₦airaland Forum

Claude Monet

Perhaps the most famous artists amidst the Impressionists, Monet conquered the varying influences of light on the panorama by bright shards of colour produced as quickly painted strokes. Furthermore, his many thoughts of haystacks and other subjects anticipated the use of serial comparison in Pop Art and Minimalism.

The origins of marriage


How old is the institution?

The best available evidence suggests that it's about 4,350 years old. For thousands of years before that, most anthropologists believe, families consisted of loosely organized groups of as many as 30 people, with several male leaders, multiple women shared by them, and children. As hunter-gatherers settled down into agrarian civilizations, society had a need for more stable arrangements. The first recorded evidence of marriage ceremonies uniting one woman and one man dates from about 2350 B.C., in Mesopotamia. Over the next several hundred years, marriage evolved into a widespread institution embraced by the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. But back then, marriage had little to do with love or with religion.


What was it about, then?

Marriage's primary purpose was to bind women to men, and thus guarantee that a man's children were truly his biological heirs. Through marriage, a woman became a man's property. In the betrothal ceremony of ancient Greece, a father would hand over his daughter with these words: I pledge my daughter for the purpose of producing legitimate offspring. Among the ancient Hebrews, men were free to take several wives; married Greeks and Romans were free to satisfy their sexual urges with concubines, prostitutes, and even teenage male lovers, while their wives were required to stay home and tend to the household. If wives failed to produce offspring, their husbands could give them back and marry someone else.


When did religion become involved?

As the Roman Catholic Church became a powerful institution in Europe, the blessings of a priest became a necessary step for a marriage to be legally recognized. By the eighth century, marriage was widely accepted in the Catholic church as a sacrament, or a ceremony to bestow God's grace. At the Council of Trent in 1563, the sacramental nature of marriage was written into canon law.


Did this change the nature of marriage?

Church blessings did improve the lot of wives. Men were taught to show greater respect for their wives, and forbidden from divorcing them. Christian doctrine declared that the two shall be one flesh, giving husband and wife exclusive access to each other's body. This put new pressure on men to remain sexually faithful. But the church still held that men were the head of families, with their wives deferring to their wishes.


When did love enter the picture?

Later than you might think. For much of human history, couples were brought together for practical reasons, not because they fell in love. In time, of course, many marriage partners came to feel deep mutual love and devotion. But the idea of romantic love, as a motivating force for marriage, only goes as far back as the Middle Ages. Naturally, many scholars believe the concept was invented by the French. Its model was the knight who felt intense love for someone else's wife, as in the case of Sir Lancelot and King Arthur's wife, Queen Guinevere. Twelfth-century advice literature told men to woo the object of their desire by praising her eyes, hair, and lips. In the 13th century, Richard de Fournival, physician to the king of France, wrote Advice on Love, in which he suggested that a woman cast her love flirtatious glances anything but a frank and open entreaty.


Did love change marriage?

It sure did. Marilyn Yalom, a Stanford historian and author of A History of the Wife, credits the concept of romantic love with giving women greater leverage in what had been a largely pragmatic transaction. Wives no longer existed solely to serve men. The romantic prince, in fact, sought to serve the woman he loved. Still, the notion that the husband owned the wife continued to hold sway for centuries. When colonists first came to America—at a time when polygamy was still accepted in most parts of the world the husband's dominance was officially recognized under a legal doctrine called coverture, under which the new bride's identity was absorbed into his. The bride gave up her name to symbolize the surrendering of her identity, and the husband suddenly became more important, as the official public representative of two people, not one. The rules were so strict that any American woman who married a foreigner immediately lost her citizenship.


How did this tradition change?

Women won the right to vote. When that happened, in 1920, the institution of marriage began a dramatic transformation. Suddenly, each union consisted of two full citizens, although tradition dictated that the husband still ruled the home. By the late 1960s, state laws forbidding interracial marriage had been thrown out, and the last states had dropped laws against the use of birth control. By the 1970s, the law finally recognized the concept of marital rape, which up to that point was inconceivable, as the husband owned his wife's sexuality. The idea that marriage is a private relationship for the fulfillment of two individuals is really very new, said historian Stephanie Coontz, author of The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap. Within the past 40 years, marriage has changed more than in the last 5,000.


Men who married men

Gay marriage is rare in history but not unknown. The Roman emperor Nero, who ruled from A.D. 54 to 68, twice married men in formal wedding ceremonies, and forced the Imperial Court to treat them as his wives. In second- and third-century Rome, homosexual weddings became common enough that it worried the social commentator Juvenal, says Marilyn Yalom in A History of the Wife. Look a man of family and fortune being wed to a man! Juvenal wrote. Such things, before we're very much older, will be done in public. He mocked such unions, saying that male brides would never be able to hold their husbands by having a baby. The Romans outlawed formal homosexual unions in the year 342. But Yale history professor John Boswell says he's found scattered evidence of homosexual unions after that time, including some that were recognized by Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. In one 13th-century Greek Orthodox ceremony, the Order for Solemnisation of Same Sex Union, the celebrant asked God to grant the participants grace to love one another and to abide unhated and not a cause of scandal all the days of their lives, with the help of the Holy Mother of God and all thy saints.

Edvard Munch

I scream you scream we all scream for Munch’s The Scream, the Mona Lisa of anxiety. In 2012, a pastel variant of Edvard Munch’s iconic invocation of modern anxiety got a then-astronomical price of $120 million at auction. Munch’s career was more than just a single painting.

“The best investment on earth is earth.”Louis Glickman

“The best investment on earth is earth.”Louis Glickman

“The best investment on earth is earth.”Louis Glickman

World football has some iconic stadiums throughout the world.

While there are certainly some obvious candidates for a list like this, it is still somewhat difficult to do this without leaving off some stadiums that are special to a set of fans.

Stadiums are a major part of any sport, and those that appear on this list have all had their special moments in world football history. Things that contribute to a stadium's impact include: its importance in the world game, most notably through history; the team that calls the field its home; and, of course, the fans and the atmosphere.

Here are the 15 Most Iconic Stadiums in World Football.

15. Rasunda Stadium, Solna, Sweden

This stadium makes it on FIFA's list of classic stadiums. It was the place where Pele was first introduced to the world as a 17-year-old.

It is the current home of historic Swedish club team AIK and the home venue for Sweden's national team in most games.


14. Parc De Princes, Paris, France

Parc De Princes is the home to PSG and was originally opened in 1897. Since then, two other versions have been made, in 1932 and 1972. It has a capacity of around 48,000.

While it is by no means a mammoth in terms of capacity like many of the other venues on this list, Parc de Princes has some great traits.

The fan atmosphere in this stadium is among the best in the world. The venue has also been host to some great games, like the 1981 European Cup final between Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as France's European Championship victory over Spain in 1984.

13. La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina

La Bombonera opened in 1940, has a capacity of about 50,000, and is home to one of Argentina's greatest clubs, Boca Juniors.

The unique feature in this stadium is that one side is flat, which is said to have increased acoustics and helped create one of the world's best fan atmospheres.

12. Olympiastadion, Munich, Germany

Germany's Olympic Stadium in Munich was opened in 1936 and has a capacity of about 70,000.

This stadium has seen some fantastic moments in German football, but possibly none more important than the 1974 World Cup Final.

It is was the former home of Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich.


11. Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany

Home to Borussia Dortmund, the Westfalenstadion was opened in 1974 and has a capacity of 80,000.

Dortmund is a club rich with history. The fan atmosphere, as well as the pedigree of the club, makes this a fantastic stadium.

It was host to a number of games in both the 1974 and the 2006 World Cups.

10. Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico

Estadio Azteca opened in 1966 and holds 104,000 people at full capacity. The stadium is the home venue for the Mexican National team.

It was the venue for the 1970 World Cup final, the "Game of the Century," the "Goal of the Century" and the "Hand of God."

Right place, right time for the Azteca, I guess.

9. Anfield, Liverpool, England

Anfield is home to one of the greatest club teams in English history. Opened in 1884 and with a capacity of around 45,000, this stadium has seen some very memorable moments.

Liverpool remained undefeated at this ground during several seasons. Various greats like Ian Rush have sung the club's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone," led by fans in the Kop end.

8. Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay

The Estadio Centenario was the first place that a World Cup trophy was ever lifted. It was built for the first World Cup in 1930, when Uruguay beat Argentina.

With a capacity of 73,000, the stadium is the home ground for the Uruguay national team, as well as one of South America's greatest clubs, Penarol.

7. De Meer Stadion, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam Arena is the pitch where Total Football was first displayed to many. That alone is reason enough to put it on this list.

Still, the fact that a great many fantastic players, like Johann Cruyff, and some fantastic Ajax teams also graced this stadium helps, too.

It was opened in 1934 and has a capacity of about 20,000. Ajax played some of its biggest European home games at the Olympic stadium due to its greater capacity.

6. San Siro/Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy

Home to two of Italy's greatest teams Inter Milan and AC Milan, the San Siro stadium was opened in 1926 and has been renovated a few times since.

This venue has seen a vast amount of historic events considering the pedigree of the two clubs that call it home. The San Siro stadium can hold about 80,000 fans when at full capacity.

5. Estádio Do Maracanã, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil's most iconic stadium, the Estádio do Maracanã, originally opened in 1950 and is currently being renovated for the 2014 World Cup, when it will probably host the finals.

The same year the stadium opened, it was the venue for the 1950 World Cup final, where Brazil lost— inexplicably, in many Brazilian's eyes—to Uruguay.

Flamengo, Vasco Da Gama, Botafoga and Fluminese have all called this stadium home at various times, and great players like Zico and Garrincha have played there as well.

This stadium was where Pele scored his 1000th goal.

4. Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Old Trafford, also known as the "Theatre of Dreams," is Manchester United's home ground and was opened in 1910.

This iconic stadium has seen the best of George Best and many other greats of the game. Old Trafford was also home to the "Busby Babes" and their leader, Matt Busby.

It has a capacity of over 75,000 spectators and the ever-famous Stretford End.

3. Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain

The Nou Camp (or Camp Nou) opened in 1957 and is one of the largest stadiums in Europe and the world with a capacity of just under 100,000.

This stadium is currently home to possibly the greatest club team ever and certainly has seen its share of great players and teams.

The Catalonia National team plays its home grounds there.

2. Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain

The Santiago Bernabeu, home to Los Merengues, was originally opened in 1947. Its full capacity is about 85,000. The stadium was renamed after possibly the club's greatest president, Santiago Bernabeu Yeste.

Some of the game's greatest players—like Alfredo Di Stefano and, more recently, Zinedine Zidane—have displayed their skills at this stadium.

The Bernabeu has hosted many major finals and has been the home to one of the greatest club teams in world football history during the 1970s.

1. Wembley Stadium, London, England

This is a picture of Old Wembley stadium, and there really isn't much that can be said about this venue.

Wembley Stadium is considered the home of football and has seen some of the game's greatest moments. Such moments include England's 1966 World Cup victory, Manchester United's European cup victory over Benfica and Germany's 1996 European Championship victory, which saw the first Golden Goal in history.

It is also the annual venue for one of football's oldest competitions, the FA Cup.

26.Octavio Frias De Oliveira Bridge

São Paulo, Brazil

It isn’t the size of the bridge in São Paulo, Brazil that impresses, but rather, the shape of the 453-foot-tall bridge over the Pinheiros River. Opened in 2008, the X-shaped tower of the cable-stayed bridge includes two bridge decks crossing within the 250-foot-wide tower. The addition of lights on the cables add further intrigue to the design.

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“I have always liked real estate; farm land, pasture land, timber land and city property. I have had experience with all of them. I guess I just naturally like ‘the good Earth,’ the foundation of all our wealth.”
-Jesse H. Jones,

“I have always liked real estate; farm land, pasture land, timber land and city property. I have had experience with all of them. I guess I just naturally like ‘the good Earth,’ the foundation of all our wealth.”
-Jesse H. Jones,

Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”
-Russell Sage

Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”
-Russell Sage

Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”
-Russell Sage

Real estate is an imperishable asset, ever increasing in value. It is the most solid security that human ingenuity has devised. It is the basis of all security and about the only indestructible security.”
-Russell Sage

Jackson Pollock

Hindered by addiction, self-doubt, and awkwardness as a conventional painter, Pollock transformed his faults in a short but intense period between 1947 and 1950 when he performed the drip ideas that connected his fame. Avoiding the easel to lay his paintings flat on the floor, he used house paint right from the can, throwing and dropping thin skeins of pigment that left behind a solid record of his movements.

Henri Matisse

No artist is as intimately attached to the delights of colour as Henri Matisse. His work was all about twisted curves rooted in the ideas of symbolic art and was constantly concentrated on the beguiling satisfaction of colour and tone.

Real estate investing, even on a very small scale, remains a tried and true means of building an individual's cash flow and wealth"
~Robert Kiyosaki

Michaelangelo

Michelangelo was a triple threat: A painter (the Sistine Ceiling), a sculptor (the David and Pietà) and architect (St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome). Make that a quadruple warning since he also wrote poetry. Aside from the aforementioned Sistine Ceiling, St. Peter’s Basilica and Pietà, there was his tomb for Pope Julian II and the design for the Laurentian Library at San Lorenzo’s Church.

Leonardo Da Vinci

The original Renaissance Man, Leonardo is known as a genius, not only for masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Lady with an Ermine but also for his designs of technologies (aircraft, tanks, automobile) that were five hundred years in the future.

Vincent Van Gogh

Van Gogh is known for being psychologically unstable, but his arts are among the most popular and most famous artists of all time. Van Gogh’s technique of painting with flurries of thick brushstrokes made up of vivid colours squeezed straight from the tube would inspire subsequent generations of artists.

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso is implicitly synonymous with modern art, and it doesn’t hurt that he fits the generally held image of the fugitive genius whose goals are balanced by a taste for living big. He turned the field of art history with radical innovations that include college and Cubism, which destroyed the stranglehold of representational material matter on art, and set the rate for other 20th-century artists.

From the Renaissance to Pop Art, here are some of the most famous artists of all time. Unlike films, art isn’t something everybody understands. So it takes a lot for an artist to really disclose in the public mind and acquire credit for being brilliant.

The truth is, to be distinguished as an artist implies that your work has survived the test of time, and that’s valid for our selection of the most famous artists considered here—some of who can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Guggenheim, and several other areas. So, without further ado, here’s our list of the most famous artists of all time.

Andy Warhol

Beginning out as a commercial artist, he brought the ethos of promotion into fine art, even going so far as to say, “Making money is art.” Such attitudes blew away the existential declarations of Abstract Expressionism. Although he’s recognized for captions such as Campbell’s Soup, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley, his greatest invention was himself.

“If you don’t own a home, buy one. If you own a home, buy another one. If you own two homes, buy a third. And, lend your relatives the money to buy a home.”
John Paulson, investor and multi-billiona

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

....

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class

“Everyone wants a piece of land. It’s the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will double its value in ten years or in less than that. Land is going up every day.” -SAM SHEPARD, Curse of the Starving Class