Through a combination of modern-day technology and a painter’s artistic touch, this photojournalist, invited by Insight Vacations to document its Easy Pace Russia journey, is transported back in time to September 7, 1812 as French and Russian forces collide on a massive amphiteatre-like clearing near tiny Borodino.

I’m standing on a circular platform at the top of the Battle of Borodino Panorama Museum in Moscow looking down and panning right and left, taking in every detail of a gigantic 360-degree oil painting created by Franz Roubaud, a panoramic master, in 1911.

This tableau of bloodshed, standing 15m tall and stretching 115m around, is impressive. Along with Roubaud’s brush strokes, the added dimension and depth of dramatic set recreations in the foreground, special lighting and realistic sound effects make me feel as if I’m actually there, standing alongside Pierre, Leo Tolstoy’s naive, unworldly hero from War and Peace, witnessing the bloodiest battle of the Napoleonic Wars.

Nearly 250,000 French and Russian forces answered the call that sunny, September day, but when the last cannon sounded and the final saber rattled, nearly 75,000 brave souls had perished on the battlefield.

Napoleon himself summed up the battle best: “The most terrible of all my battles was the one before Moscow. The French showed themselves to be worthy of victory, but the Russians showed themselves worthy of being invincible”.

What was left of the Imperial Army of Russia retreated, burning every hamlet, village and town in its wake, while Napolean’s equally depleted, but tactically victorious, Grande Armée continued its march to Moscow, some 115 km (70 mi) away, only to find it, too, deserted and ablaze.

Holed up inside the Kremlin for five long weeks, Napoleon waited impatiently for an official surrender from Alexander I, Emperor of Russia, but it would never come. Totally frustrated and weary, Napoleon limped back to Paris, in the middle of a harsh Russian winter, leaving behind nearly three-quarters of his original 600,000-manned invasion force dead, strewn about the countryside.

Celebrated historian Oleg Sokolov observed that the significance of the battle came much, much later. “The importance of Borodino,” he noted, “is by literature, by history, by poetry. It’s not so important strategically.”

Mikhail Lermontov wrote a poem, Borodino, that’s read and recited by every Russian schoolchild. Tolstoy made the battle the focal point in his aforementioned epic novel. And, 19th century symphonist Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the world-renowned and easily-recognizable 1812 Overture, complete with cannon fire, that today accompanies elaborate, choreographed pyrotechnics that light up the sky above the annual Fourth of July concert on the Mall in Washington, DC.

The Battle of Borodino, the event that signaled the beginning of the end for Napoleon and, to a lesser degree, the conclusion of my visit to the Panorama Museum, the very last stop on this week-long, Easy Pace Russia journey. I just wish it were the overture and not the finale.

Go here for detailed information on Insight’s six journeys to Russia, as well as more than 100 other premium and luxury-escorted routes around Europe, or call toll-free (888) 680-1241, or contact your travel agent.

Do svidaniya!

The post Easy Pace Russia: The Battle that Inspired an Overture (Dispatch #17) appeared first on Traveling Archive.

True Value

They wanted a painting about chocolate so my original concept was to have a dark background with just Chesire-cat-like teeth in the middle but it was too simple so I put a little more of the face … then a little more of the hands, etc. and soon my visual prank evolved into a full-blown digital painting.  So it was a total surprise when I won first place for that painting at the La Habra Art Gallery last Saturday.

I’ve been learning a VALUE-able lesson. Two Mondays ago, I was asked to critique 3 paintings by Vincent Van Gogh in an article for Travelingboy.com [CLICK HERE]. That’s when I started thinking about the value of art.  Saturday,  I was surprised to win 1st place at the Art Gallery. Last Monday, a business friend asked me a special favor to do a caricature of his grand daughter … he paid me less than even the cost of the frame.

Vincent Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive. His “worth” increased by the millions after death (now some think his value has been highly exaggerated). You see it wasn’t until someone influential said his paintings were any good that the crowd increased what they were willing to spend for his original brushstrokes.  [Which brings us to another phenomenon — printed photographic copies of his paintings don’t cost that much yet they deliver (practically) the same visual impact. Recently, while doing caricatures for a Halloween event, my original ink caricatures had less demand than my digital (multiply-able) renditions. Why is that?]

I’ve been praying for a friend who’s undergoing a depression. How does one measure one’s worth? By the hours he labors? By the many drops of blood, sweat and tears? How about a paycheck? Is a lawyer more valuable than a doctor? Is the president more inherently valuable than the citizen who elected him?

Is there no absolute true price for anything or anyone? Prices change according to economic times and according to the situation. It can be very depressing to believe that no one understands you or thinks you are important. However, one can always find comfort in our TRUE ABSOLUTE VALUE which is how God sees us. What God sees in us does not fluctuate. Look at the birds in the air. God values us more than the simple sparrows … more than any other animal or any painting or anything. Remember, even while we are/were such a mess … even at our worst, God sent us His son. If that doesn’t make you special, you’re listening to the wrong crowd.

A Van Gogh = Millions of dollars.
A chocolate painting = Cash reward and accolades.
A digital caricature = Less than the cost of a frame.
My worth under God’s eyes = Priceless.

TGIF people!

Joke of the Week

Thanks to Peter Paul of S Pasadena, CA for sharing this joke.

Don’s Puns

Funny Video

Giant Turkey

(Could have been shorter)
Sent by Tom of Pasadena, CA

Parting Shot

Thanks to Don of Kelowna, B.C.  who shared these:

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