Art · Observations · Society Pages

Rostan Tavasiev presents two space-themed exhibitions at Sistema Gallery

Two exhibitions by Rostan Tavasiev have opened at once at Sistema Gallery, both on a cosmic theme: "Asteroids and Comets" and "Planetary Nebulae". They are united in the artist's project entitled "A Catalogue of Works of Art in Outer Space". The very

Archaeology · Art · Museums · Observations · Rome

The Roman marble figure of the 2nd–1st centuries BC, found in the Baths of Titus and showing a youth biting the hand of his companion, was at first known as the Cannibal

The Roman marble figure of the 2nd–1st centuries BC, found in the Baths of Titus and showing a youth biting the hand of his companion, was at first known as the Cannibal. One man bites another man: who can he be, if not a cannibal? But in 1760 the

NB! · Archive · Art

Dionysus Slays the Alchemist Who Drew a Shadow out of a Ray of Light

Dionysus slays the alchemist who drew a shadow out of a ray of light. Apollo bears his soul up to the sun. From an alchemical treatise of the 17th century

Art · Books · Monarchies · People

Tolkien kept the drawings of Ingahild Grathmer, who turned out to be the Queen of Denmark

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Proves to Be One of the Acknowledged Illustrators of "The Lord of the Rings" Tolkien once received a letter from a certain Ingahild Grathmer, who sent him her drawings, inspired by the universe of Middle-earth. Although he preferred his books to have

Icon-style illustration of a grey-haired haloed saint with a sword facing a crowned skeleton in a black cloak, with a fortress between them.

NB! · Archive · Art · Books

Sergey Yukhimov’s illustrations for “The Lord of the Rings” in the 1993 Russian edition

The greatest illustrations to "The Lord of the Rings", 1980-1990, by Sergey Yukhimov. They were published in the 1993 Russian edition

Aristocracy · Architecture · Art · Observations · Humour

Ceramic pavilion “Wedding Cake” by Joana Vasconcelos at Waddesdon Manor

The 12-metre ceramic pavilion "Wedding Cake" by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. The present day. Waddesdon Manor in the English county of Buckinghamshire, property of the Rothschild Foundation. The author calls her work a building, an immersive sculpture. At first glance it appears a rather striking structure,

Art · Museums · Paris · Rome

Paris, Rue Saint-Merri

Judith and Holofernes, Michelangelo da Caravaggio, collection of the Palazzo Barberini

NB! · Art · People

Hans Baldung, paintings on the theme of the three (seven) ages of woman and death

Hans Baldung, paintings on the theme of the three (seven) ages of woman and death. 1520s–1540s.

Miniature of a teacher in an orange robe seated in a courtyard, surrounded by pupils with books and sheets on a patterned carpet beneath white domes.

The East · Art · Books · Education · Humour

A schoolroom scene in a miniature from Saadi's “Gulistan” manuscript, 1567/8

Disorder in the classroom. A pupil does not obey his teacher. A tale as old as time. From a manuscript of Saadi's «Gulistan», 1567/8, attributed to Mir Ali Husayni of Bukhara

Faith · Art · Books

When, like the high-soaring Icarus, we beat our way up towards the heavens, the Almighty singes our wings a little, that we may fly somewhat lower

When, like the high-soaring Icarus, we beat our way up towards the heavens, the Almighty singes our wings a little, that we may fly somewhat lower. Icarus, the son of Daedalus, who knew not by what means to bring his son out of the labyrinth (that is, out of

NB! · Faith · Art

The Italian painter of the Bolognese school Guercino, presumably a portrait of Francis of Assisi, 1618

Painting of the rear facades of brick and white stucco townhouses with chimneys and slate roofs under a pale sky.

NB! · Archive · Art · London

View behind the houses on Harley Street in London, a 1925 painting by Algernon Cecil Newton

Behind the houses on Harley Street, London. 1925. Algernon Cecil Newton