Joanna "Jo" Hiffernan

Joanna "Jo" Hiffernan (ca. 1843 – after 1903) was an Irish artists' model and muse who was romantically linked with American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler and French painter  Gustave Courbet.
Hiffernan was a Roman Catholic. Her father, Patrick Hiffernan, is described by Whistler's friends, Joseph Pennelland his wife Elizabeth, as being like "Captain Costigan," the drunken Irishman in Thackeray's novel Pendennis. a novel by the English author William Makepeace Thackeray. It is set in 19th century England, particularly in London. The main hero is a young English gentleman Arthur Pendennis who is born in the country and sets out for London to seek his place in life and society. In line with other Thackeray's works, most notably Vanity Fair, Pendennis offers an insightful and satiric picture of human character and aristocratic society. The characters include the snobbish social hanger-on Major Pendennis and the tipsy Captain Costigan. Miss Amory and Sir Francis Clavering are somewhat reminiscent of Becky Sharp and Sir Pitt from Vanity Fair. The Pennells also described him as "a teacher of polite chirography (calligraphy)" who used to speak of Whistler as "me son-in-law."Her mother, Katherine Hiffernan, died in 1862, aged 44. Joanna Hiffernan had a sister called Bridget Agnes Hiffernan, later Singleton. The artist Walter Greaves, who began tuition with Whistler in 1863, and who knew Hiffernan well claimed that she had a son called Harry but no trace of him can be found in official records.

like whistler by peter french

Gustave Courbet, La belle Irlandaise (Portrait of Jo) 1865–1866,, a painting of Joanna Hiffernan.

Whistler first met Hiffernan in 1860 while she was at a studio in Rathbone Place, and she went on to have a 6-year relationship with him, during which period she modeled for some of his most famous paintings. Physically striking, Hiffernan's personality was even more impressive. Whistler's biographers and friends, the Pennells, wrote of her,

"She was not only beautiful. She was intelligent, she was sympathetic. She gave Whistler the constant companionship he could not do without."

Whistler's family did not approve of Hiffernan, as unmarried artists' models, and especially those who posed nude, were considered at that time to be little better than prostitutes.   Hiffernan seems only to have modelled for friends, so perhaps the objections to her made by Whistler's family were based more on social class than on Hifferman's personal character. below whistlers white house
When Whistler's mother visited from America in 1864, alternative accommodation had to be found for Hiffernan, who also seems to have been the cause of Whistler's quarrel with Alphonse Legros in 1863.
She was in France with Whistler during the summer of 1861, and while in Paris during the winter of 1861–62 she sat for Symphony in White, No. I: The White Girl at a studio in  Boulevard des Batignolles and in 1864–65 she posed for Symphony in White, No. 2:  Little White Girl. It is possible that this is when she met Whistler's friend and fellow artist, Gustave Courbet, for whom she later modeled. There is some thought that she was the model for Courbet's L'Origine du monde, which depicts a nude woman's vulva.

Gustave Courbet, Le Sommeil (Sleep), 1866, Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris

Hiffernan attended séances with Whistler at Dante Gabriel Rossetti's house in Chelseain 1863, and spent the summer and autumn of 1865 in Trouvillewith Whistler. In 1866, Whistler gave Hiffernan power of attorney over his affairs while he was in Valparaisofor seven months, making provision for household expenses and giving her the authority to act as an agent in the sale of his works.
During Whistler's absence, Hiffernan travelled to Paris and posed for Courbet in The Sleepers, or Le Sommeil which depicts two naked women in bed asleep. It is likely that she had an affair with Courbet at this time,After the end of his relationship with Hiffernan, Whistler returned to the United States, but left a will in her favour.
In addition to being an artists' model, Hiffernan herself also drew and painted.

1881 Census sheet showing Hiffernan living at 2 Thistle Grove Lane

After she and Whistler parted, Hiffernan helped to raise Whistler's son, Charles James Whistler Hanson (1870–1935), the result of an affair with a parlour maid, Louisa Fanny Hanson. He lived with Hiffernan at 5 Thistle Grove as late as 1880 when Whistler was away in Venice with Maud Franklin, his then mistress. The 1881 English census recorded Hiffernan, her sister Bridget and Charles Hanson as visitors of Charles Singleton (whom Bridget would later marry) at 2 Thistle Grove.
Little is known of Hiffernan after 1880. A woman reported to Juliette Courbet (1831–1915), the sister of Gustave Courbet, in a letter of 18 December 1882, that "the beautiful Irish girl" was in Nice, where she sold antiques and some pictures by Courbet. It is believed that Hiffernan married a man named Abbot some time after 1881, possibly on the Continent.
The art collector Charles Lang Freer met Hiffernan when he was a pallbearer at Whistler's funeral in 1903 when she came forward in heavy mourning to pay her last respects(whjistlers funeral) His fellow art patron Louisine Havemeyer (1855–1929) later recorded the incident as she heard it from Freer:

above whistlers house in london by peter french

"As she raised her veil and I saw ... the thick wavy hair, although it was streaked with gray, I knew at once it was Johanna, the Johanna of Etretat, 'la belle Irlandaise' that Courbet had painted with her wonderful hair and a mirror in her hand.... She stood for a long time beside the coffin—nearly an hour I should think.... I could not help being touched by the feeling she showed toward her old friend. "Did Maud [Franklin] come?" [Havemeyer] asked. "Yes" answered Mr. Freer, "the same afternoon. She had come all the way from Paris and was very much affected as I uncovered Whistler's face for her to see him." ... [One could see, Freer (below whistlers funeral 1903

)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9h7oB0TpLY&feature=share mused] "that the real drama of [Whistler's] life was bound up in the love of [these] devoted women."

napolitano

I always had a bad impression of Napolitano.  he’s supposed to be a great big flaming red Commie but in reality he swings any which way the wind blows. He seems like most italian politicians left or right  to never grasp the matter in hand

BUT then  the Adriatic air seems to have gone to his head.

 HE wants to be seen as a hero in Italy, the senior citizen with a heart fulla god and a head wise in years instead of the moron that he really is in my opinion. SO he awarded commemorative medals of honor to a number of Italians killed in the massacres of them by tito forces but  one of the awards was given to a fellow named Vincenzo Serrentino. That name will probably mean nothing to most readers, but if you’re a Croat or an Italian it just might.

Serrentino was the Italian prefect of Zadar, a coastal town in occupied Croatia, during the war years. The Yugoslavs considered him a war criminal who had Partisan prisoners killed without trial. After the war, they gave him a swift trial and then had him shot and thrown into an unmarked grave. The Croats, while holding no brief for the Communist Partisans, are firmly in agreement that Serrentino was a bloody-handed murderer.In italian concentration camps thousands were murdered, starved and killed as well.

The Italian refugee community, meanwhile, considers Serrentino an innocent man, a patriot and a martyr. So while it may have been questionable to give him a medal

But the next bit baffles me. In his speech, Napolitano said that the ethnic cleansing had been “an exercise in hatred, bloody rage and a Slavic annexation plan”.

He then said that this plan had “prevailed… in the Peace treaty of 1947 [between Italy and Yugoslavia], which assumed the contours of an ethnic cleansing.”

“Today in Italy we have put an end to this unjustifiable silence and we are committed at European level to recognising Slovenia as a friendly partner and Croatia as a candidate country for EU membership,” he added. “But it should be repeated that truth is part of reconciliation – both in people’s hearts and in international relations.”

Now, this is just weird. “Slavic annexation plan”? That doesn’t even make sense. It was Italy, not Yugoslavia, that was the aggressor. True, the Yugoslavs grabbed the opportunity to snarfle up more of the coastline at the end of WWII, but, you know, Italy was a freakingAxis power. The Italians of Dalmatia and Istria were like the Sudeten Germans in Czecheslovakia.

Imagine a German President using the words “Slavic annexation plan” about WWII. Now imagine how the Poles and Czechs would take that. You’ll get an idea of how this was recieved in Zagreb.

So it’s not surprising that Croat President Stipe Mesic pretty much lost his cool. The next day, Mesic blasted Napolitano’s remarks: “it was impossible to not see overt elements of racism, historical revisionism and a desire for political revenge”.

Mesic also noted that “modern Europe was constructed on foundations… of which anti-fascism was one of the most important.”

marx

DONT LISTEN TO " FEEL GOODS" LIKE THOSE WOULD BE ANTI RACISTS OF THE MEDIA , GET REAL.

 the Anti Immigration Marx 

He  was against what he called  the 'chinese rabble' being imported to undercut wages and the irish immigration to England. In the preface to Engel "Conditions of the English working class" Marx said that Irish immigration destroys organised work unions and forces and conditions. He talked about them all living in gutter conditions as in  to a room , these were conditions that the indigenous working class would not accept.

Writing in March/april to Meyer and Vogt 1870, Marx noted that the English bourgeoisie “exploited the Irish poverty to keep down the working class in England by forced immigration of poor Irishmen.” This was certainly true. The same as it is in Italy today.

"..Ireland constantly sends her own surplus to the English labour market, and thus forces down wages and lowers the material and moral position of the English working class..."

interestingly the left often reproduces parts of this letter ( below) but not the above sentance ..

"..And most important of all! Every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a working class divided into two hostile camps, English proletarians and Irish proletarians. The ordinary English worker hates the Irish worker as a competitor who lowers his standard of life. In relation to the Irish worker he regards himself as a member of the ruling nation and consequently he becomes a tool of the English aristocrats and capitalists against Ireland, thus strengthening their domination over himself. He cherishes religious, social, and national prejudices against the Irish worker. His attitude towards him is much the same as that of the “poor whites” to the Negroes in the former slave states of the U.S.A.. The Irishman pays him back with interest in his own money. He sees in the English worker both the accomplice and the stupid tool of the English rulers in Ireland..."

the military shirt

Here’s the Tommy Hilfiger “Hodges” Military shirts that happen to be on sale for $39.99 each.peter werth

Classic Pancake Recipe

Pancakes are quick, simple and versatile - and here are some recipes for you to try that are easy to follow and sure to please. Start with a classic sweet pancake - just drizzled with sugar and fresh lemon juice, or maybe maple syrup - then why not try something a little more adventurous? You won't know what you're missing until you've tried a Mexican pancake.

Classic Pancake Recipe

PREP 5 MINS
COOK 10 MINS

Ingredients

200g/7oz The Pantry Plain Flour
350-400ml milk, or ½ milk ½ water for a lighter pancake
2 large eggs, lightly whisked

Method

Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and whisk. Gradually add the milk to this continuing to whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Add a little oil to a frying pan and heat for a minute. Add enough mixture to create a thin layer across the base of the frying pan.

Cook for approximately 30 seconds on each side of the pancake and then transfer to a plate to be served.

beloved

I am the rose and sometimes
I am water but
you   the Snow queen one day on that old high street, my
most beautiful and mature lovely woman.
Once a  green gem,that  could be blue, rose, white or gold.
Young
Clear
but then
the things came of
tune, melody and time.

Your nickname of  "our daughter ". For all our good men.

Very white; whiter than all of my most positive things.
Most good woman.
Darling! Beloved! And what else could I have said losing you.
Learned, wise , wise enough to think other thoughts.
Crystal as the river.
And a thousand coyness of grace and  reluctance to love my notions once more.
The thousand lights of two eyes on
one branch , on
one rose
you the only one, the only one 
of that water flowing sweet where otters played.
The bouquet of
common sex and 
hindsight.
Smelling sweetly, fragrantly
and a seagull wanting hungrily, wailing in the wind.
Good news once.
My struggling woman, my hard-working woman
My beloved, sweetheart .
Lifes water; the first water giving to planted flowers, trees and my oak
Kindness, friendliness, compliments
decreasing  in  warmth one remembered August in rain.

beloved

Once a green gem,that could be blue, rose, white or gold.
Young
Clear
but then
the things came of
tune, melody and time.

Your nickname of "our daughter "

white; whiter than all of my most positive things.


.
Crystal as broken ice.

The thousand lights of two eyes on
one branch , on
one rose


The bouquet of
common sex and
hindsight.
Smelling sweetly, fragrantly
wailing in the wind.
Good news once.
My struggling woman, my hard-working woman
My beloved, sweetheart .
Lifes water; the first water giving to planted flowers, trees and my oak
Kindness, friendliness, compliments
decreasing but remembered an August in rain.