sporadicq:

Emblems from Michael Maier’s book Atalanta Fugiens (Atalanta Fleeing), published at Oppenheim in 1617 by the firm of Johann Theodor de Bry.
It’s an alchemical text in a strikingly unusual form: it comprises fifty sections, where each section consists of a score of a short fugue (‘in two canonical parts over a cantus firmus’), a motto, an engraved emblematic image, a Latin verse, and a few pages of cryptic commentary. It takes its title from the legendary tale of Atalanta’s race with Hippomenes. In its simultaneous presentation of music, image, poetry and prose, it is a singular piece of Baroque multimedia. (Source)

ianbrooks:

Riding the Pyramid

Climbing up the Great Pyramids of Giza is punishable by imprisonment up to 3 years, but pretty pictures don’t take themselves, so sometimes risks have to be taken. A small, intrepid band of russians visited Cairo and entered the Pyramid grounds as tourists, hiding from guards as visiting hours ended and then making the long, arduous trek to the top of some of humanity’s most ancient structures. Once atop the Egyptian skyline, they took some magnificent photos while evading detection from the guards, but also found engravings in many different languages: the rest of the world’s contribution to Egypt’s towering history.

(source: raskalov-vit / via: English Russia)