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The arts
The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompasses multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing, and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both dynamic and a characteristically constant feature of human life, they have developed into innovative, stylized, and sometimes intricate forms. This is often achieved through sustained and deliberate study, training, and/or theorizing within a particular tradition, across generations, and even between civilizations. The arts are a vehicle through which human beings cultivate distinct social, cultural, and individual identities while transmitting values, impressions, judgements, ideas, visions, spiritual meanings, patterns of life, and experiences across time and space. (Full article...)
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Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not only transmits meaning but also creates it. Models of communication are simplified overviews of its main components and their interactions. Many models include the idea that a source uses a coding system to express information in the form of a message. The message is sent through a channel to a receiver who has to decode it to understand it. The main field of inquiry investigating communication is called communication studies. (Full article...) -
Image 2Concept design from Diaghilev's 1913 production
The Rite of Spring (French: Le Sacre du printemps) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation. Many have called the first-night reaction a "riot" or "near-riot", though this wording did not come about until reviews of later performances in 1924, over a decade later. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. (Full article...) -
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Kylie Ann Minogue AO OBE (/mɪˈnoʊɡ/; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer and actress. She is the highest-selling female recording artist from Australia, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinventing herself in music as well as fashion, and is referred to by the European press as the "Princess of Pop" and a style icon. Her accolades include two Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards and eighteen ARIA Music Awards. In 2024, Time named her one of the most influential people in the world. (Full article...) -
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Fertilisation of Orchids is a book by English naturalist Charles Darwin published on 15 May 1862 under the full explanatory title On the Various Contrivances by Which British and Foreign Orchids Are Fertilised by Insects, and On the Good Effects of Intercrossing. Darwin's previous book, On the Origin of Species, had briefly mentioned evolutionary interactions between insects and the plants they fertilised, and this new idea was explored in detail. Field studies and practical scientific investigations that were initially a recreation for Darwin—a relief from the drudgery of writing—developed into enjoyable and challenging experiments. Aided in his work by his family, friends, and a wide circle of correspondents across Britain and worldwide, Darwin tapped into the contemporary vogue for growing exotic orchids. (Full article...) -
Image 5"Gender Bender" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on January 21, 1994. It was written by Larry and Paul Barber, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured a guest appearance by Nicholas Lea, who would later appear in the recurring role of Alex Krycek. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' overarching mythology. (Full article...)
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Wilhelm Richard Wagner (/ˈvɑːɡnər/ VAHG-nər; German: [ˈʁɪçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ] ⓘ; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). (Full article...) -
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The Royal Gold Cup, 23.6 cm high, 17.8 cm across at its widest point; weight 1.935 kg, British Museum. Saint Agnes appears to her friends in a vision.
The Royal Gold Cup or Saint Agnes Cup is a solid gold covered cup lavishly decorated with enamel and pearls. It was made for the French royal family at the end of the 14th century, and later belonged to several English monarchs before spending nearly 300 years in Spain. It has been in the British Museum since 1892, where it is normally on display in Room 40, and is generally agreed to be the outstanding surviving example of late medieval French plate. It has been described as "the one surviving royal magnificence of the International Gothic age". According to Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, "of all the princely jewels and gold that have come down to us, this is the most spectacular—and that includes the great royal treasures." (Full article...) -
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Tengku Amir Hamzah (February 1911 – 20 March 1946) was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia. Born into a Malay aristocratic family in the Sultanate of Langkat in North Sumatra, he was educated in both Sumatra and Java. While attending senior high school in Surakarta around 1930, Amir became involved with the nationalist movement and fell in love with a Javanese schoolmate, Ilik Sundari. Even after Amir continued his studies in legal school in Batavia (now Jakarta) the two remained close, only separating in 1937 when Amir was recalled to Sumatra to marry the sultan's daughter and take on responsibilities of the court. Though unhappy with his marriage, he fulfilled his courtly duties. After Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945, he served as the government's representative in Langkat. The following year he was killed in a social revolution led by the PESINDO (Pemuda Sosialis Indonesia), and buried in a mass grave. (Full article...) -
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Holkham Hall. The severely Palladian south facade with its Ionic portico is devoid of arms or motif; not even a blind window is allowed to break the void between the windows and roof-line, while the lower windows are mere piercings in the stark brickwork. The only hint of ornamentation is from the two terminating Venetian windows.
Holkham Hall (/ˈhoʊkəm/ or /ˈhɒlkəm/) is an 18th-century country house near the village of Holkham, Norfolk, England, constructed in the Neo-Palladian style for the 1st Earl of Leicester (of the fifth creation of the title) by the architect William Kent, aided by Lord Burlington. (Full article...) -
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The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark (Italian: Biblioteca Marciana, but in historical documents commonly referred to as the Libreria pubblica di san Marco) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscripts in Italy and holds one of the world's most significant collections of classical texts. It is named after St Mark, the patron saint of the city. (Full article...) -
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St Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Blakeney, Norfolk, in the deanery of Holt and the Diocese of Norwich. The church was founded in the 13th century, but the greater part of the church dates from the 15th century when Blakeney was a seaport of some importance. Of the original structure only the chancel has survived rebuilding, perhaps owing to its link to a nearby Carmelite friary. An unusual architectural feature is a second tower, used as a beacon, at the east end (the church stands just inland from, and about 30 metres (98 ft) above, the small port). Other significant features are the vaulted chancel with a stepped seven-light lancet window, and the hammerbeam roof of the nave. St Nicholas is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest. (Full article...) -
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Thích Quảng Đức (chữ Hán: 釋廣德, Vietnamese: [tʰǐk̟ kʷâːŋ ɗɨ̌k] ⓘ; born Lâm Văn Túc; 1897 – 11 June 1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who died by self-immolation at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government of Ngô Đình Diệm, a staunch Roman Catholic. Photographs of his self-immolation circulated around the world, drawing attention to the policies of the Diệm government. John F. Kennedy said of one photograph, "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." Malcolm Browne won the World Press Photo of the Year for his photograph of the monk's death. (Full article...) -
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The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance (also known as the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, the Harris & Harris Theater or, most commonly, the Harris Theater) is a 1,499-seat theater for the performing arts located along the northern edge of Millennium Park on Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, US. The theater, which is largely underground due to Grant Park-related height restrictions, was named for its primary benefactors, Joan and Irving Harris. It serves as the park's indoor performing venue, a complement to Jay Pritzker Pavilion, which hosts the park's outdoor performances. (Full article...) -
Image 14Soultaker is a 1990 American fantasy horror film written by Vivian Schilling and directed by Michael Rissi. It stars Joe Estevez in the title role, alongside Vivian Schilling, Gregg Thomsen, Chuck Williams, Robert Z'Dar, and David "Shark" Fralick. The film follows a group of young adults who try to flee from the titular "Soultaker" when their souls are ejected from their bodies after a car accident. Inspired by discussions with Action International Pictures producer Eric Parkinson, the script was based on a real-life car accident which Schilling was involved in. (Full article...)
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Offenbach by Nadar
Jacques Offenbach (/ˈɒfənbɑːx/; 20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Franz von Suppé, Johann Strauss II and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory. (Full article...)
Featured pictures
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Cscr-featured.png/20px-Cscr-featured.png)
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Image 1Fliteline medallion of Gemini 12, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 2"When We All Believe", at and by Rose O'Neill (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 3Pond in a Garden at Tomb of Nebamun, unknown author (edited by Yann) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 4Ijazah, by 'Ali Ra'if Efendi (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 5The Pirate Publisher—An International Burlesque that has the Longest Run on Record at The Pirates of Penzance, by Joseph Keppler (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 6The Pig Faced Lady of Manchester Square and the Spanish Mule of Madrid, at Pig-faced women, by George Cruikshank (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 7Idi Amin caricature, by Edmund S. Valtman (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 8Stained-glass example of chromostereopsis, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 9Autochrome nude study, by Arnold Genthe (edited by Chick Bowen) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 10Poster for the United States National Park Service at Federal Art Project, by Frank S. Nicholson (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 11Pepper No. 30, by Edward Weston (edited by Bammesk) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 12Crochet table-cloth, by Alvesgaspar/Júlia Figueiredo (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 13H.M.S. Pinafore poster, by Vic Arnold (edited by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 15Gothic plate armour, by Anton Sorg (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 16Computer generated still life, by Gilles Tran (re-rendered by Deadcode) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 17Beer Street at Beer Street and Gin Lane, by Samuel Davenport after William Hogarth (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 18Segment of the Surrogate's Courthouse mosaic, by Rhododendrites (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 21The Adoration of the Shepherds at History of Christianity in Ukraine, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 23Fliteline medallion of Gemini 10, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 24The Lady with the Lamp at Florence Nightingale, by Henrietta Rae and Cassell & Co (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 25Fliteline medallion of Gemini 7, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 26Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, by Rembrandt (edited by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 27Love or Duty at Chromolithography, by Gabriele Castagnola (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 28Robbins medallion of Apollo 11, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 29Fliteline medallion of Gemini 11, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 30The Thin Red Line at Remembrance poppy, by Harold H. Piffard (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 31Robbins medallion of Apollo 14, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 32Tilework on the Dome of the Rock, by Godot13 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 33Doorway from Moutiers-Saint-Jean, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 35The Custer Fight at Lithography, by Charles Marion Russell (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 37Celadon kettle, by the National Museum of Korea (edited by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 39Fliteline medallion of Gemini 6A, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 40Mirror writing, by Mahmoud Ibrahim (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 42Paper cutout featuring the Lord's Prayer, at and by Martha Ann Honeywell (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 43Rosette Bearing the Names and Titles of Shah Jahan, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 44Robbins medallion of Apollo 13, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 45Madonna and child at Chiaroscuro], by Bartolomeo Coriolano (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 46Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal panel, by Zach Weinersmith (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 48Sunrise, Inverness Copse, at and by Paul Nash (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 50Cabiria poster, by N. Morgello (edited by Jujutacular) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 51Robbins medallion of Apollo 12, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 52Fliteline medallion of Gemini 8, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 53Fliteline medallion of Gemini 4, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 54First page of Codex Mendoza, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 55The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver at Gulliver's Travels, by James Gillray (restored by Crisco 1492) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 56Alchemist's Laboratory at Heinrich Khunrath, by Hans Vredeman de Vries (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 57Robbins medallion of Apollo 7, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 59Terragen scene at Scenery generator, by Fir0002 (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 60Ayyavazhi emblem at Ayya Vaikundar, by Vaikunda Raja (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 61Fantascope at Phenakistiscope, by Thomas Mann Baynes (animated by Basile Morin) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 62Weeki Wachee spring, Florida at Weeki Wachee Springs, by Toni Frissell (restored by Trialsanderrors) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 63scene from the Little Lord Fauntleroy, by Elco. Corp. (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 651910 cover of Life, by Coles Phillips (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 66Vanity Fair cover art, by Ethel McClellan Plummer (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 67Robbins medallion of Apollo 17, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 69The Onion Field, at and by George Davison (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 70Ornamental latin alphabet at Initial, by F. Delamotte (restored and vectorized by JovanCormac) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 71Robbins medallion of Apollo 15, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 72Fliteline medallion of Gemini 5, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 73Magna Carta (An Embroidery), by Cornelia Parker (edited by Bammesk) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 77Gin Lane at Gin Craze, by Samuel Davenport after William Hogarth (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 79The Miraculous Sacrement at Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, by Alvesgaspar (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 81Robbins medallion of Apollo 16, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 82Golden earrings from Gyeongju, by the National Museum of Korea (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 83Christmas angel at Gloria in excelsis Deo, by J. R. Clayton and The Brothers Dalziel (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 84Robbins medallion of Apollo 10, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 85"Wikipedian Protester" at xkcd, by Randall Munroe (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 86The Tiburtine Sibyl and the Emperor Augustus, by Antonio da Trento (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 87The battle of Mazandaran at Mazandaran province, unknown author (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 90Taos Pueblo, by Ansel Adams (edited by Kaldari) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 91Robbins medallion of Apollo 9, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 92Robbins medallion of Apollo 8, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 93Dali Atomicus at Salvador Dalí, by Philippe Halsman (edited by Trialsanderrors) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 94Fliteline medallion of Gemini 9A, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 97Isle of Graia Gulf of Akabah Arabia Petraea at Caravan (travellers), by David Roberts and Louis Haghe (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 100Stucco relief drawing at Maya civilization, by Ricardo Almendáriz (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 102A Brush for the Lead at Sleigh Ride, by Thomas Worth (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 103Your Motherland Will Never Forget, at and by Joseph Simpson (restored by Adam Cuerden) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 104Grant of Arms at Spanish heraldry, unknown author (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 105Fliteline medallion of Gemini 3, by Fliteline (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 107Nude study at Figurative art, by Kenyon Cox (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 108Coca-Cola advertising poster, unknown author (edited by Victorrocha) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 109Crown of the Andes, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 110Zaandam at Etching revival, by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (edited by Durova) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 111Robbins medallion of Apollo–Soyuz, by the Robbins Company (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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Image 112Costume designed by David for legislators, at and by Jacques-Louis David and Vivant Denon (edited by Mvuijlst) (from Wikipedia:Featured pictures/Artwork/Others)
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