Sigmund Freud's Study and Desk - Full of Art Objects + FOOD: How to Microwave a Baked Potato

ART:
Sigmund Freud's
Work Space and 
Desk was Full
of Art Objects

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, moved to London from Vienna after the Anschluss (Nazi invasion) of Austria in 1938. Although he was already 80 years old with just 1 year before his eventual death, together with his family he was able to bring over his entire collection of furniture and antiques. 

Taking a closer look inside his awe-inspiring study you can observe the Biedermeier furniture alongside his collection of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Oriental antiques. 

Amongst the legion of pint-sized figurines on his desk lies a 19th century Qing Dynasty table screen, figures from Greece’s Hellenistic period (300-250B.C.), the head of Osiris (Egypt, third intermediate period, 1075-716B.C.) and Isis suckling the infant (Egypt, late period, 664-525B.C.). The shelves containing books of his favorite authors (Goethe, Shakespeare, Heine, Multatuli, Anatole France) are adorned with Egyptian death masks from the 19th Dynasty (1292-1190B.C.) 

He was clearly a widely read and cultured man who even went so far as to describe himself as a ‘godless Jew’. Throughout his life he travelled to many an archaeological site and often used his collection as a metaphor when comparing our changeable and fading conscious thought to the unchangeable unconscious thought, 

“I illustrated my remarks by pointing to the antique objects about my room. They were, in fact, I said, only objects found in a tomb, and their burial had been their preservation.” 

To the right of his desk stands his illustrious and original analytical couch, made enticing with its array of plump velvety cushions. Freud would himself sit out of view behind his patient in a green tub chair and listen to their ‘free association’. 

He would start each of his sessions by asking his patient to say whatever came into his/her head without any conscious selection, something that has become a fundamental method of psychoanalysis today. 

Freud's diplomas and awards in his study.

(Source: Text Wikipedea, photos coutesy of the Freud Museum, London)

FOOD:
How to Microwave
a Baked Potato

If you are craving a satisfying baked potato, but don't have the time to bake it for 30 or 40 minutes, the microwave version is as good as the traditional baked version yet ready to eat in only 10 minutes.

Ingredients
1 large russet potato

Directions

1. Wash the skin of the potato, then dry with a paper towel.
2. Prick several times using a fork.
3. Place the potato on a microwave-safe plate.
4. Cook on full power for 5 minutes.
5. Turn over and continue to cook for about 4-5 minutes more (depending on your size of potato the cooking time will vary).
6. Cut a slit opening in the top and push the ends to bloom.
7. Add your favorite condiments.
8. Serve.

Until later,

Jack

ARTSnFOOD is an online magazine dedicated to providing artists and collectors around the world with highlights of current art exhibitions, and to encourage all readers to invest in and participate in "The Joy of Art"® and culture. All rights reserved. Concept, Original Art, Text & Photographs are © Copyright 2015 Jack A. Atkinson under all International intellectual property and copyright laws. Any gallery, event, museum, fair or festival photographs were taken with permission. Images © individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees.