He was “a big-picture scholar,” readable to non-academics as well as other scholars, and “the theories about resistance to power that he extrapolated led to a new view of supposedly primitive peoples and to a new academic field, resistance studies.” - The New York Times
“Just months after lovingly carving Costanza’s face in marble, Bernini ordered it to be slashed with a knife by one of his servants.” - The Observer (UK)
Representatives from the U of I's Stanley Museum of Art met with the ceremonial leader of the Edo people "and officials of the Benin Royal Court earlier this month to officially restitute two artworks that have been in its collection since 1986 and 2001.” - Hyperallergic
“Ms. O’Brien grew up in a newly independent and staunchly Catholic Ireland with firm ideas about the roles of women, who had no lawful access to abortion, contraception or divorce. In much of her work, Ms. O’Brien limned characters who yearned to break free.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Grinding on a statue of Bacchus might sound fun (and, well, perhaps it was?), but the young woman who experienced that joy in Florence will be banned for life from the city - if the police find her. - Hyperallergic
“As of late Saturday night, the Hollywood Basic Crafts and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have reached agreements on six different contracts. The settlements concluded several weeks of negotiations.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
TV show memes lit up Instagram, texts, and group chats when President Biden stepped down. “One thing someone on text thread said is that Aaron Sorkin could never have thought this one up. … This is beyond what we were capable of imagining.” - Washington Post
At Baldwin & Co in New Orleans, the founder believes "his independent bookstore sells more books by Baldwin than any other, anywhere. ‘They're our No. 1 seller,’ he said. ‘Every single week, we have recurring orders. Every single week, we are ordering large shipments of James Baldwin books.’” - LitHub
“It’s hard not to wonder – as a viewer – why the Taliban’s top brass agreed to let Nash’at shoot a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the early days of the regime. … Mansour comments coldly about Nash’at: ‘If his intentions are bad, he will die soon.'” - The Observer (UK)
In April, Dion said, "I have two choices. Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over.” Narrator voice: It was not over. - Self
The museum “said it was making progress on returning the human remains of nearly 2,200 Native Americans and thousands of tribal funerary objects, which became a top priority earlier this year in the wake of new federal regulations.” - The New York Times
Just before the anniversary of the Irish singer’s death, the museum revealed the figure to a swift and furious reception. O’Connor’s brother John said "that the figure looked ‘between a mannequin and something out of the Thunderbirds.’” - BBC
Apologies to this excellent post on the site formerly known as Twitter. Point is, a lot of great movies are set in Paris, so if you’re not a sportsfan (or your sport isn’t on), here’s how to keep your eyes on the City of Light. - The Guardian (UK)
