The enchanting model of a dwarf elephant calf at the American Museum of Natural History is one of the sweetest things ever made by the exhibition department of any museum whatsoever. The calf is no larger than a pet dog, while the adult of this extinct species stood a mere 1.2 metres at the shoulder
"Madonna with Cherubim" was long considered the work of Giovanni Bellini, until in 1885, during restoration, features characteristic of his chief rival, and incidentally his relative, Andrea Mantegna, came to light. What misled viewers was a softness uncharacteristic of Mantegna. Despite the established title, the Madonna and Child
The silliest thing about this renaming is its poor timing. For when the Pushkin Museum was offered, as a gift, the greatest collection of contemporary art of the second half of the twentieth century, the collection of Peter Ludwig, the very reason for the refusal was the condition that the
Yeeeehaw!
The Comte de Guiche asked Vincent Voiture, a man renowned for his wit, whether it was true that he was married. Voiture gave no answer. But he came to the count after midnight, woke him and said: "I have come to tell you that I am married". De