Gardens
Monet’s Garden – The Rhythm of Nature Refreshing the Heart
Monet’s garden at Giverny, renowned for the divine flowers that herald the arrival of each season, will be on show at The New York Botanical Garden from May 19, 2012
What is an Antique?
What is an Antique? An antique is something made in a previous era. However, according to antique dealers, their associations and the tax man, it is not really that simple at all.
Lasting Impressions – Paintings, Pools and Plants at Giverny
Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) celebrated the real art of gardening in the creation of his now world famous garden at Giverney, in Normandy. Monet’s painting of Spring at Giverny (1886) is a vision of the village clothed in the softest pinks. It is a first impression of a region full of magic light and charm the country that seduced and held him captive for the rest of his natural life.
First Impressions – Monet, Pisarro, Sisley & Renoir
It would be safe to say we have today gained an impression that a garden is a timeless expression of man’s relationship with nature. Just as our world is constantly changing to accommodate man’s overpopulation of it, so must our minds remain open to new ways of exploring how that relationship can, and will continue.
Flights of Garden Fantasy – Inspiring the Human Spirit
Growing beds of flowers is part of the delights of gardening and only one aspect of an ever evolving story that satisfies the human spirit to a profound degree.
Thomas Jefferson at Monticello – to See and be Seen
Throughout his life Thomas Jefferson was continually putting his house Monticello up or pushing it down as his knowledge and experience of life and architecture expanded.
Wine, Women and Song – A Tripartite Motto for All Time
Wine was made before history was recorded. For thousands of years it has given comfort, pleasure and evoked high spirits among man people in many different countries and cultures.
Gertrude Jekyll & Edwin Lutyens – The English House & Garden
The agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century removed land as the chief source of wealth in England. By 1901 money to pay for a country house had to be made in urban centres of trade or, in the countries that made up the British Empire. Building a house in the country made to appear as old and as venerable as the countryside itself was the ideal. Stylistically they looked back to the English vernacular tradition, which had been modified in response to the differing requirements of affluent clients. In this creative climate of possibilities architect Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) and gardener Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) became names well known.
Heaven on Earth? – Palladian Villa at Padua nearby to Venice
The precise location of heaven on earth has never really been established. However it could be at the Villa Moro Malipiero at Padua, nearby to Venice in Northern Italy.
Archaeology – Uncovering the Past to Help Invent the Future
Without romantic enthusiasm attached to a hunt for hidden treasures the true wealth of our cultural heritage would never have been re-discovered at all.
Planning Savvy, Sustainable City Environs – Being Eco-Smart
Delivering sustainable communities is big business. We need to fast-track informed, intelligent decisions and solutions for managing natural, urban and virtual environments. A lot will depend on creatively connecting communities globally, as well as computing the right answers.
Lord Byron – A Rock Star Poet in an Age of Extravagance
For historians the Regency era in England is about romantics and revolutionaries, poets and princes, architects and artists. It was a paradox where extremes met
Cameo Diadems
The fashion for cameos and intaglios began soon after Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1796 when cameos were brought back to France from Italy. Many of these were of Greek or Roman origin. Their beauty and perfection fascinated Napoleon. He had some mounted especially for his own use and for his sister, the very beautiful Paolina [...]
A Profusion of Flowers in Art and Life, Blooming Beautifully
It can be safely assumed and perhaps agreed by a majority of people that there is an innate quality about the presence of flowers in any room that brings about a sense of celebration, pleasurable associations and highlights an occasion. They express a broad range of feelings, stimulate the senses with their scent and provide subtle messages for those literate in the language of flowers.
The Conservatory, Crystal Palaces and the Climate Revolution
Today with the natural world under threat and in many places rapidly disappearing, the role of the conservatory and greenhouse has become more important than ever before. It is not so much any more about conserving individual plants, which have been transplanted from their native habitat, but rather the conservation of nature itself.
Napoleon: Revolution to Empire @ NGV – A Winter Masterpiece
Napoleon – destiny power and passion – the legend comes alive in the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces Exhibition 2012 at the NGV (National Gallery Victoria). The show Napoleon: Revolution to Empire is sure to engage all observers, who will more than likely be completely overwhelmed at the magnificence and quality of the over 500 art works and objet d’art featured.
Asides
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