I took the picture two weeks ago when I went on a Moskva River cruise. St. Basil’s Cathedral that is celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2011 and has already been a subject to an attack in July, was standing solemnly amidst the tourist buses and tourists themselves, eager to take a photo in front of one of the wonders of Russian medieval architecture.
The popular legend has it that Ivan the Terrible ordered the master masons who designed and built the cathedral to be blinded, so they could not produce anything similar or better than the cathedral. While the story is now generally held to be untrue, it stresses the importance this edifice has played in how Russian cultural heritage is perceived and estimated. Not even a French king, as far as we know, ever thought of killing or mutilating Leonardo, lest the great artist painted another masterpiece for another master. And yet in Russia, in the time of Michelangelo, another Titan of Renaissance, two architects were reportedly most cruelly denied the opportunity to practise their art and trade…
I previously showed you a few shopwindows of Moscow’s antique shops, now here is more. The shop “Thing” is located at the bottom end of Nikitsky Boulevard, where it is closer to New Arbat St. And while the shopwindows per se may not be the most interesting, a putto trying to walk in high-heels certainly is. To date, this is one of the jaw-dropping advertisements I’ve ever seen, and I have no foggiest idea as to the meaning… because the little kid’s sex is kind of confusing. We may, of course, remember the difference between gender and sex, except that this poster hangs in the city where Pride Parades are still routinely prohibited.
