iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr Anna Clark

Ruskin Society @ruskinsociety.bsky.social · 10h

📖 The Ruskin Hours, made in northeastern France cca 1300, is a book of prayers for lay worshippers, later owned by John Ruskin. This page opens the Hours of the Virgin: “O Lord, open my lips.” The Annunciation fills the initial D; jousting riders occupy the margin. #Ruskin #MedievalArt #BookOfHours

Illuminated parchment page from the Ruskin Hours, made in northeastern France around 1300, folio 37v. A large blue, pink and gold initial D at the upper left contains the Annunciation: the winged angel Gabriel faces the Virgin Mary, who holds a book, with a flowering plant in a vase between them. Both figures have gold haloes and stand beneath pointed Gothic arches. Black Gothic lettering and a red heading fill the right side and lower half of the page. The Latin prayers begin, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.” A smaller decorated D shows a young man praying to Christ above him. Slender blue and gold stems, curling leaves and red, orange and green ornaments extend down the left margin and across the bottom. Below the prayers, two riders on pale and orange horses face one another with long lances in a jousting scene. The parchment is cream-coloured, with faint ruling lines. The image has black borders on either side, and the page’s upper edge is cropped.

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Malcolm Stoneman @malcolmstoneman.bsky.social · 18h

👀 Petit Palais, Paris Staircase & balustrade in Art Nouveau style, designed by Charles Girault. Set off by beautiful mosaic flooring. The Exposition Universelle of 1900. #MosaicMonday #IronworkThursday

Metal railings with scrolling Art Nouveau foliage designs. Mosaic floor with dark hatching within which are red & gold diamond shapes.

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Fiona Chartres @chartresfi.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The sun is shining this morning and this happy heron can't quite contain itself at King's College Chapel, Cambridge. #StainedGlassSunday

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 17h

The first building to come into our care and one of the most recently repaired, the tower of Old St Matthew's, Lightcliffe will be open for visitors this Sunday. 1/7

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Chris Dale @chrisdaleoxford.bsky.social · 15h

Solitary egret in evening light at Medley on the Thames

A river at evening. An egret stands in the water. There are trees, a red bridge, and boats in shade at upper right, nd large buildings to the left.

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 18h

Sculptor of the Enlightenment: Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) French Neoclassical sculptor in studio, with bust of mathematician Laplace & terracotta statue of Voltaire Assis on plinth. L’Atelier d’Houdon, c 1803 by Louis-Leopold Boilly, Musée des Arts Décoratifs | Voltaire Assis c 1785 Musée Fabre

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 19h

This mood of peaceful devotion is somewhat disrupted by the glittering armour of the donor, Duke of Urbino, whose prowess as a warrior suggests his presence as defender of the faith & protector of Madonna and Child. The painting may also celebrate the birth of his son Guidobaldo in 1472. 4/4

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 19h

A Renaissance innovation: ‘Sacra Conversazione’ where Saints share same space with Madonna & Child rather than being confined to the outer panels of the Gothic triptych structure. Madonna & Child commune with Saints John the Baptist, Bernardino of Siena, Jerome, Francis, Peter Martyr & Andrew. 3/4

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 19h

The suspended egg, symbol of fecundity & purity, and the faultless architectural proportions are Renaissance innovations - with classical architecture providing a new harmonious & protective world for the Madonna, instead of the traditional hortus conclusus or walled garden of Gothic art.2/4

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 19h

Brera Madonna: early Renaissance altarpiece 1472-74, of faultless architectural proportion, with symbolic suspended egg; for kneeling donor Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, by Piero della Francesca (died #OTD 1494) whose perspective drew on mathematics & geometry. Pinacoteca di Brera 1/4

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Kate North @curatorkate.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The totally stunning ceiling in the (equally stunning room) in Bishop West’s Chantry Chapel, Ely Cathedral 😍 The detail and surviving colours are amazing! West was chaplain to Henry VII and a diplomatic envoy to Henry VIII.

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Dr Mark Purcell @camlibresearch.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Genoese naval tapestries. In the sixteenth-century Villa del Principe, for the Doria family, and quite astonishing.

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Sunday afternoon by the Seine Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte Neo-Impressionist masterpiece: monumental work painted 1884-86 by leader of pointillism, Georges Seurat (1859-1891). Art Institute of Chicago

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (1656-1723), influential Austrian Baroque architect & sculptor, whose landmark works in Vienna defined the style of the Habsburg Empire. Schloss Schönbrunn 1695 | Hofbibliothek 1723-26 (Watercolour view 1835) #Nationalbibliothek | Karlskirche 1716-23

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

The Art of Painting 1666-68, by Delft artist Johannes Vermeer 1632-1675. A ‘muse’ in ultramarine, with book & trumpet of fame, poses for artist by window, in room defined by brass chandelier, black & white tiles, tapestry & wall map of Low Countries Leo Belgicus (1636). Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Albrecht Dürer, greatest German Renaissance artist (1471-1528); master of subtle lighting, textural detail in hair, fur & skin. Self-portrait 1500 (at 28 years old) in ‘Salvator Mundi’ frontal pose, oil on panel | Study of Field Hare 1502, watercolour & bodycolour Alte Pinakothek | Albertina, Wien

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Mercedes Cerón @mercedesceron.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Fin de semana

View of lake in Valle del Ambroz, with forest and mountains in the background

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Dr Mark Purcell @camlibresearch.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The Palazzo Reale in Genoa, earlier today, and very wonderful.

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Frédéric Moreau @goodclimate.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

There's a free exhibition of C19-C20 chairs at the Horta Museum, many by well-known architects. See if you can pick out Frank Lloyd Wright.

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Kate North @curatorkate.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The impressive and unusual Monk’s Door in Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire 🤩

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Fiona McLees @mclees-fiona.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

“In fact, the lamp-lighted table is a little world in itself, and a dreamer-philosopher may well fear lest our indirect lighting cause us to lose the center of the evening room.” (Bachelard, The Poetics of Space) Dorelia by Lamplight at Toulouse, Gwen John, 1903-4 (Private collection)

A painting by Gwen John, showing a young woman seated at a table, looking down at an open book in front of her. Her face is strongly lit, throwing shadows onto the dark wall behind her. A narrow window shows dusk outside.

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Philippe Prudent @phprudent.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Dire que l'exposition consacrée à la figure de Gustave Fayet, à la Fondation Vuitton, est passionnante serait encore en-dessous de la réalité. Il faut absolument découvrir celui qui fut l'un des plus grands collectionneurs de son temps ainsi qu'un artiste prolifique et inspiré. #HDA

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Jaq W @kardomah.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

John Scorror O’Connor (1913-2004) attended the Royal College of Art, London, where his teachers included Eric Ravilious and John Nash. In 1948 he became principal of Colchester School of Art. His colleagues included Richard Chopping, who designed dust jackets for the James Bond novels

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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

So very sorry to hear about the death of Chris Wickham - one of the greatest medieval historians of our times and a good friend. He was a brilliant, ground-breaking and deeply insightful man from whom I (and many others) learned a great deal. And a terrific writer too... #RIP

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Malcolm Stoneman @malcolmstoneman.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Postsparkasse, Wien Imperial and Royal Postal Savings Bank Office in Vienna, Austria Architect - Otto Wagner Date - 1904 - 1906 #architecture #reflections

The roof & main hall are reflected in a mirror table.

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Vincenzo DM @vincenzodm.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The grand Egmont Palace in Brussels, once the residence of the Dukes of Arenberg, now owned by the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

A very stylish #Roman woman's shoe with a decorative pattern punched into the leather. Found in 1907 in a well in the civilian settlement of the Saalburg fort, dating first half of the 2nd century AD. Photo: Römerkastell Saalburg

The picture shows a single leather shoe with a decorative pattern of holes of different sizes and shapes (e.g circles, triangles).

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University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · 10/10/2026

On This Day in 2024, the Northern Lights lit up the skies above Oxford 😍 📷 | Marisa Basali (via @bodleian.ox.ac.uk)

The Radcliffe Camera in Oxford illuminated against a night sky glowing with shades of purple, pink and green from the Northern Lights. The historic circular building and its distinctive dome stand beneath the colourful sky.

Close-up of the Radcliffe Camera’s domed roof and ornate stone architecture, set against a vivid pink and purple night sky illuminated by the Northern Lights over Oxford.

Side view of Oxford’s Radcliffe Camera, its historic stone walls glowing golden under artificial lighting. The Northern Lights create shades of purple and blue across the star-filled night sky, with Oxford’s historic college buildings visible in the background.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Clark

Hugh Aldersey-Williams @hoooaw.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Surprised at how delightful these spaces are (as a bit of an old modernist). Can I add a personal favourite: Michael Graves’s library at San Juan Capistrano, CA.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Clark

Edwin Heathcote @edwinheathcote.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Post Modern interiors. Not many left. Free link. www.ft.com/content/431e... Gaudy, kitsch – and utterly glorious. Save our postmodern interiors

ft.com

Gaudy, kitsch – and utterly glorious. Save our postmodern interiors

The colourful style is at risk of extinction, says Edwin Heathcote

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

‘The shadow that is cast...’ Alberto Giacometti, Swiss artist, known for his attenuated & expressive sculptures, born #OTD 1901. Tate London

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Fleeting pleasures: Antoine Watteau, French artist who heralded Rococo style; defined genre of fête galante with Commedia dell'Arte scenes & dalliance in poetic, often autumnal landscapes; bapt. #OTD 1684. Mezzetino 1720, Met Museum | L’Embarquement pour Cythère 1717; Pierrot 1718, Musée du Louvre

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

The largest palace in the world: Late Baroque masterpiece inspired by Versailles, La Reggia di Caserta in Naples (with aqueduct) was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, eminent Italian architect & engineer 1700-1773. Building work started in 1751 & continued after architect’s death. UNESCO World Heritage

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

La Belle Strasbourgeoise, 1703, in traditional Alsatian costume, fine lace, with Cavalier King Charles spaniel; by French artist Nicolas Largillière, born #OTD 1656. Trained in Antwerp, worked at English & French courts, portraying families of James II & Louis XIV. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg

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Chris Dale @chrisdaleoxford.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I've not seen many red kites this year, but one came by last week. Wonderful range of colours.

A red kite with wings lifted. Its body is reddish-brown with black patterns. Its head is silver-grey with a yellow beak and eye. The undersides of its wings are brown, black, grey, and white.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Clark

Becky Wallower @bwallower.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

#FindsFriday Alert and sparky, a 4th C BC red-figured rhyton in the form of a horse's head. From tomb in ancient pre-Roman Peucetian city of Thuriae, one of the largest in Puglia. Excavated 1957, in Monte Sannace displays in Gioia del Colle museum.

A drinking vessel in the shape of a horse's head with a cup-shaped behind it at one end to the left.
It has a handle shown on the bottom of the the cup-shaped section of the vessel, with the head pointed downwards to the right at an angle. Mostly glazed in black, the cup has red-figured warriors with white spears and headbands, and red decoration running round the top and the intersection with the head. The horse has a thin bridle in a yellow-gold colour, a wide open red eye and ears standing up slightly forward.

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Lisa @halfshiretales.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Back at Kilpeck Church, Herefordshire. Pevsner described the decoration as ‘sumptuous.’ Honestly one of the most remarkable things I’ve laid eyes on. #adoorablethursday

The 12th century door to Kilpeck church, Herefordshire

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John Vigar FSA @johnevigar.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Picking grapes. Medieval roundel in Norwich Castle Museum.

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Ashmolean Museum, Oxford @ashmoleanmuseum.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

These beautiful beakers were made in Vienna during the 19th century. The technique of decorating glass in transparent enamels was developed in the early 19th century.

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Reposted by Dr Anna Clark

Kevin Wilbraham @kpw1453.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The Sutton Hoo purse lid which was discovered in 1939 as part of the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, near Woodbridge in Suffolk. Dating to the early 7th century, the purse lid is now part of the collections at the British Museum. 📸 My own #FindsFriday #SuttonHoo

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Madame Récamier, Parisian beauty, salonnière of Directoire & early Consulate periods, admired by Châteaubriand, friend of Mme de Staël. Painted in 1800, à la Grecque, reclining upon a form of chaise-longue known as a Récamier; by Neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). Musée du Louvre

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Flowers in Metal Vase in Niche, c 1670 by Abraham Mignon, German painter of elaborate compositions with dark backgrounds; centred with vibrant reds & whites, rare tulip Semper Augustus top right, pink Rosa Centifolia lower left. Pupil of de Heem, active in Utrecht; died in 1679. Mauritshuis den Haag

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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Royal Hunting Lodge c. 1730: Palazzina di cacciatore di Stupinigi, outside Turin, designed by the Architect to the King of Sicily, Filippo Juvarra (1678-1736). Oval central pavilion topped with stag; vaulted hall with ornate Rococo decoration, and four projecting wings. UNESCO World Heritage

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Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.eu · 08/10/2026

Doesn’t matter how often you see it. Always pretty.

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Kate North @curatorkate.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

The gorgeous 14th century south porch of the Church of St. Mary in Ashwell, Hertfordshire 💕

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Charles West @pseudo-isidore.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

St Paul's by night.

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Des @desdelboy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Still impressed with St Pancras following last weeks visit. The transformation of William Henry Barlow’s original building into the International by architects Alastair Lansley and Chapman Taylor is nothing short of spectacular in my opinion. share.google/BgkXonQtFT2r...

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Dr Kate Farrant Shaw @katefarrantshaw.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

An exciting display in the Weston library in Oxford last weekend of various medieval manuscripts including this one below (MS Douce 118, fold 6v-7r) #Medievalsky

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Peter Frankopan @peterfrankopan.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Well. Here it is: a new book that has been keeping me busy for a while. The Seventh Continent: Antarctica and the Southern Oceans. Past, Present and Future 1/5

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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Some 3,400 years ago, an Egyptian artisan captured a sense of speed and elegance in this beautifully carved handle in the shape of a horse! 🐴 ❤️ New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III, c. 1390–1352 BC. The Met 📷 by me #Archaeology

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