MUSEYON BOOKS Smart City Guides for Travel, History, Art and Film Lovers

  With only 37 works in existence, it’s hard to find a Vermeer, let alone three of them, in any one place. Only five museums can boast that—the Frick (3), the Met (5), the Mauritshuis (3), the Rijksmuseum (4), and the National Gallery of Art in D.C. (4). By the way, in case you weren’t counting, that makes New York ... Read More »

  Manhattan’s Park Avenue Armory is already known as the host to a handful of highbrow events each year including the annual arts show, antiques fairs, and, most famously, Marc Jacobs’ runway shows. But next year will bring a new level of culture and a whole new crowd to the gigantic Upper East Side convention space—England’s Royal Shakespeare Company will ... Read More »

  Have you always wanted to make love on a carousel, in a space capsule, or tucked between the meat and veg of a giant sandwich? Well, then, Chicago has a romantic themed hotel suite perfect for your Valentine’s Day celebrations… you sick, sick monster. [AV Club]   President Obama has picked New York artist Chuck Close, writer Jhumpa Lahiri, ... Read More »

  As seen yesterday, even if you manage to find the vantage from which a painter sketched a real-life scene, history, changes in perspective, and the artist’s own agenda might mean you’ll never actually be able to see the world from that same perspective. Still, it’s sure fun to try. One of the more interesting examples of pairing art with ... Read More »

  As Fader reports, the Excellence in Music and Entertainment Awards (the Jamaican equivalent of the Grammies) was just last week, and one of their favorites (and ours) was not in attendance. Vybz Kartel may have been the big winner (or the Taylor Swift) of that particular ceremony, but its Busy Signal that has the tastemakers over at Fader dancing. ... Read More »

  Is the title character in the forthcoming Neil Jordan film a mermaid, a “selkie”, or just some lady who got lost between pier #5 and pier #6? In “Ondine”, fisherman and father Colin Farrell catches a soaking wet Alicja Bachleda in his nets, prompting mystery, intrigue, and some interesting turns toward Irish mythology. While we’ll all have to wait ... Read More »

  The countdown has begun to what is either the most romantic or most depressing holiday of all—Valentine’s Day. If you’re currently attached, well good on you—it can be tough out there. To help you enjoy this special day all that much more, we’re offering five songs perfect for a little one-on-one time with your someone special from all around ... Read More »

  Without a doubt, Johannes Vermeer’s painting “View on Delft” (above, 1659 – 60, courtesy of The Mauritshuis in the Hague) is the most famous vista of that Dutch city which was home to the artist, and the school of light-infused, painstakingly rendered school that both supported him and grew in fame and influence due to his contributions and guidance. ... Read More »