Upholstered suite of the Duchess of Aumale in mourning drapery after her death in 1869

The thing is that, by ancient tradition, after the death of a king or a member of the royal family the courtiers and the palace were clothed in mourning violet (dark lilac). The upholstered suite from the apartments of the Duchess of Aumale, wife of Prince Henri of Bourbon (Orléans), was likewise re-draped in deep violet after her death in 1869. Caroline died in England, where she had taken refuge with her family after the overthrow of the monarchy in France in 1848. It turns out that this mourning has only now come to an end

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

Upholstered suite of the Duchess of Aumale in mourning drapery after her death in 1869

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s