December 4 is the birthday of Austrian painter, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor RUDOLF HAUSNER (1914-1995). He has been described as a 'psychic realist' and 'the first psychoanalytical painter' (Gunter Engelhardt) To see samples of his work, CLICK HERE.

December 4 is the birthday of the poet RAINER MARIA RILKE ((1875-1926). He was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as a significant writer in the German language. His work is viewed by critics and scholars as possessing undertones of mysticism, exploring themes of subjective experience and disbelief. His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry and several volumes of correspondence

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On December 4, 1154, Nicholas Breakspeare became Adrian IV, the first and only English pope.

"According to Boso, Breakspear had to be forced "against his will" into the Papal throne. He took the name Adrian IV, possibly in honour of Adrian I, who revered St Alban and first granted the abbey of that name its privileges. It was, suggests Julius Norwich, 'wise choice, for energy and force were desperately needed.' Although he had been elected unanimously from among the cardinals, the role of the Roman people was ignored. Thus relations between the Pope and his city were poor from the beginning, as were relations between Adrian and the King of Sicily, who controlled much of southern Italy. Relations with the commune were so bad that Adrian was forced to remain in the Leonine City and was thus unable to immediately complete the enthronement ceremony, as tradition dictated, by making his adventus into Rome itself. In the event, Adrian was required to remain there for the next four months. As a result, although he had been consecrated, he had not been crowned in the ceremony dies coronae at the Lateran which gave him not his title but gave him feudal title of the papal lands. It is probable that, due to problematic relations with the Romans, he did not receive his crown until the following Easter.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On December 4, 1961, the painting Le Bateau (The Boat) by Henri Matisse, after hanging upside down for 47 days in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, was hung properly after a stockbroker, Genevieve Habert, pointed out the error to a guard who, in turn, told the museum's director. This is the painting right-side up.