Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfahlen, Düsseldorf. Public domain ..read more

Those were the days. Screenshot via Wayback Machine of the Internet Archive Bye bye dear first blog It was a real shock on this historic 21st of november 2024. I did get no warning, tumblr just deleted my blog, after 10 years, 17,000 posts and 180,000 followers, such a big archive, all so well tagged ..read more

At Sarah’s special request, I am reissuing this series of introduction cards. It was probably the most successful post during my time on Tumblr, around 60.000 at last, so it should not be missing here. Delightfully old-fashioned and absolutely analogue, enjoy. According to Alan Mays, who collects them, they were “used by the less formal ..read more

The history of tiles begins with bricks. Air-dried or fired, they were used as simple flooring in ancient Egypt as early as around 2000 BC. Between Mesopotamia, Persia and India, they were later used as wall decoration after being glazed. In the course of the Roman conquests, these then spread as floor tiles throughout the ..read more

Legend has it that the Tang emperor, Minghuang (r. 713-56 CE), had lychee fruit delivered by horseback from southern China to satisfy the cravings of his favorite concubine, Yang Yuhuan. Because of this story, and the fruit’s general popularity in China, lychee is a frequent motif in the decorative arts and carries associations with romance ..read more

The so-called Cycladic “frying pans” often came to light in richly furnished graves. Only about 200 of thse objects have been found in the Aegean islands and peninsular Greece. They are among the most mysterious objects of this culture. On the “bottom” side is an intricate artistic carving made by the artist with great care. The ..read more

Qi Baishi (1863-1957) made this artwork in autumn, seventh month, yichou year. It is a anging scroll, drawn with ink and colour on paper. Via Christies ..read more

Oil on canvas, 81×59 cm. Via Wikiart, Public Domain. Caillebotte painted this beautiful rainy scene on his family’s property near Paris. If you listen closely, you’ll hear the rain drops falling on your head. The painting is housed at the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, USA: The composition includes a ..read more

Gaspari’s designs were heavily influenced by his background as a painter. His works often resembled abstract paintings, with a focus on form, texture, and color harmony. He brought a contemporary artistic language to Murano glass. Blue glass, colourless overlay, violet and opal-coloured band melted on, colourless overlay, free-blown 41,4 x 15,8 x 9,7 cm. Made ..read more

Lalique used translucent and opaque enamels to create subtle shading, giving the landscape a natural quality.He employed advanced plique-à-jour enamel, a challenging method where enamel is applied without a metal backing, creating a stained-glass effect. This pendant is a quintessential example of Art Nouveau, reflecting Lalique’s focus on organic forms and naturalistic themes – like winter, a ..read more