Books · Society

The Big Book literary prize can now be won by an author only once

The Bolshaya Kniga (“Big Book”) literary prize has changed its rules. From now on, the prize may be won only once. That is to say, the case of Yevgeny Vodolazkin, who became its laureate three times, in 2013, 2016 and 2023, or of Leonid Yuzefovich, who received the prize in

NB! · Aristocracy · Art · Books · Humour

A Fourteenth-Century Rave, or the Visconti Hours of Gian Galeazzo

Architecture · Faith · Heritage · Paris

Statue of Saint Christopher destroyed, cathedral made Temple of Reason in the French Revolution

The Statue of Saint Christopher in Notre-Dame. The colossal statue of Saint Christopher, dated to 1433 and standing opposite the pillar by the west entrance of the Cathedral, was destroyed during the French Revolution. The Cathedral was turned into a "Temple of Reason". Inside it they set

NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Saint Petersburg

The daughters of Nicholas II and his son Alexei, May 1917, Tsarskoye Selo

Archive · Faith · Books

The Image of God’s Arm and Muscle as a Sign of Power in Biblical Texts

Archbishop Platon, in his Easter sermon of 1780, speaks of God's strong hand and high arm. The hand and the arm are an image of power in the biblical texts. God's arm is usually stretched out and high when He delivers Israel, or strong when, in

NB! · Observations

Good morning, and have a lovely day!

Under a coffered museum ceiling, a mirrored disc and an angular metal form hang on thin wires; their shadows fall on the grey wall.

NB!

Suspended metal constructions in an exhibition hall

Architecture · Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations

A Masterly Exhibition of Francisco Infante Opens at the New Tretyakov

A masterly exhibition of Francisco Infante has opened at the New Tretyakov. "Metaphors of Infinity" is a colossal retrospective of Infante's entire oeuvre, from the earliest works to the newest series. What strikes one first is the extraordinary architecture: no walls at all, every work hovers

NB! · Observations

Let Us Sit and Be Silent

Archive · Art · Society

Poster for the Blue Bird, one of the best-known Russian cabaret theatres in Europe, by Ivan Bilibin

The Russian theatre was founded in Paris in 1921 and run by Yakov Yuzhny, at one time celebrated as a compère and teller of Jewish stories. Yuzhny toured extensively with the Blue Bird, which was enormously popular in Germany, but by the 1930s something had to be decided: to practise

Observations · Pop Culture · Humour

Beach outfit of wool and silk and a hat with Egyptian motifs

Next in line: a double daiquiri with ice. The beach ensemble: loose blue trousers of fine wool and a silk top. In the original hat of palm fibre you will notice Egyptian motifs. Come now, have you noticed? And what if it were to come into fashion, and at the

Oil portrait of a dark-haired bearded man seated on a chair in a black coat and white jabot, with a red flower on his lapel.

Art · Observations · People

Painted portrait of a bearded man in a black frock coat with a red flower

Ivan Bilibin at twenty-five, portrait by Boris Kustodiev. Admit it: you never pictured him like this either!

Alexandr Radayev