Âventiure

Escapism as a way of life

[preraphaelitepaintings]

The Chapel before the Lists

Artist: Dante Gabriel Rossetti (English, 1828–1882)

Date: 1857-1864

Medium: Watercolor on paper

Collection: Tate Britain, London, United Kingdom

[sobadbad]

Jeanne d'Arc The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [1999]

[didanagy]

JOAN OF ARC (1948)

dir. victor fleming

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Ivanhoe (1952)

[themboots]

[m3dieval]

Paweł Ossoliński Fotografia

[m3dieval]

There are historical eye protection for horse sometimes built into the chamfron (like pictured above), but these are less commonly on hand.

Some jousting groups use these mesh eye protectors that are intended for racing horses:

These are good for keeping lance shrapnel out of your horses' eyes. Would probably also work for rings.

You can put them under a chamfron and it looks like this:

A reasonable safety compromise.

[beggars-opera]

One of my favorite niche art genres is definitely “medieval Italian nobility absolutely pummeling each other in the face with snowballs”

(Details from the “January” fresco at the Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento, c.1400)

[clemsfilmdiary]

The Sword in the Stone (1963, Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand)

12/25/25

[bebs-art-gallery]

The Knight of the Flowers (1894)

— by Georges Rochegrosse

[rylandsgrace]

The Mummy (1999) dir. Stephen Sommers

[lilac-ravenclaw]

This movie is… perfection 😆

[didanagy]

REESE WITHERSPOON as BECKY SHARP

VANITY FAIR (2004)

dir. mira nair

[rosie-tyler]

Frankenstein (2025) dir. Guillermo del Toro + paintings

[missreveries]

I love how Guillermo Del Toro used these paintings as visual references in his film.

[didanagy]

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (2002)

dir. oliver parker

[illustratus]

The Tournament by Pierre Révoil

[vintagerpg]

Kingdom of the Dwarfs (1980) does for dwarves was Gnomes did for, well gnomes. It’s written by Robb Walsh, who I can’t find much about but who shares his name with a food writer (I kinda hope it is the same guy, honestly). David Wenzel’s done a bunch of stuff, probably most prominently a gorgeous graphic novel adaptation of The Hobbit in the 1989.

The text is basically a novella recounting the discovery of an ancient dwarf city called Aegol, the effort by archaeologists to uncover it and the piecing together of the history of the dwarfs using the artifacts and records found within. That frame supports the presentation of all facets of the dwarf culture, from lifestyle to metallurgy and so on, but also leaves room for a chronicle of the last king of the dwarfs in a fashion that kind of reminds me of a Norse epic. The dwarfs raised Stonehenge, incidentally, and had commerce with humans, but declined under the spread of Christianity. The kingdom eventually collapsed during a plague, with a few stragglers sailing west into history. It’s a bit sad, really, especially the tale of the prince and princess who preside over the end, attempt to relocate the kingdom, tend the ill when plague breaks out and eventually succumb to it.

Wenzel’s color art is rich and colorful, though, and often quite cozy. The black and whites remind me a bit of an earlier era, perhaps of Prince Valiant, similar to the feelings evoked by Gary Gianni’s work. Knowing his Hobbit work, though, and how lush and wonderful his views of the countryside are there, I find the interiors and subterranean spaces a bit confining. And 140+ pages of little bearded guys does get a little repetitive by the end.

[microsff]

She looked out. The profile of a demon lord decorated the city's skyline.

She sighed; did the pose. The goddess lifted her, transformed her into a magical girl.

She beat the demon into a pulp, then faced the harder battle: to return to her seventy-year old body, with aching knees and knuckles.

[periodcostumefantasylover]

Clara Stahlbaum's white gold dress in The Nutcracker and the four Realms 4k