This week, @shaka has offered the LMAC community a stirring photo of what appears to be a war-weary figure.
@shaka's Photo
I knew immediately the statue was not going to be part of my collage, but would inspire it. While it seemed important to capture the mood (as I saw it) of this statue, I wanted the message to be more forward-looking, less despairing. So I called upon Florence Nightingale, "The Lady with the Lamp", to help out.
Florence Nightingale as the Lady with the Lamp
Image credit: Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-29): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/wtaxxvvz CC-BY-4.0
Florence Nightingale earned the enduring love of her country for her service during the Crimean War. Since performing that service, she has earned the enduring respect and admiration of millions across the world because of the healthcare reforms she promoted.
The Crimean War (March, 1854-Frebruary, 1856)
The First Shot of the War, April 6, 1854
Richard Henry Nibbs (1816-1893)Public domain
The Crimean War has been called the first modern war. Combatants had the benefit of so many new, and improved weapons. Mass produced rifles. Bessemer shells, and Bessemer guns. Floating mines. And armored assault vessels with long-range weapons.
Charge of the Heavy Cavalry Brigade, 25th October, 1854
Credit: W. Simpson del. ; E. Walker lith. 1854 Public domain.
The picture is an engraving made for Queen Victoria. It shows the Battle of Balaclava. It was at this battle that the famed 'Light Brigade' charged. In this disastrous miscalculation, out of a total force of 670, 110 British soldiers died, 160 were wounded, and 375 horses perished.
Getting wounded, in the Crimean War, was often a death sentence.
More Died of Wounds and Illness Than Fell in Battle
Barrack Hospital in Scutari
Credit: Wood engraving by Whitehead after R.P. Leit. Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-28): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/qh4yuyry CC-BY-4.0
By late 1854, it was evident that a devastating number of British soldiers were dying in the Barrack hospital at Scutari. An article (2010) in the American Journal of Public Health explains:"Ten times more soldiers were dying of diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery than from battle wounds".
The Secretary of War asked Florence Nightingale to bring a contingent of nurses to Crimea to see if the mortality rate could be lowered.
One of the Wards in the Hospital at Scutari
William Simpson (artist, 1823–1899), E. Walker (lithographer), Restoration by Adam Cuerden Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-21): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ssfhw5uq CC-BY-4.0
The conditions Nightingale found were appalling: "...there was no clean linen; the clothes of the soldiers were swarming with bugs, lice, and fleas; the floors, walls, and ceilings were filthy; and rats were hiding under the beds". (From The American Journal of Public Health).
Upon investigation, it was discovered that, in addition to all its other difficulties, the hospital had been built over a sewer.
Burial Ground at Barrack Hospital in Scutari
Credit:Coloured lithograph by Dickinson after Precivsi. From Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-28): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/c3txfh6q CC-BY-4.0
Florence Nightingale brought to her task at Scutari an ideal combination of skills. She was first of all compassionate. It was said that long after other staff had gone to bed at night, she would walk the wards and tend patients. It was soldiers in the wards who gave her the name, 'Lady with the Lamp'.
Florence Nightingale Tending Sick Soldiers at Scutari Hospital
Credit: Illustrated London News, February 24, 1855. Public domain
However, Florence Nightingale was more than a compassionate human being. She was "one of the most prominent statisticians in history".(From The American Statistical Association) She had insisted as a child that she be instructed in math, although this was not recommended for girls(!). As a nurse, she used data to help her understand the pattern of illness and death. This data also was helpful after the Crimean War when she became actively involved in healthcare reform, both civilian and military.
Diagram of the Causes of Mortality in the Army in the East
Credit: Florence Nightingale,1856. Public domain. This chart was submitted to Queen Victoria as part of Nightingale's report on her Scutari experience and also as support for reforms she hoped to make in healthcare delivery.
Florence Nightingale received accolades for her service during the Crimean War and for her contributions afterwards. She did pay a price. She herself became severely ill while in Scutari and never fully regained her health. She lived the remainder of her years (died in 1910) a semi-invalid. Despite her illness she remained a formidable force in medicine.
In 1860 she founded the first professional nursing school at St. Thomas Hospital
Florence Nightingale with Nursing Students at St. Thomas Hospital
Credit: Former BBC. CC license 4.0
It would be impossible in the space of a blog to do credit to the life of this remarkable woman. An article in Clinical Infectious Diseases attempts to sum up her achievements: "Florence Nightingale's influence today extends beyond her undeniable impact on the field of modern nursing to the areas of infection control, hospital epidemiology, and hospice care".
My Collage
When I saw @shaka's photo, it seemed to me the statue was of a woman. It was a war-weary figure that looked out at the water with perhaps dismal design. I thought immediately of Florence Nightingale. I had to remove the statue of the despairing (it seemed) figure and replace it with a forward-looking Florence Nightingale. (This wasn't easy. There were many steps.)
I replaced the background, to place Florence in a war setting, where there was evident danger.
(The goat and owls were ideas dispatched--she used a goat for milk while in Crimea and had a dearly loved owl at home.)
Finding the right figure to place at the center of the blog was a challenge. The statue I settled upon expresses what I wanted to say.
After all that was done, I played with lighting. Enhanced the explosives in the background and added a lamp to the Florence statue). On the way to this collage there were a couple of GIFs, I rejected. Here's one:
I decided quiet understatement was more appropriate.
Elements, all public domain:
Florence Nightingale statue
Lamp
Soldiers
Background
Paint3D, GIMP and Paint were used as tools for resizing, lighting, etc.
Thank you @shaka for the work you put in to make LMAC a vibrant community. Each one of these collage exercises is for me not only a creative exercise but also a learning experience.
Please readers, take a look at @shaka's blog to see how others interpreted this week's template photo. If you'd like to join in (yes, do!), we have a school run by @quantumg to help you along. This very talented gentleman answers questions outside of class, also :)
Dear @agmoore
So much sensitivity in this publication and your collage.
I'm fascinated by the story of Florence Nightingale. The Crimean War was a horrific war.
Your image speaks for itself. It tells me that the anonymous warrior was not in your idea. That wars persist and that more Florences are needed in the world.
The world needs faces!
Her lamp is not for walking between hospital beds but for guiding people to more humane and kindly paths (my appreciation).
I'm very touched by the collage!
Thank you very much, dear @marcybetancourt. There is little "art" I think in my collage, but I think emotion and thought do come through. I'm very glad. Nurses are among my favorite people. Florence Nightingale was quite a nurse. And war, of course--any war--is a tragedy. Uncharacteristically serious for me :))
I wish you all the best in the runoff tonight. The collage you made this week is one of your best (I think--at lest to my eyes).
Hello @agmoore, this is an unfamiliar collage of yours, not so peaceful at all. I think it's wonderfully successful and I realize that you're always good for a surprise.
This one is a winner!
Wonderful. 😎
Thank you,@muelli. This is perhaps more of a political statement than I usually make on Hive. War, the cost of war and people who pay that cost--this is something that is a core concern of mine. I put my fantasy aside for this one. Blame @shaka--his picture did it :))
Good luck to you and your alter ego (I've looked but not commented yet). Both amazing designs.
Hello friend, a very interesting story that the nurse Florence Nightingale had a great job with with great vocation and very human care in caring for all the sick products of the war. He was a person guided by God to appease the suffering of the soldiers. Excellent.
Thank you friend for visiting my blog and for your wonderful comment. I'm impressed especially by this statement:
Florence Nightingale believed she was doing God's work. She believed God had spoken to her and she held to that her whole life. It was a pleasure to write about her.
Hope you and your family are well and peaceful.
Wow, I love this 100% friend. This is awesomely beautiful. 👌👌👌👌
Thank you very, very much. I wanted to create a picture that reflected the compassion of Florence Nightingale. That compassion is a beautiful thing :)
I like the idea behind the collage
!discovery 35
Thank you @phage93! Very much appreciated :)
:)
This is so beautiful, the images and everything just blended so perfectly. Nice one
Thank you very much for appreciating my collage. Sometimes we make a picture that says exactly what we want to say. That happened here. Thanks again for your kind words.
❤️
Un buen trabajo amigo, mucha suerte!
Thank you very much for the kind words! Much appreciated :)
Great collage you put together! Your realistic collage certainly brings the effect of war on human life to the forefront, AG.
Thanks for reminding us of the efforts of the compassionate nurse Florence Nightingale and the work she did to help modern medicine.🙏
Thank you my friend. I lack the artistic finesse of other participants, but there is always a thought behind the collage. This time,it was a really nice thought. I appreciate your visit and support :)
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Thank you, @discover-it, for discovering my blog!
I read your post before going in to take a closer look at your collage because, although I had heard of Nightingale, I knew very little about its history. It is impressive. On the other hand, the symbol of the lamp is very powerful, very appropriate for the woman in whose light it is associated.
Your work combines very well with the thoughts you make in the article.
It must be said that you tell this story very well, with very well chosen and beautiful graphic references.
A hug!
Thank you very much. I realize the blog doesn't explain what she did. For the sake of the record I have to go back and add a paragraph. Florence Nightingale deserves so much respect. She saved and improved so many lives, and she showed such courage. I'm glad you find my collage does her story credit.
Thank you for the generous assessment of my collage and for visiting my blog. Very warm regards, and a hug back :)
Thank you very much. I surprise myself, often. I very much appreciate your visit to my blog and your kind words.