Style1½ inches thick (3.75 cm) Product Details Artist grade canvas, archival inks, wooden stretcher bars, and UVB protective coating
AvailablityUsually ships within five business days. ArtistBill Barber CollectionRhine
Description Between Bingen and Bonn, the Middle Rhine (Mittelrhein) flows through the Rhine Gorge. The stretch of the Rhine between Bingen and Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and many wine-villages. The Middle Rhine is also a wine-growing region, and is often referred to as The Romantic Rhine.The Mouse Tower (Museturm) is a stone tower on a small island in the Rhine, outside Bingen. The Romans were the first to build a structure on this site. It later became part of Franconia, and it fell and had to be rebuilt many times.Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored the tower in 968. The story of how it came to be called the 'Mouse Tower' comes from a folk tale. This popular legend goes as follows: Hatto II was a cruel ruler who oppressed and exploited the peasants in his domain. He used the tower as a platform for crossbowmen and demanded tribute from passing ships, shooting their crews if they did not comply. During a famine in 974 the poor people were without food, and Hatto, having all the grain stored up in his barns, used his monopoly to sell it at such a high price that most could not afford any.The peasants were getting angry and organizing to rebel, so Hatto devised a cruel trick. He promised to feed the hungry people and told them to go to an empty barn and wait for him to come with food. The peasants were overjoyed and praised Hatto heartily, and all of them journeyed to the barn to await his coming.When he showed up with his servants he ordered the barn's doors shut and locked, then set the barn on fire and burned the peasants to death, saying 'They are like mice, only good for eating up the grain.' When Hatto retired to his castle, he was besieged by an army of mice. He fled the swarm and took a boat across the river to his tower, hoping that the mice could not swim. The mice followed him and rushed into the river by the thousands. Many of them drowned, but even more crawled onto the island. There, they ate through the tow
Bill Barber, Mississauga Member Since September 2008 Artist Statement I'm a retired teacher and curator with a love of books and photography. I enjoy playing with images until they appear to my liking.
I live in Streetsville, Ontario, Canada, which is part of the the City of Mississauga located immediately west of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario. I live with, Karen, my wife of 37 years and with my pug, Georgie. I have two daughters who have presented me with three grandchildren so far. There is one more grandchild due in July