Archaeology · Faith · Art · Humour

Anyone spending Valentine's Day alone will be under the patronage of the Lion-Headed Goddess, who is also standing alone at this party in the sanctuary of Thinissut, glass in hand, though wrapped in the hem of a sumptuous dress of feathers from some marve

Anyone spending Valentine's Day alone will be under the patronage of the Lion-Headed Goddess, who is also standing alone at this party in the sanctuary of Thinissut, glass in hand, though wrapped in the hem of a sumptuous dress of feathers from some marvellous bird, and is

Painted portrait of a woman in a golden dress with two children looking out from behind her shoulders, in a dark wooden frame.

NB! · Art · Humour

Portrait of a Mother with Two Children by John Cooper, 1725

Goggle-eyed children have gatecrashed mummy's selfie. 1725, John Cooper

NB! · Archaeology · Art · Cinema · Madrid · Museums · Humour

And More on Amusing Coincidences

And more on amusing coincidences. Princess Leia and the stone Lady of Elche, 4th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Madrid

Art · Museums · Observations · Paris

We recently discussed the installation of new ventilation vents in the floors of Versailles, which can be viewed in different ways, both from the standpoint of improved comfort and a favourable microclimate, and from conservative considerations of preserv

We recently discussed the installation of new vents in the floors of Versailles for the ventilation system, which can be viewed in different ways, both from the standpoint of improved comfort and a favourable microclimate, and from conservative considerations of the immutability of the palace's appearance. Well, the

Art · London · Monarchies · Museums

Holbein's Whitehall mural of Henry VIII was destroyed in the fire of 1698

The best-known portrait of King Henry VIII today is a replica of a group portrait by Hans Holbein from 1537. The mural on the wall of the royal palace of Whitehall showed Henry VIII with his father Henry VII standing behind him, and, on the other side, Queen Jane

Art · Museums · Observations · Humour

Experts doubt that the Getty head is a Gauguin self-portrait

This sculpture was once considered a self-portrait of Gauguin, but a growing number of experts now agree that the head was in fact made by an unknown Polynesian puppet-maker in 1894. In principle, the Getty has money to burn, so it is not all that vexing that in

Art · Monarchies · Museums · Paris · People

Art historian Anthony Blunt, curator of the royal gallery and Soviet spy

1960: De Gaulle at the Nicolas Poussin exhibition in the Louvre with the Minister of Culture, André Malraux. The exhibition was organised by the Poussin specialist Anthony Blunt (pictured with Elizabeth), a man of remarkable biography. Blunt was a second cousin of Elizabeth II's mother through his own

Art · Mores · Humour

Portrait of Mrs Mary Lewin and pink hair in 18th century men's fashion

Fops of the eighteenth century would be greatly astonished to step into a branch of Sberbank on pension day: pink curls flit across the heads of grandes dames more often than they could ever have imagined. The more so as in those days pink hair was considered chiefly a masculine

Art · Observations · Mores · Pop Culture

Pink hair powder for hair and wigs in fashion in the late 18th century

Like other finest discoveries of mankind, pink hair came into fashion in the glorious eighteenth century. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, many dandies perfected their coiffures and full-bottomed wigs with the help of plain pink powder. Now and again I come across miniature portraits of that era

The East · Art · Paris · People

The grave of Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) at the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois near Paris

The grave of Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) at the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois near Paris. The idea of making the tombstone in the form of an oriental carpet covering the slab belongs to Nureyev's friend Enzo Frigerio, one of the leading designers of the Paris

Engraving of a crowned king in an ermine mantle on a canopied bed with fleurs-de-lis, with candlesticks and a cross before it.

NB! · Art · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Posthumous Portrait of Henry IV on His Bed of State, Engraving of 1610

Behold the tiny feet of Henri IV ☺️ Only bear in mind that here he is a corpse. Hardly the most flattering angle for a portrait, and a posthumous one at that. The king reclines on a bed beneath a canopy, in full dress and regalia, with candlesticks set all around

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