ART AFICIONADO

Friday, October 16, 2026

Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: CHANEL Spring Summer 2027 Show

Creative Director: Mattieu Blazy

Thursday, October 15, 2026

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov

Art Appreciation

Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov was born on October 15, 1814, in Moscow, Russian Empire, and became one of the defining figures of Russian Romanticism.

His mother died when he was young, and he was largely raised by his wealthy maternal grandmother, Yelizaveta Arsenyeva, at her estate at Tarkhany. A sickly child, Lermontov made several trips to the Caucasus, whose mountains and people left a lasting impression on both his writing and visual art.

He received an extensive private education before entering a boarding school affiliated with Moscow University and later Moscow University itself in 1830. After leaving the university, he moved to St. Petersburg and entered military school, eventually becoming an officer in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment.

Although best remembered as the author of A Hero of Our Time and poems such as The Demon and The Death of the Poet, Lermontov was also an accomplished draftsman and painter. He reportedly began drawing at an early age and later received painting lessons from artist Pyotr Zabolotsky. His literary and artistic lives became intertwined with the Caucasus.

After writing The Death of the Poet in response to Alexander Pushkin's fatal 1837 duel, Lermontov was exiled to military service in the Caucasus. He returned there in 1840 following his own duel with Ernest de Barante, son of the French ambassador. These experiences supplied him with landscapes, soldiers, mountain communities and military scenes that appeared in his poems, prose, drawings and paintings. His second exile proved his last: Lermontov was killed in another duel at Pyatigorsk in 1841, at only 26.

As a visual artist, Lermontov worked across several media, including oil, watercolor, gouache, pencil, ink and sanguine, producing landscapes, portraits, battle scenes and travel sketches. His landscapes often use broad panoramic compositions, receding planes and atmospheric light to convey the scale and drama of the Caucasus—the same Romantic landscape that dominates much of his writing.

Among his best-known surviving works are View of the Caucasus with Camels (1837–1838), The Georgian Military Road Near Mtskheta (1837), A View of Krestovaya Mountain (1837–1838), View of Pyatigorsk (1837–1838), and his striking Self-Portrait (1837–1838), a watercolor showing Lermontov in military dress against the Caucasus Mountains. His Portrait of Shakespeare (1832), executed in pencil and sanguine, also demonstrates the range of his draftsmanship.

While literature secured Lermontov's place in Russian cultural history, his paintings provide a parallel visual record of the landscapes, people and Romantic sensibility that shaped his poetry and prose.

Self-Portrait, 1837–1838

View of the Caucasus with Camels, 1837-1838

The Georgian Military Road Near Mtskheta, 1837

A View of Krestovaya Mountain, 1837–1838

View of Pyatigorsk, 1837–1838

Portrait of Shakespeare, 1832

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.tretyakovgallerymagazine.com/node/3306

https://www.tretyakovgallerymagazine.com/articles/4-2019-65/lermontov-landscape-issue-attribution-relating-two-watercolour-landscapes

https://www.culture.ru/persons/8188/mikhail-lermontov

Wednesday, October 14, 2026

RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Women Confess Their Kinks To Their Boyfriends

via Cut

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Aqualung - Brighter Than Sunshine

Music Appreciation

“Brighter Than Sunshine” was released on October 13, 2003, as the first single from Still Life, the sophomore album by British singer-songwriter Matthew Nicholas Hales, who records under the name Aqualung.

Born in Southampton, England, Hales trained in classical music before shifting into alternative pop and piano-driven songwriting. His early work drew attention for its atmospheric sound and introspective tone, blending acoustic instrumentation with subtle electronic textures.

While Still Life expanded his audience in the UK, “Brighter Than Sunshine” gained renewed visibility in the United States after being featured prominently in film and television.

Lyrically, the song captures the euphoria and disbelief that often accompany unexpected love. Hales sings from the perspective of someone who has fallen hard, surprised by the depth of his own feelings. The repeated refrain underscores emotional clarity: love as something luminous and overwhelming.

Compositionally, the track is anchored by bright piano chords, layered guitars, and a buoyant rhythm that gives it a warm, optimistic lift. The melody builds steadily without becoming bombastic, maintaining Aqualung’s reflective style while embracing a more radio-friendly structure.

The music video further amplified the song’s reach by incorporating footage from the 2005 romantic comedy A Lot Like Love, directed by Nigel Cole and starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. The video intercuts scenes of the film’s evolving relationship with shots of Aqualung performing, reinforcing the song’s themes of timing, chance encounters, and enduring connection.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/aqualung-mn0000490664

https://www.allmusic.com/album/still-life-mw0000326760

https://genius.com/Aqualung-brighter-than-sunshine-lyrics

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391304/

https://www.discogs.com/master/175686-Aqualung-Still-Life

Monday, October 12, 2026

George Harrison - Got My Mind Set on You

Music Appreciation

“Got My Mind Set on You” began life as a brisk R&B tune written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1962. More than two decades later, George Harrison revived the song for his comeback album Cloud Nine.

Released as a single on October 12, 1987, Harrison’s version surprised many listeners with its bright, contemporary sound and quickly became his third and final No. 1 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It also reintroduced him to a new generation after a relatively quiet period following the Beatles’ breakup.

Lyrically, the song is built on directness rather than poetry. Its central idea—romantic determination—comes through a repeated, almost mantra-like declaration of devotion. Harrison’s arrangement keeps the structure simple but modernizes it with a punchy beat, prominent electric bass, and crisp guitar accents.

The use of early drum-machine textures and polished production gives the track a late-1980s sheen while preserving the infectious drive of the original. Harrison’s vocal delivery feels relaxed yet assured, reinforcing the song’s sense of steady resolve rather than dramatic longing.

The music video, directed by Gar Weis, became just as memorable as the song itself. Set in a haunted house filled with moving furniture, jumping taxidermy, and surreal visual gags, it drew clear inspiration from the comedy-horror film Evil Dead II. The blend of slapstick humor and horror tropes matched the MTV era perfectly and helped propel the single’s popularity, making the video a pop-culture fixture of the late 1980s.