NB! · Art · Museums · Observations · Paris

A very familiar and pleasing air about the paintings of the young Franco-Israeli artist Nathaniel Herbelin, currently on show at the spring exhibition in the Musée d'Orsay

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

Peter III and I wish you all a good day, and that none of you be murdered by your own wife

Art · Moscow · Museums · Observations · Society Pages

The ceremony of the annual, as it turns out already twelfth, The Art Newspaper Russia Awards at the Pushkin Theatre

The ceremony of the annual, as it turns out already twelfth, The Art Newspaper Russia Awards at the Pushkin Theatre. We await a performance created jointly with artificial intelligence: it is reported that it took part in the staging on an equal footing with human beings. On an equal footing

A group of carpenters in hard hats waves from the rafters of Notre-Dame's new timber roof frame, with scaffolding and stone towers behind.

NB! · Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Paris

Carpenters mark completion of the Notre-Dame roof framework

Carpenters salute the completion of the roof structures of Notre-Dame. It is gratifying that the church is regaining its physical body. And it is especially pleasing to see such a close-knit company of masters of an ancient biblical trade, who have applied their skill and put their souls

Architecture · Faith · Observations

Jacob's Ladder on the west façade of Bath Abbey and in church art

At school we were taught a song, "to get to heaven you need a ladder and one more thing", and I remembered its words at once when I saw the cathedral wall of the abbey in the English city of Bath, with Jacob's Ladder. A sculpted

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Saint Petersburg

Good Night from the Thunder Stone, Catherine II and Peter I

NB! · Observations · Humour

Does Ivan really have so few projects?)

NB! · Art · Observations · People · Humour

How do you think Pushkin is faring in the hands of the German artist Eberhard Hückstedt?

Observations · Humour

How suit and rank are encoded in pictures on early modern playing cards

The markings on the playing cards of the early modern period may differ greatly from those we are used to, and certainly call for an explanatory note. The suit and rank of a card are encoded in pictures, the combination of which yields the correct value. 5 is a branch

Art · Moscow · Observations · Society Pages

Everything we see hides something else, and we always want to see what is hidden behind what is visible: at Lev Povzner's exhibition "Field of Miracles" at the Alina Pinsky Gallery, one cannot help recalling Magritte's textbook phrase

Everything we see hides something else, and we always want to see what is hidden behind what is visible: at Lev Povzner's exhibition "Field of Miracles" at the Alina Pinsky Gallery, one cannot help recalling Magritte's textbook phrase. Magritte, whom Lev Alexandrovich wittily parodies

Portrait of a grey-haired man in a blue checked suit and blue tie, seated with clasped hands in front of gilded door panels.

NB! · Monarchies · Observations · Humour

New official portrait of King Charles III, his appearance, makeup and retouching

In his new official portrait, King Charles III looks rather poorly. And the make-up and retouching have let the side down

Architecture · Moscow · Observations · Heritage

There are houses that stand alone, like a mushroom in a clearing; there are houses with enough space around them for windows and a view on every side, but if something new is built nearby, the windows end up facing a neighbour's wall or else…

There are houses with blind side walls from the very start: it was planned from the outset that they would stand hard against other buildings, on one side or on both. Even when the built-up area was wooden and low-rise, there were many such houses: a thick brick