Rembrandt & wokeness

Rembrandt's wink

My paraphrase of Rembrandt’s ‘Self-portrait as Paul’. I titled it ‘Rembrandt’s wink‘.In the original, Rembrandt only has a sword under his cloak; I’ve added another sword. I also moved his studio to the front of his house, so that he has/had a different view. The 21st century can be discerned vaguely across the street. When… Continue reading Rembrandt & wokeness

Conquering ‘Africa’ early 16th century?

Painting by Gaspar de Crayer

One of Winston Churchill’s most inspiring quotes is ‘Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft ‘ [1]. Paintings can aid in the study of history too. At least if you do not just superficially look at the image! De Crayer was a court painter to the governors of what is… Continue reading Conquering ‘Africa’ early 16th century?

Malta, mohammedans and Jesuits

Idea for cover ..

Nowadays, when one refers, via text or photos, to this church, whose interior is extraordinarily richly decorated, attention is rarely, if ever, paid to this remarkable decoration on the outside.There is no misunderstanding about what is depicted here: a Catholic dignitary steps on a moor: a man with a bare upper body, but with a… Continue reading Malta, mohammedans and Jesuits

Looking at a beheading or a totally mutilated vagina

Hanny Lightfoot-Klein: the most beautiful woman in the world?

There are pieces on both topics from the title of this text in my book Islamophobiaⁱ, which do not differ much in size, but about female genital mutilation (FGM) I actually wrote calmer than about the  beheadings. After I had seen a video clip of the truly Furious Ann Barnhardt (with three capital  letters), famous… Continue reading Looking at a beheading or a totally mutilated vagina