Architecture · Faith · Art
Carved and gilded altar in the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Malmö
Behind the most sumptuous Baroque carving lie the most ordinary painted boards. The altarpiece of St Peter's Church in Malmö
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Archive · In the Press · Mores · Pop Culture
American women in 1916 and the fashion for dresses with backs bared to the waist
Of late American women have been seized by a sort of décolletage mania. Evening dress has, in the shortest possible time, descended quite literally to the limit beyond which it is more than risky to go. Nor is low dress worn only at soirées and dinners: it is worn in
Science · Mores · Humour
How people watched the solar eclipse of 12 August 1654
Observing a Solar Eclipse in the Seventeenth Century. On 12 August 1654, people looked at the sun through smoked glass; the more resourceful used a mirror, and the very cunning a dish or a bucket of water.
NB! · Art · Monarchies
"Two Crowns", 1900, Sir Frank Dicksee
Faith · Art · Books
When the Day of Pentecost Had Come, They Were All Together in One Place
When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as
Archive · Faith · The East · Society
Orthodox Christians in Palestine in 1900
During the ethnic cleansing of the Nakba, a consequence of the creation of the State of Israel, Jewish militias expelled more than 750,000 people from Palestine in 1948, including 90,000 Palestinian Christians, and destroyed or forced the closure of around thirty Christian churches
Books · Observations · Mores
Chatwin on buying an object as a Grail quest and a collector's calm view of things
The English journalist Bruce Chatwin on collecting:. The acquisition of an object is in itself a quest for the Grail: the hunt for the prey, the moment of recognition, the decision to buy, the loss, the fear of financial catastrophe, the dark cloud of uncertainty ("Is it a fake?
Moscow · Society · Nature
Sobyanin: Moscow to Have More Beach Places Than Sochi
Our river will grow cleaner and cleaner with every year. I hope that soon it will be possible to swim in the Moskva River along its entire length
Archive · Faith · Society · People
The Hermitage Announced on the Cover of Life Magazine, 26 March 1965
Martin Luther King and Archbishop Iakovos, the only clergyman not of African descent to take part in the march against racial discrimination. Cover pull-quote: Russia'a Fabulous Art Museum The Hermitage
Books · People · Pop Culture
Brunello Cucinelli has dedicated his new campaign to books and written a very touching letter about the place of books in his life:
I am in love with books. I love them for the knowledge they give, for the fragrance they exude, for the rustle of turning pages, which seems to caress the soul. Like Voltaire, I have a weakness for old volumes and I treasure the words of their authors, whose wisdom
NB! · Books · Nature · Humour
A goose differs from a gander in that if you seize her by the head she does not cry out, especially a young one
Books · Rome
Yes, some day the young shall hear of a sword stained with a brother's blood, appointed to shine in victory over the foe, and of a generation already dwindled in number by its fathers' depravity
“To Caesar Augustus. Ode 2”, Horace, translated by Afanasy Fet