
—Myrna Loy

La Mousme by Vincent Van Gogh (1888); Jessica Chastain wearing Alexander McQueen, Vogue (2013)


Painting on lime wood
41.9 x 33.5 cm

Vogue Red Blocks cup and saucer, Eric Slater, 1930-1931



—Frank Sinatra
“Part of the syndrome is that I just would get very depressed, and I couldn’t handle things. I didn’t know what was wrong with me and didn’t have medication to take. I am more than bipolar. I am obsessive-compulsive. I’ve got lots of different things, but all are in check with treatment.”
—Kim Novak
Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak in The Man With the Golden Arm, 1955

Portrait of Elisabeth Bellinghausen (c.1520- 1570)
c. 1538 -1539, oil on panel
34.5 × 24 cm (13.6 × 9.4 in)



Sunset Sea , 1960
oil on canvas
32 by 46 inches (81.3 by 116.8 cm)


Mosaic of Empress Theodora at the Church of San Vitale (547); Dolce & Gabbana Fall Ready to Wear (2013)

—Brigitte Bardot

A young woman holding a distaff before a lit candle,
oil on canvas,
52 3/4 by 37 3/8 in.; 134 by 94.9 cm.








Beware the Evil Eye
Souk, Jerusalem
2017




Last Sunday though TCM and Fathom events, I saw a digitally restored Casablanca on the big screen. What a treat. Ingrid Bergman always seemed like a tremendous screen presence with no scandals or tabloid stories.
That 1928 watch seems just as stylish today.
You must be thinking about another Ingrid Bergman. Ingrid Bergman gave birth to Roberto Rossellini’s son and they were not married. It was a huge scandal. Bergman was barred by an act of Congress from working in America for many years. The tabloids feasted on her scandal for many years.
This is the Ingrid Bergman of Flatbush New York isn’t it? If so I was mistaken 😉
I had just never heard of anything ever in the history unlike say Frank Sinatra, but I certainly defer to the professor
I remember it well. A miscarriage of logic, but at least in those days there was a sense of order and organization. Not much, but in many ways, despite the injustice, better than we have now.
Touching tribute to your mother-in-law.
Livia has that Shirley Temple look.
The 1928 Cartier watch was functional until increased human life expectancy required larger size alpha numeric displays to assist the elderly (baby boomers).
In general, wristwatches were smaller in the past. If you try on a Cartier for men from the 20s, 30s, and 4os you’ll be surprised at its diminutive size.
– A lovely photo of your mother-in-law, Robert,
– I love the Art Deco cup design, but I don’t think it would be practical to use…
– The photo of Barbara Stanwyck is interesting. Her hair looks a little “damaged” (for lack of a better word). The makeup looks like thick, perhaps for a B&W silent movie? Oh, and her lips look completely painted on. Not at all the fashionable, glamours photos I’ve seen of her elsewhere.
– The Cartier watch is simply elegant.
– What is there about the blue on the door you photographed? Do blue doors have some significance in the Mediterranean region? Whenever I see a door painted this color, my mind immediately thinks of Israel or Greece. Both seem to use this shade of blue…
– Of course, BB and Myrna look ravishing, as always.
– Thoughts and prayers…
That shade of blue is supposed to provide protection from the evil eye.
The Stanwyck and Paget photos are remarkably candid and unretouched. I love their amateur quality.
Greatly appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
On looking at the Cranach the Elder “Bride” one word immediately cane to mind: RUN.
I realize your intent on the compare and contrast of Theodora and Gabbana, but few people realize that Theodora was one of those women of the ages, like Eleanor of Aquataine.