Architecture · Faith · Art · Heritage · Paris

Stained Glass of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and the Relics of the Royal Palace on the Île de la Cité

The Sainte-Chapelle, a small Gothic chapel on the Île de la Cité in Paris, within the grounds of the former Royal Palace, is famous precisely for its outstanding stained glass. The magnificent decoration of the chapel had to match the grandeur of the sacred relics kept in its treasury,

Archive · Faith · Paris

Snap me with Notre-Dame!

Snap me with Notre-Dame! Have you? Have you snapped it? Paris, 1952

NB! · Faith · The East · Art

The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family, as Imagined by the Chinese Artist Ren Yifang

NB! · Faith · The East · Ethnography

Hell among the Indians, Naraka, lies at the bottom of the earth, but souls are condemned to remain there only for a time, depending on their guilt, after which they may leave it in the shape of "unclean" beasts

Architecture · Faith · Art · Heritage

Head of Christ, a fragment of the crucifix from the Basilica of San Bernardino in L'Aquila, Abruzzo: the only surviving wooden sculpture, or rather fragment, by the architect and sculptor Lando di Pietro

In 1944, as the Allied forces were advancing towards the north of Italy, a bomb destroyed the basilica, including the crucifix that stood on the high altar. Of the sculpture only the head, parts of the knee and the left hand survive. In one of the knees and in the

Faith · Art · People

Leonardo da Vinci's Saint John the Baptist of 1513 and his pupil Salai's version

Here are two St John the Baptists. One is by Leonardo da Vinci, 1513; the other is by his pupil Salai. According to a popular legend, da Vinci painted John the Baptist from his favourite apprentice, nicknamed Salai. Salai's features, however, are also detected in other works by

Sepia photograph of an elderly man in round thin-framed glasses looking downward.

Archive · Faith · Books · Observations · Humour

Excerpt from Joseph Brodsky's notebook dating from 1970

The Last Judgement is the Last Judgement, but a man who has lived his life in Russia ought by rights to be admitted to paradise without further ado. From Joseph Brodsky's notebook, 1970

Coming Up · Archaeology · Faith · Art · Museums

On 16 October the Museum of the International Numismatic Club will open the exhibition "Byzantine Symphony"

On 16 October the International Numismatic Club's Museum will open the exhibition "Byzantine Symphony. Treasures Earthly and Heavenly". The history and art of ancient Byzantium will be told through an integral part of the artistic culture of the Middle Ages: coins. A most significant event in

NB! · Faith · People · Rome · Humour

Pope Francis Drops In for a Cup of Coffee

NB! · Faith · Art · Paris

Andrei Rublev's Trinity on a Prayer Book of the Church of Saint-Sulpice

Blue starry vault and painted walls of the nave of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, seen from below.

NB! · Archaeology · Architecture · Faith · Paris

Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, the city's oldest church, which gave its name to the district

The oldest church in Paris, the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which gave its name to the Faubourg Saint-Germain. Parts of the church preserve elements of the building of the 11th and 12th centuries. To the left of the altar stands a statue of the Madonna of the

NB! · Faith · Art · Observations

In the Environs of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

In the environs of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery. A painting by Levitan and my own recent photograph