Koninginnedag: Queen’s Day in the Netherlands

Today the Dutch celebrate Queen Beatrix. Happy Queen’s Day to the Netherlands! Queen’s Day, or Koninginnedag in Dutch, is a national holiday in the Netherlands, Curacao, Sint Maarten and Aruba. Before Queen’s Day the Dutch celebrated ‘Princess Day’ on August 31st. …

Czech Republic: Alena Hanáková

Arti­cle by Alena Hanáková, Minister of Culture of the Czech Republic: Velislav’s Bible (Velislai biblia picta): Czech “comics” from the mid 14th Century If there is a media that suits the current time best then it is neither a book nor …

Saint George’s Day: The Day of the Book

Today is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated in several countries, regions and cities of which he is the patron saint, including: England, Catalonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Moscow, Valencia, Majorca, Aragon, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and more. The 23rd of April …

Birthday of Joan Miró

“For me, a picture should be like sparks. It must dazzle like the beauty of a woman or a poem. It must have radiance; it must be like those stones which Pyrenean shepherds use to light their pipes.” – Joan Miró …

Man of Letters: Manuel José Quintana

Manuel José Quintana was a Spanish patriot and neoclassical poet born on April 11th 1772 in Madrid. He is one of the most important names in Spanish Literature during the transition from Enlightenment to Romanticism. Quitana  was at the forefront of …