19th Century - Blog Posts
The Cecil Whig, Elkton, Maryland, August 20, 1870
please guys stream Kassya prelude and Kassya trepak by Leo Delibes cause I need some orchestra to perform the whole opera and put it online.
context: it's based on a short story by Sacher-Masoch. Delibes died before the opera could be arranged and it was arranged by someone else (I don't remember who rn) so it technically could be performed. There was also an exhibition that was recorded for an article for Le Figaro but that's it and I can't even download that for some reason.
“But that wasn’t really speech, that was an eloquent moaning, a weeping of a sick mortally sick soul.”
— Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, 1870
Leopold and Hulda von Sacher-Masoch (bottom right) with amateur actors at the "witch tower" in their garden
I loved this painting so much more when I thought that the man in blue was a woman
Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Leon Gerome (1890)
Blog post: The Freedom to be Grotesque and Gothic Authoresses
"I shall thus give a general answer to the question, so frequently asked me—How I, then a young girl, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea?"
- Mary Shelley, Introduction to Frankenstein
In the 1831 edition of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley explained how she, as a 19-year-old young woman, wrote a work that shook contemporary intellectuals.
“I didn’t mean anything by it; it’s only flight of fancy,” the writers who defined gothic literature said to a world that was not prepared to accept that women with no formal education were capable of the intellectual prowess woven into these tales of dark, profound, terrifying worlds.
We have long lived in a society that is quick to denounce, demonise and deny the voices that speak in a different tone. Even if you never show it to a single soul, write. Write, because to write dark, terrible things is to accept that they exist inside you without shame.
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Unedited post - with a short piece I published years ago - linked above!
Day 1 on my advent calendar, I got Krampus!
Krampuses (Krampi?) feature heavily in Victorian Christmas cards. They stuff bad children into baskets and take them to Hell, and give those who survive the purge presents.
Here's one of the lovely beasties. The legs sticking out of the basket is the icing on this cursed Christmas cake.
Tell me what you got for today in my ask box, or tag me on a post!
You can get the printable advent calendar with the Krampus and more Christmas critters here:
Everything about this drawing makes me happy, but the detail that makes my Undead heart sing is the yellow-covered copy of Dracula. It's the 1897 edition, designed to evoke the appearance of the 'yellowback' - the cheap sensational fiction sold at railway stations at the time. Dr Watson was mentioned reading one in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. (Above is the miniature version I made for my haunted dollhouse.)
Cover me in sunshine...Shower me with good times
Tell me that the world's been spinning since the beginning....And everything will be alright
What can I say, my little nosferatu loves yellow. Get some sleep, Aurik.
watercolour and gouache with coloured pencil detailing, a little white ink for highlights.
1:120 plan for a model switch house, mostly based on 19th century Hungarian railway architecture and the switch house of Acsád. And it's definitely not for my model railway. (Yes it is.) 🚂🚃🚃🚃
TT méretű váltóállító ház terve. Elvileg két led megy majd bele a visszajelzésnek a tornyokba, de én nem értek hozzá, nem is nekem van modellvasutam. Tényleg nem. (de) 🚂🚃🚃🚃
Over the Garden Wall.
Also on dA: http://chocolatesun.deviantart.com/art/Over-the-Garden-Wall-493984122
Study of "L'Origine du Monde" by Gustave Courbet.
Oil on wood panel - c.a 50×50 cm
Map of the route of the Trails of Tears — depicting the route taken to relocate Native Americans from the Southeastern United States between 1836 and 1839.
Halb sieben Uhr abends, in der Augustinerkirche. Merkwürdige Zeit für eine Trauung, aber passend, An diesem 24. April 1854. Sehr passend, porca miseria!
April 24, 1854
On this day 171 years ago: 16 year old Elisabeth married Emperor Franz Joseph in the Augustinian Church in Vienna.
Elisabeth das Musical, 3rd Dutch Revival (Netherlands)
— Costumes by Arno Bremers
Okay the Wedding Dress, SERVED
Danique Dusée as Young Elisabeth (Elisabeth de Musical)
Costumes of Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Costume Designer Catherine Zuber, who has been nominated 15 times for a Tony Award (and has won 8 of them, including her nomination for Moulin Rouge!) created about 300 costumes for the spectacular musical.
The artisans at Parson’s Costumes in NYC have been known to create 793 unique pieces for the show by translating Zuber’s illustrations.
Although rooted in turn of the century Belle Époque fashion, the designs embrace contemporary influences, making concessions for a modern score and choreography.
From the colourful Can-Can skirts worn by the dance ensemble, Satine's crystallized corset, and the hand-painted costumes inspired by the artwork of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, every piece is truly a labour of love.
Pia Douwes for Elisabeth, Schönbrunn Version (2019)
They didn't even bother adjusting the bodice and the skirt in the fourth pic 😭
Marija Arutiunova as Elisabeth (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Empress Elisabeth of Austria (1864)
Triumph of the Will - The Challenge, James Tissot, circa 1877
Oil on canvas 85 ¼ x 43 in. (216.5 x 109.3 cm)