Category Archives: Venice

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

Snaps

Posted on 22/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

Our recent jaunt to Venice and Ravenna provided more than the usual amount of food for thought, so while I ponder further on Titian and Rubens, peacocks, camels, women painters, Francesco Morosini and silence, here are some pictures which I … Continue reading →

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A Secret Garden

Posted on 15/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

Of course, a great many gardens in Venice are secret – that is, invisible to the normal passer-by in the calle. But the garden of Palazzo Soranzo Cappello is probably the most famous secret garden in the city (with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Gardens, History, Italy, Literature, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Anon.

Posted on 07/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

I just made it to ‘Artist: Unknown: Art and Artefacts from the University of Cambridge Museums and Collections’, the current exhibition at Kettle’s Yard. (It continues until 22 September, but the Hedgehog ménage will be away – Venice, since you … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Botany, Cambridge, Gardens, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Allegorical Tombs

Posted on 06/05/2019 by carolinemmurray

… are apparently a Thing, and one which I have come across twice in as many days in Venice, though they seem to owe their origin to one Owen Swiny (MacSwiny, McSweeny, MacSwiney, McSwiny, and other variants), of Enniscorthy in … Continue reading →

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

Sant’ Eufemia Revealed!

Posted on 03/05/2019 by carolinemmurray

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about the church of Santa Eufemia on Giudecca, noting my frustration that it never seemed to be open. But yesterday, strolling down the fondamenta after lunch for a quick look, we were riveted to … Continue reading →

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Ruskin at Two Hundred

Posted on 05/03/2019 by carolinemmurray

To London last week for a few days of Culture. I decided to go down the night before my first assignation, rather than turn up at Two Temple Place (which does not have cloakroom facilities) with two stuffed gorillas and … Continue reading →

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Woman’s Work

Posted on 10/01/2019 by carolinemmurray

… (a) is never done, proverbially, and (b) consists of cooking, cleaning and home-making (oh, and child-bearing), traditionally. Therefore it is always interesting, and sometimes quite astonishing, to come across a historical figure who worked in a role which, according … Continue reading →

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A Bizarre Story

Posted on 30/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

Thompson Cooper (1837–1904) was the son of Charles Henry Cooper (1808–66), the distinguished Town Clerk of Cambridge, whose historical and biographical works on the city are still a major source of information. From 1842 to 1853 he published four volumes … Continue reading →

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