In the Falling Darkness, this young Greek hero wounded a hind with an arrow, and was stricken with grief when he realized what he had done. On the point of committing suicide, Cyparisse was saved by Apollo, who gave him the shape of the eternally green cypress tree. Ever since, the cypress has been symbolic of grief
At the Paris Spectacular Wax Museum we find Marie Antoinette, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France, and wife of King Louis XVI, receiving a necklace from Jeweler Bassenge. Cardinal de Rohan, duped by the charlatan Cagliostro and the Comtess de la Motte, bought the necklace to present to the Queen. However, he was unable to pay for it, and King Louis XVI had him thrown into the Bastille.
A close up of the Queen admiring herself with the necklace.
The Jeweler Bassenge holding the box.
This French Heroine was born in Dompremy in 1492 in the land of Champagne and Lorraine. France was very unhappy. The English troops were constantly threatening, and they occupied Calais and were about to take foothold in that Kingdom, when Joan, inspired by God, leads her countrymen in defeating the invaders and driving them out of Orleans and other towns. This action enabled the French Dauphin to be crowned Charles VII in the Cathedral of Reims. But the following year the French were defeated by the English, and Joan was taken prisoner, declared heretical, and condemned to be burnt alive. She was lead to the stake in May 1431, and was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1922.
Joan praying as she is about to be burnt alive.
Bald guy. Not sure what he is doing. He has no fire, so perhaps he's going to whack her on the head with his big cross.
"Jeanne d'Arc in the full armor of a French Knight. The figure is inspired by the statue at the Church of the Madeleine, in Paris. It tells the story of the inspired peasant girl who 'heard voices' bidding her help the Dauphin win his throne. It stands as a symbol of the glorious and tragic events which marked the beginning of the national esprit of France. Here, see Jeanne d'Arc, one of the central figures of French history, dying in a burst of flames, the victim of a great injustice."
A close up of the woman warrior. They did a great job with her expression, and with her hair.
"This scene represents a drawing-room in the Royal Palace of Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Auletus, who had granted the throne to her and to her brother on the condition that they should marry one another. The favorites of young Ptolemy banished his sister and when Caesar conquered Alexandria, Cleopatra slipped into the palace in a parcel of old clothes and seduced the General. Caesar, withheld by his affairs and his love for Cleopatra, remained a few months in Egypt. Here we see Caesar beseeching the Queen to accompany him to Rome, promising to have her statue placed in the Temple of Venus."
The Queen herself, Cleopatra VII, in her court. Unfortunately, the figure of Caesar beseeching her is out of the shot. Perhaps her expression is enough to convey his attitude.
Nice monkey.
Is she about to drape Cleopatra in sheer linen , or is she doing the dance of the seven veils?
I think I like her expression the most. It's probably the eyebrows.