Inherently, a work titled Pornocrates exudes scandal, intrigue, and allure. Created in 1878 by Felicien Rops, the gouache and pencil piece was displayed at the Les XX exhibition of 1886. Felicien Rops was a wealthy Belgian-born artist who collaborated alongside the likes of Claude Monet, Odilon Redon, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Rops’s works articulated more diabolical motifs and grotesque sexual imagery than both his Impressionist and Symbolist contemporaries. As a result, his artworks are far less circulated and research surrounding Rops is scarce. This does not mean he was the only artist creating taboo media, however. Decadent art which depicted debauchery, excess, and sin was fairly present, especially in France. Rops collaborated with many playwrights, authors, and poets at the end of the 19th century, and was surprisingly popular among wealthy socialites of Paris and Brussels. Rops participated in many coalitions of artists across Europe, but the Les XX society is arguably one of the most significant. Artists, authors, and musicians exhibited their works and celebrated individualized aesthetics rather than a unified, nationalistic style. The group rejected a specific political or regional identity, which contributed to the notion of Belgium as a center for the Avant Garde. Rops’s display of Pornocrates elicited shock and commotion among the artists for its uncensored, sexual critique of high society men and women. This project aims to synthesize some of the scholarship surrounding the display of Pornocrates and serves to further highlight the significance of Decadent art in the Fin de Siècle period.

Between 1527 and 1587, three major pattern books were published in Venice: Giovanni Antonio Tagliente’s (c. 1465-1527) embroidery pattern book, Matthio Pagano’s (1515-1588) cutwork lace pattern book, and Federico de Vinciolo’s (active in Paris c. 1587-99) needlework lace pattern book. These three books represent the first of their respective types, and the beginning of a growing social attention toward lacemaking and its use as textile ornament. Each book provides patterns for different types of needlework: embroidery as applied decoration to fabric, cutwork (punto tagliato) as an evolution of embroidery, which involved cutting away the foundation fabric and filling it in with design, and finally, needlework lace (punto in aria), as freely formed design without a fabric foundation. The Venetian attention to dress and outward physical expression necessitated the use of increasing amounts of ornament—prompting the evolution of needlework into punto in aria designs which the city became famous for. Relevant through its additive aesthetic, public demand and commercial opportunities, lace became an essential export for the city of Venice and many women participated in its production, whether within their private homes, in workshops, or in convents. This essay will explore Venetian negotiations with myth and materiality through lacework as an ascendant medium, examining sixteenth-century pattern books and conduct literature as sources of tension and syncretism between written codification and social practice.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive, debilitating, neurodegenerative disorder where patients lose their ability to think and carry out tasks. This disease is characterized by aggregation of the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide. Cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are derivatives of marijuana which have been shown to possess neuroprotective properties. Experimental work in this field, is limited in its scope when probing mechanisms driving the phenomenon of Aβ peptide aggregation. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been used to understand the intra-peptide interactions and potential impact of cannabinoids. In order to understand the effects of cosolvent structure on the mechanism of amyloid aggregation, we used classical molecular dynamics simulations of Aβ derived switch-peptides in the presence of model cannabinoids (i.e. CBD and THC). Aβ peptides transform from functional peptides into beta-sheets and therefore impact function within the brain. We tracked beta-sheet formation as a function of time to understand if cannabinoids sterically inhibit interactions between and within peptides. Preliminary results indicate that CBD and THC demonstrate a trapping effect on aggregated peptides. The impact of synthetic cannabinoids are much less understood, prompting additional interest in investigating the interactions among these molecules.