The Rokeby Venus is a painting by Diego VelĂĄzquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the National Gallery, London. Completed between 1647 and 1651, and probably painted during the artist's visit to Italy, the work depicts the goddess Venus in an erotic pose, lying on a bed and looking into a mirror held by the god of sensual love, her son Cupid. Numerous works, from the ancient to the baroque, have been cited as sources of inspiration for VelĂĄzquez. The nude Venuses of the Italian painters, such as Giorgione's Sleeping Venus (c. 1510) and Titian's Venus of Urbino (1538), were the main precedents. In this work, VelĂĄzquez combined two established poses for Venus: recumbent on a couch or a bed, and gazing at her reflection in a mirror. In a number of ways the painting represents a pictorial departure; through its central use of a mirror, and because it shows the body of Venus turned away from the picture's viewer. The Rokeby Venus is the only surviving female nude by VelĂĄzquez. The painting adorned the houses of Spanish courtiers until 1813 when it was brought to England to hang in Rokeby Park, Yorkshire. In 1906, the painting was purchased by National Art Collections Fund for the National Gallery, London. Although it was attacked and badly damaged in 1914 by the suffragette Mary Richardson, it was soon fully restored and returned to display. (more...)

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

• ... that 99 percent of Japanese municipalities collect and recycle steel cans despite not being required by law, giving the country one of the world's highest recycling rates for these cans? (Japanese recycling bins pictured)
• ... that Leo the Mathematician, called by some the cleverest man in 9th century Byzantium, invented a system of beacons to warn of Arab raids and a fabled levitating throne for the emperor?
• ... that after the Victoria Cross began to be awarded to Royal Air Force members, navy members who had won it were required to replace their traditional blue ribbons with red ones?
• ... that current Colorado Rockies minor league catching instructor Marv Foley is the only baseball manager to win championships in the International League, Pacific Coast League, and American Association?
• ... that Anna Vissi, who represented Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, has participated in the contest three times over a 26 year period?
• ... that Admiral Shigeyoshi Miwa commanded Imperial Japanese Navy submarine forces during the attack on Pearl Harbor?
• ... that the Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge in Torrance, California is used as a symbol on the patch of the local police department?
• ... that when rival colleague Zhang Yanshang suggested the Tang Dynasty chancellor Liu Hun be more silent, Liu commented that his tongue would not stop even if he were decapitated?
  
  Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

• The first successful tracheal transplantation using a tissue-engineered organ created from the patient's own stem cells is performed in Spain.
• Rebel forces in Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, withdraw to promote peace talks, while the United Nations Security Council votes on reinforcing MONUC peacekeepers (internal refugees pictured).
• Somali pirates capture the oil tanker MV Sirius Star, the largest vessel to date to be hijacked, off the coast of the Horn of Africa.
• G-20 leaders meet at a summit in Washington, D.C. to discuss the current financial crisis.
• Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 successfully lands the Moon Impact Probe on the lunar south pole.
• Three planets orbiting the star HR 8799 and one planet orbiting the star Fomalhaut are optically verified, making them the first extrasolar planets whose existences have been confirmed via direct imaging.
  Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

November 20: Zumbi Day in Brazil; Revolution Day in Mexico; Teacher's Day in Vietnam

• 284 – Diocletian became Roman Emperor, eventually establishing reforms that brought an end to the Crisis of the Third Century.
• 1820 – The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm whale.
• 1902 – While discussing how to promote the newspaper L'Auto during a lunch meeting in Paris, sports journalists Henri Desgrange and GĂŠo Lefèvre came up with the idea of holding a cycling race that became known as the Tour de France.
• 1945 – The Nuremberg Trials (defendants pictured) against 24 leading Nazis involved in the Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in Nuremberg, Germany.
• 1952 – The SlĂĄnskĂ˝ trial, a show trial against Czech General Secretary Rudolf SlĂĄnskĂ˝ and 13 other members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia was held.

• More events: November 19 – November 20 – November 21

  Archive – By email – More anniversaries...
  It is now 08:05, November 20, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this page