Art · Museums · Observations · People · Rome
Statue of Pyrrhus (318-272 BC) in the Capitoline Museums, 1st century AD. Of course you remember the expression "Pyrrhic victory", but it is not the military past of this commander and ruler, so important to the history of Greece, that I wish to draw your attention to,
Architecture · London · Science · Education
Contrary to rumour, Isaac Newton has nothing to do with these moon dials at Queens' College. The curious panel appeared on a Cambridge wall in 1743, and to tell the time from it one did indeed need a university education. That is precisely why moon dials never became as
Art · Paris
Why was I born a slave? This heart-rending work by the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, made in 1868-70, was conceived as a sketch for a major commission: the fountain opposite the Observatory in Paris. Four female figures on the fountain personified the four quarters of the world:
NB! · Coming Up · Art · Museums · People
Since we are on the subject of châteaux, a reminder that until 2 September the Château d'Amboise is hosting an exhibition devoted to the death of Leonardo da Vinci. This year marks the 500th anniversary of Da Vinci's passing
NB! · Architecture · Observations · Heritage · Humour
When next I wax rapturous over the gardens and parks of the Moscow-region country estates, please remind me what the garden and kitchen garden of the Château de Villandry look like, for instance. And do remind me, while you are at it, to light a candle so that Russia
Aristocracy · Art · Mores · People · Humour
An unequal match, you say? The President of the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences, friend of Emperor Joseph II, seasoned diplomat, civil servant, and man of letters and poet of acknowledged standing in Europe, Franz de Paula Anton Count von Hartig (1758-1797), is suckled at the breast of his
Aristocracy · Heritage · Mores
The working chair of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, made by his serfs. Nikolai Borisych loved rarities and everything he had spotted on his many journeys (he visited the courts of numerous monarchs and counted Voltaire and Saint-Germain among his friends), and he would bring these things home and try
Aristocracy · Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Nature
When I wrote that Arkhangelskoye has nothing in common with Versailles, I was slightly mistaken. Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, great-grandson of the first baptised Yusupov, Abdul-Murza (Dmitry Seyushevich in baptism), who was himself a great-grandson of the founder of the line, the ruling sultan of the Nogai
NB! · Archive · Architecture · Nature
Some of the larches in the park at Arkhangelskoye are two hundred years old, and on plans from the early nineteenth century they appear as tiny saplings half a metre tall. The trees were planted so that their trunks would visually continue the palace colonnade
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Aristocracy · Architecture · Moscow · Museums · Observations
Arkhangelskoye was one of the first museum-estates in the country, and this year the museum marks its centenary. It must be said that both the parks and the palace building are in excellent condition. On several occasions, however, I have heard the estate of the Princes Yusupov called the
NB! · Art · Monarchies · Moscow · Museums · Observations