Word: venetian
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...decisively. This is what Picasso did for America and Europe in the 20th century. Perhaps less obviously, Velazquez did the same for Spain in the 17th century. He showed that the nation's painting need not be provincial, that it could be open to Europe and, especially, to such Venetian masters as Titian. Titian had made masterpieces for Philip II of Spain; now Velazquez would work on the same scale for Philip IV, grandson of Titian's patron. With Velazquez at the court, Spain no longer needed to import its talent from abroad...
...ultimate postmodern landscape--a dizzying simulacrum of our collective consciousness. In other words, it is pop culture. Just take a virtual journey down the Strip--the pirate-themed Treasure Island, the luxurious tropical visions at the Mirage, the canals (with gondola rides!) and warm cannolis at The Venetian, the Arthurian legend at Excalibur, the cobblestone streets surrounding Lake Como at the $1.3 billion Bellagio, etc. etc. Where else in the world can you wake up and look out one window and see the Eiffel Tower (a half-size recreation stands over the Paris hotel); or look out another...
...Because Vegas is attracting so many vacationers, it can afford to be more exclusive. Every new hotel is making a point to sell only to the "sophisticated" crowd--at the recently built Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Venetian and Paris hotels, there are no "showgirl" theatrics, the restaurants all demand at least $35 per person, Gucci and Versace dominate the in-hotel shopping malls and the miminum blackjack bet is $10. The cheesy glitz and glamour of the '80s Vegas has dissolved into a decadent celebration of pretentiousness in the '90s Vegas...
...daughter Virginia is an unusual candidate for feminist sainthood. She was the first of Galileo's illegitimate children, born to his Venetian mistress Marina Gamba. Virginia and her younger sister had no social standing and no marital future. They were cloistered at the Convent of San Matteo, located near Galileo's home in the outskirts of Florence. A son, Vincenzio, frittered away his youth and musical talent before settling down to raise a family...
...Boston's late madcap socialite, Isabella Stuart Gardner. Thanks to lax conservation regulations and import laws, Gardner was able to amass a rather impressive, if jumbled, collection of paintings, decorative arts, and artifacts from around the world. Only here can one find opulent Byzantine windows (taken from actual Venetian palazzos), Boticelli paintings, and second century Roman bathhouse mosaics all melded into a unified whole. Gardner stipulated in her will that the collection remain exactly as it was originally curated; however, there are occasional rotating exhibitions of contemporary artwork. Currently on display: "Threads of Dissent" The museum also offers concerts...