Saturday 31 August 2013

Late Summer Garden

































































Late Summer Garden (2001)  -  Acrylic paints,beads and stitching on silk.




Detail






Linked to         TODAY'S FLOWERS      and     POSTCARDS FROM PARADISE


Thank you for visiting


Sunday 18 August 2013

Hygieia's Temple





Hygieia goddess of health, stands in her circular Greek style temple beside
the Water of Leith in central Edinburgh.





This statue commissioned around 1888, replaced the original version (below).




The temple was designed in 1789 by the landscape painter Alexander Nasmyth
as a pump room for the mineral well known as St. Bernard's Well.
The building is in coade stone supported by ten doric columns.

The well water was said to have medicinal properties and became popular with rich people
who gathered here to partake of the healing elixir!




The building is reached via a public footpath close to St. Bernard's Bridge.








Not my dog.......although I did find out his name was Louis!










There's a rural feel about the place and it's quite easy to forget we are in the city.

























In the 1790's this estate,which bordered the newly built classical New Town, was bought
by the celebrated portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn.
Raeburn lived in a mansion called St Bernard's on the north side of the river.
The house was demolished shortly after his death in 1823 to make way for the buildings above.




The development at street level.





St. Bernard's Bridge is accessed from the left of the picture.




Dr James Hutton (1726-1816) - doctor,geologist, and experimental agriculturalist.
He is accredited with being the first scientist to consider the earth to be alive.

Portrait by Henry Raeburn.



Writer Elizabeth Hamilton (1756-1816) by Henry Raeburn.





Fiddler and bard Neil Gow  (1727-1807) by Henry Raeburn.




Entrance to the old market place.




In a nearby shop window,Nipper the dog listens to his master's voice.
Creating healing vibrations of a different sort the gramophone
 brought music into the homes of millions.


Thank you for visiting


Raeburn portraits and temple engraving - image source Wikipedia.


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