Category Archives: Art

In Ghent

Posted on 22/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

Him Indoors and I are partial to the Flemish Primitives (and indeed to the Flemish in general), so the opportunity of the current exhibition in Ghent, ‘Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution’, offering ‘the largest Jan van Eyck exhibition ever’ and … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sir Thomas Gresham and His College

Posted on 13/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

I had for some time been meaning to find out more about Sir Thomas Gresham, but, when embarking on this quest, was diverted almost immediately by the discovery that the first substantial biography of him was written by John William … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Man in the Moone

Posted on 07/02/2020 by carolinemmurray

What is the oldest published work of science fiction? This is not a question to put to me, as science fiction is a genre to which I am not greatly drawn. There’s H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury, and that other … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Art and Spectacle

Posted on 12/01/2020 by carolinemmurray

… is the subtitle of the current exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery on the art collections of George IV, of whom I wrote, some time ago and in another place: ‘But the mystery of the Prince’s character – childish, petulant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trollflötjen

Posted on 31/12/2019 by carolinemmurray

There are various reasons (excuses), some flimsier than others, for the long delay since I last put quill to vellum. First, there was the Mill Road Winter Fair, which took up all my spare time for several weeks; then there … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Museums and Galleries, Music | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Titian to Rubens

Posted on 20/11/2019 by carolinemmurray

Unexpected (by me!) technical problems have necessitated putting a couple of blogs-in-preparation on the back burner, and output of verbiage in November has in any case taken second place to output of hedgehogs (105 and rising …) – do please … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pills

Posted on 17/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

An appurtenance of any self-respecting apothecary’s shop was, it seems, a pill-tile. Made of pottery, and sometime lavishly decorated like that other essential, the pharmacy jar, it provided a flat, smooth surface on which to roll pills. The Fitzwilliam Museum … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Painting Women

Posted on 11/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

I’m guessing that if you were to ask 100 random people to name an historical (as opposed to contemporary) female painter, some at least would answer ‘Artemisia Gentileschi’ (1593–?1654), who has been in the public eye (in the UK at … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

1687 and All That

Posted on 05/10/2019 by carolinemmurray

If Francesco Morosini is remembered worldwide today, it is probably for the collateral damage caused when a stray Venetian cannon ball hit the gunpowder store which the Turks had so thoughtfully placed in the Parthenon during the siege of Athens. … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Immortal Peacock

Posted on 26/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

I first saw a real live peacock when I was quite young, in Victoria Park in the city where I was brought up. An area of grass and trees very close to the railway station, and therefore – in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Classics, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments