Eileen Gray Screen sells for €1.3m

PARAVENT 'BRIQUES', c. 1923-1925

I have long championed the Irish Designer Eileen Gray who greatly influenced 20th Century Design and Architecture at the creative nexus of the Modern Movement. Her iconic seaside villa E-1027 at Roquebrune Cap Martin obsessed the architect Le Corbusier who died of a heart attack swimming in the sea within sight of it. The furniture and fittings she designed for E-1027, an apartment on the Rue Lota in Paris and her own apartment on Rue Bonaparte are classics of 20th Century Design. Her contribution was largely unsung before her death in 1976 but now art connoisseurs are paying huge sums for original examples of her work. Last year a small armchair designed by her achieved the highest prices ever for a piece of 20th Century furniture and yesterday at Christie’s in Paris other pieces achieved truly remarkable prices.


Eileen Gray 1879 - 1976

Eileen Gray is regarded as one of the most important furniture designers and architects of the early 20th century and the most influential woman in those fields. Her work inspired both modernism and Art Deco. Her design style was as distinctive as her way of working, and Gray developed an opulent, luxuriant take on the geometric forms and industrially produced materials used by the International Style designers, such as Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand and Mies Van Der Rohe, who shared many of her ideals. Her voluptuous leather and tubular steel Bibendum Chair, and clinically chic E-1027 glass and tubular steel table are now as familiar as icons of the International Style as Le Corbusier and Perriands classic Grand Confort club chairs, yet for most of her career she was relegated to obscurity by the same proud singularity that makes her work so prized today. From her early lacquer work to design classics like the Bibendum chair and her architectural masterpiece, E-1027, Eileen Gray's work was as individual as it was exciting.


FAUTEUIL 'TRANSAT', c. 1926-1930

Eileen Gray was an extraordinary character, single-minded and individualistic, who managed to capture and express in her own way the prevailing spirit of the age in design through the first decades of the 20th century. She was celebrated in February 2009 during the auction of the Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Bergé collections at the Grand Palais when her remarkable ‘Serpents’ chair, circa 1917-1919, originally from the collections of fashionable milliner Suzanne Talbot and the quintessence of her work in lacquer, achieved the record sum of €21 million.


Fauteuil aux Serpents


Table d'appoint pour E-1027

Eileen Gray arrived in Paris in 1902, studying at the Académie Colorassi and the Académie Julian before exploring the medium of lacquer after her curiosity was sparked by a visit to a small atelier in Soho. She met Japanese artist Seizo Sugarawa with whom she would work for a number of years. An enigmatic personality, as private as she was determined, she chose in the early 1920s to move away from the highly refined lacquer work of her early days, in order to focus on more functionalist designs in metal, glass and painted wood, inspired at first by the Modernist ideas of the Dutch De Stjil movement.


Eileen Gray in her rue de Bonaparte apartment with the Brick Screen in 1970

Her creativity and vision found expression in new forms, such as the ‘Brick’ screen – developed from the panels she used in the hallway of the apartment of Suzanne Talbot on Rue de Lota, circa 1922. The black-lacquered screen presented here was part of her personal furnishing and featured in her apartment on Rue Bonaparte. Other examples of her work include the floor light, the black and yellow base of which resembles a piece of Constructivist architecture, again made for her own use, or the ‘Transat’ armchair, circa 1925, in black lacquer with seat made from coated canvas, formerly the property of her friend and collaborator architect Jean Badovici, founder of the avant-garde magazine L’Architecture Vivante, 1923.


‘Aéroplane’ ceiling light

Her unique inspiration can be seen in her ‘Aéroplane’ ceiling light, circa 1925-28, constructed like an abstract sculpture from metal elements and two sheets of glass, one white, one blue. This specific example had belonged to Miss Gray. Another was commissioned by the eminent connoisseur and patron of Modernism, the Maharaja of Indore.

The Gourdon Collection of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and modernist design is being sold by Christie’s International at the Palais de Tokyo on March 29-31, 2011. The 500 works are owned by French collector Laurent Negro, who has been buying 20th-century design since the 1990s. Her 1920s black lacquer “Brick” screen sold at auction last night. The black lacquered screen panel, part of the late Co Wexford designer's personal furniture at her Paris apartment, was one of the first pieces to go under the hammer last night and sold for €1.3m at Christie's in Paris. The 1923-1925 'Brick' screen was among 15 Gray pieces that are expected to fetch up to €6m by the end of the auction tomorrow. An Bibendum Armchair - with a tubular chrome base and puffy seats - that is seen as a classic example of her radical foray into modernism - sold for €709,000, while a circa 1926-1929 standing table fetched €241,000.



Her works were included in the prestigious Gourdon Collection which went under the hammer at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris yesterday. The collection is regarded as one of the most important private collections of early 20th Century modern art. Eileen Gray was born in Brownswood, near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford in 1879, and died in Paris aged 99. The furniture from her Paris apartment now forms the centrepiece of the Eileen Gray exhibition at the National Museum, Collins Barracks in Dublin. It is good that this most famous Irish designer’s great talent is recognised in her own country and in the extraordinary prices her works achieve in the salerooms.


Maison en bord de mer E.1027 - Roquebrune Cap Martin

For more on E-1027, the iconic Moderne house designed by Eileen Gray at Roquebrune Cap Martin see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/e-1027-roquebrune-cap-martin.html

For the story of Eileen Gray’s armchair, Fauteuil aux Serpents, which achieved the highest price ever for a piece of 20th Century furniture see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/02/eileen-grays-armchair.html



FAUTEUIL 'BIBENDUM', c. 1926-1929

Happy Birthday Dear Albert!

Happy Birthday Dear Albert! Today 140 years ago in 1871 on the 29th March the Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria, with the intention of hosting arts-and-sciences exhibitions, and its beautiful architecture has since led to it receiving the honour of being a Grade I listed building, a fitting tribute to one of London’s most iconic landmarks. It was so named after Victoria’s beloved ex-husband, Prince Albert.


A golden Prince Albert sitting in his memorial looking at the Royal Albert Hall

Located on the border between the City of Westminster and Kensington, the Royal Albert Hall is one of the world’s most illustrious concert venues, making the RAH one of the essential London attractions with music fans of all genres. The Royal Albert Hall is probably most famous for hosting The Proms each summer (which culminates in the famous televised ‘Last Night’) but also hosts a wide variety of other events, ranging from rock concerts by 1960s counter-culture legends likes of Crosby, Stills & Nash through to The Masters Tennis.



For Londoner’s and visitors it has since become a well loved venue nor more so than at the annual “Proms” or Promenade Concerts to give them the full title. Designed to make classical music accessible to all so called because they are a series of Classical Music Concerts where Promenaders, people who walk in, can get unreserved tickets on the night. The other unique feature of The Proms is the promenaders stand in the floor of the hall and their enthusiasm and eccentricity lends a very definite flavour to the proceedings.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/09/proms-in-park-2007.html


But back to Albert’s Birthday, in the spirit of Victorian exhibitionism engendered by the Great Exhibition the story of its birth is told for all to see on the outside of the building. Surmounting the exterior walls and above the ballustraded smoking gallery, runs a continuous 800 foot long terracotta frieze composed of allegorical groups of figures engaged in a range of artistic endeavours, crafts, scientific and other cultural pursuits. Above the frieze in one foot high terracotta runs the following text which neatly encompasses the evangelical fervour of Victorian England:

“This Hall was erected for the advancement of the Arts and Sciences and works of industry of all nations in fulfilment of the intention of Albert Prince Consort. The site was purchased with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition of the year MDCCCLI. The first stone of the Hall was laid by Her Majesty Queen Victoria on the 20th day of May MDCCCLXVII and was opened by Her Majesty the 29th day of March in the year MDCCCLXXI. Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. The wise and their works are in the hand of God. Glory be to God on high and on earth peace.”


The Frieze

A great Central Hall, dedicated to the promotion of Art and Science, was a key part of Prince Albert’s vision for the South Kensington estate, which was to be developed on land purchased with the profits of the Great Exhibition of 1851. From the outset the Hall was intended to be a versatile building used not only concerts but for exhibitions of art and of manufactured goods, and for scientific conferences and demonstrations. Its purpose was to enable the population at large to engage with the work of the surrounding museums and educational institutions.


The Crystal Palace, home of the Great Exhibition in 1851 held in Hyde Park in front of the site of the Albert Hall and Albert Memorial

This area was dubbed by the Victorian press as Albertropolis' a name coined in the 1850s and resurrected in recent years for the 87-acre site south of Hyde Park, purchased by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 with profits from the Great Exhibition. Exhibition Road - whose route the subway from South Kensington Underground Station follows - forms the spine of “Albertropolis”. The nickname satirised the vision of Prince Albert, the Commission's President, of the area as a centre for education, science and art - an ambition largely realised within a few decades of the Prince's death. There was a great deal of historical revisionism for the truth is Prince Albert was not actually popular during his lifetime. Government and The Court saw him as arrogant, self serving and pushy and the public saw him as German. He was also something of a conspious consumer, building (and largely designing) extravagant homes at Osborne, Isle of Wight and Balmoral, Scotland whilst ensuring the Royal Family enjoyed tax free status. The Cult of Great Albert came about due to a combination of national guilt after his death and Disraeli’s efforts to flatter Victoria and coax the “Widow of Windsor” back to her duties. Few of us today could take a 25 year paid leave of absence to cope with bereavement!


Albert Hall - acoustic "mushrooms" on the ceiling

Plans for the Hall fell into abeyance with Albert’s premature death (1861) and the construction of what was to called the Royal Albert Hall in his memory was due to the determination of Henry Cole, one of Albert’s collaborators in the Great Exhibition and who was later to serve as the first director of the South Kensington museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). The design and robust structure of the Hall were inspired by Coles’ visits to the ruined Roman Amphitheatres in the South of France and to his determination that the building should be placed in the hands of Royal Engineers as he distrusted architects. Detailed design of the building was started by Captain Francis Fowke and completed, following Fowke’s death, by another engineer Lieutenant Colonel (subsequently General) Henry Darracott Scott.





The original intention that the Hall should accommodate 30,000 was, for financial and practical reasons, reduced to approximately 7,000. Modern Today’s fire regulations have reduced that figure to around 5,500. Much of the money originally intended for the construction was diverted to the building of the Albert Memorial and work on the Great Hall was further delayed while Cole raised the necessary money by selling “permanent” seats in the Hall for £100 each.


The opening 29th March 1871

Today visitors can complete the Royal Albert Hall tour, giving them a behind-the-scenes view of this famous venue. Whilst waiting for the RAH to open visitor can enjoy the many delights of neighbouring Kensington Gardens (including its imperious Albert Memorial) or one of the three free glorious nearby museums: The Natural History Museum, Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum.

For more about Albertropolis and Kensington see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html

The first Proms concert took place on 10 August 1895 and was the brainchild of the impresario Robert Newman, manager of the newly built Queen's Hall in London so this year is the 112th year of these highly democratic and entertaining concerts, over 100 in total in a two month season attracting some 275,000 in the audience and many more with television and radio broadcasts by the BBC of all the concerts. While Newman had previously organised symphony orchestra concerts at the hall, his aim was to reach a wider audience by offering more popular programmes, adopting a less formal promenade arrangement, and keeping ticket prices low.



To lead the event he approached a conductor whose name has become synonymous with the Proms, Henry Wood. Born in 1869, Henry Wood had undergone a thorough musical training and, from his teens, began to make a name for himself as an organist, accompanist, vocal coach and conductor of choirs, orchestras and amateur opera companies. It is Henry Wood’s inspiration which has defined the informality and eccentricity of the proceedings and lest we forget it his wooden bust decorated with a garland of honour presides over every Proms Concert in the Royal Albert Hall.



As for myself and Londoners the Albert Hall is more than a venue for it is a repository of memories. So much so that they unconsciously refer to “our Albert Hall.” Not too inaccurate either as it is still owned and controlled by the public trust set up with the proceeds of the Great Exhibition and the Crystal Palace. Any performance in the somewhat unique setting of the Albert Hall is imbued with a sense of occasion of this unique and atmospheric building. For me there are the memories of unique Prom concerts, Opera’s “in the round” such as Madame Butterfly where the stage was flooded for the grand finale not to mention some great concerts such as Eric Clapton and Van Morrison. But my favourite evening was a benefit in 1994 for the founder of the Cambridge Folk Festival which featured Tanita Tikaram and Loudon Wainwright among others. The last act was the Irish singer Christy Moore and this was the year Ireland under Jackie Charlton qualified for the World Cup but England didn’t. Christy came out on stage and announced how glad he was not to be in Ireland. He said everybody there was a nervous wreck and all anybody was talking about was football this, football that. England by contrast was far more relaxing, he opined, all he had to listen to were genteel conversations about Tennis at Wimbledon!



That is how most people in London will reference Albert and his Hall - Great nights, great performance, great musicians and great memories. After a discrete series of rolling refurbishments the Old Boy is looking good with facilities and access fit for the next 140 years. So well done Albert, you have seen off so many youthful upstarts in London since but nobody has your sense of place in the affections of the public, your presence and, dare I say it, your sense of majesty. If only the rest of us were looking so good and feeling so loved after 140 years! So all together now, Happy Birthday Dear Albert, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Albert Hall!



Renée Fleming, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jiří Bělohlávek.

Moon over Ireland

Mooning over Ireland

I am very torn. Should I give that terrible middle of the road crooner Daniel O’Donnell the oxygen of publicity or should I turn a blind eye to his latest awful outpouring entitled, seemingly without irony, “Moon over Ireland.” I was expecting to see a giant arse on the cover but instead there is a heavily photo shopped Daniel O’Donnell which is, of course, something entirely different.

For those of you blissfully unaware Daniel O’Donnell bears the same relationship to Irish Music as Thomas Kinkade (the artist of light!) does to Fine Art or Charlie Sheen does to Temperance. His awful, pedestrian, cloying, dross has won him an inexplicably large fan base attracted to his genre which is called Irish ‘n Country (sic).


Daniel's Mac Mansion on Cruit Island

This fan base of mush lovers consists mainly of women of all ages and he has become renowned for his friendly approach to his fans. He used to stand signing autographs for hours after concerts and everyone was always greeted with a smile. O'Donnell even had a special day of the year when he would invite his fans for tea at his home in Kincasslagh, on the Donegal coast. Those who have joined this dangerous Cult where you leave your brain at the door and accept sensory reprogramming actually think D O’D is a personal friend to them. Poor things!

Such unthinking devotion has made Daniel O’Dross a multi millionaire living in a Mac Mansion on Cruit Island Co. Donegal near where he grew up in Kincasslagh. He also owns a local hotel and a large house in Tenerife, Canary Islands where he met his wife Majella.



Cruit Island, Rosses, Co. Donegal

There is no shortage of Daniel O’Dross jokes;

The IRA captured Ian Paisley, Margaret Thatcher and Daniel O'Donnell, but they only had two bullets. So they shot Daniel O'Donnell twice just to make sure.

A 90 year old man goes up to the counter in the Virgin Megastore;

Old Man; Could I have a pack of ..........c.....c...them condoms!

Shop assistant; Sir, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but are you sure you really want condoms at your age?


Old Man; Well not really but when I got to the counter I was too embarrassed to ask for a Daniel O’Donnell CD!


My spiritual adviser's verdict - Gobshite!

Too harsh I hear you say? Well judge the toe curling dross which is “Moon over Ireland” for yourself. Note the “come all ye” technique of naming as many places as you can, the monotonous two step beat and D O’D’s painfully minimalist style whilst all the time mooning with a rictus expression at the camera. As my old buddy Liam Weldon used to say “there is a big difference between a folk singer and those who just sing folk songs.” As my spiritual adviser, Fr. Jack Hackett used to say “Arse! Women! Drink! Feck! Gobshite!

Parental Advisory; This recording may induce drowsiness. Do not play and drive at the same time.

TUC March against the Cuts

Memo to the Metropolitan Police; The Right to Protest does not equal the Right to be Kettled. Perhaps it is timely to remind Lib Dems and other members of the Coalition of Opportunism who are pushing relentlessly the politics of dispossession and driving the country into stagnation what at the 2009 Lib Dem conference their then Justice spokesman David Howarth said:

"The ugly scenes of police aggression and intimidation witnessed at the G20 protests and the Kingsnorth demonstrations were a national disgrace. Tactics like baton charges, the seizure of personal property and the kettling of protestors for hours on end are fundamentally wrong. They are a threat to democratic rights; they cause distress and injury, increase tension, provoke reaction and damage the reputation of the police.



These tactics must change. The police must recognise the democratic right to protest and put the protection of the public first at all times."

The tactic is not actually legal. Almost every other European court that has examined the tactic has found that it cannot be justified - the police cannot legally detain hundreds or thousands of people indefinitely without probable cause. Only in the UK have the courts found that the ancient right to freedom from arrest without cause can be sacrificed in the name of "public safety." Thus, no legal standards apply - the police have and will kettle pregnant women, children, the sick, and the elderly for extended periods without access to basic necessities. No courts have shown a willingness to stop them so far.



We have reached a point in the UK where the police can do almost whatever they like, and even the Law Lords will not stop them. There is currently an application pending at the ECHR; perhaps our EU neighbours will save us from this abuse of power.



Remember, Dear Protestors, that the Police who are paid out of our taxes to protect us and to respect our right to protest at the TUC Rally against the cuts in London tomorrow are not like us. They will start their day under the quaint “Spanish Practices” agreed with the Police Federation with “Operational Feeding.” This will be the notorious “999 Breakfast”, many will be on triple time for working “Rostered Rest Days” which are agreed 9 months in advance and all will be entitled to have overtime calculated from the NOTIONAL time they clock on at their usual “Nick” to the NOTIONAL time they get back to their usual “Nick.”

Cuts or No Cuts, many of them will double their salary through a combination of overtime and restrictive practices. That is why “ordinary coppers” who claim they can’t live on their salaries are fighting through the thuggish Police Federation to protect their Redneck Rights to holiday homes in Spain / Florida and their Harley Davidson’s. It’s only right ‘innit that they are compensated for the abuse they get and are not forced to take kickbacks from the News of the World and former colleagues in “Security” for leaking confidential information?



To those taking part in the TUC March against the Cuts tomorrow there are two sources of advice to help you stay safe – Below is the Police’s own advice and then there is a new mobile app called SUKEY.

Here is what the Police say

“Containment will be very much a tactic of last resort. If it does become necessary, again we have responded to feedback, and now have a dedicated Chief Inspector to ensure the swift dispersal of innocent and vulnerable people and to ensure the needs of those contained are considered. We will communicate with those inside the containment via Twitter, as well as face to face communications with officers at the scene.

The MPS Twitter account @CO11MetPolice will be running for fast time communication updating information about the march, and responding to enquiries as appropriate. Leaflets will be handed out on the day of the march, and we will make use of dot matrix signs on the route. Our website has a dedicated page for the march and will be updated with information, including the route of the March, road closures and questions and answers on what to expect on the day.

We have launched a texting service; to register text the word police to 83123, for updates throughout the 26th March. We will be making use of Bluetooth technology, please switch yours on. Officers have already been out meeting and speaking with businesses and local communities affected by the route on the 26th.”


What is SUKEY?

To keep peaceful protesters informed with live protest information that will assist them in avoiding injury, in keeping clear of trouble spots and in avoiding unnecessary detention. The application suite gives maximum information to those participating in a demonstration so that they can make informed decisions, as well as to those following externally who may be concerned about friends and family.

It should make full use of the crowd in gathering information which is then analysed and handed back to the crowd.



If you find yourself in the unfortunate position of being detained here is a survival guide from a Police Officer!

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/06/survival-guide-for-decent-folk.html

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor 1932 - 2011

Like many I was saddened at the passing of Dame Elizabeth Taylor today. A great actress and humanitarian she had received the British honour and was entitled to use the style as she was born in Britain to American parents. She first achieved fame at the age of twelve thanks to her starring role in National Velvet but we must also remember that she became a gifted actress with four Oscar nominations and two Oscars to her name for Butterfield 8 and her second Oscar came in 1967 for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, one of 12 films she made with Richard Burton.



She was the highest-paid actress of her time, negotiating a cool $1m for her role in Cleopatra, as well as a share of the profits for the film. This is now the model for many big stars. Cleopatra was however an awful movie which elicited the world’s greatest ever movie review from the famed and feared critic of the New York Times who confined his review to just one line “Last night Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton barged down the Nile and sank!”


“Last night Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton barged down the Nile and sank!”

She was a great believer in marriage, being famously married eight times, twice to her inamoratas’ Richard Burton. By her mid twenties she had been married three times, divorced twice and widowed once; surely a modern day morality tale of sorts. She was extraordinarily beautiful, and was considered an accomplished actress by her peers. That's not true of a lot of celebrities that today's media are obsessed with but in many ways she was the template of the modern celebrity endorsing products and being associated with a “cause.”

Her son, Michael Wilding, made a statement that celebrated his mother’s life.

“My mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it.”



Her business acumen extended beyond Hollywood. By creating her own jewellery line and a successful perfume range, she became a pioneer in marketing a celebrity merchandise brand. Stars including Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears all now have personal branded lines.

She was not unknown in this neck of the woods in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. The Bell in Aston Clinton used to be one of England’s top restaurants and a straight run out of London from studios at Elstree and Pinewood. It was popular with the luvvies; pictures of the Burton and Taylor used to adorn its walls when it was still a proper restaurant. She and Burton were visitors to that other great movie couple who lived near Thame at Notley Abbey, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. They were also visitors to Sir John Gielgud at South Pavilion in Wotton Underwood, Bucks, now the country home of Tony and Cherie Blair.



It is hard today to remember her impact on creating celebrity culture but the photos of her bikini clad on a yacht with Burton in 1962 caused an absolute sensation, such steamy paparazzi photos were unknown in those days and the story ran and ran and probably will continue to run now she is dead. The Vatican at the time accused them of "Erotic vagrancy" and Burton's wife actress Sybil Williams fled the set of Cleopatra and headed back to England.


Notley Abbey


Sir John Gielgud's former home at South Pavilion in Wotton Underwood

In her last interview in this month's edition of 'Harper's Bazaar', when asked about all the husbands and jewellery. Taylor responded: "I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands. For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course I am the temporary custodian of some incredible and beautiful things.

"But I have never felt more alive than when I watched my children delight in something, never more alive than when I have watched a great artist perform, and never richer than when I have scored a big cheque to fight AIDS. Follow your passion, follow your heart, and the things you need will come."

But above all she was a brave campaigner and humanitarian who championed an unpopular cause and made it mainstream. Elizabeth Taylor will be remembered for harnessing her star power to help good causes. In the 1980s, after her friend Rock Hudson died, she became one of the first celebrities to speak out about Aids.



"Why shouldn't gay people be able to live as open and freely as everybody else?... What it comes down to, ultimately, is love. How can anything bad come out of love? The bad stuff comes out of mistrust, misunderstanding and, God knows, from hate and from ignorance."

Elizabeth Taylor

Good for her. Here’s looking at you Babe!


Trailer for "Giant"

The strange case of Smiley Culture

Smiley Culture

Smiley Culture, who died on March 15 aged 48, allegedly from self-inflicted stab wounds during a police drugs raid, produced two of the most influential reggae singles of the 1980s, notably Police Officer, a song about police harassment.

There is a strange feeling about this case. We are asked to believe a man was allowed to make a cup of tea on his own while he was being raided and a house was been combed for evidence in an alleged serious drugs case? Wouldn't it be dangerous to let a man boil hot water if he is being arrested alone in the kitchen? Wouldn't it be dangerous to allow a man to walk into a kitchen filled with knives and all sorts if he was being raided? Would experienced officers allow themselves and potential evidence be put at risk in this way? Would a suspect not be cuffed and taken out of the way as a matter of course? Also isn't it very hard almost impossible to stab yourself through your heart at close range to the point where the knife comes out the other side?



The supposedly autobiographical song ("Everytime me drive me car police a stop me superstar"), reached number 12 in the charts in 1984 and told of his being caught in possession of cannabis but being let off with a request for an autograph when the officer concerned recognised him as a reggae star. It earned Smiley Culture an invitation to meet the Queen who, he claimed, said she listened to his records at Buckingham Palace. He also appeared twice on Top of the Pops, the BBC apparently failing to understand the meaning of the term "ganja". The refrain, "Police officer no give me producer", a reference to a notice to produce driving documents at a police station, became a catchphrase on south London streets.

He was born David Emmanuel in 1962 to a Jamaican father and a Grenadian mother and grew up in Stockwell, south London. He attended Tulse Hill School where he acquired the nickname "Smiley" due to his method of chatting up girls – he would ask them for a smile. As reggae became popular he and his friends would practise "chatting" – rapping staccato lyrics over rhythm tracks.

In September last year, however, he appeared at Croydon magistrates' court, charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine. At the time of his death he was out on bail but due to face trial next Monday. The police raid on his home at Warlingham, Surrey, came after two kilos of cocaine were recovered from a drugs mule who had been apprehended trying to enter Britain – allegedly as part of a separate plot in which Smiley Culture was implicated.



There are a number of things about this tragic death which raise more questions than answers;

• For instance, why would experienced police officers let a person caught in a serious drug-related raid get up and stroll into the kitchen in order to “make a cup of tea”?

• Did David really stab himself in the heart so hard that it penetrated right through his body and came through the other side? Does this seem likely?

• Would the calculated risk of a drug-related potential prison sentence drive a person, described by those that knew him best as calculating, very calm and pleasant really drive him to such a brutal suicide?

• Why are anonymous police sources engaging in a spinning exercise by telling the press he committed suicide when the family of a man (who died in police custody) has not even had their questions answered and the matter is more properly answered by a Coroner’s Court?


The house at Warlingham, Surrey, where David Emmanuel died

Whilst the unexpected can always happen, both those who have been subjected to police raids and actual police officers agree that it sounds at best strange and certainly contrary to procedure for officers to let a person pop out of the room – unsupervised - to make a cup of tea, during a drug bust.

There are very serious questions that require clear and loud answers. This is not to prejudice the result of an IPCC and Coroner's enquiry for people under the influence of drugs (if that is the case) can do strange things. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating events at Emmanuel's house and for the sake of public confidence it needs to fully answer these worrying questions. This is not an isolated incident; no fewer than 104 black and ethnic minority people have died in police custody in the past 16 years.

FOR MORE ON POLICING ISSUES SEE "PLOD BLOGS" IN THE BLOG SIDEBAR >>>>>>>>

My favourite painting

Caravaggio. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist. 1607-1608. Oil on canvas. Co-Cathedral of St. John, Valletta, Malta

I have had an abiding interest in visual art since my days studying Architecture. Indeed one of my enduring bittersweet moments was, after I split up with my first true love, coming over to London on my own for my 23rd birthday and being thrilled both by the Dali Exhibition at the Royal Academy and the exhibition on the great architect Edwin Lutyens at the South Bank. Surrounded by beauty and feelings of loneliness exacerbated by the strange feeling of not having a real conversation with anybody for four days. My artistic taste rails against the figurative; I never wanted art to be an undemanding mirror which reflects the world back at you. And my personal instincts are anti-religious; I firmly believe Man created God.

Surprising then that my favourite painting is both figurative and with a religious theme but this is no ordinary painting and is by no ordinary artist and it cannot be seen in any art gallery. It is "The Beheading of St. John the Baptist" and the artist is that genius of light and shade (chiaroscuro) Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio. His life was short, turbulent and violent and to see his greatest painting you have to travel to the Island of The Knight’s of St. John, to Malta. There you enter into the walled city of Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage site which is the greatest fortified Medieval City in the world and the spiritual home of The Sovereign Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta.




Tomb of Knight Gregory Spinola 1682, Co-Cathedral of St. John, Valletta

Here is the Co-Cathedral of St. John, Valletta and you enter into the world of the Knight’s of St. John, an interior of amazing richness and you walk on a hallowed floor of lavish inlaid marble tombstones of Noble Knights who here in 1565 and in the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571 defeated the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent and stopped the Mediterranean becoming a Muslim sea and Europe becoming a Muslim Province. To this day in Malta when they celebrate “Victory Day” it is this victory they remember. Afterwards in gratitude Catholic Europe poured money into Malta and the Knight’s built their great city of Valletta opposite the “Three Cities” on the far side of The Grand Harbour which had withstood the siege of Malta.




Co-Cathedral of St. John, Valletta

So in this hallowed space you then enter the vestry of the Cathedral and there you are stunned to silence by this, Caravaggio’s greatest work in the setting for which it was painted. You stare at this huge painting and you realise the artist’s genius as the painting is mis-titled. For what you are witnessing is not a beheading but the aftermath, when the executioner calmly and callously takes his knife to perform a butcher’s task, the severing of the neck sinews. There is not a religious symbol in sight but what there is like a Joycean text is a picture of mundanity and sparse detail, for the person being so callously butchered in front of the indifferent onlookers is no ordinary, person. For this is the patron after whom the Knight’s Order is named, John the Baptist who in the River Jordan baptised and had as a follower and disciple one Jesus of Nazareth. But there is no sentimentality in this picture, just the confident genius to picture this shocking event with sparse detail and no displays of reverence. It could be a sheep’s head being butchered and it is this scrupulous meanness of depiction which heightens the sense of man’s inhumanity to man. No longer concerned with the incidentals of the narrative, Caravaggio focuses on the essential human tragedy of the story. By presenting the opposite of the Christian message so graphically it emphasises the radical message of its founder, the disciple of John the Baptist. This picture was of huge symbolic importance to the Order of St. John whose most important relic was the arm of St. John, the arm which baptised Jesus.



This picture is the altar piece of the Oratory and was commissioned by Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt. It is the largest painting produced by the artist (12 feet x 17 feet) and the only one known to be signed. This painting is described as his all-time masterpiece. The painting depicts the moment in Biblical history where St John is beheaded by King Herod to satisfy the blood lust of the seductive dancer, Salome. The scene is the courtyard of a prison and the grisly murder is observed by two other prisoners looking through a grille, while a young woman and an old crone stand ready to take the severed head and put it on the waiting platter. The blood flowing from St John's neck drips towards the bottom of the frame and in its red stream, Caravaggio signed his name.


Michelangelo Merisi, Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi was born in the town of Caravaggio (about 30 kilometres from Milan) in 1571. Caravaggio was, in fact, the first great representative of the Baroque movement. He was the archetypal rebellious artist and led a turbulent life. His life, it is said, matched the high-drama of the chiaroscuro style that his paintings became famous for.

In 1606 whilst working in Rome, one of his many brawls resulted in Caravaggio killing a young man called Ranuccio Tomassoni. With a price on his head, Caravaggio fled and headed for Naples where he would be outside the Roman jurisdiction and under the protection of the Colonna family. After just a few months, despite a successful period in Naples where he was given a number of important church commissions, Caravaggio left for Malta, the headquarters of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, arriving on the island in July 1607.

Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt invested Caravaggio as a knight of magistral obedience so taken was he at having an artist of such calibre as official painter of the Order. It was during this time that Caravaggio was commissioned to paint ‘The Beheading of St John the Baptist’ and ‘St Jerome Writing’, both of which are on display in St John’s Co-Cathedral.


Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt

This period of relative calm in his life was short lived, and by late August 1608, Caravaggio was arrested for causing trouble once again, this time badly wounding a high ranking Knight in another fight. Imprisoned at Fort St Angelo, disgraced and unable to paint, he used his inventive powers to plan his escape. Caravaggio’s incredible break-out took place in October 1608 and once again he was on the run. The Council, informed of his escape, immediately expelled him from the Order.


St John’s Co-Cathedral


After a nine month stay in Sicily, during which time he was trying to secure a pardon from Pope Paul V, Caravaggio returned to Naples and the protection of the Colonna family. His style and technique as an artist was still evolving and he enjoyed a productive time in his second spell in Naples. An attempt was made on his life, and an incorrect account of his death was reported in Rome. Although Caravaggio survived the attempt, his face was left seriously disfigured.


'Salome with the Head of John the Baptist',Caravaggio depicted his own head on the platter

In an attempt to build bridges, Caravaggio painted 'Salome with the Head of John the Baptist'. He depicted his own head on the platter and sent the work to de Wignacourt as a plea for forgiveness. In 1610, Caravaggio took a boat north to receive a pardon, thanks to powerful allies in Rome. What happened then is shrouded in mystery. The artist was reported as dead in a private newsletter (an avviso) dated 28th July. Three days later, another newsletter declared that the artist had died of fever. His body, however, was never found.

This picture of ‘St Jerome Writing’ looks upon “The Beheading of St John the Baptist” from the back of the vestry. It was painted for Ippolito Malaspina, a Maltese knight whose coat of arms is on the wooden panel to the right. He was connected by marriage to Caravaggio's patron Ottavio Costa and was a confidant of the Grand Master, who may have been used as the model for the saint (similarly Van Dyck was to use the sister of the Queen of England as model for the Madonna). The saint does indeed look like the knight in a recently discovered portrait by Caravaggio, who has been identified by some as Wignacourt himself.


St Jerome Writing, Caravaggio 1607

The composition is planned in terms of triangles. One rises from the table to the saint's head, another has its apex at the cardinal's hat on the wall to the left, a third recedes to the bedstead at the back on the right. This simple design helps convey an idea of simplicity. St Jerome has no halo, his workbench is rudimentary, he does not own any folios, he has one candle to see by, a crucifix to meditate on, a stone to beat against his chest, and a skull to remind him of his mortality. He is partly naked because he lives an eremitical life in the desert of Judaea. A steady light shines on his torso and picks out the red cloak round his legs. The source of the light is outside the picture, and can be interpreted as Christ, Light of the World.


Caravaggio's signature on the "Beheading of St. John the Baptist" before and after restoration. It is the only painting he ever signed


Awe is an expression too often used and consequently devalued. But it is an apt word to describe the effect of seeing Caravaggio’s great masterpiece, a painting which fills your mind as effectively as its huge size fills the end wall of the vestry church. A splendored setting filled with the spirits and bodies of the knights. In this context and watched over by St. Jerome “The Beheading of St. John the Baptist” will reduce you to silence and wonder. Travel to see it, its scale and impact can never be represented in a photo.

For the story of The Sovereign Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/03/knights-of-malta.html


For the story of the UNESCO Heritage site which is Valletta see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/05/valletta-and-grand-harbour.html

To see the city (also a UNESCO World Heritage site) which the Knights left on 1st January 1523 when defeated by Suleiman the Magnificent see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/03/rhodes-town.html




Valletta