Architecture · Faith · Observations · Heritage · Paris

Paris to restore the church of Saint-Eustache, one of the city's main churches

At last, some good news. Pity it is not ours. Still, the Parisian church of Saint-Eustache is to be restored. For a long time now one of the city's principal churches has been in less than perfect condition, and the announcement of repair and restoration work is

NB! · Observations · Saint Petersburg · Humour

Sounds Splendid: In the City of Saint Peter

A small dark figure stands on a sandy shore before a dark sea under a vast cloudy sky in Friedrich's painting.

NB! · Art · Museums · Observations

Caspar David Friedrich painted “The Monk by the Sea” between 1808 and 1810

The Monk by the Sea. Caspar David Friedrich, 1808-1810.

NB! · Books · Observations · People

"Why do you think, Rozanov, that you have understood more of Egypt than all the Egyptologists?" "Because I am astonished"

"Why do you think, Rozanov, that you have understood more of Egypt than all the Egyptologists?" "Because I am astonished. And they, you see, are never astonished by anything."

Cinema · Observations · Pop Culture · Reportage

The state of the auditorium at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where yesterday's Oscars ceremony was held

The rows in the balcony are buried in rubbish. These seats are reserved for studio staff, invited guests, partners, film students and the junior crew members of the nominated films. Culture, as they say, with a capital C (for Crisp packet)

Archive · Faith · Observations

While reading a census of the mid-seventeenth century, I came across an interesting Old Russian name: Korman

While reading a census of the mid-seventeenth century, I came across an interesting Old Russian name: Korman. You will not find it in the calendar of saints, only in dictionaries; the saintly counterpart of Korman was Korniil or Kornilii

Archaeology · Archive · Art · Observations · Humour

I rather feel I have failed a primary-school task from the magazine for the youngest pioneers "Yozh" (The Hedgehog), November 1933

Applied art history for children, then, disguised as a training exercise for the eye. And if the spires and towers of Piazza San Marco in Venice are more or less clear, the second question, what the little figures at the bottom are made of, has proved a genuine puzzle to

Art · Museums · Observations

While the notorious $450 million "Salvator Mundi" sits aboard a Saudi prince's yacht, another, perhaps no less authentic, appears on the art market

At TEFAF Maastricht this week, yet another version of Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi" has been put on show. This is the so-called "de Ganay version", painted in oil on a walnut panel and dated 1505-1515. The picture is being presented by

Faith · Books · Observations

God is our refuge and our strength, In heavy sorrows He is our help, Whenever the soul might raise itself, To Him go prayer and groan

Let the mountains be shaken with fear, Let the greedy abyss devour them, And the world pass away into heaps of dust, I have not the slightest dread. Let the sea be stirred up to storm, And let fearsome winds begin to roar; Calamities of ruin and grief Will not

The East · Books · Observations · Science

Online library of the Institute of Oriental Studies with books on the history and culture of Eastern countries

My warmest thanks to the staff of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences for making freely available to all the books written by the institute's researchers throughout its existence up to 2023. In essence, this is a colossal library of the finest Russian-

Engraving of the Earl of Strafford's bedroom, with a bed between two columns, a fireplace, an armchair and a man reading at a candlelit table.

NB! · Aristocracy · Architecture · Observations · Mores

The Earl of Strafford's bedroom at Wentworth Woodhouse, with a bed set between two marble columns

In my opinion, it is a very strange architectural decision to place two marble columns at the foot of a bed. Or, more precisely, to set the bed between marble columns. But that is how the Earl of Strafford's bedchamber at Wentworth Woodhouse was arranged.

NB! · Observations · Mores · Society