The Taj Mahal in Agra

I thought I'd share a picture of the Taj Mahal from my trip to India. It really looks gorgeous, especially on this photo. Otherwise it was quite hot, I had a really bad stomach and there were way too many people. Oh, and my camera ran out of batteries as soon as I took a couple of pictures.

So all in all this was not a very pleasant trip. We were also given a guide, included in the hotel/car package, who felt absolutely driven to tell me everything about the history of the Taj Mahal. Love, death, tomb, etc.

Rembrandt drawings

I think that Rembrandt's paintings are highly overestimated and his drawings and etchings are way better. In the drawings, we do not have the noise of colors. Rembrandt derives his artistic expression from the contrast of light and shade -- everything else is just icing. To be exact, there is not a great divide between Rembrandt's drawings and etchings, there are plenty of compositions that have both drawn and etched versions.


A drawing of a sleeping woman.


A woman with a child. This is a very biblical type of scene, especially the observers in the background.


An ink drawing of a landscape with a river. These technically seemingly unfinished drawings are the best.


Drawing of a lion, obviously a study for one of his St. Jerome etchings. Rembrandt drew lions and elephants a lot, none of which are native in the Netherlands.