Αβρασαξ

[theclassicsreader]

“I asked for very little from life, and even this little was denied me. A nearby field, a ray of sunlight, a little bit of calm along with a bit of bread, not to feel oppressed by the knowledge that I exist, not to demand anything from others, and not to have others demand anything from me – this was denied me, like the spare change we might deny a beggar not because we’re mean-hearted but because we don’t feel like unbuttoning our coat.”

— Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet

[umdesassossego]

"Senta-te ao sol. Abdica e sê rei de ti próprio."

Ricardo Reis

[dpcphotography]

Forest Mood

[umdesassossego]

"This Law of Laws

That still withdraws

Each mort from all mortal ken -

If'twere not here;

Or we saw clear

Instead of d as now; - what then?

This is not Earth, and we not Men."

From "The Cold Wedding", by William Allingham

[ashmoleanmuseum]

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

British poet, illustrator and painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born on this day in 1828 in London. Rossetti was the founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, alongside William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais.

Rossetti’s romantic medievalism inspired a second generation of Pre-Raphaelite painters, most notably William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Alongside his art, he was also known to write sonnets to accompany his pictures, whilst also creating art to illustrate poems and literature.

Rossetti’s personal life was closely linked to his work, in particular his relationships with his models and muses Elizabeth Siddal and Jane Morris pictured below in these portraits from our collection.

The Day Dream. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1828-1882. Pastel and black chalk.

Head of a Woman (attendant for ‘Astarte Syriaca’). Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1875. Coloured chalk heightened with white on pale green paper.

Elizabeth Siddal. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1855. Pen and brown and black ink.

Perlascura (Jane Morris). Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1871. Red and brown chalk heightened with white on pale green paper.

[achasma]

Blessed Beatrix (detail) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, c. 1864-1870.

[dpcphotography]

Colourful Walk 🍁🍂

[umdesassossego]

Roman museum, Mérida (also known as Emerita Augusta)

[archaeologicalnews]

Legends of a Medieval Female Pope May Tell the Truth

Medieval legends claim that Pope Joan was the first and only female pope. And now, an analysis of ancient silver coins suggests that the ordained woman may have actually lived.

According to legends from the Middle Ages, a pope named John, or Johannes Anglicus, who reigned during the middle of the ninth century, was actually a woman, Pope Joan. For instance, a story from the 13th century written by a Dominican monk from Poland named Martin claimed that Pope Joan became pregnant and gave birth during a church procession.

However, there is much debate over whether a pope named Johannes Anglicus existed, much less whether this pope was a man or woman. The doubt stems in part from the great deal of confusion over the identities of popes during the middle of the ninth century. Read more.

[abandonedandurbex]

Abandoned A-frame cabin in Iceland [1080 × 1349]

[hannahkemp-deactivated20240409]

Alaska August 2018

Prints//Instagram

[andrewridley]

College Valley, Northumberland

[cynsyeung]

Peterhof Palace, Russia

[psychara-deactivated20190811]

Have you seen my Alpes vlog yet? 🌚 Lots of magical nature, some medieval buildings and thunder 🏔🏰🌩 Link to mer youtube in bioooo 🌲🌲🌲 (bij Guillestre) https://www.instagram.com/p/BmqlW0gHyP_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ojbdjuhalrxz

[umdesassossego]

"In the second year after the birth of the revolution, to chaotic firing, past quieted banks, sailed this insane, this crazy steamer called Russia."

Edvard Radzinsky in "The Last Tsar"

[vvitchcr4ft-deactivated20190604]

“I am the vampire at my own veins.”

— Charles Baudelaire (via feuille-d-automne)

[umdesassossego]

"I have known many who after the revolution, after many many years have passed, reveled in how they sent White officers off to be shot. An entire generation happily went to the grave with this brutality in their souls. (...) For the West to understand us and for us to understand ourselves we have to remember that the murder of the tsar's family did not seem strange at the time because it wasn't terrible, it was ordinary."

Viktor A. Blokhin quoted by Edvard Radzinsky in "The Last Tsar"