"In a five-year renovation, Het Loo" — the hunting lodge built by King William III to rival Louis XIV's Versailles — "has been lifted several millimetres, its courtyard dug and drained 10 metres deep, and a new concrete basin poured in to provide another 5,000 m2 of exhibition space." - The Guardian
Baumgarten’s theory of good poetry had a kind of absurd, computer-sciencey brilliance to it: good poetry is simply a large quantity of sensate thought. The trick to this absurd-sounding idea is that, to think a lot but all at once, we have to think associatively, self-referentially, vividly, temporally. - Aeon
One reason we keep missing the mark is that Vermeer’s era straddled two quite different ideas of what painting might be—the old one of religious and mythological allusions to be untangled, and the proto-modern one of a reflection of personal experience. - The Atlantic
High school art students painted a bakery at the owner's invitation - but "the painting was cited by the town code enforcement officer in June 2022 for violating the sign ordinance for its size. The painting depicts baked goods, which opponents say makes it not art ... but advertisement." - Christian Science Monitor
"Over 600 students, faculty, and Providence locals joined a walkout at the Rhode Island School of Art and Design last week in support of … the workers, represented by the Teamsters Local 251 chapter and spanning groundskeeping, operations, and maintenance, (who) went on strike April 3." - ARTnews
Boris Eldagsen says, "It was not about winning anything. ... I have been a photographer for 30 years before turning to AI and I’m very involved in the German scene in making workshops, lectures, and helping to draft up proposals for AI-related legislation." - Hyperallergic
The investigators "seized over 100 works from the Michèle Vasarely Foundation in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which houses pieces by the late artist Victor Vasarely and his son Jean-Pierre." The seizures are, depressingly, "just the latest in a long and bitter saga." - Hyperallergic
How Cecily Brown moved from working as a waitress, farmer's market worker, and animator to being a working painter celebrated at the Met. - The Observer (UK)
The Asia Society blamed a contractor for the blurring of two images in its show about the underworld. "We take responsibility for this error, but this was not an active choice to censor and is being corrected." - The New York Times
Is that desk an antique, or is it a much more recent piece that's been, er, "restored"? One expert says, "Quite frankly, if you want something bright and shiny, buy something new." - The Observer (UK)
Of course, stories abound about the ways artisans skilled in medieval construction have helped recreate the beloved cathedral. "But the builders, architects, and engineers do have the advantage of some 21st century technologies." - Fast Company
The extension, designed by Kaan Architecten and finished with decorative walnut and Blanco Macael white stone, echoes the symmetry and style of the Dutch palace – itself built as a riposte to Versailles, built for William III’s French rival Louis XIV. - The Guardian
"Spanish police are investigating four people for fraud after they allegedly tried to sell forged paintings for more than €76 million. … The four forged works, attributed to Francisco de Goya, and a fifth allegedly by Diego Velázquez were accompanied by abundant documentation, which was also fake." - CNN
"Michael Maurello ... falsified payments to employees and funneled museum payroll into his personal bank accounts from 2007 to 2020, the written plea agreement states. To hide the scheme, Maurello kept spreadsheets and notes to track the embezzled funds so later he could make reversals in the payroll system." - MSN (Chicago Tribune)
"The Uffizi Galleries (in Florence) have hiked their ticket prices because of pressures from rising energy prices, … sparking a debate about how much people should be asked to pay for culture." - The Art Newspaper
