Moments of leisure

»In our sanctuary we feel good, we enjoy the moment. We dream, plan, are creative. We let off steam and relax. We become calm and laid-back, make decisions and gather strength. No matter what, we are not available, not responsible – far from the world.« Tania Schlie

A sanctuary is the place where the heart and soul reside. A sanctuary is a place of longing. A place in which a woman finds a refuge, security and privacy. Where she is protected from the machinations and burdens of everyday life, and from personal or professional worries.

But a refuge does not always have to be a room, an enclosed space. Whether it be indoors (a favourite chair, bed, bathtub, sitting in front of the mirror or a picture, on a balcony or in a  conservatory) or outdoors (hammock, arbour, sand-dune, stretching out in the grass, in a tent or even under the starry sky) the main thing is: to be alone and undisturbed. There are imaginary sanctuaries too: a book you lose yourself in, a piece of music, a photo, a box of memen-tos in the attic, a scent, which revive the memory of light-hearted moments.

Wonderful pictures of female sanctuaries by famous painters such as Edgar Degas, Sir Frederick Leighton, Alfred Joseph Moore, Berthe Morisot, Auguste Renoir, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Singer Sargent and John William Waterhouse.

A book full of yearning in which women find their souls. A wonderful gift. An invitation to read and stroll; to leaf through the pages, pause at some of them and lose ourselves in dreams.