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Monuments of Ukrainian Art of the 18th Century
This booklet is by Nikolai Makarenko, a specialist in architecture, art history, and archaeology and later director of the Kiev Museum of Arts. He begins by reflecting on the beneficial effects of Cossack culture on southern Russia and its significant impact on Ukrainian culture. He praises 17th- and 18th-century style and describes Pokrovskaia Church as an example of beautiful and pure architecture. The church was built in 1764 by Pyotr Kalishevski in Romny, Poltavskaia Province, and later moved to the city of Poltava. A new church was built in Romny ...
Contributed by
National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine
Carpathian Ruthenia. Ceramics
This image is part of an album probably published in about 1920 that contains 20 photographs of scenes in Carpathian Ruthenia, a mountainous region, most of which was part of the Austria-Hungary before World War I, but which became part of the new Czechoslovak state in 1919. Today the largest portion of it forms Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine, with smaller parts in Slovakia and Poland. Ceramics have been one of the crafts of Carpathian Ruthenia for centuries, as the region has large deposits of kaolin (china clay). Decorated pottery ...
Contributed by
National Parliamentary Library of Ukraine
Gulzar Calligraphic Panel
This calligraphic panel executed in black and red on a white ground decorated in gold contains a number of prayers (du'a's) directed to God, the Prophet Muhammad, and his son-in-law 'Ali. The letters of the larger words are executed in nasta'liq script and are filled with decorative motifs, animals, and human figures. This style of script, filled with various motifs, is called gulzar, which literally means 'rose garden' or 'full of flowers.' It usually is applied to the interior of inscriptions executed in nasta'liq, such as ...
Contributed by
Library of Congress
Sangallo’s Sienese Sketchbook
The so-called Sienese sketchbook of the famous architect and engineer Giuliano da Sangallo was originally in the library of Sienese scholar Giovanni Antonio Pecci. The librarian Giuseppe Ciaccheri, a committed and passionate collector who enriched the Biblioteca comunale degli Intronati di Siena with works of art of outstanding quality, acquired it in 1784. Together with the Codice Barberiniano in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, the sketchbook bears witness to the architect's prolific production of drawings and is a valuable source of knowledge about his work. The small format and the ...
Contributed by
Municipal Library Intronati
Pay Off of Spec—the Good Old Times
In the American circus, the spectacle, or “spec,” developed as a procession that took place around the hippodrome track inside the big top, or circus tent, featuring as many of the performers and animals as the circus director was able to costume. Traced back to the earliest circuses in America, the spec was originally a lavish performance of literary or historical tales intended to entertain and edify the audience. The costumes created for specs were often exotic, representing cultures from all corners of the globe. The costumes also could be ...
Contributed by
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Constantinople
This colored travel sketch of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) as seen from the eastern part of the town of Scutari (present-day Üsküdar) across the Bosporus Strait is by the Danish painter Martinus Rørbye (1803–48), a central figure in the "Golden Age" of Danish art (circa 1770–1900). After training at the Kunstakademiet, Rørbye travelled widely, to France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. In 1833 he was one of the first artists to paint in Skagen, in the far north of Denmark, some 45 years before it became an artists’ haven. He ...
Contributed by
Royal Library (The), Denmark
View of Saint Thomas in America with the Citadel Fort Christian
This colored drawing by an anonymous artist is a view of the Danish settlement on the island of Saint Thomas (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands) as it appeared in the 18th century. The settlement was established in 1672 by the Danish West India Company. Denmark claimed the nearby island of Saint John in 1683 and purchased the island of Saint Croix from France in 1733. The three islands became a Danish royal colony in 1754. The colony prospered as the import of slaves made possible a profitable plantation economy, and ...
Contributed by
Royal Library (The), Denmark
Table Mountain
This view of Table Mountain (Cape Town, South Africa) is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. This drawing, probably made from a ship moored off Robben Island, is one of the most accurate renderings of Table Bay from this period. The notes at the lower left, in Dutch, are keyed to the letters on the ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoikhoi Fording a Stream
This view of a Khoi woman and child fording a stream with a Khoi man behind them is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The Khoikhoi were pastoralists who were derived from the aboriginal hunting population of southern Africa, the San. After establishment of the Dutch colony at Table Bay in 1652, the Khoikhoi were ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Lion
This depiction of what is probably a lion and a small antelope is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The artist most likely was a Dutchman, born in the 17th century, who was attached in some capacity to the Dutch East India Company and possibly en route to the Dutch East Indies or on his ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoikhoi in a Storm
This view of a group of Khoi people in a storm is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The drawing shows the traditional dress of the Khoi women: peaked hat, kaross (sheepskin cloak) across the shoulders, a small apron or fuller skin kaross around the waist, and leggings of dried raw-hide. The text on the ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
African Ox and Khoi Couple
These two sketches depicting an African ox and a Khoi couple are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The annotations provide details about African cattle and about the differing dress worn by Khoi men and women. The cattle owned by the Khoikhoi were of the Sanga breeds, which resulted from the interbreeding of the indigenous ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Harvesting Scene
This view of a harvesting scene is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The drawing shows a farming scene with the stacking of hayricks from ox wagons, with a Khoi matjieshuis (mat house) in the foreground and a farmhouse at the back. The Khoi are asking for tobacco from a colonist who is smoking as ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoikhoi Yoking Oxen, and Other Sketches
These sketches are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. Various activities are depicted in these vignettes: at the top, a Khoi man holding oxen while a colonist adjusts the yoke; in the middle, a woman milking a cow into a large ceramic pot; at bottom left, men dealing with a recalcitrant sheep; and at bottom ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoi Women and Dutch Colonist
This view of a group of Khoi women in various costumes and poses, with a woman colonist holding a container, is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The annotations describe Khoi dress and ornamentation, explaining that Khoi women wear several strings of beads around the neck, with copper beads the most favored. The note remarks ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoi Women
These sketches of Khoi women engaged in various activities are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The Khoikhoi were pastoralists who were derived from the aboriginal hunting population of southern Africa, the San. After establishment of the Dutch colony at Table Bay in 1652, the Khoikhoi were subjugated in wars with the Dutch in 1659 ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoi Women Dancing
These depictions of Khoi women are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. In these drawings, the artist has caught the movement of the bodies, clothing, and beads. The annotation, in Dutch, refers to “five dancing Hottentot women,” the latter being the historic name given to the Khoikhoi at the time of white settlement, and now ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoikhoi Drinking from Kaross
These two sketches are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. On the left, Khoikhoi are being given a drink by a colonist, a kaross (a cape or blanket made from skins) serving as the receptacle into which it is poured. The right-hand drawing shows the sequel, with a man drinking from the kaross. The notes ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Sketches of Khoikhoi
These two sketches are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The sketch on the left depicts an older woman with a walking stick and poorly kept leggings; the sketch on the right depicts an elegantly dressed younger woman. The text, in Dutch, reads: “When the Hottentots are newly born their noses are pushed in, and ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
White Horsemen; Lion Hunt
These sketches are from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The top sketch shows armed colonists on horseback; the correction to the drawing suggests that there was only one acceptable way to carry a musket. The bottom sketch shows a trap set to catch a lion, which is being fired at from the undergrowth on the ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa
Khoi Family
This sketch of a Khoi couple and child seen from behind is from a set of 27 drawings on 15 sheets that was discovered in the National Library of South Africa in 1986. The drawings are important for presenting the earliest realistic depictions of the Khoikhoi, the original inhabitants of the Western Cape. The woman wears a pointed skin cap, large earrings, double kaross (a blanket or cape made of skins), and skin leggings. The man has ornaments in his hair, a skin bag as well as the roll sack ...
Contributed by
National Library of South Africa