Saturday, February 5, 2005

Spotlight: "Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits" -- an exhibit of portraits painted by the master in the 1650s and 1660s, opened this week at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The exhibit will remain open until May 1, when it moves to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Quote: "The best history is but like the art of Rembrandt; it casts a vivid light on certain selected causes, on those which were best and greatest; it leaves all the rest in shadow and unseen." -- Walter Bagehot

Word of the day: chiaroscuro -- the use of light and shade in art. Such a technique is readily apparent in some of Rembrandt's most famous paintings, such as "The Night Watch." (© )

Today's History:

• United Artists -- founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith (1919)
• Yankees -- purchased 20 acres in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium (1921)
• Court packing -- FDR tried to enlarge the Supreme Court (1937)

Today's Birthdays:

• Belle Starr -- outlaw of the Wild West (1848-1889)
• Adlai Stevenson -- twice-unsuccessful candidate for president (1900-1965)
• sportsmen -- Hank Aaron (71), Roger Staubach (63), and Roberto Alomar (37)
• actors -- Christopher Guest (57), Barbara Hershey (57), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (43)