tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post4741845491767458154..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Alone with Charles I's treasuresDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-23790382918753673592018-01-30T08:25:20.401+00:002018-01-30T08:25:20.401+00:00Since you love history, Laurent, I can't recom...Since you love history, Laurent, I can't recommend too strongly the first volume of Jaan Kross's Between Three Plagues trilogy. Wrtten under Soviet rule by an Estonian who knew how to reflect the present in the past, it tells the story of Balthasar Russow, first chronicler of his country's history - a complex figure very much like Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell (and if you haven't read Wolf Hall, that should be a priority too). The second volume appeared last year, and I finished it recently - as amazing as the first. The translator is working on the third to appear this year.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-52344943036187457922018-01-30T01:35:00.549+00:002018-01-30T01:35:00.549+00:00What a beautiful collection on show. I was thinkin...What a beautiful collection on show. I was thinking of you today and I thought, I wonder what book David would recommend reading at the moment. Any suggestions?larrymuffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14137517764919401795noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-61739805824033303882018-01-29T22:59:18.745+00:002018-01-29T22:59:18.745+00:00The Dante art sojourn has been postponed owing to ...The Dante art sojourn has been postponed owing to the visit of Amsterdam-based friends who wanted to meet for tea. Nor did I get in to the Kabakov show because I only had an hour and the queues for tickets were enormous. Should become a Tate Friend, I guess. It's not all swanning and private views...<br /><br />I don't know Kara Walker but shall investigate. What are Cornell boxes?Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-57367960941099818682018-01-28T15:51:20.342+00:002018-01-28T15:51:20.342+00:00A wonderful tour you’ve given us, starting with th...A wonderful tour you’ve given us, starting with the first photo demonstrating the pleasure of having the exhibit to yourself or nearly so. I know very little of this art, so it’s all the more a pleasure to get your selections: the Van Dyck with sunflower and the Holbein you chose are particular favorites. The work (at the Liverpool exhibit?) that includes the cut-out slaves (which I agree doesn’t work so well), puts me in mind of the excellent Kara Walker and her silhouettes. Speaking of art, we are off now to the Met to see some Cornell boxes alongside the Juan Gris works that inspired them. Enjoy your Dante art sojourn!Susan Scheidhttps://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-44692954201986270012018-01-26T22:47:35.977+00:002018-01-26T22:47:35.977+00:00Si non e vero, e ben trovato (Chas would have got ...Si non e vero, e ben trovato (Chas would have got the Italian). And nearby, outside Charing Cross Station, is the spire of a cathedral that is otherwise submerged...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-73447624393286870452018-01-26T17:18:21.661+00:002018-01-26T17:18:21.661+00:00Well, what can we believe?....but here goes. To th...Well, what can we believe?....but here goes. To the south of Trafalgar Square there is a rather good equestrian statue of Charles I. It is original, of his time ( though not of course the plinth). At the arrival of the Commonwealth it was sold to a scrap merchant who did a nice business in selling pieces of metal " from the statue of His Majesty"" which was in fact in a sewage pit. Come the Restoration - " well Your Majesty, I have this statue of your father ! " Nice reward. <br /><br />Charles I should have stuck to dealing in pictures, or interior decoration, where he had some talent David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-36548903075726453732018-01-26T13:35:37.539+00:002018-01-26T13:35:37.539+00:00I found it breathtaking, Will, and I was there... ...I found it breathtaking, Will, and I was there... The last 15 minutes in more or less empty rooms was like the loveliest of dreams. Another one to thank J for (though I took him to 'The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk' at Wilton's Music Hall the night before, wonderful, so while we're not exactly equal in what we can offer each other, I do my bit). Maybe an exhibition worth building a trip to London around? Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54026919467973075492018-01-26T13:18:13.334+00:002018-01-26T13:18:13.334+00:00As always you take me on journeys I cannot take. ...As always you take me on journeys I cannot take. My breath was taken away by your descriptions and the photos I can't imagine how I would react to actually being there.<br /><br />Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.com