Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage · Paris · Saint Petersburg

One of the most beautiful bridges in Paris, the Pont Alexandre III, built to celebrate the strengthening of the diplomatic alliance between France and Russia

One of the most beautiful bridges in Paris, the Pont Alexandre III, was built to celebrate the strengthening of the diplomatic alliance between France and Russia. Incredibly costly, difficult to execute and superbly decorated, the Alexander Bridge remains to this day one of the principal sights of Paris. Construction ran

Archive · Art · Books · Mores

Illustrations of craftsmen from a fifteenth-century manuscript commissioned by the Mendel family of Nuremberg, founders of an almshouse for elderly masters

Illustrations of craftsmen from a fifteenth-century manuscript commissioned by the Mendel family of Nuremberg, founders of an almshouse for elderly masters. Later, other families who owned workshops also commissioned similar registers of their craftsmen. The mail-maker bends wire, while a finished shirt of mail hangs limp on the

Art · Heritage · Science

X-rays reveal a portrait of Miró's mother by Cristòfol Monserrat beneath his abstract painting

An X-ray of Joan Miró's painting Pintura ("Painting", 1925–1927) has shown that it was painted over a portrait of the artist's mother, writes Artguide. In recent examinations using X-rays, specialists discovered beneath the paint layer of the work a portrait of

Art · Observations · Society

Norman Rockwell’s 1951 painting “Spirit of Kansas City” and the fortunes of the city

This painting by Norman Rockwell looks as though he were depicting a builder of communism as the builders saw themselves. But no: the work of 1951 is called “The Spirit of Kansas City”. An aeroplane flies calmly through the sky, while a man stands confidently on the ground. Legs planted

A young man in glasses and a black sweatshirt with handwritten Russian text stands by an open window, one hand behind his head. Outside are a mansard roof, chimneys and blue sky.

NB!

Young man in a black sweatshirt at a window with rooftops behind him

Cinema · Observations · People · Pop Culture

Do you remember Natasha's lullaby from the film "Prophet", in which Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin plays the great Yura Borisov?

Do you remember Natasha's lullaby from the film "Prophet", in which Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin plays the great Yura Borisov? It turns out that this piercing song was both written and performed by Nadya Gritskevich, that very indie legend of the 2010s. Nadya and I met some

NB! · Society · People · Pop Culture · Humour

In case anyone has forgotten, this is Justin Trudeau in his youth, back when blacking up with boot polish for a masquerade had not yet been declared an unpardonable incantation

Books · Society · People

Dostoevsky on revolution in Russia, atheism and the destruction of churches

The International has ordained that the European revolution shall begin in Russia. And begin it will... For we have no reliable defence against it, either in the government or in society. The revolt will begin with atheism and the plundering of all wealth. They will start by deposing religion, demolishing

Architecture · Monarchies · Heritage · Paris

The Vendôme Column in Paris from its erection in 1807 to its destruction in 1871

This is how the Vendôme Column might have looked, erected by Napoleon in 1807 in honour of the victory at Austerlitz. The associations are no accident: the form does indeed match the message. The original in the end differs little from the prototype, save for a somewhat widened viewing platform

Archive · Art · Pop Culture

Stephen Meisel's masterly Napoleonic campaign for Dolce&Gabbana FW2006, styled by Brana Wolf

Stephen Meisel's masterly Napoleonic campaign for Dolce&Gabbana FW2006, styled by Brana Wolf. The cast of models is stellar, though not one of them was ever crowned. Gemma Ward, Julia Stegner, Iselin Steiro, Snejana Onopka, Ines Krnokrak, Coco Rocha, Lily Donaldson, Morgane Dubled, Catherine Balf, Chad Dunn,

NB! · Aristocracy · Archive · People

Felix Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, at Different Periods of His Life

Art · Museums · Heritage · People

Painting by Lavinia Fontana found in storage of a museum in northern France

In the storeroom of a small museum in northern France, a painting by the Renaissance artist Lavinia Fontana has been found. The picture had been lying about in storage for the past 150 years. Fontana is considered one of the first professional women artists in Europe, and the discovery of

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