The young czar, feeling oppressed by the medieval traditions and ecclesiastical patriarchy of seventeenth-century Moscow, wanted to Westernize Russia in a hurry, defying the sluggish pace of history.
or secrétaire en cabinet) Multiple artists/makers ca. 1776 Pair of Flintlock Pistols
The Painting: A man with a mustache and closed eyes is depicted in profile from the waist up, lying in a bed. He wears what appears to be a sort of turban and open white shirt, with the weight of his head and elbows forming a deep lozenge-shaped impression in the ample pillow and bedding
A portion of the pistol with which the man has just shot himself to death lies on
Cranach first treated the theme of Venus and Cupid in 1509, both in a woodcut showing the figures in a landscape setting, and in a life-size painting (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) in which the figures are shown against a black background
"Talking about Sale-Rooms: Handsome Pistol, Haunting Crucifix."
Dive into the magic of iron, bronze, lead, and copper.
Hanging a pistol on the wall is unique for every pistol.
This magnificent painting by the leading painter of King Louis XIV (1638–1715)—the artist who supervised the decoration of the Louvre and Versailles and headed the Gobelins manufactory for tapestries and furniture—is a landmark in the history of French portraiture
which I have spoken and who wished to contract [Le Brun] for a salary of twenty pistoles
