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Culture Critic

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Aug 6

Do you ever wonder how Venice seems to float on the Adriatic Sea?

Well, the entire city was built on a forest of 10 million tree trunks — over a thousand years ago... (thread) 🧵

How did one of the world's greatest cities get built on small patches of marshland in the Venetian lagoon?

By driving millions of wooden stakes deep into the clay...

The stakes go deep enough to reach firmer ground, and then a wooden base is placed on top.

Next, Istrian limestone (resistant to erosive seawater) forms a platform, on top of which entire buildings can be stably constructed.

Read 17 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Aug 5

The Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica might be the most awe-inspiring man-made structure on Earth.

Everything about it feels impossible — from its immense scale to its radiant beauty.

But what's hidden underneath ground is even more astonishing... (thread) 🧵

To put things in perspective, those letters around the base of the dome are 2 meters tall:

"Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven."

The 448-foot dome was designed by none other than Michelangelo, an almighty centerpiece for the world's largest church by interior measure.

You can feel every bit of that space — 60,000 people can fit inside.

Read 18 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Aug 2

Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling is history's greatest artwork — but what does it actually mean?

Well, these are no ordinary Bible scenes.

And there's one key detail that everyone ignored for centuries… (thread) 🧵

Man's greatest painting was made not by a painter, but a sculptor. Michelangelo was primarily a sculptor in 1508, when the Pope twisted his arm into adorning the chapel ceiling.

He had never completed a fresco before...

That is evident in the 343 figures that look like they were "sculpted" onto the ceiling — muscular, powerful forms that borrowed from classical sculpture.

So what did he actually paint up there?

Read 18 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 30

Da Vinci's Last Supper is a keystone of Christian art.

It inspired centuries of awe and speculation — over its subtle symbols and concealed messages.

But there's something hidden that nearly everyone overlooks... (thread) 🧵

Many aren't aware it's a mural, painted on the wall of a church refectory in Milan.

It's survival today is a miracle — it came inches from destruction in WW2, and has faded so much that monks once felt happy to knock through Christ's feet for a new doorway.

But what makes it such a masterpiece?

Unlike most paintings of the Last Supper, Leonardo decided against a calm dispensing of bread and wine. Instead, the Apostles reel in shock at Christ's announcement:

"One of you will betray me"...

Read 16 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 24

Reminder that Argentina was once as rich as the US and Buenos Aires was "the Paris of South America".

So what happened?

Here's how it looked — and what it teaches us... (thread) 🧵

At the turn of the 20th century, Argentina was as rich as the U.S. per capita, GDP grew 6% annually, and its beach resorts looked like this.

4 million Europeans flocked there during its Belle Époque — dreaming of being "as rich as an Argentine".

It owed its wealth to its exports (beef and wheat mainly). These peaked at ~4% of all global trade in the 1920s, and Argentina was still as rich as much of Europe as late as 1950.

Read 17 tweets

Culture Critic

@Culture_Crit

Jul 22

In your opinion, when did architecture peak?

According to the 7 principles of architecture, there is only one correct answer... 🧵

The answer is Gothic — according to Victorian philosopher John Ruskin. He put forward 7 "lamps" required to lift architecture to its highest form.

But they're not precise rules or ratios. They're 7 moral virtues applied to architecture...

First is sacrifice. Buildings must have visible proof of the love and dedication that went into them.

Today, we generally produce the largest result for the least cost, shaving any "unnecessary" detail or material from the design...

Read 15 tweets

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