Good morning everyone,

This week some great stuff about horses has come to my attention, presented here for you to enjoy.

Let's start with the story of Phyllis on Aristotle. A favourite in the medieval age, this is the story of Aristotle telling his protege Alexander that if he (Alexander) wanted to amount to anything in philosophy he should be spending less time contemplating his (again, Alexander's) hot wife and more time contemplating the general good. Alexander's hot wife, Phyllis, was understandably extremely cross about this and set out to seduce Aristotle, a successful venture which culminated in her riding Aristotle around as though he were a little horse while Alexander watched.

Anyway the artists of several eras piled onto this story in particularly lurid ways, equipping Phyllis with whips and, in the case of Cranach the Elder, a smirk that makes me feel quite uncomfortable:

I enjoyed this article on the trope and hope you will as well:

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries fear of powerful women and their ability to overturn accepted social and cultural norms breathed new life and significance into the story. At the same time a market for mass produced images was emerging throughout Europe. Artists quickly adapted the story and produced countless drawings, woodcuts, engravings, and paintings of Phyllis on Aristotle, making it one of the most common and recognizable visual expressions of the power of women topos.

http://dhayton.haverford.edu/blog/2016/02/19/the-curious-history-of-phyllis-on-aristotle/

This piece on learning to draw horses is a really sweet read. It's a comic by the way, and there are also some good horse facts in there that you can click through to read:

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/how-to-draw-a-horse

Finally, some career #content for you all. Here's Reductress with their highly useful tips and tricks to stop mentioning horses in your job interviews:

Plan ahead so you have an idea of what you’re going to say. It’ll flow so much more easily if you have a loose script in mind of “I spent ten years in PR before I moved over to copy writing.” That way you won’t suddenly find yourself describing the summer you spent with Moony, a dappled mare, before she got sold away to a new owner in Montana. Remember, unless you’re applying to work at a stable, these anecdotes will not help you land the job.

http://reductress.com/post/four-little-tricks-thatll-help-you-stop-mentioning-horses-in-job-interviews/

Have a great weekend!

Alex.