Art and Museums
Portraits in Disguise and Imaginary Lives
We are confronted by images of people who are making the most of clothes and jewels to reinforce their powerful presence. These bodily coverings and adornments are not always all that they seem, painters can easily invent the odd diamond, and records suggest that Elizabeth I had fake jewels on her clothes that were recycled with new clothes. more »
Toulouse-Lautrec and Paris
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) was, in the words of one prominent critic, "the quintessential chronicler of Paris, as it is understood by those who come here seeking bright lights and wild pleasures." Over the course of twenty years, he produced works in a wide range of media depicting dance halls, theaters, circuses, and the celebrities who performed in them. more »
Heavens' Embroidered Cloths and The Philosopher's Walk
"The architectural structures explore the connections and oppositions between Yang-houses (architecture for the living) and Yin-houses (architecture for the dead), and how these spaces are fundamentally intertwined through the Chinese concept of geomancy, or fengshui." more »
The Louvre's Breguet Exhibition and the Marie Antoinette
When you glimpse the production ledger, page recording the stages of manufacture of Breguet no. 160, the grand complication watch known as the “Marie-Antoinette”, the prices these collectible watches can command become understandable. more »