20 Jul 2011

Ship ahoy!


Celebrity spotting in Stockholm! HMS Bounty from the 1962 Marlon Brando movie Mutiny on the Bounty anchored in Stockholm harbour for a week. Naturally, I had to take a peek!

Really, there is a ship, somewhere, behind all those tourists.

My better half and a part of the ship (which was very hard to capture in full from where we stood!).

We didn't board, partly because we were cheap, but mostly because we didn't carry cash.

Yours truly, and the ship, which have now set sails to new another shore in Europe. You can see the schedule (and much better pictures!) at the ship's website HMS Bounty

9 Jul 2011

It's Caturday!

I... don't even know what to say about this.The visit to the spinner. Israhel Van Meckenem the Younger. Ca 1495. Detail (full version here)

I'm scared. Hold me?

7 Jul 2011

Pehr Hilleström

Self portrait

Today I went to a small art exhibition in central Stockholm (the one Johanna Öst wrote about here!) and it was lovely. Several Swedish 18th century artists were featured (among some Roslin and Wertmüller) but what I had anticipated most were some ten works of my favourite Pehr Hilleström! I wasn't disappointed!

This particular painting wasn't featured

It was so great to see paintings I only had seen in books or online and so close you could make out every little detail. Candy for the soul!

You can find quite a few of Hilleström's paintings by a Google image search which is great. What would be even greater was if someone made an up-to-date book on the artist and his career because the last time that happened was in 1929!

Although a treasure to me, the book (Pehr Hilleström som kulturskildrare vol. 1-2, Gerda Cederblom, Nordiska Museet) features mostly black and white images and not always of superb quality.

Nevertheless, I have a long-term plan to scan every one of those paintings for fun and for reference. I have not come very far...

But above you have seen a few; the rest can be found in this set on Flickr. The images may not be of great quality, but enjoy anyway!

2 Jul 2011

It's Caturday!

Nothing new under the sun: kids like to dress up kittens. Kittens disapprove.Joseph Wright of Derby. Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight. c. 1768-70. Oil on canvas. 90.8 x 72.4 cm. Private collection. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Personally, I don't trust the girl to the left...