From Giant Bats To Venomous Snakes, Find Out What's Lurking In The Land Down Under
Music and visual art remain closely intertwined, sharing that certain ambiguity. Today, we look at ten music-related visual ideas and paintings.
They are renowned for their extraordinary brilliance and endearing beauty
Call of The Sirens! Jaimie Elliott Risks The Embrace of the Sirens With His Tempting Beauty! Just Damn Hot, Baby!
Blossoms like you’ve never seen them before.
Blossoms like you’ve never seen them before.
I’m currently working on a sequel to The Extraordinary Book of Doors, which is provisionally called The Extraordinary Salamander Door. The title refers to the mythical beast, not the actual amphibian of the order Urodela, and represents both the symbol of Francis I of France (who splashed his symbol all over the place in real life and commissioned the magical Books of Doors in my fictional world), and also a sanctuary of mythical creatures. So today seems a good day to share some of the lore of the legendary salamander. The mythical salamander looks much like the real one, though usually rather more reptilian than amphibian. (In fact, sometimes all manner of creatures, from avian to semi-human, apparently got called salamanders on occasion, but let’s rein in the more far-fetched nonsense.) The chief difference between pictures of real and mythical salamanders, though, is that the mythical beast has a special affinity for fire and is always shown in the midst of flames. Some species of real salamanders excrete toxins from their skin when threatened; legendary salamanders are so poisonous that simply by climbing a tree one can poison all its fruit. But the fire traits are the most important. A salamander is so cold that it can put out fires. It is produced by fire, especially fires that burn in the same place for seven years. It needs no food but the fire, which renews it. If you smear yourself with salamander blood, you, too, will be fire-proof. You can also make yourself fireproof clothing from salamander wool, which is a little harder to figure out. Have you ever actually looked at a salamander? Alas for real salamanders, which ignorant people often confused for the mythical variety, there was a fair amount of animosity towards the poisonous legendary monsters leading people to kill the harmless amphibians. I hate to think of the innocent salamanders being murdered by superstitious people. But in the unlikely event that you need to kill the mythical salamander, the only way to do so is to lock it up in an enclosed space where it will have to breathe its own poison. But please don’t. Mythical creatures are endangered enough as it is, and we need to preserve their habitat of fantasy so that we don’t lose them forever! I’m trying to do my part with The Extraordinary Salamander Door. What are you doing? [Pictures: Salamander (the device of Francis I), woodcut perhaps by Christopher Plantin, from Devises Heroïques by Claude Paradin, 1557 (Image from Glasgow University); Printer’s device of Damiano Zenaro, 16th century (Image from Lambeth Palace Library); Salamander, Emblem X from Musaeum Hermeticum, 1679 (Image from Wikimedia Commons.).]
Teaching art history online can be tough, despite a wealth of tools and technologies it’s difficult to create an environment that compares to a great teacher who can make artworks engaging to a live audience. However, this new interactive exhibit of Hieronymus Bosch’s famous Garden of Earthly Delights completely nails it. This is the internet we were promised. The site was created by filmmakers, photographers and art historians as part of an upcoming documentary by Pieter van Huijstee titled Hieronymus Bosch, Touched by the Devil. More
Three hundred years after her journey into the South American rainforest to observe its plants and insects, Merian’s vibrant paintings are to go on public display. An exquisite response to nature, they reveal an artist ahead of her time
Welcome to the Dollhouse: Meet Valeria Lukyanova, The Real-Life Barbie Doll
new blog http://iron-idols.tumblr.com
I’ve been so busy packing that I *gasp* almost forgot hottie hump day. So I’ll just toss out a few hotties I found lying around. I hope they’ll be sufficient. Have a great hump da…
Makeup can be a great way to highlight your features or hide something we’re insecure about. However, some are able to take it to a whole new level and turn makeup into a magical form of self-expression and art. Mimi Choi is one of these people - with her mindblowing optical illusion looks, the artist has amassed an audience of 1.7 million followers on Instagram.
Makeup can be a great way to highlight your features or hide something we’re insecure about. However, some are able to take it to a whole new level and turn makeup into a magical form of self-expression and art. Mimi Choi is one of these people - with her mindblowing optical illusion looks, the artist has amassed an audience of 1.7 million followers on Instagram.
A few of the extraordinary old devil-masks worn by performers in the dances. The Perchten Dancers of Salzburg Mrs. Herbert Vivian London: George Newnes, Ltd., 1908. I’ve posted this before, but...
