"A military antiques expert alerted police after being called in to give advice regarding an inheritance in Bordeaux in January and becoming suspicious about the luxurious helmet and body armour in the family's collection. … The are thought to have been made in Milan between 1560 and 1580. They were donated to the Louvre in 1922 by the...
It was six years ago last week that extremist forces rampaged through the place, smashing ancient Assyrian sculptures with sledgehammers, burning books, looting anything sellable, and wrecking the building. Here's a look at how a consortium assembled by the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the World Monuments Fund, and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage is assessing the extent...
Pantone started out, under another name, as a printing company, and one of its employees, Larry Herbert, got tired of trying to figure out exactly what hue his clients meant when they said things like "I want kind of a wine red" or "Sort of like a sky blue, but darker." He was the one who realized that the...
In a reorganization plan filed in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware this week, the Boy Scouts listed nearly 60 pieces of art by Rockwell whose sale would help raise money for a settlement fund of at least $300 million for sexual abuse victims. - The New York Times
"Still imposing after 2,000 years, a vast funerary monument that was once the resting place of Rome's emperors is to reopen to visitors on Tuesday after a €12 million restoration. … It is a place that, despite being right in the heart of the capital and just a stone's throw from busy shopping streets, restaurants and hotels, has...
Little Island completes the transformation of the Meatpacking District, where for decades freight cars delivered animals to slaughterhouses that lined and bloodied the nearby blocks. Now it’s a high-end neighborhood of sleek apartment towers, unaffordable art galleries and fashion retail. The long-abandoned freight viaduct has become the iconic High Line park, while the Whitney Museum of American Art sits...
"Called Meidum Geese, the painting was discovered in the 1800s in the Chapel of Itet at Meidum. Itet was the wife of the vizier Nefermaat, who ruled Egypt from 2610 to 2590 B.C. The powerful couple was able to commission works from the most sought-after artists of the day." - Artnet
"The Last Supper was gifted to St Michael and All Angels Church in Ledbury, Herefordshire, in 1909. Art historian Ronald Moore believes he has now discovered Titian's signature on the canvas during restoration work." - BBC
"The chariot is preserved in remarkable detail, officials say, with four iron wheels, metal armrests and backrests, and a seat perched atop that could sit one or two people. Notably, the chariot is adorned with metal medallions depicting satyrs, nymphs and cupids, suggesting the possibility that it may have been used in marriage ceremonies." - NPR
The background to the 10-year (at least) truce: "In 1915 the Irish art collector Sir Hugh Lane was among nearly 1,200 people who died when the Lusitania, an ocean liner, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. His will revealed that he had bequeathed his breathtaking collection of impressionist paintings to the National Gallery in London. But...
A spokesman for the UN Secretary General said, "I feel sad and a sense of loss looking at that empty wall. ... The tapestry was not only a moving reminder of the horrors of war but, because of where it stood, it was also a witness to so much history that unfolded outside of the Security Council since 1985."...
Of course, the venue itself likely has no feelings on the matter. But Madrid's Frontón Beti-Jai, built when the Basque game pelota was all the rage in the city, was recently restored, and is now sitting idle. - The Observer (UK)
Perhaps this was an idea that could have gotten, shall we say, misplaced during various shutdowns? But no. What does Dutch art of the 17th century smell like? An exhibit "will shortly be available as a virtual tour with a four-scent fragrance box. It doesn’t just descant on the theme, although there is plenty of historical narrative about plagues,...
And other animals. And smoke. But the project manager has some questions. "The Living Desert specialists had assured us that the project would not damage the desert or any native or captive wildlife, so their backing out is incredibly disappointing and perplexing."- The New York Times
