Books · Observations · Nature
There Are Insects That Die Immediately After Fertilisation
There are insects that die immediately after fertilisation. So it is with our joys: the moment of fullest delight, and they are gone! Søren Kierkegaard
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NB! · Art · Observations · Paris · People
French Post-Impressionist Édouard Vuillard becomes the author's new favourite artist
I officially have a new favourite artist. Allow me to introduce the French Post-Impressionist Édouard Vuillard (1868−1940)
Observations · Ethnography
The name Vyacheslav, its Slavic forms and its link to the name Stefan
It is curious that the Russian name Vyacheslav corresponds to the common Slavic name Wenceslas, popular among the Poles and Bulgarians. The name is occasionally found among Italians as well. Alexandra Superanskaya, a classic of Russian onomastics, points out that Wenceslas may have been a free rendering of the name
NB! · Books · Observations
Our usual failing is that only what is new and extraordinary makes an impression on us
Our usual failing is that only what is new and extraordinary makes an impression on us. The ordinary, what we see every day and make use of, however great, ingenious and excellent it may be, holds either little charm for us or none at all, and does not draw our
NB! · Observations
Surely that's how everyone works, isn't it?
Art · Observations · People
Painting after the Ovruch cathedral frescoes, set beside Matisse's “Dance” and Ivanov's study
Boys at Play, Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin, 1911. Dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Vrubel and Valentin Serov. The painting was made after the frescoes for the Cathedral of St Basil of the Golden Roof in Ovruch, among which was the biblical subject of Cain and Abel. Note the stone
Books · Observations
Umberto Eco on why one should keep more books at home than one can read
It is foolish to think that you must read every book you buy. It is equally foolish to criticise those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. That is like saying that you must use every piece of cutlery, every glass, every screwdriver or drill
Faith · Books · Observations
Greet one another with an holy kiss
Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.
Archive · Art · Observations · Paris
Haymaking on the Île aux Juifs in Paris in a Très Riches Heures miniature of the Duke of Berry
Happy start of summer, everyone! May June be as fruitful and bountiful as it is in the miniature from the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry, dating from the middle of the fifteenth century. The miniature already shows the haymaking, for Europe is, after all, a little warmer.
Architecture · Observations · Saint Petersburg
Continuing the Mondrian theme
Continuing the Mondrian theme. A standard kindergarten building of sand-lime brick, erected in 1961 on the Moika embankment in Saint Petersburg, was turned into a hostel in the 2000s and repainted à la Mondrian for good measure. It must be said that the result was rather pleasing, genuinely Dutch.
NB! · Moscow · Observations · Society Pages
Scenography of “The Marriage of Figaro” on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre
"The Marriage of Figaro" on the New Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre. Interesting set design, don't you think? Was the designer inspired by anyone, do you suppose?
NB! · Art · Observations · Science · Humour
Should you ever grow vain, compare yourselves, lying awake until two in the morning with a telephone in your embrace, scrolling through reels, with the seventeenth-century astronomer of the Dutch painter Gerrit Dou, who, with hourglass and globe, passes h
Should you ever grow vain, compare yourselves, lying awake until two in the morning with a telephone in your embrace, scrolling through reels, with the seventeenth-century astronomer of the Dutch painter Gerrit Dou, who, with hourglass and globe, passes his nights over a scientific treatise. Do you feel the