Aristocracy · Art · Mores · People
Judith with the Head of Holofernes. Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1530. The model for this painting, as for many of Cranach's other works, was Princess Sibylle of Cleves. Cranach had been tutor to her husband, John Frederick, Elector of Saxony. John Frederick is also portrayed in the picture:
Mores · Society · People · Humour
The mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever, is a historian by training, and although he specialised in the Flemish national movement and salutes incorrectly, outside academic life he adores Rome and all things Roman. In the photograph he celebrates his election victory with Roman regalia: a standard with a golden
NB! · The East · Mores
Madrid · Observations · Mores · Reportage
Trying ajoblanco, the Spanish cold soup of raw almonds, in the Madrid restaurant of Agustín Lardy, named after a Spanish painter of the nineteenth century. Almond soup is, in essence, the same thing as satsivi. At the bottom of the plate sit a little fish and a little salad, and
Books · Mores · People · Humour
In his review of the 3rd edition of the translation of Krylov's fables by the British writer, translator and Slavist William Shedden-Ralston, Turgenev described an amusing episode from the life of Ivan Andreyevich Krylov: A large, heavy picture, hanging directly above the spot where Krylov usually sat,
Madrid · Monarchies · Mores · Society
On a Spanish morning news programme, the story of King Juan Carlos I and his mistress Bárbara Rey is under discussion. Let me try to recount this absorbing tale in brief. Juan Carlos I, now a king in retirement, abdicated in favour of his son in the summer of 2014.
Archive · Mores · Humour
One really cannot be so imprudent, even if one is living in 1932. A photograph from the album "Bauhaus" by Fritz Schreiber
Museums · Mores · Education
It Doesn't Get More Romantic. A small town museum in Canada has posted a photograph of the names Benny and Linda, carved into a school desk. The author of the inscription replied in the comments and told the story of his love. Benny fell in love with Linda
Art · Mores · Paris · People · Pop Culture · Humour
How Salvador Dalí Sold Yoko Ono a Blade of Grass for $10,000. Some episodes from the life of Salvador Dalí, for all their plausibility, may seem entirely apocryphal: a kind of definition of Surrealism itself. Yoko Ono and Salvador Dalí first met in 1969, when Ono and John Lennon
Art · Books · Museums · Mores · Paris · People
Portrait of the Italian Renaissance writer and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529), known as the author of The Book of the Courtier, which describes the court of Urbino in the form of a manual of etiquette. Castiglione gives particular attention to moderation and courtesy, regarding them as proof of civilisation.
NB! · Archive · Monarchies · Mores
Monarchies · Observations · Mores · Humour
More than four years have passed since Harold and Meghan left the royal family. Have you noticed how quiet and peaceful it has become? No grubby sensations, no vulgar scandals and, above all, it turns out that the institution of the British monarchy, with a history of more than a