Wikipedia:Picture of the day/June 2016

Three Beauties of the Present Day is a nishiki-e colour woodblock print from c. 1792–93 by Japanese ukiyo-e artist Kitagawa Utamaro. The triangular composition depicts the busts of three celebrity beauties of the time: geisha Tomimoto Toyohina, and teahouse waitresses Naniwa Kita and Takashima Hisa. Each figure in the work is adorned with an identifying family crest. The portraits are idealized, and though at first glance their faces seem similar, subtle differences in their features and expressions can be detected. The luxurious print, made with multiple woodblocks, was published by Tsutaya Jūzaburō and is believed to have been quite popular.

Painting: Kitagawa Utamaro

A promotional poster for Shelter, a survival video game developed by Might and Delight for Windows and Mac released on 28 August 2013. In the game, players control a mother badger who must protect and feed her cubs while travelling from their burrow to a new one. The game has received positive reviews for its graphics and sound, as well as the emotional impact that it evoked. Reviewers gave mixed reactions regarding the game's difficulty and length.

Poster: Might and Delight

An interior view of the Hagia Sophia in 1852, when it was known as the Ayasofya Mosque. The building was originally constructed as a main Eastern Orthodox church and served in this role from 537 AD until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 (except between 1204 and 1261 when it was converted by the Fourth Crusaders to a Roman Catholic cathedral). When the Ottoman Turks under Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque and Christian relics and art were either removed or plastered over. It remained a mosque for almost 500 years, before being converted into a museum between 1931 and 1935. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and influenced the design of numerous mosques in what is now Istanbul.

Artwork: Gaspare Fossati; lithograph: Louis Haghe; restoration: Adam Cuerden

The Malaysian plover (Charadrius peronii) is a small wader that nests on beaches and salt flats in Southeast Asia. It is classified as near-threatened, a situation attributed to increased human use of important beach habitats.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

The Panorpidae are a family of scorpionflies. This family contains more than 350 species. These insects, which average 9–25 mm long, have four membranous wings and threadlike antennae. Their elongated faces terminate with jaws that are used to feed on dead and dying insects, nectar, and rotting fruit. While in larval form, they scavenge by consuming dead insects on the ground.

Pictured here is a Panorpa alpina male.

Photograph: Luc Viatour

The Hammer projection is a map projection described by Ernst Hammer in 1892. It uses the same 2:1 elliptical outer shape as the Mollweide projection. Both projections are equal-area, but by depicting parallels of latitude as curved lines rather than straight, Hammer reduced distortion toward the outer limbs, where it is extreme in the Mollweide.

Map: Strebe, using Geocart

Sunflowers are two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The earlier series, executed in Paris in 1887, depicts the flowers lying on the ground. The second set, executed a year later in Arles, shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. Depicted here is the version held at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Painting: Vincent Van Gogh

David Dixon Porter (1813–1891) was the second U.S. Navy officer to attain the rank of admiral. Porter joined the Navy at age ten under his father, David. During the American Civil War, Porter was involved in actions at Fort Pickens, New Orleans, Vicksburg, Red River, and Fort Fisher, rising to the rank of rear admiral. After the war, Porter became the Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy and initiated reforms in the curriculum. He was promoted to admiral after the death of David Farragut.

Photograph: Mathew Brady; restoration: Adam Cuerden

A betafite octahedron collected in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada. Betafite, a mineral group in the pyrochlore supergroup, typically occurs as a primary mineral in granite pegmatites, and rarely in carbonatites. Though there is no applicable use for the accepted betafite species, it is an important ore of thorium, uranium, and niobium.

Photograph: Heinrich Pniok

Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th oldest college in Oxford, with a financial endowment of £112.6m as of 2015. Corpus Christi has a reputation for specializing in Classics, due to the emphasis placed upon this subject since the college's founding. The college was heavily involved in the translation of the King James Bible.

The pillar sundial in the main quadrangle, shown here, is known as the Pelican Sundial. It was erected in 1581 by Charles Turnbull.

Photograph: Andrew Shiva

The whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. One of the most widespread of the curlews, this migratory species winters on coasts in Africa, South America, south Asia into Australasia and southern North America. It is also a coastal bird during migration. It is fairly gregarious outside the breeding season.

Photograph: Andreas Trepte

The Nice tramway crossing Place Garibaldi, Nice, where it lowers its pantograph and is powered by batteries. This 8.7-kilometre (5.4 mi), single-line tramway is operated by Veolia Transdev. It opened on 24 November 2007, replacing bus lines 1, 2, 5 and 18.

Photograph: Myrabella

During the Battle of Seven Pines, part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War, Confederate troops under General Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Union corps. These corps, located south of the swollen Chickahominy River, appeared isolated as most bridges across the river were out. Upon hearing the sounds of battle, Union Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner of II Corps ordered a division, under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, to cross the Grapevine Bridge. Though unstable in the raging river, the bridge held long enough for Sedgwick's men to successfully cross and help fight away the Confederate forces.

Painting: William McIlvaine; restoration: Adam Cuerden

The flying gurnard is a fish of tropical to warm temperate waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. When excited, it spreads its "wings", semi-transparent appendages tipped with a phosphorescent bright blue coloration which are used to frighten predators.

Photograph: Beckmannjan

Emily Batty (b. 1988) is a Canadian cross-country mountain biker. She began her career in 1999, and by 2001 she had raced in the Canada Cup Series. Batty is the current Pan American Games champion and was the silver medalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Photograph: Adam Morka; edit: Keraunoscopia

Delftsevaart is a canal in the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It is seen here on a photochrom print released around 1900. During World War II, this area of the city was destroyed in the 1940 Rotterdam Blitz, but the St. Lawrence Church, visible in the background, survived the war.

Photochrom: Detroit Publishing Company; restoration: Adam Cuerden

Charles I in Three Positions is an oil painting of Charles I of England by Flemish artist Anthony Van Dyck. It depicts the King from three viewpoints: left full profile, face on, and right three quarter profile. Painted in 1635 or 1636, it was sent to Rome in 1636 to be used as a reference work for the Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini's marble bust of Charles I. Widely copied, the original stayed with Bernini and his heirs until c. 1802, when it was sold to British art dealer William Buchanan and returned to England. The painting was acquired for the Royal Collection in 1822, and is usually displayed at Windsor Castle.

Painting: Anthony van Dyck

Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Located in Pembroke Square, the college was founded in 1624 by King James, and was named after William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. As of 2011, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £55.6 million and offered the study of almost all the courses offered by the university. The current Master of the college is Lynne Brindley.

Photograph: Andrew Shiva

Draco is a constellation in the far northern sky. Its name is Latin for dragon. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Draco is circumpolar and can thus be seen all year from northern latitudes.

This illustration comes from Urania's Mirror, a set of 32 astronomical star chart cards first published in November 1824. Shown beneath Draco is Ursa Minor.

Lithograph: Sidney Hall; restoration: Adam Cuerden

A lithograph by Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler showing the town of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, in 1896. Originally part of Burrell (and later Lower Burrell) Township, the city of New Kensington was founded in 1891. During the public sale held on June 10, 1891, thousands of people came to the area, including a number of investors, including the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, which later became Alcoa. The city continued to grow and, as of 2010, New Kensington has a population of 13,116.

Lithograph: Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler; restoration: Adam Cuerden

A streaked spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) on a banana inflorescence in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi, Thailand. This species, which is similar in size to a sparrow, can be found in subtropical or tropical moist forests (both lowland and montane) in much of South and Southeast Asia. The streaked spiderhunter feeds on the nectar of flowers such as the wild banana blossom.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

Blenduk Church, formally the Immanuel Protestant Church of Western Indonesia, is a Protestant church in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Established in 1753, it is the oldest church in the province. The current building dates back to 1787; the towers and dome were added in 1894.

Photograph: Chris Woodrich

Fernanda Lima (b. 1977) is a Brazilian actress, model, businesswoman, journalist, and television host. Following a short career in film and telenovelas, she established herself in popular culture as the host of a variety of shows on MTV Brasil, Rede TV!, and Globo TV. In 2014, she was contracted by FIFA to be the muse of the World Cup and of the Ballon d'Or.

Photograph: Alex Carvalho

An Interior, a drawing by Mary Ellen Best (c. 1838). Best (1809–1891) was a British artist, active mostly in the 1830s, who worked predominantly with watercolours. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she was interested in portraying domestic life in her works, including families at tables, kitchens, and domestic workers. Among her estimated 1,500 paintings are a number of interior portraits such as this; she is known to have painted, among other subjects, images of the drawing room, dining room, and common room of her home in Castle Gate, York.

Drawing: Mary Ellen Best

Marcus C. Lisle (1862–1894) was an American lawyer, judge and politician from Kentucky who served as member of the United States House of Representatives from 1893 until his death the following year.

Illustration: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew Shiva

The Fringes of the Fleet is a booklet written in 1915 by Rudyard Kipling. It contains essays and poems about nautical subjects in World War I. Lyrics from poems in this booklet were used for a song-cycle of the same name written in 1917, with music by the English composer Edward Elgar and lyrics. This song cycle was first recorded by Elgar on 4 July 1917, with singers Charles Mott, Frederick Henry, Frederick Stewart and Harry Barratt.

Illustration: Anonymous; restoration: Adam Cuerden

Hip, Hip, Hurrah! is an oil painting on canvas by the Norwegian-Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer. Completed between 1884 and 1888 in the style of the French Impressionists and Naturalists, it shows the Skagen Painters during a party at Michael Ancher's house. It is presently in the Gothenburg Museum of Art, having been donated by the art collector Pontus Fürstenberg.

Painting: Peder Severin Krøyer

Dustforce is a 2012 platform video game developed by Hitbox Team. In it, the player controls one of four janitors who are using acrobatic skills in an attempt to sweep away the dust and filth corrupting the world. The player's performance is ranked based on time and completion, and access to certain levels requires near-perfect runs of earlier levels. Dustforce was generally well received by critics, who praised its demanding gameplay, online leaderboard features, graphics, and soundtrack.

Video: Hitbox Team, with music by Lifeformed