Of course, the pose is cocky. What about Henry VIII wasn’t? Its girth is substantial and the shoulders are broad, which is not a surprise since the King had ballooned to rotundness when he wore the armor at 53 years old. He would be dead three years after he donned it during his last campaign…Continue reading The Architecture of Chivalry
Category: Historical Design
Historical design research and historical design movements are the foundation of all design, and they are subjects I write about often. I adore certain periods of history but rarely come across a design movement I don’t enjoy.
One of my heroines of historical design is Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. She had such an eye for great design, which reflected her classic fashion sensibilities and she wasn’t afraid to stand up and say when an interior or a piece of architecture deserved preservation—two of her greatest achievements along these lines the White House and Grand Central Terminal. I go on an excursion with her and her sister Lee, which they illustrated in a beautiful slim, large format book titled One Special Summer.
In my post A Backward Glance on Rue de Varenne, I fantasize about actually getting into Edith Wharton’s apartment on that storied street rather than standing in the rain as I have on two trips to Paris—longing to see what’s behind that statuesque door in terms of the buildings historical design. So far, no success, but I’ll keep trying! In my piece, Courtesan Style Counts, I look at a gorgeous chair called the Courtesan through the eyes of the English Demi-Monde in their heyday. And in Henry VIII’s Cult of Cloth, I look at how the Tudor king used textiles to make like more sumptuous.
The Nature of Noble Loyalty
It’s spring in London and the flowers are bursting forth on Cheyne Walk, which skirts the edge of the River Thames until it gives way to the Chelsea Embankment. I have ambled along the street for nearly an hour identifying plaques representing the famous people who’ve lived on nearly every block. Finally, I’ve reached Roper’s…Continue reading The Nature of Noble Loyalty
The Tapestry of History
In just a few hours, the modern ideal of a fairy tale wedding will take place at Windsor Castle. A trip I took to the medieval palace several years ago had a legendary feel to it that may not rival the experience of a young American woman marrying her prince charming but it was no…Continue reading The Tapestry of History
The Fabric of Design
In their introduction to The Decoration of Houses, Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman, Jr., write, “In the middle ages, when warfare and brigandage shaped the conditions of life, and men camped in their castles much as they did in their tents, it was natural that decorations should be portable, and that the naked walls of…Continue reading The Fabric of Design
Madame Récamier and the Art of Reclining
Jeanne-Françoise Julie Adélaïde Bernard, known after her marriage as Juliette Récamier, was born on December 4, 1777—240 years ago yesterday. Had she lived during modern times, I believe one of her favorite design events of the year would be The Salon Art + Design exhibition because it holds such exceptional furnishings by the world’s finest…Continue reading Madame Récamier and the Art of Reclining
My Porcelain Bucket List
When I am planning literary design adventures, I look for experiences that give me the feeling of transcendence—encounters during which I am conscious of having one foot in the past and one in the future. One of the strongest examples of this I have had to date took place during a trip to the Bernardaud…Continue reading My Porcelain Bucket List
Henry VIII’s Cult of Cloth
A trip to Frankfurt to attend Heimtextil a week from today has inspired me to share one of my favorite anecdotes about Henry VIII and his court, as it describes how the Tudor King doted on textiles. I came across the depictions of his wanderlusting ways in Nicola Shulman’s book Graven with Diamonds: The Many…Continue reading Henry VIII’s Cult of Cloth
Transitory Spaces
The beginning of one of Napoléon Bonaparte’s earliest letters to Joséphine de Beauharnais simply oozes sensuality: “Seven in the morning. I awaken full of you…the memory of yesterday’s intoxicating evening has left no rest to my senses…Sweet and incomparable Joséphine, I draw from your lips, from your heart, a flame which consumes me…A thousand kisses,…Continue reading Transitory Spaces
Rewriting the Myth of Pandora
I’ve always been fascinated by the myth of Pandora because the most widely accepted explanation of this parable—that feminine curiosity “is responsible for all the woes from which mankind suffers”—may not be accurate according to some scholars. The quote, from Frances E. Sabin’s book Classical Myths That Live Today, goes on to say, “Another version…Continue reading Rewriting the Myth of Pandora
The Built Legacy of Henry VIII
The 2016 Academy Awards are handed out this coming Sunday so I’m celebrating a film that showcases the built legacy of Henry VIII to delve back into the subject I began here on February 2nd. The movie that showcases Henry VIII’s architectural heritage so beautifully is A Man for All Seasons, which swept the Oscars in 1967…Continue reading The Built Legacy of Henry VIII