NB! · Archive · Moscow · Mores · People
Interiors of Andropov's flat on Kutuzovsky Prospekt, photographed in 1984
Andropov's flat at 26 Kutuzovsky Prospekt. The photographs were taken in 1984, after the death of the General Secretary
Alexandr Radayev
Monarchies · People
Marshal Ney, who persuaded Napoleon to abdicate, switched sides and was sentenced to be shot
Prince of the Moskva Michel Ney Tries to Win Back Napoleon's Favour. Brave soldier, triumphant victor, eminent commander and darling of France, Marshal Ney was the very man who had persuaded Bonaparte, his patron, to abdicate the throne, and had himself taken a seat on the military council
Art · Monarchies · People
Vigée Le Brun travelled across Europe without her husband, with her daughter, governess and an assistant
Incidentally, Marie Antoinette's court portraitist Vigée Le Brun took a lively interest in everything happening in the world, not only at Versailles, and travelled willingly. Moreover, she was a unique woman for her time, who journeyed across Europe on her own, without a male escort: her husband remained
Art · Museums
Franz von Stuck's “Wounded Amazon” and the sculptors' contest described by Pliny the Elder
The Wounded Amazon, Franz von Stuck, 1905. The image of the wounded Amazon is described by Pliny the Elder, who tells of a competition for the finest sculpture on the theme, in which the celebrated sculptors of the 5th century BC Polykleitos, Phidias, Kresilas and Phradmon took part. The statues
Science · Society · Nature
The 1900 bubonic plague outbreak in Glasgow and a new inquiry into the role of rats
The Plague of the Twentieth Century. The Third Pandemic flared up in Asia in 1855 and claimed millions of lives; several decades later it found an echo in Europe: in 1900, in Glasgow, 48 recorded cases of bubonic plague led to at least 16 deaths. Only a couple of years
Art · Museums · Observations · Mores
Ribera's Portrait of Magdalena Ventura and the Symbolism of the Spindle
To pose for Ribera, the 52-year-old Doña Magdalena Ventura was lodged in the palace of the Duke of Naples. It is believed that at this time she had just given birth to a child who, in the opinion of many art historians, is not depicted in the portrait:
Art · Museums · Mores · People
Jusepe de Ribera painted the bearded Magdalena Ventura for the Viceroy of Naples in 1631
The great wonder of nature, Magdalena Ventura of the town of Accumoli among the Samnites, commonly called the region of Abruzzo, in the Kingdom of Naples, aged 52 years. And it is noteworthy that at the age of 37 she began to grow hairy and sprouted a beard so thick
The East · Science · Ethnography
Chinese fire clock in the shape of a dragon with an incense stick and falling weights
This mysterious dragon-shaped boat is a Chinese fire clock, known since the 6th century. The principle is simple: an incense stick is placed in the dragon's hollow body and lit at the head. As it burns, it consumes the threads from which small weights are suspended at
Art · Museums · Observations
Cronus (Saturn) clips Cupid's wings as an image of time and carnal love
Pierre Mignard from the collection of Hélène and Guy Motais de Narbonne, shown at the exhibition of their collection in the Fine Arts Museum of Orléans. A naked man holds a nude child on his lap. What do you suppose this scene is really about? It looks for all the
NB! · Archaeology · Art · Museums · Rome
The Ludovisi Throne, 460-450 BC, found in the Gardens of Sallust in Rome in 1887
Archaeology · Art · Museums · Observations · Rome
The Ludovisi Throne of the 5th century BC and debate over who is shown on its relief
In the collection of the National Museum of Rome there is an extraordinary marble block with a relief of a half-naked woman rising with the help of two attendants whose heads and shoulders, regrettably, have been broken off. This monument of the 5th century BC is usually called the
Archive · London · Mores · People
Funeral of Admiral Nelson on 9 January 1806 and the boat-shaped hearse
At the funeral of the national hero Admiral Nelson on 9 January 1806, I was struck by the sumptuous hearse in the form of a boat, drawn by 6 black horses: the procession made its way from the Admiralty to Saint Paul's Cathedral. On the cornice of the