The East · Art · Books · Mores · Ethnography

Iranian Women of the Qajar Era in Japanese Woodcuts from the Book by the Engineer and Topographer Naoyuki Furukawa, Describing Japan's First Diplomatic Contact with Iran in 1880 and 1881

Iranian women of the Qajar era in Japanese woodcuts from the book by the engineer and topographer Naoyuki Furukawa, describing Japan's first diplomatic contact with Iran in 1880 and 1881. The mission was carried out under the leadership of Yoshida Masaharu. Besides recounting the incidents of the journey,

Archive · Art · Moscow · Society

OURS: The Turbulent Growth of Socialist Construction, Tens of Millions of Collective Farmers, the Energy and Enthusiasm of Millions, the Creative Enthusiasm of the Masses

THEIRS: Crisis, unemployment, hunger, destitution and the preparation of war against the USSR. And mind you don't mix them up! A two-part poster by the artists Gleb Grigoryev and Boris Iordansky on the not yet demolished Iverskaya or Voskresenskiye Gates in the wall of Kitay-gorod. Photograph

Art · Books · Observations

Marcus Aurelius in his “Meditations” on retreating into one's own soul

They seek retreats for themselves in the wilderness, by the seashore, in the mountains. You too pine for this. But how very commonplace it all is, when at any hour you please you may withdraw into yourself. For nowhere does a man retire more quietly and peacefully than into his

Archaeology · Architecture · Faith · The East · Art · Moscow · Museums · Heritage · Science · Paris · Nature · Saint Petersburg

Monthly digest for July on discoveries, restoration, art and science

Fet begged to “drive the living boat off with a single push”, to catch the fleeting before it vanishes. The monthly digest has a more modest task, though the same one: to hold on to what matters before the flood of news washes it away. Here is the main news

Art · Observations · Science · Society

An article in the journal of the American Psychological Association examines how accusing an artist of a crime changes the public's attitude to his works

Participants in the experiment were asked to assess a work of art, then told that its author stood accused of one crime or another, and asked to assess the work afresh, being asked along the way whether the display of this work ought to be restricted. The upshot was that

Faith · Art · Nature

Il Salvatore salvato, the Saved Saviour: a sculpture carved from the trunk of a centuries-old olive tree killed by Pierce's disease

The sculpture Il Salvatore salvato, the Saved Saviour, carved from the trunk of a centuries-old olive tree that died of Pierce's disease. The crucifix stands on the Salento peninsula, in a burnt olive grove from which, shortly before the fire, the trunk of the dead ancient tree

Art · Heritage · New York · Society

The heirs of the Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner continue to go to law over Modigliani's 1918 "Seated Man with a Cane", which they consider their rightful property, believing it to have been seized from the estate of their forebear during…

A couple of weeks ago the court ordered the present owner of the disputed painting, the art dealer David Nahmad, to return it to Stettiner's heirs. Now it has further ruled that the heirs are entitled to interest for the period preceding the judgment in the case of

Archaeology · Art · Books · Museums

The Blinding of Polyphemus at the Sperlonga Museum and the Rhodian Sculptors

Head of Odysseus from the sculptural group “The Blinding of Polyphemus”, found in 1957 in the grotto of the villa of the Emperor Tiberius at Sperlonga. The work illustrates the episode from the “Odyssey” in which the hero and his companions blind the Cyclops Polyphemus. Because of its stylistic closeness

Art · Museums · Society

In early September 2025 the US State Department, which is responsible for the American pavilion, formally notified the curator John Ravenal that his project with the artist Robert Lazzarini had been selected for the Venice Biennale

In early September 2025 the US State Department, which is responsible for the American pavilion, formally notified the curator John Ravenal that his project with the artist Robert Lazzarini had been selected for the Venice Biennale. The project was called History Maker, and its institutional partner and sponsor was the

Art · Museums · Observations · Heritage · Society

The vandals who tried to attach a propaganda photograph to Picasso's 1901 "Motherhood" and poured paint on the floor of the National Gallery have been found guilty of criminal damage

The vandals who tried to attach a propaganda photograph to Picasso's 1901 "Motherhood" and poured paint on the floor of the National Gallery have been found guilty of criminal damage. Sentence will be passed in the autumn. It is all, of course, very stupid and dreadful,

Black and white studio photograph of a nude figure seen from behind, seated on a folding tripod stool.

Archive · Art · People

Studio photograph by Ray Fisher, American photojournalist and portraitist

Training Postponed. A photograph by the American photographer Ray Fisher (1924-2020), taken in the second half of the twentieth century. Fisher was known above all as a photojournalist and the author of portraits of politicians, musicians and public figures, yet his studio work demonstrates a different approach

Art · Observations · New York · Humour

Mosaic of typical characters at Prince station on the New York subway

Saw a great big station, Stretched and said: "What station is this? Dibuny or Yamskaya?" And from the platform they said: "This is the city of New York. This is the city of New York, they say." Literal translation And, accordingly, a mosaic in the New