The word charlatan changed from meaning a street vendor to meaning a deceiver

Both of these images are called "The Charlatan". The word, derived from the verb "ciarlare", to chatter, to speak in a pompous manner, originally denoted street vendors who drew attention to their wares with colourful patter, wares that were often connected with the prolongation of life, the strengthening of health and the preservation of beauty. In time the word "charlatan" came to be used exclusively for a person who deceives others for gain

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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

The word charlatan changed from meaning a street vendor to meaning a deceiver

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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