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Art · London · Museums · Paris · Humour
How many summers, how many winters: a heartfelt reunion of brothers-in-arms
Embracing infants from Nicolas Poussin's painting "The Nurture of Bacchus" in the Louvre collection. The canvas is currently undergoing restoration, which is a good moment to recall the dispute over its attribution: the version held by the National Gallery in London is sometimes named as the
Faith · Art · London · Monarchies · Museums
Angels in lapis-lazuli robes and white chaplets of roses, gathered about the Virgin and Christ Child on the right-hand panel of the Wilton Diptych, the celebrated monument of Gothic panel painting of the late fourteenth century, have become a riddle for a
The principal explanations come down to the personal iconography of King Richard II, who is himself portrayed kneeling on the left-hand panel with his patron saints John the Baptist, Edward the Confessor and Edmund the Martyr. Eleven was the number of gold coins that Richard offered to the Virgin
Archive · London · Monarchies · Mores · People
The Dowager Duchess of Windsor, a.k.a. Wallis Simpson, in England in May 1972, before the funeral of her husband, the former King Edward VIII
Wallis does not merely look lonely but frightened: she could hardly fail to dread a meeting with the Queen Mother, whom she had not seen for years. But in all those 36 years Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had kept no hostility towards her sister-in-law. On the other hand, meeting
London · Mores · Pop Culture · Humour
Barely 150 years ago, a man in a hat like this could be met on the streets of London, a hat that evidently set Philipp Plein upon the road along which he now speeds without turning aside
But the decoration of this headgear, unlike the designer flourishes of our own day, had a very precise and very intelligible meaning: it announced that the wearer of this item of wardrobe was a dentist and would rid you of toothache. Without any anaesthetic, naturally, but the 88 teeth fixed
Coming Up · Art · London · Museums
Titian, Allegory of Prudence
Titian, Allegory of Prudence. The painting is usually read as a depiction of the three ages of man and the three tenses: past, present and future, a sign that prudence is acquired with the years. But who, in that case, are the dog, the lion and the wolf in this
In the Press · Interviews · London · Science · Society
Alexandr Lukashev, Director of the Institute of Parasitology, in a lengthy interview with Kommersant on the differences in laboratory practice involving animals between Russia and European countries, on what the life of a mouse is worth to a scientist, an
Alexandr Lukashev, Director of the Institute of Parasitology, in a lengthy interview with Kommersant, spoke about the differences in laboratory practice involving animals between Russia and European countries, about what the life of a mouse is worth to a scientist, and about the ethics of animal research in general. The
Interviews · Books · London · Monarchies · Observations · People
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, photographed by Holly Fernando for The Telegraph
From the interview we learn that she is now the author of 77 books (for children) and has at last written a novel for adults, Heart for a Compass, about the vicissitudes of court life in the Victorian era, told through the story of her great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu
Aristocracy · In the Press · London · Monarchies
The English press debates whether Prince Charles will defy the wishes of his late father: who is to inherit the title of Duke of Edinburgh, Edward, Earl of Wessex, as Prince Philip bequeathed it, or Charles after all, to whom it belongs by seniority?
It was said as long ago as 1999, immediately after his wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones, that Edward would receive his father's ducal title. Nevertheless, barely three months after the death of Philip Mountbatten, Prince Charles, according to an unnamed source, reminded those concerned that it is he
Faith · London · Mores · People · Humour
If you do not know which holiday can be marked today, or what occasion calls for raising a glass, I recommend turning to the legacy of the Dean of St Paul's, Alexander Nowell, whose name is associated not only with 42 years at the helm…
According to Thomas Fuller, on 13 July 1586 the venerable 69-year-old clergyman Alexander Nowell invented bottled beer (or ale), having found at his favourite fishing spot a stoppered bottle that he had left there in the grass several days earlier. On opening the bottle, Nowell discovered that the
Archive · London · Monarchies · Science · People
Yury Gagarin's Triumphal Reception in England: Jubilant Crowds in Manchester and London, an Exchange of Courtesies with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at the Admiralty, and a Reception at Buckingham Palace with Elizabeth II
Yury Gagarin's triumphal reception in England: jubilant crowds in Manchester and London, an exchange of courtesies with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at the Admiralty, and a reception at Buckingham Palace with Elizabeth II. As shown on British television
Archive · London · Monarchies · Society · People
Sixty years ago, from 11 to 15 July 1961, Yury Gagarin visited Great Britain
Sixty years ago, from 11 to 15 July 1961, Yury Gagarin visited Great Britain. As part of his world tour, Major Gagarin arrived in Manchester at the invitation of the local foundrymen, and not at all as an official state guest. Nevertheless, soon after his arrival he received an invitation