Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-02-04/Featured content

This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from 18 January 2015 through 24 January 2015. Text may be adapted from the respective articles and lists; see their page histories for attribution.

Featured articles
Three featured articles were promoted this week.
 * Banksia lemanniana (nominated by Casliber) or Yellow lantern banksia is a species of woody shrub native to Western Australia and grows as a small tree to five metres (15 ft) high. This species, endemic to the area arround Fitzgerald River National Park, was named in honour of English botanist Charles Morgan Lemann. Banksiae are a group of plants that have spectacular cultivars that are used in garden design. Like most banksia, they have yellow, brownish, or orange flower spikes which look like lanterns. The flowers smell like honey and are dripping with nectar, making them especially attractive not only for gardens, but for birds and other organism such as the New Holland honeyeater,  red wattlebird, honey bees, wasps, and ants. Like a phoenix, it is killed by bushfire and regenerates from its seed!
 * Fuji-class battleship (nominated by Sturmvogel 66) was a two-ship class of pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the mid-1890s. A visit by two Imperial Chinese ironclads to Japan in 1891 forced the IJN to rethink their strategy of employing "cheap torpedo boats and commerce raiding to offset expensive, heavily armoured ships". The IJN ordered a pair of battleships from the United Kingdom, built to a Royal Navy design, as the Japanese "lacked the technology and capability to construct its own battleships." There was great difficulty in securing funding; after three attempts by the Japanese Diet to pass the funding measure failed, they finally passed it following an offer by the Emperor Meiji to fund the ships himself. The two battleships Fuji and Yashima were delivered by February 1898. They participated in the Battle of Port Arthur and in further operations in the Russo-Japanese War. Yashima sunk on 14 May 1904 after hitting a mine. Fuji survived the war and was converted to a coast defence ship in 1910 and an unarmed floating barracks in 1922. Damaged by American aircraft in July 1945, Fuji eventually capsized, and she was cut up for scrap in 1948.
 * Lawrence Wetherby (nominated by Acdixon) (1908–1994) was an American politician who served as lieutenant governor and governor of Kentucky. He is the only governor in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville, the county seat, is the state's most populous city. Wetherby was elevated to the position of governor in 1950 after Governor Earle C. Clements resigned to take a seat in the U.S. Senate. Wetherby increased funding for education and government benefits by allocating money from the state's budget surplus. For this he was acclaimed, and he won the 1951 election to serve a full four-year term as governor. During his term, Wetherby authorized a massive road-building campaign, and encouraged the peaceful desegregation of the state's educational system.

Featured lists
Five featured lists were promoted this week.
 * List of accolades received by Dallas Buyers Club (nominated by Cowlibob) This is a movie that, frankly, makes me a bit uncomfortable. It's about how the first successful AIDS drug, AZT, is poisonous, and how you should instead use some random crap given to you at a dodgy Mexican clinic. While it's apparently a very well-shot, well-acted film, following its claimed good idea for how to survive will probably get you killed. As I said: it makes me uncomfortable. However, it won three Academy Awards and a host of other accolades, as documented in this list, so it must have something going for it.
 * List of Pakistan women Test cricketers (nominated by Khadar Khani) Cricket is a game played between two teams of eleven players in which a bowler bowls a ball at three sticks. On top of these sticks are two short sticks; the bowler's trying to knock these off, but in front of them is a batter who tries to hit the ball. The rest of the bowler's team are standing around, waiting to catch the ball. If any of a series of arcane events occur, such as the batter getting their leg in the wrong place or the spare batter running when they're not supposed to, the bowler shouts "Howzat", and an official in a white coat points their finger at the batter and makes them walk off. This game lasts several days, and is called a Test match because it's a test of the spectator's stamina. As of 2014, the Pakistan national women's cricket team have played three of these Test matches since their first appearance in 1998, and a number of other international matches. Twenty women have played Test matches for Pakistan.
 * Morgan Freeman on screen and stage (nominated by Lady Lotus) American actor and director Morgan Freeman has had a prolific career on film, television, and stage. His film debut was as an uncredited character in the Sidney Lumet drama The Pawnbroker in 1964. Freeman also made his stage debut in the same year by appearing in the musical Hello, Dolly!. He followed this with further stage appearances in The Dozens (1969), Exhibition (1969), and the musical Purlie (1970–71). He played various characters on the children's television series The Electric Company (1971–77). Freeman subsequently appeared in the films Teachers in 1984 and Marie in 1985 before making his breakthrough with 1987's Street Smart In the 1990s, he was cast in numerous films, including the adventure film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) opposite Kevin Costner, drama The Shawshank Redemption (1994) with Tim Robbins, psychological thriller Seven (1995), historical drama Amistad (1997), crime thriller Kiss the Girls (1997), and science fiction disaster film Deep Impact (1998). His role in The Shawshank Redemption earned him a second nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor at The 67th Academy Awards. Morgan Freeman's voice is commercially valuable; the actor Josh Robert Thompson is his "official voice double" and has confused British TV audiences by appearing as "More Than Freeman" in insurance adverts.
 * List of films released by Yash Raj Films (nominated by Krimuk90) Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian entertainment company, established by Yash Chopra in 1970, that produces and distributes motion pictures. The company has produced 65 Hindi films, including three upcoming projects, and one Tamil film. YRF started a film distribution business in 1997 and, in addition to distributing their own productions, the company has handled the domestic and international distribution of 34 films from other companies. YRF's first release came in 1973 with the Chopra-directed Daag: A Poem of Love, a drama about bigamy, starring Rajesh Khanna, Raakhee, and Sharmila Tagore. The company had four more releases in the 1970s, including the family drama Kabhie Kabhie and the action film Kaala Patthar, both of which starred Amitabh Bachchan. YRF's sole commercial success in the 1980s was the Sridevi-starring romantic drama Chandni.
 * List of accolades received by Kahaani (nominated by FrankBoy) Kahaani (English: Story) is a 2012 Indian mystery thriller film directed and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh. The film stars Vidya Balan as the protagonist, and features Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Saswata Chatterjee in supporting roles. The film was edited by Namrata Rao, with the cinematography provided by Setu. Set in the city of Kolkata during the festivities of Durga Puja, Kahaani follows the life of a pregnant woman, Vidya Bagchi, in search of her husband, a man whose existence is denied by the people she encounters. Made on a budget of inr 80000000, Kahaani was released on 9 March 2012 and grossed over inr 1040000000 worldwide after a 50 day theatrical run. The film garnered awards and nominations in several categories, with particular praise for its direction and the performance of the lead actress. As of 2014, the film has won 28 awards.

Featured pictures
Thirty-nine featured pictures were promoted this week, mainly van Goghs.


 * Goethe in the Roman Campagna (created by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, nominated by Hafspajen) Goethe in the Roman Campagna is a painting from 1787 by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, a German Neoclassical painter, depicting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe travelling in Italy, presently in the Städel museum. Since he was already rather famous following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, he travelled incognito, and called himself Filippo Miller, pittore, a rather phony alias we think. The Sorrows of Young Werther was a loosely autobiographical novel first published in 1774; its publication turning him from an unknown 24-year-old into one of the first international literary celebrities practically overnight.  It also caused a breakout of "Werther Fever". Young men throughout Europe started to dress as Werther did in the novel, wearing yellow trousers and blue jackets, and also started taking their lives, as Werther did - the so called Werther effect. The hero shoots himself after an ill-fated love, and the book was banned in several countries after it sparked a wave of imitation suicides. The painting is a full-length portrait. Goethe is seated trying to look smart and cosy on a couple of uncomfortable ruins, gazing out through the landscape, wearing yellow Werther effect trousers; in deep thought, with his eyes resting at infinity, probably only wondering what he will have for lunch.  His novel was set to music by Jules Massenet, as Werther, and made a fantastic opera. It has this neat trick where the opera itself gets more and more insular as Werther's obsession for Charlotte grows, so the opening is full of life, whereas the ending is essentially two people and an offstage chorus of children singing a Christmas carol as an ironic echo of happier times.
 * Mr. and Mrs. Atherton (created by Arthur Devis, nominated by CorinneSD) Mr. and Mrs. Atherton were painted by Arthur Devis, who was an English portrait and landscape painter and restaurator of a considerable artistic reputation, with a studio in Great Queen Street, where he moved in 1745. He and Sherlock Holmes used to dine together. Oops, wrong century. No, he drunk his afternoon tea with Joshua Reynolds and Johann Zoffany instead.  Devis depicted most of the sitters in imaginary yet realistic landscapes.  The views and interiors were mostly invented by Devis, which explains how the people he painted had such tidy homes. The notable exception is Devis's portrait of Sir Roger Newdigate. Arthur had twenty-two children from two wives, of which two offspring, Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and Arthur William Devis (1762–1822), became painters. Devis's half-brother Anthony Devis (1729–1816) was also a painter. Not quite the Peale family, but getting there.
 * Bellona (created by Rembrandt van Rijn, nominated by Crisco 1492) Bellona was an ancient Roman goddess of war. Bellona's main attribute is the military helmet worn on her head, and she often holds a sword, a shield, or other weapons of battle. Bellona is presented by Rembrandt as a rather plain woman with the "girl next door" look, whatever he meant by this statement. Her shield is decorated with the frightful face of Medusa, a version of Rubens' well-known painting of a severed Medusa's head.
 * Saudade (created by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior, nominated by Pine) Saudade or, roughly translated, Longing, is a painting by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior (1850-1899), Brazilian artist and designer. At the Academia Imperial de Belas Artes, where he studied, his simple country speech and manners reportedly were the source of much interest and, one might suppose, amusement. His life ended tragically when he was stabbed to death by his cousin José de Almeida Sampaio, who had just learned about Júnior's long-standing affair with Sampaio's wife. Bad news, as depicted in the picture. Saudade is the feeling of love that remains after someone has gone for ever, a rather appropriate feeling after we have learned how he departed.
 * Gold crown from Seobongchong Tumulus (unknown creator, nominated by Crisco 1492) The Crowns of Silla were made in the Korean kingdom of Silla in approximately the 5th to 7th centuries and are among the National treasures of South Korea. The Silla crowns are very fragile and were probably used only for formal and ceremonial occasions.
 * Portrait of Henry VIII (created by the Workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger, nominated by Hafspajen and Crisco 1492) Henry VIII was a rather controversial person. Getting married to him was not exactly for life (well, it might be for your life... mwahaha.) - and one can wonder what kind of complexes Freud would have diagnosed in his daughters who witnessed their mothers killed by their father. This frantic and zealous divorcing and executing of spouses is said to had one goal, securing a male heir. Ironically, it was not the much-wanted boy (who died young) that preserved his legacy, but it was his daughter, in whom he never believed. (It might have been fate or a certain opinion in higher places about his evil doings.) No wonder though the poor Queen never married...  This king, who never had much problems executing his enemies, friend, or wives, is presented here to us in a powerful and grand manner. Frankly, for the artist, probably the better decision. We sent a researcher back in time to paint a mocking picture of him. He... hasn't come back yet. We're a bit worried.
 * Luncheon of the Boating Party (created by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, nominated by AgnosticPreachersKid ) Luncheon of the Boating Party, from 1881, is a painting by the French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The painting depicts a group of Renoir's friends relaxing on a balcony at the Maison Fournaise on the banks of the Seine in Chatou, France. The painter and patron of the Impressionists, Gustave Caillebotte, is seated at lower right. Renoir's future wife, Aline Charigot, is in the foreground playing with her terrier, Jacques Valentin Aristide d’Essoyes sur l’Ource. Fruit and wine are laid out on the table. Beside the table are men and women, the girls with hats and dressed up to the nines, the men in white wife-beaters, sweaty and much less restricted. Jacques is wearing a fur coat and no knickers; the fur coat is by Rex at Comme des Chiens (appointment necessary). We think Jacques is getting very hot under the collar.
 * Haller Madonna (created by Albrecht Dürer, nominated by User:Crisco 1492) The Haller Madonna is an oil painting by Albrecht Dürer (1471 – 1528), dating to around 1498, named after its owner, identified by the diminutive coat–of–arms in the lower left corner. The painting is now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. On the front, the Madonna is painted in a sculptural way, with brilliant colours and beautiful eyes. The other featured painting by Dürer, Lot's Flight, is on the reverse of the Madonna and depicts the Biblical scene of Lot and his family with a landscape including a flaming town in the background.  They are fleeing from the doomed city of Sodom. And Gomorrah.  Since the two scenes are unrelated, it has been supposed that the panel was originally part of a diptych, with the other panel showing the donor next to Lot and his children. The two images were promoted as a set: How else could one handle such an unusual artwork?
 * Sumela Monastery (created by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, nominated by րևանցի (Yerevantsi)) The Sumela Monastery (Moní Panagías Soumelá) is a Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary at Melá Mountain. Nestled in a steep cliff at an altitude of about 1200 m facing the Altındere valley, it is a site of great historical and cultural significance, as well as a major tourist attraction.
 * Argiope pulchella (created and nominated by Jeevan Jose) Argiope pulchella is a species of spider that ranges from India to China. The males are much smaller than the females and are often eaten if not careful enough when they approach the girls to declare them their love. The small husband in the picture is signaling desperately not to be mistaken for dinner... by so called "shuddering", vibrating with the web...
 * The Embarkation for Cythera (created by Jean-Antoine Watteau, nominated by Alborzagros) The Embarkation for Cythera is a painting by the French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau currently in Louvre, Paris. The painting is a sensual depiction of a "fête galante", an amorous celebration or party. The work celebrates love, with many cupids flying around the couples and pushing them closer together, as well as the statue of Venus and Amor. There are three pairs of lovers in the foreground.  While the couple on the right by the statue are still engaged in their passionate tryst, another couple rises to follow a third pair down the hill, although the woman of the third pair glances back fondly at the goddess's sacred grove.
 * The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (created by John Quidor, nominated by The Herald) The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (1858) is a painting by American artist John Quidor, depicting a scene from Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The painting is one of several by the artist based on scenes from Irving's written works about Dutch New York, including such paintings as Ichabod Crane Flying from the Headless Horseman (1828) and The Return of Rip Van Winkle (1849). It is currently displayed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C..
 * Dynjandi (created by Diego Delso, nominated by Crisco 1492) Dynjandi (also known as Fjallfoss) is a series of waterfalls located in the Westfjords (Vestfirðir), Iceland. The waterfalls have a cumulative height of 100 m. That's the article in its entirety. Water meets cliff, water falls down cliff, cliff is so high, end of saga. But wait... the waterfall has seven tiers, each with its own name carved on a wooden board: Bæjarfoss, Hundafoss, Hrísvaðsfoss, Göngumannafoss, Strompgljúfrafoss, Hæstajallafoss, and, at the top the main one, Fjallfoss. We bet the Ferðamálastofa had a fun time thinking them up!
 * The Miracle at the Grave of Elisha (created by Jan Nagel, nominated by Adam Cuerden) Elisha was a great prophet and a great wonderworker. The touch of his corpse served to resuscitate a dead man. A year after Elisha's death and burial a body was placed in his grave. As soon as the body touched Elisha's remains, the man '"stood up on his feet"' and went home. It has been said that this dead man was Shallum, son of Tikvah, keeper of the temple-wardrobe in the reign of Josiah and husband of Huldah the prophetess. So he went home and made a great fuss about having a meal immediately to the prophetess.
 * Luncheon Still Life (created by John F. Francis, nominated by Hafspajen and CorinneSD) John F. Francis (1808 – 1886) was an American painter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who painted mostly still lifes. Inspired by Raphaelle Peale, Francis began to concentrate on that genre and became the leading practitioner of luncheon and dessert still life paintings. William H. Gerdts writes: "Of all the mid-century still-life specialists, Francis was the most painterly. There is often a freshness and a brio to his paint application that successfully balance his sure delineation of form and his establishment of texture."
 * The Fall of the Titans (created by Cornelis van Haarlem, nominated by Adam Cuerden and Hafspajen) The Fall of the Titans is an oil painting of the Titanomachy made by the Dutch painter Cornelis van Haarlem from the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, Denmark. Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562 – 1638) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and draughtsman and was one of the leading Northern Mannerist artists in the Netherlands. The painting illustrates a family matter, children who rise up against their parents, since most of the Titans were an older generation of gods, while the Olympians who won were the younger generations who would come to reign on Mount Olympus. Cronus attacked his father Uranus and with a sickle cut off Uranus' genitals, casting them into the sea.
 * Choir looking west, choir looking east, high altar, columns in the nave, organ, and exterior view of Lichfield Cathedral (created by David Iliff, nominated by National Names 2000) Another magnificent set of photos by David Iliff, these show Lichfield Cathedral, situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, which is dedicated to St. Chad and St. Mary. Built of sandstone, it is notable as the only medieval English cathedral which still has three spires (Lincoln Cathedral lost 'em). The cathedral was the last thing Robert Greville saw before he became the first person ever to be killed by a sniper, one who'd hidden himself behind the parapet at the base of the main spire. We're pretty sure it's the last thing he saw, because he was shot in the eye. Greville was besieging the cathedral at the time; he was a Roundhead and the place was being held by the Cavaliers. Two days later, on 4 March 1643, they surrendered to Dyott's successor, Gell. The cathedral was retaken by the Royalists a month later when Prince Rupert of the Rhine affirmed Lichfield's position at the leading edge of military technology by exploding Britain's first mine under the close. Somewhat damaged, the cathedral was repaired several times, but it wasn't until Sir George Gilbert Scott undertook its restoration in the 19th century that some of its medieval splendour was regained.
 * Interior with Portraits (created by Thomas Le Clear, nominated by Alborzagros) Interior with Portraits is an 1865 genre scene painted by American artist Thomas Le Clear. The painting features two children, James and Parnell Sidway, posing for a photograph in an artist's studio. The painting was commissioned by the subjects' older brother, Franklin Sidway. Parnell died of illness as an adolescent; James, a volunteer firefighter, died in a hotel fire at the age of 26, shortly before the painting was commissioned. Both children were painted posthumously from family daguerreotypes. Some painters of the time regarded photography with suspicion and refused to use photographs as references for portraits. The painting is filled with references to this tension: The children are surrounded by painted portraits and the photographer's back is to the viewer with his face obscured. The girl appears to be supporting the boy and holding him still, as might have been necessary when posing a child for an early photograph due to the long exposure time. A dog is depicted just entering the studio, another acknowledgement of early photography's limitation to still subjects.
 * Barge Haulers on the Volga (created by Ilya Efimovich Repin, nominated by Alborzagros)  Barge Haulers on the Volga, or Burlaki, is an 1870–1873 oil-on-canvas painting by the Russian realist painter and sculptor Ilya Repin. This painting depicts eleven Russian peasants hauling a large boat upstream on the Volga River. The burlaks seem to almost collapse forward in exhaustion under the burden. Although they are presented as stoical and accepting, the men have largely surrendered to their inhuman fate, the hard conditions and the hopeless lives they lived which has defeated them. Only one stands out: in the center of both the row and canvas, a brightly coloured youth fights against his leather binds and stands upright. A little golden cross is seen on his chest, the Russian people's secret strength that kept them upright under all  hardships and poverty during their turbulent history. This painting is regarded as the beginning of Russian realism, though it is more sophisticated then those that followed.
 * Vincent van Gogh Wheat Field Set: Enclosed Field with Ploughman; Wheat Field with Alpilles Foothills in the Background; Harvest in Provence; Ploughed Fields ('The Furrows'); Harvest at La Crau, with Montmajour in the Background; Wheat Field with Reaper; Peasant Woman Binding Sheaves; Green Wheat Field with Cypress; Wheat Field in Rain; Landscape from Saint-Rémy; Wheat Field with Cornflowers; Enclosed Field with Peasant; Wheat Field with Crows; and Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds (created by Frans Hals Vincent van Gogh, nominated by The Herald, Hafspajen, Atsme, and CorinneSD) Wheat Fields (Van Gogh series) is a series of paintings made by Vincent van Gogh. The wheat field works demonstrate his progression as an artist from the worst rather colourless fields he painted in 1885 in the Netherlands to the colorful, dramatic paintings from Arles and other rural parts of France. Van Gogh was planning from the beginning to became a minister, but the religious community rejected him when Vincent began to give away most of his food and clothing to the poverty-stricken people under his care. Van Gogh, when failing to find a vocation in ministry, was painting instead themes that were related to the sacrament: vine and bread - the bread that came from the crops of the fields. Van Gogh's brushstrokes in staccato are especially suited to depict the straws of the wheat field, giving them a special look and life... Van Gogh continued entire his artistic career to depict wheat fields. The Van Gogh Museum's Wheat Field with Crows was made in July 1890, in the last weeks of Van Gogh’s life, and many art historians have claimed that it was his very last work. Wheat Field with Crows, to be honest, has a spooky feeling over it, with dark skies and the scary black birds hovering over the scene. The dramatic cloudy sky filled with crows over a wheat field that looks abandoned while at the same time turbulent, and the painting beside all this gives also a feeling of disorientation ...there are three ways to go but none of them looks leading anywhere...