NB! · Moscow · Observations · Mores

A most fascinating discussion on whether the cook Lucien Olivier, creator of the famous salad, really existed, whether his name was Nikolai, whether the salad was invented long before his birth, and who lies beneath a gravestone bearing that name in a Ger

NB! · Observations

We have not, all things considered, strayed so very far from such affairs

A blue and white platter showing a bull in a landscape with a man standing on the right, displayed on a shelf with a red background.

NB! · Archive · Mores · Nature · Humour

The Durham ox, which died in 1807 weighing over 1,200 kg, appeared on plates

This Durham ox won posthumous fame, and a place on plates and postcards, merely by weighing a great deal. At the time of his death in 1807 he weighed over 1,200 kg

NB! · Faith · Art · Museums · New York

Resurrection, Giovanni della Robbia, 1520-1525, Brooklyn Museum

Old black-and-white photograph of a person with swept-back hair looking at the camera, wearing a thick coat with a wide collar. A wooden door is visible behind.

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Black-and-white portrait of a person in a heavy coat by a door

NB! · People

Mary Ann Webster (1874-1933)

Oil painting: a boy in a white cap and tunic drinks from a goblet, while beside him a smiling boy in a red skullcap and white surplice eats. Dark wood panelling, green walls.

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Two boys in a vestry: one drinks from a goblet, the other eats

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NB! · Art

A series of works by the German artist Volker Hermes: Hidden Portraits

Charcoal and pencil drawing of the Arc de Triomphe wrapped in silvery blue fabric and red ropes, with grid lines and handwritten measurements in the margins.

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Project to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in Paris: drawing by Christo

NB! · Art · Humour

The Swiss artist Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) shows the respectful distance one is expected to keep when strolling through a wood

NB! · Architecture · Heritage · Society · People

The Shakhmatovo estate, where Blok spent 36 of the 40 years of his life, was plundered in 1918

The Shakhmatovo estate, where Blok spent 36 of the 40 years of his life, was plundered in 1918. The furnishings and furniture were sold off at auction. In July 1921 the house and its outbuildings burned down, most probably set alight through carelessness or plain, dull-witted spite.