DesignOfTheWeek | The very first Barbie doll from 1959 🖤 This doll was marketed as a 'Teen Age Fashion Model'. Her groomed appearance and glamorous accessories gave her an air of maturity, akin to prominent 1950s models such as Dovima and Dorian Leigh. Nevertheless, her swinging ponytail, which came in blonde and brunette, ensured that she could be perceived as a teenager, since the hairstyle was associated with young actors like Sandra Dee. See this doll as part of BarbieTheExhibition, on until February 2025 📸 Jo Underhill for the Design Museum © Mattel, Inc
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🌻 Does the bright yellow make you squint a little? Believe it or not, the dazzling colours you see in Van Gogh’s Sunflowers today aren’t quite what they once were. Van Gogh painted the work with three types of chrome yellow. In the more than 130 years since it was painted, those pigments darkened especially in the flowers and the lower background. Scientists recreated the paints he used and applied them in a reconstruction: instead of today’s deeper tones, the flowers once glowed a vivid, almost orange hue! It’s a reminder that colours live, change, and age.
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See those white spots? Van Gogh used white and pink opaque watercolour to add a touch of colour to the blossoms, and in the lower left corner he even painted over parts of the ground to adjust his composition. Over time, the paper darkened, which is why those light-coloured touches now stand out so clearly. 🖼️ ‘Provençal Orchard’, 1888 © Van Gogh Museum
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