Architecture · Faith · Art · Observations · Heritage · Society · Paris · Rome
For those who skipped a great many lessons, let me remind you that we began October with an introductory course in alchemy, and then spoke. 📌 about works of art stolen by the Nazis 📌 about the fate of Pompeii after the eruption of Vesuvius 📌 about why one should not refuse Donald
Art · Books · Observations · Humour
After galloping with me for half a day, she left me beside a forest The eighteenth-century traveller has saddled up the heavily feathered future: he dreamed of wings, but got an ostrich. The engraving from the book Voyages imaginaires, songes, visions et romans cabalistiques turns out to depict an
Art · Humour
Aren't you a darling ☺️. A very small dog. Jamie Wyeth, 1980
Archaeology · Faith · Geography · Books · Science
Plutarch, On the Pythian Oracles Yet neither Plutarch nor Herodotus speaks of these "divine vapours" at Delphi unambiguously. The haze from the rock is rather taken as a metaphor for otherworldly revelations. At least, such is the pragmatic reading of the legend. All the more so since the
Art · Society · People · Humour
In 1974, one of the most surreal events in the history of modern art took place in Vancouver, when Mr. Peanut, an anthropomorphic groundnut in a top hat and monocle, stood for mayor of the city. Behind this persona stood the artist Vincent Trasov, a member of the art group
Art · Heritage · Humour
The Concierge Who Found the Missing Picasso. A painting by Pablo Picasso, reported missing in Granada on 6 October, has turned up in the possession of a hapless concierge. Among the works of art that arrived for an exhibition, Pablo Picasso's "Still Life with Guitar" of
Faith · Observations · Heritage · Humour
An eighteenth-century bell has been stolen in France. Not from a church, not from a museum, but from a storage depot belonging to the municipal services. That is, a depot of sorts, and not quite a depot either. The kind of place where they take whatever is no longer
NB! · Art · Humour
NB! · Archive · Science · Mores · Humour
A memo from an early twentieth-century advertisement for electrotherapy: despair and dejection will do you no good, but electricity will. And, you know, they did not lie
Art · Palaeontology · Nature · Humour
Portrait of a Nanotyrannus. Wayne Barlow, 1995. Nanotyrannus lancensis is a disputed genus of dinosaurs. Some prefer to classify them as a separate species, others maintain that these are simply young, undersized specimens of Tyrannosaurus, only without wifi and emotional instability
Cinema · Observations · Humour
You're right, I've always known about man. Judging by the evidence, his wisdom goes hand in hand with his madness The Forbidden Zone was once a paradise. Your kind turned it into a desert, many centuries ago You smiled, of course: an orangutan as chief scientist
Architecture · Art · Moscow · Heritage
The sculptures were created by Matvey Manizer as part of the ensemble of the station, which opened in 1938. The restoration project provides for the recreation of lost elements, the application of protective compounds to prevent wear, and the conservation of the bronze surfaces. The work is scheduled for completion