Word: balaam
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...still not clear. Though Helder was previously cited for possession of a marijuana pipe and at least one classmate describes him as "burnt out," a lawman involved in his capture noticed no signs of intoxication. "It appeared that he hadn't been drinking," says Washoe County, Nev., Sheriff Dennis Balaam. "I asked him if he was taking any type of medication, and he said no." Some lean toward an organic explanation--emerging schizophrenia, perhaps--for his cosmic goof gone wrong...
...analysis of "Balaam and the Ass" (1626), for example, Schama notes how Balaam's eyes differ from previous depictions in other portraits. In the story from the book of Numbers, Balaam's donkey sees an angel and goes berserk. Previous painters, following the Dutch master van Mander's advice, had illuminated Balaam's eyes with shock, but Rembrandt is far more restrained...
...then there are Balaam's eyes. Rembrandt's eyes. Lastman has followed the van Mander prescription. The prophet is amazed to hear his donkey speak. Follow the stage direction. Make his eyes pop out with astonishment. Give the customers dilated pupils, white sclera, and lots of it. With a stroke of perverse genius (excuse the term), Rembrandt has done the opposite, painting Balaam's eyes as dark crevices. For this is, after all, the moment _before_ God opens those eyes to the angel and the light of truth...