Art · Monarchies · Observations · People
I do not know why Henry FitzRoy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII and yet his heir, came to be captured in a nightcap in this portrait. I think the version that he simply did not want to climb out of bed, even when the artist had already arrived, and
Books · Moscow · People
On 13 March 1890 the student Konstantin Dmitrievich Balmont threw himself from a window of the Louvre furnished rooms on Tverskaya and survived, getting off with a broken leg that would leave him limping for many years. Perhaps this is a touch of belletristic exaggeration, but Balmont's limp
Observations · People · Pop Culture
In memory of Roman Viktyuk, I suggest watching one of his late theatrical works: the production "Requiem for Radames", after the play by Aldo Nicolaj, with three great Russian actresses: Vera Vasilyeva, Olga Arosheva and Yelena Obraztsova. The story of the lives and rivalry of two opera divas
Observations · Society · People
There is a certain irony of the information world in the lot of outstanding persons, to be mentioned in some inscrutable idle impulse by people who, on the whole, couldn't care less about them and never could, for the one and only time in all history, and then
Books · Mores · People
The English vet James Herriot, who became famous for his touching and instructive writings about livestock, farm life and the treatment of animals, has a story about a loathsome fat man who beat his wife. When the domestic tyrant happened to injure himself, and Herriot drove him to the doctor
Aristocracy · Cinema · Monarchies · Mores · People
The role of Queen Fabiola on screen could quite well have been played by Dame Angela Lansbury, who, incidentally, is three years older than Fabiola and is alive and well even now, at 95. As for how Fabiola and Baudouin met, there are three most popular versions of their encounter.
Aristocracy · Monarchies · Mores · People
Sweet Fabiola was, perhaps, the most colourful member of the Belgian royal family. And this had nothing to do with her formal status: from her youth, when she was not yet especially titled, despite her closeness to the court of Alfonso XIII, the Spanish aristocrat Fabiola de Mora y Aragón
Coming Up · Books · Museums · People · Saint Petersburg
And in Saint Petersburg, until 31 December (for the time being) one may (God willing) still visit the exhibition "Joseph Brodsky. Preserve My Shadow", built on the interiors and the history of the one and a half rooms in a communal flat at 24 Liteyny, where the Brodsky
Art · Museums · Observations · Education · People
At university, in philosophy classes, I positively loathed Rousseau and metaphysics in general, considering it meaningless chatter that stole time from proper authors like Kuhn and Popper. But, all things considered, Jean-Jacques is a rather agreeable fellow. Especially in the guise of a citizen of Geneva in this portrait
Faith · Books · Museums · People
Francesco Morosini, famed above all for his military successes in the name of Venice and remembered in history as the man who destroyed the Parthenon in Athens, was terribly afraid of assassination and hid weapons for self-defence everywhere. Here is his Bible, whose bookmark served as the trigger of
NB! · Archive · Art · People · Humour
NB! · Observations · Society · People · Humour