Architecture · Art · Moscow · Observations

How high relief differs from bas-relief, as shown by a Moscow metro composition

I do not understand why everyone is writing about the return of the bas-relief with Stalin at Taganskaya station, when it is a HIGH RELIEF, not a bas-relief: two fundamentally different kinds of sculptural image. Let me explain the difference. A high relief (haut-relief, or alto-rilievo)

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One Too Many

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Art

"The Last Judgement": a fresco by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, painted in 1885–1896 for St Vladimir's Cathedral in Kyiv

"The Last Judgement" is a fresco by Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, painted in 1885–1896 for St Vladimir's Cathedral in Kyiv. The artist later painted a picture on the same subject for the Church of St George in Gus-Khrustalny

Faith · Observations · Society · Rome

The cardinals' oath of secrecy and the reliability of reports on the conclave of Leo XIV

In these days many pieces have appeared investigating how exactly the conclave went. Original hypotheses are advanced as to how, in what conjunction of circumstances and under which stars Pope Leo XIV came to be elected. For the most part it resembles the intriguing plot of a popular film. Let

NB! · Faith · Observations · Education · Pop Culture · Rome

Pope Leo XIV opens a social media account in Latin

Pope Leo XIV has started a Twitter account in Latin, and it is magnificent! A splendid step towards popularising the Latin language

Brooch made from a bird's foot with orange-brown citrines in settings and an engraved metal cap, shown against a pale background.

NB! · Art · Museums · Mores

Victorian bird's foot brooch with citrines at the Walters Art Museum

A brooch of bird's claw with silver-mounted citrines: a tribute to the Victorian fashion for Scotland's cultural heritage and for historicism. 1860-70s. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

Art · Mores · Society · People

Eric Pickersgill photographs people posing with phones removed from their hands

A Striking Statement by the Photographer Eric Pickersgill: the Series Removed. People have fused with their devices swiftly and irreversibly. At first, personal gadgets were very convenient helpers: they solved everyday tasks, made it easier to keep in touch with loved ones, to store and pass on information, to take

Observations · Science · People

Large Hadron Collider experiments turn lead into gold nuclei lasting fractions of a second

News from the alchemists. Scientists have succeeded in turning lead into gold. The breakthrough was made possible by experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. For the moment, the gold nuclei thus formed exist for only a fraction of a second before decaying at once. Let us call it poetic that

Painting of a round tent with a conical roof and orange fringe, with hanging cabins carrying people. Men in robes and turbans sit on slopes around it; a man in a red robe stands in the cente

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Carousel with swing boats and seated onlookers on a steppe, painting

A smiling woman in a trench coat, headscarf and rubber boots stands with a polka-dot umbrella in the doorway of a building with timber beams.

Cinema · Pop Culture · Humour

Woman in a trench coat with a polka-dot umbrella in a doorway, black-and-white photograph

Today's Weather Forecast from Sophia Loren. Raincoats on, umbrellas at the ready ☔️

Archaeology · Architecture · Heritage · Paris · Rome

“They say you have abandoned the idea of transporting Trajan's Column? To tell the truth, the undertaking would have cost us very dear”

«They say you have abandoned the idea of transporting Trajan's Column? To tell the truth, the undertaking would have cost us very dear» It beggars belief, but the French really did intend to carry Trajan's pillar off from Rome to Paris as a trophy during the

Faith · Observations · Mores · Rome

Vermentino, Ripasso and Trentodoc for the Pope's dinner and the toast to the new Pope

Thanks to a photograph of the menu from the first supper of Leo XIV with the cardinals at the Casa Santa Marta, we know that the new Pope also has a very good taste in wine. Take note of the wines the Pope himself drinks with his supper of courgette

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