Category: Europe
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Nympha
Nympha Paolo Fantin, in his installation Lympha at the Venice Biennale, shows us a ‘nympha’ enveloped in pure white and light, but with dirty mud at her feet. It’s the nymph Daphne who has tried hard to escape from the passionate, aggressive advances by Apollo. In the end she finds a way out by turning…
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La Conca – wet
When at high tide the lower parts of the eroded rocky coast at La Conca get submerged by the sea this is how they look. The water in the small basins forms interesting turbid patterns, making the seascape look alive and beautiful. Photo of the week: Coast at La Conca, Isola di San Pietro, Sardinia,…
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La Conca – dry
La Conca – dry This is what the eroded rocky coast looks like at La Conca on the southern tip of Isola di San Pietro, just off the coast of southwest Sardinia. It doesn’t seem to receive sea water during normal high tide since the little basins are completely dried up. If it would, we…
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WC-2000
WC-2000 A WC-arrow on the trek around the “Aiguilles Rouges” (Red Peaks) opposite the Mont Blanc. Even for the spic and span Swiss Alps this signpost at 2000m altitude looks a bit over the top. Photo of the week: Aiguilles Rouges, Switzerland 1998
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A statue of liberty
A statue of liberty In 1674, during a great storm, the nave of the gothic Dom Church in Utrecht collapsed and from the rubble one must have had a view into the choir and apse that were still standing. The nave had fallen to pieces because it had never been properly finished at the time…
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The lost heroes of Rozenoord
The lost heroes of Rozenoord A monument of empty chairs with nameplates underneath. Names of resistance fighters – mostly – who were executed nearby in the final months of Nazi German occupation of The Netherlands during World War 2.A chair without armrests for the young ones below 30 years of age; for the ones of…
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Christo tree
Christo tree An enveloped tree in 2009.Christo still had 11 years to go.Now he is also dead. Photo of the week: Vondelpark, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2009
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Amstelredam
Amstelredam Passing this spot in Amsterdam and seeing the late light of the sun reflecting in the water of the Prinsengracht and the Amstel River, I thought I’d better take a picture. I love this city.The photo breathes the atmosphere of an old painting, and for a moment I imagine myself walking in 17th century…
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Lightness of being
Lightness of being In last week’s post I touched upon the innovative art of Mondrian, De Stijl and Bauhaus in the first half of last century and I mentioned their impact on abstract art and modern design.At a friend’s house in Geneva I once saw the coffee table of the picture. Impressed by its clever…
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Mondria(a)n
Mondria(a)n This painting (The Grey Tree), revealing cubist influence, shows Mondriaan at the crossroads between his earlier figurative work and his later purely abstract paintings. Mondriaan made it in 1911, the year he went to France where he wished to join the Parisian Avant Garde. On his way to Paris Mondriaan dropped one ‘a’ of…
