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Summer (1893). Gunnar Berndtson (Finnish, 1854-1895). Berndtson could be called a salon painter who specialised in the depiction of beautiful fabrics, luxury objects and a sophisticated lifestyle. He painted Finnish landscapes in the spirit of French plein-air realism. Summer was painted in Pernaja. The painting is a splendid example of illusionism that had its heyday towards the end of the 19th century. In Summer, time stands still and puffy summer clouds drift across the sky. The young woman sitting on the pier is Berndtson’s niece Karin, who was 15 at the time of the painting. The boy fishing in the boat is her 7-year-old brother Ernst.
Lovely.
Hand Bookbindings: Bindings for Collectors
“Thomas Hollis, an English collector of the late eighteenth century, had most of his books bound in red goatskin, with simple gold stamping on the boards and spines. Hollis had nineteen designs cut for use on his bindings. Most of the bindings are by John Matthewman. Hollis donated a large number of books to Harvard College.”
Love the little owl.
I’m the kind of person who likes to be by himself. To put a finer point on it, I’m the type of person who doesn’t find it painful to be alone. I find spending an hour or two every day running alone, not speaking to anyone, as well as four or five hours alone at my desk, to be neither difficult nor boring. I’ve had this tendency ever since I was young, when, given a choice, I much preferred reading books on my own or concentrating on listening to music over being with someone else. I could always think of things to do by myself.
Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (via bookmania)
