The Ancient World
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance
Times of Reason and Revolt
The Victorian Century
The Modern Age
-- By Trystan L. Bass
Inspired Homer, taught Sophocles, created theater. Designed marble temples, coliseums, aqueducts, roads, and numerous sculptures. Wove stories of Hindu gods and goddesses for Vedic scribes to record. Wallowed in the unspoiled beauty of African wilds.
Kept a few bastions of Art alive, and inspired many an illuminated manuscript. Hid behind Church artisans to escape the worst of the rising Inquisition. Haunted choir lofts and imbued tapestries and religious icons with finesse and glory.
Renewed the cultures of Europe and spurred exploration of other continents in pursuit of exotic luxuries. Sat at Shakespeare's side, encouraging him to ever greater heights of wit and wisdom. Played muse to Dutch Masters. Patronized the burgeoning theaters, and bought and ran the new printing presses. Mixed paints with Michelangelo as he put the finishing touches on the Sistine ceiling. Influenced the winds of fashion in the Italian, French, and Spanish courts. Followed the Silk Road to China, some bringing back gorgeous garments and others staying to indulge in Ming arts and poetry. And some were waylaid in Mogul India and encouraged Arabic artists to create intricate architectural gems like the Taj Mahal.
France was always the center of the Toreador world, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries! The Sun King built Versailles under Toreador direction and with Toreador artistes and who else could host such fabulous parties? They ruled all fashions from Paris and dictated what the western world wore. Philosophers, satirists, and playwrights all heard the siren song. But the glorious fête was ruined by Brujah Anarchs and the French Revolution. It is a transgression we can never forgive...
Created Romanticism, embracing a certain English lord in the process. Swam through opium dreams and absinthe nights. Dominated the newly industrialized publishing industry and popularized both high- and low-brow theater and music. Spread fashion to the masses. Invented photography. Inspired the Pre-Raphaelite, Symbolist, Decadent, and Aesthetic movements. Reveled in the excesses and neuroses of the Belle Époque and Fin de Siécle.
Influenced the Modernist trends in art, particularly Cubism and Surrealism. Inspired the Lost Generation writers in the 1920s. Reveled in the Hollywood of the 30s and 40s. Hung out in coffeehouses with the Beatniks of the 50s. Embraced the flower power and free love of the 60s. Danced with abandon at the discos of the 70s. Swathed themselves in the materialism of the 80s. Currently toying with the so-called cyber art of the 90s as well as defending the relevance of art in general.
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Webmistress: Trystan L. Bass URL: http://www.trystancraft.com/toreador/