Happy birthday to Edouard Manet, born on this day in 1832! Manet had a short (he died in 1883) but incredibly important artistic career.
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Mini-Post | Rasputin
Happy 152nd birthday to (Ra-Ra-)Rasputin, born on this day in 1869. Immortalised as “Russia’s greatest love machine” by Boney M in 1978, Rasputin has been an enigma ever since he first appeared in St Petersburg and managed to find his way to the top of society and into the circles of Tsar Nicholas II and…
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
Happy 180th birthday to Berthe Morisot! Born on this day in 1841, I'll be celebrating her life and work in today's post!
Mini-Post | Cassandra Austen
Born on the day in 1773, Cassandra Austen was the most beloved elder sister of Jane Austen.The affection between the two sisters, according to their relation Anne Lefroy, "passed the common love of sisters; and it had been so from childhood". They went to school together, were immersed in a clever and artistic family, and…
Mini-Post | Austen, “Emma” and the Prince Regent
On this day in 1815, the Prince Regent, the future George IV, received a specially bound copy of Jane Austen’s novel “Emma”, which had been dedicated to him. The Prince Regent was definitely not a favourite of Austen’s – she once wrote that she supported his estranged wife, Caroline of Brunswick, against him – which…
Continue reading ➞ Mini-Post | Austen, “Emma” and the Prince Regent
Mini-Post | “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”
On this day in 1817, Jane Austen’s final two novels, “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”, were first advertised for publication posthumously. They were published together, along with a Biographical Notice of the Author, written by Austen’s brother, Henry Austen. Throughout her writing career, Austen had published anonymously, so this was the first time her identity had…
Continue reading ➞ Mini-Post | “Northanger Abbey” and “Persuasion”
My 10 favourite Jane Austen quotes and why
Happy 245th birthday to my favourite author of all time, Jane Austen. Born in Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16th 1775, the seventh child (and second daughter) of George and Cassandra Austen, she went on to write six full novels, two incomplete novels, a short epistolary novel and several notebooks full of juvenilia, not to mention…
Continue reading ➞ My 10 favourite Jane Austen quotes and why
Mini-Post | Portraits of Jane Austen
On Wednesday (16th December), it’s Jane Austen's 245th birthday. To commemorate, I’ve been exploring portraits of Austen at the National Portrait Gallery in London, and I have three to share! (This originally appeared on my Instagram in July, but I'm excited to share these beautiful portraits here too!) Jane Austen, by Cassandra Austen, c.1810, NPG…
Mini-Post | “Winter”, Anne Vallayer-Coster
Winter, eighteenth-century, attributed to Anne Vallayer-Coster, oil on canvas. (Open Access image, courtesy Met Museum, 07.225.462.)
What does Degas have to do with the Impressionists?
Degas was a founding member of the group that staged the eight 'Impressionist' exhibitions between 1874 and 1886 in Paris, yet his art is markedly different - how do we understand his relationship to Impressionism?
