Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2014-12-31/Featured content

This Signpost "featured content" report covers material promoted from 14 to 20 December 2014.

Featured articles
Three featured articles were promoted this week.
 * September Morn (nominated by Crisco 1492) Completed in 1912 by French painter and illustrator Paul Chabas, this nude painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1913 and received a warm, if somewhat standard, reception. September Morn would have become a mere footnote to a footnote of art history as just one of the many nude depictions regularly exhibited at the Paris Salon, if it were not for the controversy which it sparked when reproductions were shown in the US, particularly in Chicago and New York. In response to concerns that the painting was indecent, the market was swamped with calendars, pins, movies, songs, stage plays and other reproductions featuring the young woman "dressed as the day she was born".
 * 2010 Sylvania 300 (nominated by Bentvfan54321) The Sylvania 300 is an annual NASCAR race held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. The 2010 running was the first race in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup, which determines the series champion. Brad Keselowski earned the pole position; the race was won by Clint Bowyer of the Richard Childress Racing team, followed by Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray in second and third respectively. Bowyer's win, however, would be overshadowed with a post-race penalty that docked his team 150 points. Despite this, Bowyer was still credited with the win.
 * Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (nominated by Wehwalt) Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), was a French general, statesman, aristocrat and hero of the American Revolution. Actually, he was called La Fayette – Lafayette is the English spelling.  A key figure in the American Revolution, French Revolution and July Revolution, Lafayette came from a long line of French military officers. Before he went to America, he lived the careless court life at the French king's court at Versailles, but saw the American revolutionary cause as just, and so made plans to travel to America. Sound easy? The French king forbade him to go, so he had to buy his own ship. When he finally got to America in 1777, he served at the Battle of Brandywine, arranging an orderly retreat despite being wounded; and fought in the Battle of Rhode Island with distinction. He subsequently returned home to lobby France to support the Americans' cause. Sound straightforward? Remember how he disobeyed the king to go to America? They put him under house arrest, but eight days later, he was released, and the French entered the war as allies of the United States. Returning to America, he blocked Cornwallis' troops from reaching the Siege of Yorktown until the Americans and French were ready for him. He also  helped make trade agreements with France alongside American ambassador Thomas Jefferson. Returning home in 1782 after American independence, Lafayette was seen as a real hero in his homeland and was promoted to high posts. Lafayette had enlightened views, he was an intellectual who tried to apply the Enlightenment's philosophy in practice:  toleration, fighting for liberty, democracy, and religious tolerance. Later he attempted, with the assistance of Thomas Jefferson, to plot out a middle road through the French Revolution that would protect the rights of all, collaborating with him on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a fundamental document  in the history of human rights. However, he was unable to pull the French Revolution on the lofty path he set out, fled the country, and was arrested by Austrians, where he was imprisoned for five years until Napoleon arranged his release. Late in his life, he was offered a position as dictator of France during the July Revolution, but turned it down, only turning against Louis-Phillipe when he turned autocratic. Having served, to his best ability, both America and France to great acclaim and with a strong moral code, he is sometimes known as the "Hero of Two Worlds", a living symbol of friendship between France and America, and the symbol of the universal goodwill wishing for a new and better world.

Featured lists
Three featured lists were promoted this week.
 * List of Scheduled Monuments in Taunton Deane (nominated by Rod) We've discussed Scheduled Monuments in the Signpost before, but a recap is likely in order: They are nationally important archaeological sites or monuments that have been placed on a list ("schedule") by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, generally identified by English Heritage, a charitable trust dedicated to such matters. Taunton Deane is a division of the county of Somerset, and has quite a few monuments in its relatively small area, from Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age barrows, hill forts and cairns, to Norman castles and World War II defenses. It even contains 13th century fish ponds. An interesting list, well worth a look.
 * List of Pakistan women Twenty20 International cricketers (nominated by Khadar Khani) The Pakistan national women's cricket team first played in Women's Twenty20 International (T20I) in 2009. Since then, 32 players have played at least one match for the team. Sana Mir, the current captain of the team, has made the most appearances with 52. Bismah Maroof is the leading run-scorer with 817 runs from 46 innings. Mir has taken 44 wickets in the T20I matches, the most by a Pakistani woman player. Batool Fatima has 50 dismissals to her name, the second highest after England's Sarah Taylor.
 * List of municipalities in Nunavut (nominated by Mattximus) Nunavut separated from Canada's Northwest Territories in 1999, and consists of a decently-sized chunk the mainland and many, many islands, some quite large, extending towards Greenland in the North, but also including several more southerly islands in Hudson Bay and James Bay, which lie nearer other Canadian territories than any other parts of Nunavut (for example, Akimiski Island is just off the coast of Ontario). One of the most remote, sparsely settled regions in the world, being so far north, 99.97% of its population is clustered into its twenty-five municipalities, which are relatively well-scattered throughout the territory.

Featured pictures
Fifteen featured pictures were promoted this week.




 * Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation (created by 6th century sculpture, nominated by Crisco 1492) Haven't we seen this one already recently? No, not quite: The Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation should not be confused with the Gilt-bronze Maitreya in Meditation... wait, let's start again. Despite having the same descriptive name, these are two different artworks, and both National Treasures of Korea, this one being National Treasure No. 78, whereas the previously featured one is National Treasure No. 83. Although it has a more formalized depiction than the relative naturalism of No. 83, hinting at an origin in the Silla kingdom of Korea, it is nonetheless a fine work, with a delicately posed hand, and a very expressive face with just a hint of a smile. Likely dating from the middle or late 6th century, its detailed craftsmanship and superb preservation (a gilt halo has been lost, but the rest of it looks near-perfect), means it well deserves its own featured picture. Even if having the same name as another work is confusing. We can deal with that.
 * Venus Consoling Love (created by François Boucher, nominated by Hafspajen) Venus Consoling Love is a painting from 1751 by the leading French Rococo artist François Boucher. This painting belonged to Mme de Pompadour, the French king's mistress, who commissioned it, and it is said that she is the very charming young lady who is depicted in the painting, impersonating the goddess of Love (and also the French Rococo ideal of beauty). The young Venus sits beside the pond with white doves, the symbol of the goddess, at her feet, and is about to disarm Cupid, taking the arrows he uses to make people fall in love. Boucher's continued success lies in his mastery of his brush and his superior technical knowledge of his medium he works with. This old French master depicts the charming and sensual scene with the young nude goddess with a real master's fluid brushstrokes and colors, with asymmetric lines and sinuous curves – creating a scene ready to seduce the viewer. The only jewels the goddess adorned herself with are the pearls in her hair – but then, she is a goddess, she doesn't need anything more. The white doves at her feet, her complexion, the pearls in her hair are just as luxurious as the silk draperies that were wrapped around her. The French Enlightenment re–evaluated the concept of what was natural. It was believed that it was right to follow nature, and that the human body, the pursuit of pleasure and its functions were natural. This influenced a new acceptance for the conception of the nude body and the depiction of the naked. It was only after the French Revolution, when a new morality emerged based on political grounds, that these visions of pleasure and delight were condemned, and the expressions of beauty free from moral strictures became less fashionable.
 * The Flageolet Player on the Cliff (created by Paul Gauguin, nominated by Crisco 1492) Dating from 1889, The Flageolet Player on the Cliff] by Paul Gauguin depicts a dramatic scene in Le Pouldu, a remote coastal village in Brittany. It shows a panoramic view on a narrow path with a couple on it, a girl and a boy. He plays a flageolet, an early flute, and is seen from an unusual vantage point, overlooking the Atlantic.
 * European Parliament (created and nominated by David Iliff) Gleaming white and almost aggressively modern, the European Parliament in Strasbourg marks a stark contrast from the older, dark-wood dominated parliamentary buildings of many countries, and, indeed, even from places like the Scottish Parliament, which imitate the older ones, or, indeed, the debating chamber of the Parliament before 1999. This gorgeous photo shows the Parliament in session in 2014.
 * Moros, Zaragoza (created by Diego Delso, nominated by Crisco 1492) Moros is an attractive and picturesque setting on the narrow valley above the Manubles river, with hundreds of small houses on narrow streets that zigzag across the slope, all clustered together on the sunny side of the mountain, surrounded with gardens and orchards, and topped with the parish church and the remains of a Moorish castle. Many of the houses are made by mud bricks; some are covered with Arabic tiles, and some houses have been whitewashed with white lime, but none of this breaks the color harmony. It's a beautiful scene.
 * Worcester College, Oxford University (created and nominated by Andrew Shiva (Godot13)) Come, join us on a journey through Oxonian history, searching for the mysterious, lost Gloucester College, which was attached to a monastery, and lost to the University of Oxford when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. However, buildings around a growing university never stay empty forever... St. John's College was happy to snatch them up... but then, wait! In 1714, Sir Thomas Cookes decided to reform the lost college, naming it, not after Gloucester, but after his own county of Worcestershire! And so, we have the stately halls, dating back to the 13th century as an institution of learning... but by a long, wavy path, because Henry VIII just couldn't handle married life very well, and so founded his own religion. ...That sounds wrong, somehow.
 * The Storm (created by Pierre Auguste Cot, nominated by Crisco 1492) A gorgeous, delicately painted work, The Storm shows a young woman wearing a diaphanous, gleaming white dress (that shows far more than it conceals), and a young man (not particularly well-clothed either) clinging to her, both holding a cloak over their head as a makeshift umbrella and running down a dimly-lit path while a storm brews behind them. A shaft of sunlight illumines the two as they seek shelter. The artist, Pierre Auguste Cot, had made a huge hit at the Salon of 1873 with his similar painting Spring, which showed a woman with similar taste in lack of clothing cuddling with a young, virile man on a swing. That painting was bought by John Wolfe, and is believed to have led his cousin, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, to have commissioned this painting, on a similar subject.
 * St Christopher's Chapel, Great Ormond Street Hospital (created and nominated by David Iliff) Built in 1875 for the old Great Ormond Street Hospital building, the gorgeously-detailed Franco-Italianate chapel is full of references to childhood, as befits a chapel inside a major children's hospital. One can easily see the "teddy bear choir" (it's literally what it sounds like) and the prayer tree (it's literally what it sounds like), but what one can't see is a fascinating bit of the chapel's history: when the old Great Ormond Street Hospital building was demolished in the 1980s, the chapel was moved on a "concrete raft" to its new position intact. I presume that it still exists, buried in the chapel's foundations.
 * Schönbrunn Palace (created by Thomas Wolf, nominated by Tomer T) Located in Vienna, Austria, Schönbrunn Palace, a former imperial residence, is one of the most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments in the country. Now that we've badly paraphrased the article's lead... It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which definitely backs the article's claims of importance. Originally a hunting ground, the main palace was built in the reign of Maria Theresa (note that that link is not disambiguated: despite the relatively common name, she's that important) of the Habsburg monarchy, and is also noted for its formal gardens. In the photograph, we see the formal gardens near us, a relatively austere face of the palace behind them, and then Vienna rising up behind the palace. It's gorgeous. The major part of the garden is the parterre, the Baroque  French formal garden,  designed by Jean Trehet (who needs an article written on him), a disciple of the famous French landscape architect André Le Nôtre, in 1695. The garden contains, among other things, sculptures, fountains, a maze, Roman ruins the Tiergarten, an orangerie and a palm house, while the eastern parts were turned into an English garden and beside it, a botanical garden. The Gloriette today houses a café and an observation deck, which provides panoramic views of the city – but more about that part next week.
 * The Virgin in Prayer (created by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, nominated by Hafspajen) A painting by the Italian Baroque painter Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, has a bold black background setting off the main figure – apparently a trend in his artworks – with an almost glowing, detailed, beautiful figure of the Virgin Mary emphasized by the plain background. This painting depicts Mary praying. Like in this picture to, traditionally Mary wears blue and red. Blue was considered since the Middle Ages the color of spirituality, calm and contemplation, while the red clothing was a sign of status and wealth, but also symbolized the blood of Christ. After the Protestant reformation many of the protestant countries stopped painting religious paintings and went over to paint still-lifes, and especially the paintings depicting the Virgin Mary declined, but never stopped, particularly in Catholic countries. Her hands raised in prayer, head demurely covered, the gorgeous fabric wrinkles and delicate skin mark this as a master painting.
 * Red Hawk cheese (created by Frank Schulenburg, nominated by Tomer T) The article is a bit of a stub, so I think I'll just quote it in full: Red Hawk is a triple-crème, aged, cow's milk cheese with a brine washed rind created by the Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, California (founded in 1994). The brine wash encourages the development of the red-orange rind that gives the cheese its name. The Cowgirl Creamery crafts their own artisanal cheeses using organic milk from the neighboring Straus Family Creamery. It was awarded "Best in Show" at the 20th annual conference of the American Cheese Society.
 * Dordogne (created by Luc Viatour, nominated by Tomer T) A lovely elevated picture of a river, the Dordogne, as it passes through the Périgord area of southwest France, near Castelnaud-la-Chapelle. The bridge is part of the D57 road. The county of Périgord that was the former province of Périgord, a natural region and a former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne département witch was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution.  The region is noted for its well-preserved mediaeval architecture, though as this scene appears to be taken from some of said architecture and thus doesn't show it, we shan't tempt you with a description of the several castles, chateaux, churches, bastides and cave fortresses; nor with the number of wonderful villages which still have their market halls, dovecotes, tories (stone huts), churches, abbeys and castles. We certainly won't mention Connezac,  La Roque-Gageac, Saint-Jean-de-Côle and Saint-Léon-sur-Vézère and other jewels of medieval architecture.
 * St James's, Spanish Place (created and nominated by David Iliff) As a building, St James's, Spanish Place is a relatively recent church, first opening to the public in 1890, and being consecrated in 1949 (although that was after some major delays caused by war). Its history as a congregation, however, goes back quite a ways further, to 1791, when it served as a rare Catholic church in Protestant England, connected to the Spanish Embassy; however, the original building was leased without possibility of renewal, requiring construction of a new one. Despite its relative recentness, it is designed in an early Gothic style – although probably really more of a Gothic Revival, in truth –  and is considered one of the most artistically designed in London (according to our not-entirely-unbiased article, at least – but an inspection of the photo will confirm it is beautiful).
 * Oenothera biennis (created by George Chernilevsky, nominated by National Names 2000) When once the sun sinks in the west, / And dewdrops pearl the evening's breast; / Almost as pale as moonbeams are, / Or its companionable star, / The evening primrose opes anew / Its delicate blossoms to the dew; / And, hermit-like, shunning the light, / Wastes its fair bloom upon the night, / Who, blindfold to its fond caresses, / Knows not the beauty it possesses; / Thus it blooms on while night is by; / When day looks out with open eye, / Bashed at the gaze it cannot shun, / It faints and withers and is gone.  – John Clare
 * Vertumnus (created by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, nominated by CorinneSD) There are some paintings that are both famous enough that most people have seen them, and weird enough that most people who have seen them will be unable to forget them. Guiseppe Arcimboldo's Vertumnus (c. 1590-1) is one such work. Showing Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II re-imagined as the Roman god of metamorphoses in nature, created out of plants – gourds, pears, apples, cherries, grapes, wheat, artichokes, peapods,  corns, onions, artichoke, cabbage foils, cherries,   chestnuts,   figs, mulberries, grapes, plums, pomegranates,  various pumpkins and olives – a riot of edible delights. The flowers and fruits from all season symbolize the abundance of the  Golden era that has returned under the Emperor's rule. Looking from the distance, Arcimboldo's whimsical portraits might look like straight portraits, but they are assembled using  vegetables, books, plants, kitchen utensils, fruits, sea creatures, animals and tree roots, each individual object chosen to give the impression of anatomical trait of a human face. Generally these faces are composed around certain themes, like the four seasons, four elements and so on.  These portraits were an expression of the Renaissance minds fascination with riddles, puzzles, and the bizarre  Arcimboldo's  traditional religious subjects were forgotten  but his portraits of human heads made up by objects were greatly admired by his contemporaries and are still fascinating even today.



Featured topics
One featured topic was promoted this week.
 * No. 90 (Composite) Wing RAAF (nominated by Ian Rose and Nick-D) This topic actually has an official description attached to it, so we'll quote that: No. 90 (Composite) Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during the early years of the Malayan Emergency. It administered two RAAF units, No. 1 (Bomber) Squadron, flying Avro Lincolns, and No. 38 (Transport) Squadron, flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The wing was termed "composite" because it operated a mixed complement of aircraft, rather than only one type. Following No. 38 Squadron's departure for Australia in December 1952, No. 90 Wing was disbanded, leaving No. 1 Squadron to carry on as the sole RAAF unit in the campaign until its withdrawal in July 1958. It includes a good article on No. 90 (Composite) Wing, and featured articles on the two squadrons that made it up.