Do we bloggers always need a reason to post pretty pictures? I for one don't think so. Sometimes we (or at least I) go to a museum simply to see something pretty and not neccesarily to learn anything. Is that too honest?

If you need another reason, it's my birthday; A little pretty is required. Shown here are some period rooms and furnishings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A bust of Louis XV at the age of 47 by Lemoyne and presented to his mistress, Madame de Pompadour (beat that portrait to your mistress, Congressman Weiner)


I show a lot of pictures of chandeliers on my blog I'm starting to realize. Would you believe I don't even own one myself?

Gilded lit a la duchesse (or flying tester bed) by Georges Jacob. Enjoy!