more weirdness HERE
Friday, February 27, 2015
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
High Heels for Wartime Domination
"When the soldier stood up in his stirrups, the heel
helped him to secure his stance so that he could shoot his bow and arrow more
effectively."
In the muddy, rutted streets of 17th Century Europe, these
new shoes had no utility value whatsoever - but that was the point. "One
of the best ways that status can be conveyed is through impracticality."
- Elizabeth Semmelhack of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto
quoted in this article.
Nautilus
A wonderful collection of weird and wonderful largely medical objects:
http://www.thenautilus.it/
http://www.thenautilus.it/
Moulage of a child with dyptheria
Mechanical owl hunting decoy
Perfume dispenser
How to Become a Byzantine Princess
Justinian and Theodora are the Posh&Becks of the Byzantine Empire. But not many people know how Theodora--a low-born lady--caught Justinian's eye. Well, it involved a little party trick she does with her lady parts:
"Often, even in the theater, in the sight of all the people, she removed her costume and stood nude in their midst, except for a girdle about the groin: not that she was abashed at revealing that, too, to the audience, but because there was a law against appearing altogether naked on the stage, without at least this much of a fig-leaf. Covered thus with a ribbon, she would sink down to the stage floor and recline on her back. Slaves to whom the duty was entrusted would then scatter grains of barley from above into the calyx of this passion flower, whence geese, trained for the purpose, would next pick the grains one by one with their bills and eat. When she rose, it was not with a blush, but she seemed rather to glory in the performance. For she was not only impudent herself, but endeavored to make everybody else as audacious. Often when she was alone with other actors, she would undress in their midst and arch her back provocatively, advertising like a peacock both to those who had experience of her and to those who had not yet had that privilege her trained suppleness."
From The Secret History of Procopius, trans Richard Atwater, 1927, p. 102-103
"Often, even in the theater, in the sight of all the people, she removed her costume and stood nude in their midst, except for a girdle about the groin: not that she was abashed at revealing that, too, to the audience, but because there was a law against appearing altogether naked on the stage, without at least this much of a fig-leaf. Covered thus with a ribbon, she would sink down to the stage floor and recline on her back. Slaves to whom the duty was entrusted would then scatter grains of barley from above into the calyx of this passion flower, whence geese, trained for the purpose, would next pick the grains one by one with their bills and eat. When she rose, it was not with a blush, but she seemed rather to glory in the performance. For she was not only impudent herself, but endeavored to make everybody else as audacious. Often when she was alone with other actors, she would undress in their midst and arch her back provocatively, advertising like a peacock both to those who had experience of her and to those who had not yet had that privilege her trained suppleness."
From The Secret History of Procopius, trans Richard Atwater, 1927, p. 102-103
Leda and the Swan by Francois Boucher
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Sexy Northern Mannerism
Impossible bodies by Hendrick Goltzius and his student Joachim Wtewael [Oot-vayl]:
_-_Mars_and_Venus_Surprised_by_the_Gods_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/640px-Joachim_Anthonisz._Wtewael_(Dutch%2C_1566_-_1638)_-_Mars_and_Venus_Surprised_by_the_Gods_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Getty Museum, c. 1601-1610
Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Mauritshuis, 1601
I have seen both of these in person and there are much smaller than you would expect. They are also incredibly vibrant because rather than painting on wood, he painted on copper, which better preserves the original color.
Goltzius, Without Bacchus and Ceres, Venus Would Freeze (Sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus), c. 1600-1603
Also something that should be seen in person. Goltzius is known for having done engravings (e.g. below). Here, is is experimenting with pen and oil paint, creating the sinuous lines as if they were made by engraving. The oil is used to add color and highlights, washing most of the painting in blue to give it the feeling of freezing and allowing the warm glow of the fire to stand out. Venus's protruding nipples are echoed by her pearl necklace and she wakes up, giving and receiving various caresses--as the grapes touch her nipple, she strokes Cupid's wing and lightly touches Ceres's shoulder.
Here are some details to show the cross-hatching:
More prints by Goltzius:
Saturday, February 7, 2015
A Little History of the Vagina, and Why Not to Fumigate it
Great article, as usual, by Helen King:
Floating wombs and fumigation – why Gwyneth Paltrow has ‘steam douching’ all wrong
Exchange Rates
Roman brothel tokens
The front shows the sex act, the back how much it costs:
Also known as spintriae
