NB! · Moscow · Observations · Humour
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The East · Interviews · Museums · Society · Saint Petersburg
Universal museums in the East and perceptions of the Hermitage in the West
I read Mikhail Piotrovsky's recent interview with the journal International Affairs, and here are some extracts. On the role of the East in the present-day cultural field: «It is no accident that in the world that has now revived and is called the East, universal museums are
Faith · Art · London · Museums · Observations
Lorenzo Lotto's drawing of a priest in his chambers, held by the British Museum
A priest in his chambers. The room is very much like mine: five hundred years have passed, yet the furnishings and the mood have survived. Lorenzo Lotto, 1491-1556. British Museum
Faith · Observations · Mores
Black vestments and symbols of mortality on the Catholic All Souls' Day
In Catholicism, on the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, it is the custom to wear black vestments with special decoration. This particular liturgical occasion is accompanied by the symbolism of skeletons, the fires of purgatory, decay, transience and even coffins. Modern culture would call this aesthetic “gloomy”, which, however,
NB! · Archive · Books · People
Tolkien used Tengwar, the script he devised for the legendarium of The Lord of the Rings, for entries in his weekly desk calendar
The East · Art · Museums
Knife with a blue glass handle and an ivory sheath inlaid with precious stones
Ottoman Empire, 18th–19th centuries.
NB!
Painted portrait of a black-and-white dog on a red cushion
Art · Museums
Study of a Dog (1861–1862 or 1875), Gustave Courbet
Langmatt Museum, Baden
NB! · Archive · Art · Paris · People
The Letters of Édouard Manet, 1879–1880, Embellished by the Artist
NB! · Faith · Art · Observations
Have You Ever Heard of Mexican Baroque?
Have you ever heard of Mexican Baroque? Before you are two paintings on the theme of the Annunciation by Cristóbal de Villalpando of Mexico City, the most brilliant representative of Mexican Baroque art.
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Mores · Humour
King George V of England Mows the Lawn under the Watchful Eye of His Mother, the Dowager Queen Alexandra
NB! · Archive · Cinema · Pop Culture
The Whole Crew of "The Sicilian Clan" on Board One Aeroplane: Henri Verneuil, Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura
The whole crew of "The Sicilian Clan" on board one aeroplane: Henri Verneuil, Jean Gabin, Alain Delon and Lino Ventura. A stunning cast for a legendary film. A breed of men that has almost been taken out of production.