Pretty Pictures: Tissot, Boldini, Sorolla, Bougereau et al.

Even though we may know better with our conscious minds, I believe we do tend to think of the 19th century as a dull, gray time - on account of all those black and white photographs that were the norm in those days. But of course, it was an era as full of vivid color as our own. Whilst just idling my way along through various things this afternoon, I came across these videos that Sotheby's had up for auction last year, and they were all so lovely and so delightfully new to me that I just had to share them with you fellas. Enjoy.

More videos of paintings from this era and from others can be found at the Sotheby's website.

Gratitude

A good message and some stunning photography here - it's worth your time:




Honk to Blue Truck reader Craig for passing this on.

Dreamhouse: Ragley Hall

When you daydream, what do you dream about?

One of my pastimes when I've got nothing better to do - or, er, perhaps when I'm avoiding something I'd better be doing - is looking at pictures of wonderful old houses like Ragley Hall.  England is full of magnificent stately homes, but Ragley takes the cake in my book for the perfect symmetry of its plan, and the exquisite modesty of its grandeur:  not too much, not too little. 

Building began in 1680 but was not completed until the 1750's; the red salon has been maintained to look exactly as it did when decorated in 1780, with only two refurbishments of the upholstery and wallpaper, in 1870 and 1970.

The great hall is breathtaking:  70 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 40 feet high. 

And the tromp l'oeil murals by artist Grant Rust took 14 years to complete (1969-1983), but the results are more than worth the effort.  Check out this video of his work at Ragley, and set the video to play at 480 pixels.  Wow is all I can say.



Home to the Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford, the house and gardens are open to the public if you're ever in the neighborhood.  Believe it or not, there are plenty of even grander houses over there, but none prettier that I've seen or heard tell of.

I know, it's not the kind of shack you'd ever expect to find an old shitkicker like me in.  But still, it shore is purty to look at, ain't it boys?