Archaeology · Art · Museums · Heritage

The discovery of the Riace bronze warriors by a humble diver (or, to be precise, almost simultaneously with the discovery of the same sculptures by four boys), though reckoned among the most precious finds, remains a rather mysterious one

The discovery of the Riace bronze warriors by a humble diver (or, to be precise, almost simultaneously with the discovery of the same sculptures by four boys), though reckoned among the most precious finds, remains a rather mysterious one. Even 47 years on, the circumstances in which the statues were

Archaeology · Art · Cinema · Observations

The Riace Warriors, bronze Greek statues found in Calabria on 16 August 1972

Do you remember one of the most touching scenes in the drama "Call Me by Your Name", with the bronze handshake of Elio and Oliver? André Aciman may well have drawn inspiration from the story of the discovery of the Riace Warriors on the shore of the Ionian

Black-and-white reproduction of a portrait: a man in a wig and robe sits holding papers, a table with books beside him. White lines outline the face, hands and table.

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Portrait of a man in a robe and wig beside a book-laden table, composition diagram

Coming Up · Art · Museums · Paris

For those who do not intend to crawl out of the house today, I suggest a visit to the Getty Museum's online exhibition on artsandculture.google, devoted to eighteenth-century pastel painting, namely to how pastel competed with oil, and artists began…

For those who do not intend to crawl out of the house today, I suggest a visit to the Getty Museum's online exhibition on artsandculture.google, devoted to eighteenth-century pastel painting, namely to how pastel competed with oil, and artists began to make large pastel canvases from

Interviews · Museums · Heritage · Nature

Nadezhda Kulakova describes the treatment of ancient trees in the Khmelita park

Today, for the Museum Affairs series, we spoke with Nadezhda Kulakova, Director of the Griboyedov Khmelita State Museum-Reserve of History, Culture and Nature. Nadezhda Viktorovna kindly told us how Khmelita looks after its ancient trees, which were already fully grown in Griboyedov's day. - - We reported on the

NB! · Aristocracy · Heritage · Nature

Treating the Ancient Trees in the Park of the Griboyedov Estate of Khmelita

Archive · Moscow · Museums

The website of the State Historical Museum now offers a million digitised exhibits from 16 collections: precious metals, fine-art materials, archaeological monuments, early Russian painting, wood and furniture, ceramics and glass, numismatics and…

The website of the State Historical Museum now offers a million digitised exhibits from 16 collections: precious metals, fine-art materials, archaeological monuments, early Russian painting, wood and furniture, ceramics and glass, numismatics and much else besides. And that is not all: the museum promises to add a further 5

Museums · Ethnography · Humour

Do you know what these ultra-fashionable nineteenth-century boots from the museum of the French département of Ardèche were for?

Do you know what these ultra-fashionable nineteenth-century boots from the museum of the French département of Ardèche were for? No, not for some forgotten martial art or a frightening provincial pastime, but for a peaceful and useful business: the husking of chestnuts and acorns, which are eaten. Incidentally,

NB! · Architecture · Moscow · Observations

Moscow's Nineteenth-Century "Modern": A Residential House of the 1830s-1850s in Maly Kislovsky Lane

Moscow's nineteenth-century "modern": a residential house of the 1830s-1850s in Maly Kislovsky Lane. It is the only mansion in the city in the form of a tower, strongly reminiscent of Victorian building, and was turned into an apartment house at the start of the

Observations · Humour

Two common sayings about history, its judgment of all and its refusal of the subjunctive mood

People say that history will judge us all. They also say that history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood. Rather mutually exclusive claims, wouldn't you say?

Aristocracy · Art · People

Diplomat Pyotr Potemkin and the working method of portraitist Gottfried Kneller

Portrait of Pyotr Ivanovich Potemkin (1617-1700), who served under Alexey Mikhailovich, Feodor III, Ivan V and Peter I, by Godfrey Kneller, English painter at the court of three English kings: Charles II, William III and George I. Potemkin was, one might say, a diplomat by inheritance: his grandfather had

Architecture · Art · Moscow · Observations

Five podcasts about Moscow to listen to while walking around the city

A little more on the subject of podcasts: they really are universal, and can prove useful in the most varied circumstances. Here is a selection of podcasts to listen to on a walk. For example, “A Walk around Moscow with Kazimir Malevich” invites you to go round the places where

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