The Adorations

THE ADORATIONS–Curriculum Vitae

Geneva at the time of Calvin. Actually, shortly later; the milling action taking place in this engraving is the Escalade, the attempt on Dec. 12, 1602, by the Duke of Savoy to invade the irritatingly self-sufficient citadel of Calvinism. It was an utter failure and is celebrated as such in Geneva to this day, with costume parades, hot wine, and chocolate reproductions of the soup tureen that was emptied by a doughty Genevese matron onto the heads of the invading Savoyards.

St. Michael the Archangel, as depicted by Guido Reni (1575-1642) in the Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini church (Church of the Capuchins) in Rome. The mighty angel's foot rests on Satan's head.

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). Seen here as a young man, although not as young as when Stefanie first meets him, in Linz, in 1907, at the age of 17. Cursed with an overabundance of the artistic temperament but only a modicum of talent, he was mercurial, self-absorbed, and arrogant. Limited though his talents were, he would have made a good commercial artist or art teacher. But the not-so-wise men of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, by rejecting him twice, forced him onto another career path.

A Citroen SM like Gustave's. An Italo-French gem, designed by Pininfarina, powered by Maserati, and built by Citroen. A quirky classic, thought by some, including Gustave, to be one of the most beautiful cars ever built. It was certainly one of the fastest, capable of maintaining a cruising speed of 120 mph (200 kph) for hours on end. Built from 1970 to 1975; few survive.