coloured balloons. Mindless multiculturalism is as dangerous as boof-headed patriotism. It is a pity that our educational institutions - and our newspapers - are now devoted to political correctness instead of informed and impartial debate in which the divergent views and legitimate concerns of our fellow citizens are treated with proper respect.

Sincerely



********

Harper McAlpine Black

Ngaio Marsh - A Queen of Crime

                 

In the 1990s the BBC produced a series of nine film-length episodes of the mysteries of Inspector Alleyn. These are beautifully crafted period pieces, with production values typical of the BBC at its best, set in pre-War London and featuring the exploits of gentleman detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn of the Metropolitan Police. Inspector Alleyn is played by Patrick Malahide. The series is mentioned and recommended here because of its high quality and because it is testimony to the work of Dame Ngaio Marsh, the New Zealand crime writer who created the Alleyn character over thirty-two excellent novels from 1934 through to 1982.

Dame Marsh, pictured above, is the least recognised of the so-called 'Queens of Crime' along with Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and Margery Allingham. Her works are deserving of a much wider readership and in some instances are of greater literary merit than those of the better known women writers just listed. Born to a poor family in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1895, she studied painting at the Canterbury School of Arts before turning to a life in the theatre. These interests are reflected in the character of Roderick Alleyn who, along with his police duties, has a passion for theatre and painting. It is safe to say, therefore, that the Alleyn character is a projection of the author herself. In 1928 she went to the United Kingdom and for the rest of her life alternated between life there and in her native New Zealand. She remained unmarried and had no children (and stridently denied being a lesbian, thank you! She was an artist and a spinster, a fact that people of our own prejudiced era find hard to understand.) She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.

The great pity is that the BBC only tackled nine of her thirty-two novels. Both the novels and the BBC renderings are highly recommended. The novels covered by the BBC, in order of their publication were:

A Man Lay Dead - 1934
The Nursing Home Murder - 1935
Artists in Crime - 1938
Death in a White Tie - 1938
Death at the Bar - 1939
Final Curtain - 1947
Scales of Justice - 1958
Hand in Glove - 1962
Dead Water - 1964


Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

The Wisdom of the East Series

Scouring through secondhand book stores, guided by his orientalist interests, this present author has, over the years, collected together a very modest set of a few volumes in the Wisdom of the East series. He would dearly love to collect the rest. These are a series published, mainly in the first few decades of the 20th C., and are very sturdy, nice-to-feel hardcover books in a convenient format brought to the English public through the selfless funds of the esteemed Mr. John Murray of London under the combined editorship of Mr. L. Cranmer-Byng and the English-Indian scholar Dr. S. A. Kapadia. (Shapurji Aspaniarji Kapadia). 

The stated purpose of the series is provided in a statement by the editors that would often preface the volumes:

THE object of the Editors of this Series is a very definite one. They desire above all things that, in their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between East and West, the old world of Thought and the new of Action. In this endeavour, and in their own sphere, they are but followers of the highest example in the land. They are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour. Finally, in thanking press and public for the very cordial reception given to the "Wisdom of the East" Series, they wish to state that no pains have been spared to secure the best specialists for the treatment of the various subjects at hand.

There were, according to some accounts, a total number of 122 volumes published in the initial series each of which sold for the cost of five shillings. Many beyond that number were published subsequently. These days they can be found in secondhand stores for a few dollars. They were, in their day, very popular with the educated reading public and did an inestimable service in bringing oriental religious, philosophical and poetical literature within the reach of the English reading public. An advertisement for the series from the 1920s introduces the volumes in this way:

'The series and its purpose: This Series has a definite object. It is, by means of the best Oriental literature – its wisdom, philosophy, poetry, and ideals – to bring together West and East in a spirit of mutual sympathy, goodwill, and understanding. From India, China, Japan, Persia, Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt these words of wisdom have been gathered.'

The series was widely celebrated, and for good reason. Here are a few of the positive reviews offered of the series in the press of the time:

The Athenaeum. - "We wish that there were more of them; they are dreamy, lifelike, and fascinating."

St. James's Gazette - "The quaint and picturesque little 'Wisdom of the East' Series."

The Academy. - "Slim, tastefully bound little volumes." 

Manchester Courier. - "Worthy of close study by all who would penetrate to the depth of Eastern thought and feeling."

Literary Guide. - "We wish success to this little series of books."

Outlook. - "This Series is published to help in the process of renewing the spiritual and moral life of the West." 

The Scotsman. - "This Series should not fail to please readers of the more studious sort."

Southport Guardian. - "This Series will find considerable favour with all Students of Eastern Literature and Eastern Philosophy."

The Northern Weekly. - "I must confess that I am attracted by the Literature of the East. This week I have been reading the dainty little books issued by the Orient Press."

Bristol Mercury. - "We commend these little books to all who imagine that there is no knowledge worth having outside Europe and America."

Glasgow Herald, - "This new Series has a definite and lofty aim, and is deserving of support. The books are small, cheap, and well adapted for the pocket. Every page is regularly refreshing and stimulating."

North Devon Journal. - "The difference between Eastern and Western modes of thought is pointedly exemplified by this Series."

Halifax Guardian, - "They are well worth perusal and are presented to the reader in that attractive form which the Orient Press has been happy enough to hit on."

Field, - " Such books are valuable aids to the understanding of a far-off age and people, and have a great interest for the student of literature."

Irish Times. - "The volumes are charming in form, low in price, and excellent in matter."

Publishers' Circular. - "We unhesitatingly recommend them to all who can appreciate the ideal of goodness and holiness and the highest form of culture."

Public Opinion. - " These tiny books have much to commend them."

And here are several covers from the series:

The Instruction of Ptah-Hotep

The Master-Singers of Japan

The Awakening of the Soul by Ibn Tufail

Japanese No Plays

An Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry

A useful collection of works in this series in ebook format can now be found at the Sacred Text Archive. Follow the link here. 

The present author will try his best to gather together a comprehensive inventory in order of publication of the initial series on this page as accurate information comes to his notice:

The Sayings of Lao Tzu, trans. by Lionel Giles, 1905

Sad'is Scroll of Wisdom,trans. by Arthur N. Wallaston, 1906

The Book of Odes, A Selection of Ancient Chinese Poetry from the Shih Ching, trans. by L. Cranmer-Byng, 1908


The Conduct of Life, The Universal Order of Confucius, trans. by Ku Hung Ming, 1908


The Book of Filial Duty, A Translation of the Hsaio Ching, trans. by Ivan Chen, 1908

The Alchemy of Happiness, by Al-Ghazzali, trans. by Claud Field, 1909

The Confessions of Al-Ghazzali, trans. by Claud Field, 1909


Musings of a Chinese Mystic, A Collection of Texts Featuring Chuang Tsu, trans. by Lionel Giles, 1909


The Splendour of God, A Collection of Ba'hai Sacred Texts, 1909, trans. by Eric Hammond

Duties of the Heart, by Rabbi Bachye, A 12th C. Spanish Rabbi's Systematic Treatment of Ethics, trans. by Edwin Collins, 1909


The Path of Light, a translation of the Bodhicharyavatara of Santideva, a Key Mayahana Buddhist Text, trans. by L. D. Barnett, 1909.

The Teachings of Zoroaster, A Collection of Zoroastrian Texts, trans. by S. A. Kapadia, 1909


The Burden of Isis, A Translation to a Set of Hymns to the Goddess Isis, trans. by James Teackle Dennis, 1910

The Wisdom of Israel, A short Look at Jewish Wisdom Literature from the Talmud and Midrash, trans. by Edwin Collins, 1910

Ancient Jewish Proverbs, trans. by Abraham Cohen, 1911


The Bustan of Sadi, trans. by A. Hart Edwards, 1911


Sadi: The Bustan of Sadi, trans. by A. Hart, 1911


The Diwan of Abu'l-Ala, trans. by Henry Baerlein, 1911


The Religion of the Koran, by Arthur W. Wollaston, 1911


Brahma-Knowledge, A Short Exposition of Hindu Vedanta Philosophy, by L. D. Barnett, 1911


Yang Chu's Garden of Pleasure, trans. by Anton Forke, 1912


Taoist Teachings from the Book of Lieh-Tzu, trans. by Lionel Giles, 1912


Arabian Wisdom, Islamic Wisdom from the Koran, Hadith & Traditional Proverbs, by John Wortabet, 1913


The Diwan of Zeb-un-Nissa, trans. by Magan Lal & Duncan Westbrook, 1913

The Way of Contentment, by Hoshino, trans. by Kaibara Ekken, 1913


Buddhist Scriptures, A Short Collection of Buddhist Scripture, trans. by E. J. Thomas, 1913


Master Singers of Japan, An Anthology of Classical Japanese Poets, by Clara A. Walsh, 1914


The Religion of the Sikhs, by Dorothy Field, 1914


A Feast of Lanterns, A Collection of Classic Chinese Poetry, trans. by L. Cranmer-Byng, 1916

The Secret Rose Garden, of Sa'd Ud Din Mahmud Shabistari, trans. by Florence Lederer, 1920


The Buddha's Way of Virtue, A Translation of the Dhammapada, trans. by W.D.C. Wagiswara & K. J. Saunders, 1920


Ancient Egyptian Legends, trans. by Margaret Alice Murray, 1920


Buddhist Psalms, A Key Pureland Text, trans. by S. Yamabe & L. Adams Beck, 1921

An Anthology of Modern Indian Poetry, ed. by Gwendoline Goodwin, 1927

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

The Flight into Egypt

Nothing has alienated this writer from the "social gospel" of contemporary Christian do-goodery than the obsessive sentimentality some of his Christian acquaintances have towards asylum seekers and refugees. It has been a controversial issue in Australia for over a decade, and recently it has emerged as a global controversy and, in fact, one of the defining issues of our time. The constant refrain of these Christian acquaintances, and the cornerstone of their case, is simply that "Jesus was a refugee!" They draw attention to the gospel story of the Flight into Egypt by the Holy Family under threat of infanticide by Herod. Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus packed up from Bethlehem, or Nazareth, or whatever they were resident in Judea or Galilee, and fled across the desert to Egypt. They were, that is, refugees - seeking refuge from a tyrant. It is a familiar theme in Christian art. Here is a wonderful version of it by Carpaccio:

And here is another, in the International Gothic style of Gentile de Fabriano, a personal favourite:

For a more contemporary rendering here is lovely version by the Georgian naif artist Natalia Slovinskaya:

And among the orientalists here is a wonderfully atmospheric painting by Luc-Olivier Merson entitled 'Rest on the Flight into Egypt':

So, there is no denying that the refugee is a gospel-based Christian theme. But in answer to these Christians who want to use it as a justification for their own 'open border' policies, the following two points need to be said:

1. Jesus didn't flee from the Middle East to Germany or Canada or Australia. He fled to the nearest safe haven. Egypt is immediately next door to Judea. And,

2. He went home again. In the same gospels we see Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem as a boy, so presumably he and his parents returned to Judea after the threat of Herod was over.

Strictly speaking, therefore, the gospel models set practical limits to refuge. The model offered - since these Christians want to use the gospels as the model for refugee advocacy - is that refugees should flee to the nearest safe haven from the threat they face and they should return home again after the threat has passed. That, in short, is what Jesus did. That is the answer to the question, What would Jesus do?

This, broadly speaking, is the view this present writer takes to this vexed issue. There is, of course - by any Christian or other humanitarian reckoning - an obligation to shelter the refugee, but at the same time there are real limits to that obligation, and those limits are reached once a refugee becomes an immigrant. Refugees do not have the right to pick and choose what haven they shelter in. They are obliged to go to the nearest suitable haven. And then, when danger has passed, they are obliged to return home. If they exceed these limits they are no longer refugees but immigrants.

This is the proper response to the following picture which is circulating around social media:

It is not a picture of Syrian or Libyan refugees fleeing to Europe, it is a picture of southern European refugees fleeing to North Africa from the dangers of the Second World War. Once again, the same limits apply. Yes, Europeans fled to North Africa from the Nazis, but please note: (1) at the time North Africa was the nearest safe haven and (2) they went home again. (It might also be added that if you look closely they were mostly women and children.) That is what is different now. Currently we have waves of people - most of them young men - from Africa and the Middle East heading to Germany, not merely looking for safe haven but looking for residency. That is what makes them immigrants, not refugees. And to immigrants, different rules apply.

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

The Young Queen

                                    

On the evening of the day that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, became the longest reigning British monarch in history the present author had retired to a hotel with several other gentlemen to discuss the state of the world over a few crafted ales. In bringing up the matter of the Queen's extraordinary longevity, one of the gentlemen made the observation that Her Majesty had, when young, been particularly beautiful. The adjective used, in fact, was "hot". This was generally agreed, even among those of us not particularly given to monarchist leanings. 

To celebrate the Queen's lengthy and on-going reign, and her great dedication to duty, therefore, readers will find below a short collection of photographs of the young Queen to demonstrate the same. She was, when young, a very beautiful woman. And, it must be said, her beauty is matched with her style and her timeless elegance. In a century of chaos, ugliness and corruption that has included, amongst other things, the dissolution of the British Empire - something once inconceivable - she has remained steadfast and unshaken in her duty, unfaltering in her wisdom, a perfect pillar of tradition. She is certainly the greatest asset of the British in our times and the only remaining recommendation for monarchy that we have. 

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

The Camp of the Saints

It is surely time for a new edition of Mr. Jean Raspail's seminal apocalyptic novel The Camp of the Saints. First published in 1973 it last returned to the bestseller lists in 2011 and continues to sell well. The reason is its prescience. It is a novel about mass Third World migration destroying European civilisation. It has been condemned as racist and xenophobic but the scenario it presents grow more eerily real by the day. 

The plot concerns an ill-founded humanitarian gesture by the Belgian government whereby it offers asylum and passage to Europe to poor citizens of Calcutta. The Belgian embassy is quickly inundated with the swarming poor of that city as parents seek to give their children to the Belgians. The Belgians withdraw the offer too late. This begins a flood of illegal immigrants into southern France that grows to apocalyptic proportions. By the end of the novel the whole of Europe has been over-run by people from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It is a novel about the dangers of open borders. It raises important questions about how the West should handle the prospect of mass immigration. 

In the last month or so, of course, we have seen the immigration policies of the EU unravel as European polities struggle to cope with a tide of unfortunate immigrants from North Africa and Syria. Large numbers of people are on the move - too many for the current system to cope. In large measure this is a problem of Europe's own making and it is difficult to feel much sympathy for the strain of Germany and others in dealing with the crisis: the crisis is a direct result of NATO's aggressive policies in Libya and Syria. Like the Americans in Iraq, they have recklessly dismantled entire nations and created a mass of displaced human beings. There is some justice in the fact that these people are heading for Europe. Why not? it was the Europeans who destroyed their countries in the first place. 

But, of course, the problem is much greater than that. Western sponsored wars in Libya and Syria (and Iraq and Afghanistan) are the acute cause of the problem, but even without those wars large numbers of people - unprecedented numbers - are on the move across the globe. Raspail's apocalypse is nearer to reality now than at any time since it was first published. 

Monseuir Raspail himself is an interesting writer. He is a traditional Catholic and strongly opposed to liberalism and communism. Widely travelled, his particular interest has been those peoples and places that have failed to come to terms with modernity. This is a matter that increasingly occupies the current writer too: the problem of failed modernities. There are many in the world, most notably Arabo/Islamic modernity, and they are feeding a growing tide of immigration pressure upon Europe, North America, Australia and other so-called First World nations. Le Camp des Saints is suddenly essential reading again for a fictional backdrop to the eventual consequences of this contemporary crisis.

An English translation in ebook format is available here.

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black

Timothy O'Sullivan - Photographs of the Wild West

It is somewhat rare for the present writer to venture into the sepia nostalgia of the old American West. He is far more interested and more at ease in the settlement of New Holland and has no enduring fascination for the rugged contours of the American frontier as do others. He has friends and acquaintances, for instance, who love the western as a film genre - a consuming fetish on their part - and who are thus moved to view that era and land as almost mythic; he does not usually share that indulgence, although these days he admits that the fascination is not entirely without basis. 

Recently he encountered the quite stunning photography of a Mr. Timothy O'Sullivan, a pioneering photographer who travelled throughout the Old West with a horse-drawn dark room and who photographed the people and the landscapes of that time and place. He is best known as a photographic observer of the American Civil War - his most celebrated picture is the 'Harvest of Death' showing the Union dead at Gettysburg - but his visual accounts of the territories of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico, through which he journeyed in the late 1860s and 70s, are profound. These are remarkable pictures. It is hard not to be moved by the grandeur of the harsh landscape. Amongst other things he provides a visual record of the Indian peoples of those regions. 

Mr. O'Sullivan died of tuberculosis at the age of forty-two in the year 1882.

Here are a few examples of his surviving plates. For enlarged views, click on each picture. 

This picture shows the wagon of the photographer, his dark room and developing equipment in the rear of the wagon. Thus equipped, and with only rudimentary comforts, Mr. O'Sullivan traversed the harsh deserts and landscapes of the Western frontiers alone. 

The junction of Green and Yampah Canyons, Utah, 1872

Pyramid Lake, Nevada

A view of Santa Fe.

Inscription Rock, New Mexico, 1873

Shoshone Falls, Idaho

Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. Readers will note the tents in the foreground which provide a sense of scale.

Gold Hill, Nevada, 1867

The Pah-Ute. 

The Fortieth Parallel Survey Team, 1867

Formations in the Washakie Badlands, Wyoming, 1872

View of the White House, the Ancestral Pueblo Native American (Anasazi) ruins,
Canyon de Chelly, Arizona,  taken in 1873.

Yours,

Harper McAlpine Black